Weird R580 wireless issue, anyone know much about win7 x64 drivers?

I just got an r580 originally loaded with home premium. I just did a fresh install of win 7 pro and now the wireless drivers aren't working.

The laptop recognizes the adapter and installs any drivers I want, but when I try to set up a wireless network I get the same error

"An unexpected error has occured."

Nothing else. I used the new x64 win 7 atheros drivers from samsungs site, but nothing works. I've been installing them through windows, using the win7 directory in the driver folder as the browse to place. This is because samsung's unzipped folder has about 20 setup exe's and none of them seem to do anything.

Anyone have an idea on what would be causing this? I have no other hardware issues.

 

Is the driver that you tried the one at the bottom of this list? I see that there is also a new BIOS.

John

 

Is the card recognized in the device manager? You can try to uninstall it and reboot and see if Win7 installs it again. Is the unexpected error during installation or connecting to the router?

 

Yes, i updated the bios and used the x64 driver at the bottom of that list.

The card is recognized in the device manager. and errors when setting up a wireless network. (none are auto detected). I get the unexpected error when setting up any type of wireless network.

 

I'm having the exact same problem. I also have a Samsung R580 with windows 7 64-bit

I uninstalled Atheros accidentally with Add/Remove Program from the control panel.

I get the same unexpected error message when trying to troubleshoot a wireless connection. Everything looks fine in the Device Manager, the device is working properly, and all drivers are up to date. I've tried the Windows Vista driver packages as well as the windows 7 32/64 bit versions. It still can't find any wireless network.

Needless to say I've also restarted my wiress device using Fn-F9.

The only thing i can think of is that after installing the different drivers and client software, i can't find it in the same program list from which it was originally uninstalled.

Could this mean I'm missing some vital piece of software that the laptop needs to work properly with the wireless device?

 

What Driver Date and Driver Version is showing for the Atheros AR9285 Wireless Network Adapter on your system? Mine is dated 6/9/2010 and version 8.0.0.351 and provided by Atheros Communications Inc. and is working properly.

 

Hey Sammy,

Thanks very much for your reply!

I have two drivers for my Atheros Wireless Network Adapter.

C:\windows\system32\DRIVERS\athrx.sys;
File version 8.0.0.351

and

C:\windows\system32\drivers\vwifibus.sys
File version 6.1.7600.163875 (win7_rtm.090713-1255)

I can say for certain it's not working properly
I'm currently in China on business, so it's kind of hard for me to dedicate a large portion of time to fixing the problem, as well as a dearth of wireless networks here.

However, Starbucks does exist here (thank god). ButI can't seem to detect any wireless networks anywhere I go. I'm beginning to think that this might be a hardware issue, even though it worked perfectly about 1 month ago. Is it possible that it might have burned out the moment I uninstalled Atheros?

Thanks!
Allen

 

All seems well for the driver versions you mention. They match mine. What about the info on the other tabs for the device? On the General Tab, mine says: This device is working properly. The Resources Tab, mine says: No conflicts. And when you use the function key: Fn+F9 it should display that Wireless Lan is On and not displayed with the wireless bars in the Systray (next to the time in the bottom right corner) with red X. The red X means you disabled it. Just double-checking a few things.

 

Hey Sammy,

all messages give no indication of error.

I do get the red x over the wireless bars, but that also occurs when there are no wireless networks to be found, right?

I've disabled/enabled my wireless in the device manager, as well as using the Fn + F9 key. it still doesn't work.

 

No. The red X means you've disabled your wireless card and that is the issue! If it has the Red X (wireless Lan disabled) but near wireless networks it would say Not connected - Connections available. It would say the same thing even without the Red X (wireless Lan enabled) by putting your mouse pointer on the icon. But I am not sure what you'd see without any wireless networks (found) whether the wireless Lan is on or off. Hopefully not a Red X even if the wireless Lan is enabled!! I've always been around wireless networks! As a final observation of the icon: If the wireless Lan is ON but you are not connected to any networks but near at least one, then you get a gold asterick over the bars! If you click on the icon you'd see a wireless network. Work on the Red X and I think you'll have it! Perhaps make sure you are near at least one valid wireless network just to make sure it provides that message...that is "Not connected-Connections available" with the Wireless Lan enabled and NO Red X on the bars! Good luck!

 

Sammy,

I'm sure I was around a wireless network last week while I was in a Starbucks in Beijing. I still got the red x.

I'm confused... except for disabling/enabling my wireless in Device Manager, and using Fn-F9... what other methods of turning my wirless device on/off are there?

I used to have a laptop that had a physical switch for the wireless, but after careful inspection, I can find no such switch on my Samsung R580. Also, all messages and network boxes tell me that yes, my wireless is enabled and working properly, only that there are no networks to be found. Would it give the same message if you manually switched off your wi-fi?

Thanks for your time and observations!

Allen

 

If you are running on battery then it is possible that power management may have turned off the wireless adaptor.

John

 

I'm rarely on battery, and even when I am, I believe the option for giving power settings the ability to shut off my wireless is unchecked.

Thought of that too... :-/

 

I've only found the Fn+F9 combo as the only hot key turning the device on/off. But I don't see that as your issue.

The R580 manual has a pretty extensive network troubleshooting section that you should go through as a last ditch effort before you either call Samsung Support or Restore from the hidden partition.

 

Hello,
I am having exactly the same problem you describe with my HP laptop but the same wireless network card from atheros. Did you ever find a solution to your problem? My wireless was working OK until I reinstalled the drivers for the wireless because of a separate problem not worth mentioning here, but in the end the result was the same - the red X, when I try to add a wireless network or set up one manually in Network and Sharing center, I get the "an unexpected error has occurred" message. If you found a solution to your problem, I'd love to hear it!

Alan