Good Wireless USB Stick?

[GimpyFuzznut]

I put a PC in my upstairs room that needs wireless connectivity to the router downstairs, the DLink DGL-4300 (or whatever it is), which I have been very pleased with for about a year now (never once had to restart the damn thing with almost constant heavy activity). I picked up a Dlink USB stick, the WUA-2340 but the damn thing has been giving me freaking BSOD non stop. I checked around the web and can't find any solution. It seems to be a problem reported with the older version of the stick that was reportedly fixed with these new drivers, but I'm still crashing. a5agu.sys is the culprit if anyone can help me find some more info about it. I'd rather try to fix this one because it came at a good price and has a slick cradle to boot.

So, two questions,
Will Best Buy take the item back if I don't have the box anymore (bought it 2-3 days ago) and can anyone else recommend some alternatives in the same price range - around 75 CDN bucks (check Bestbuy.ca I guess, since hopefully they'll let me exchange it).

 

[GimpyFuzznut]

Why did I throw out the box
I really don't think they will take it back

 

[Fardringle]

Honestly, I have not ever had good results with any USB wireless "thumb drive" type adapter that I have tried, and I have tried multiple different brands, mostly becuase clients bought them on sale thinking they were getting a good deal. They all worked moderately OK, but with very poor range and signal strength.

I suspect that the errors you are getting are due to a bad driver install. If you haven't already tried it, completely uninstall all software and drivers related to the adapter and re-install them to see what happens. I would be surprised if Best Buy will accept the return without a box, but it can't hurt to try.

I would personally recommend getting a PCI adapter with an external antenna connected via cable like this one so that it can be moved around. If that is not possible, the next choice would be a desktop USB wireless adapter like this one. (Note: I have not used either of these adapters myself but have seen many good reviews for both of them, and they are fairly inexpensive.)

 

[GimpyFuzznut]

Any ideas how to stop the BSOD? I tried uninstalling and reinstalling the drivers. Any other ideas?