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[Bulldog]

I successfully installed my DIR-625 and DWA-140.    I've got a few post-install questions I couldn't find discussed here or in the FAQs:

[P.S. I have Windows XP Home SP 3.]

[1] I have an external hard drive that I use for backing up. When I connect my external drive to the SharePort on the router, backups take substantially longer to complete compared to when I connect directly to a USB (2.0) port on my computer. Why is data transfer so much slower through Shareport?

[2] I didn't remove the network card I previously used with my wired router, because I'll need a wired connection for firmware updates. Should I 'disable' my old network card in Device Manager, or can I leave it enabled?

[3] The DWA-140 in my computer is barely 15 feet from my router. And yet, sometimes I get only 3 out of 4 bars of signal strength, although this lasts for only a second and then I'm back to 4 bars. Sometimes I even get zero bars, but again, it only lasts for a second. With only 15 feet between the antennas, why am not getting 4 bars always?

[4] Is there any advantage to using Windows XP's built-in wireless network management utility vs. D-Link's Wireless Connection Manager (AirNCFG.exe)?

Thanks for your help.

[EddieZ]

I successfully installed my DIR-625 and DWA-140.    I've got a few post-install questions I couldn't find discussed here or in the FAQs:

[P.S. I have Windows XP Home SP 3.]

[1] I have an external hard drive that I use for backing up. When I connect my external drive to the SharePort on the router, backups take substantially longer to complete compared to when I connect directly to a USB (2.0) port on my computer. Why is data transfer so much slower through Shareport?

Because the traffic is routed through USB-TCPIP translation and is a major stress on the router's memory and CPU. Since this router is primarily designed to act as a router, the hardware is accordingly. Shareport/USB data is an added bonus feature. Even more dedicated routers with USb sugffer the same speed limitations. Native USB 2.0 on a PC taps directly into the computers resources and bandwidth on the motherboard.

[2] I didn't remove the network card I previously used with my wired router, because I'll need a wired connection for firmware updates. Should I 'disable' my old network card in Device Manager, or can I leave it enabled?

You can leave it enabled, but remove any cables to prevent IP/DHCP issues

[3] The DWA-140 in my computer is barely 15 feet from my router. And yet, sometimes I get only 3 out of 4 bars of signal strength, although this lasts for only a second and then I'm back to 4 bars. Sometimes I even get zero bars, but again, it only lasts for a second. With only 15 feet between the antennas, why am not getting 4 bars always?

Check if you get better result by setting the radio channel manually in the router. There might be some other Ap's around in the same channel area.
If that does not solve it, please post a router log

[4] Is there any advantage to using Windows XP's built-in wireless network management utility vs. D-Link's Wireless Connection Manager (AirNCFG.exe)?

Thanks for your help.

No, you can use both. But XP's zeroconfig can cause some issues on XP, so I'd prefer to not use it. Just check out both and use the one you like best/cause you the least problems.

[Bulldog]

I sincerely appreciate your help.

[1] I now understand the issue with SharePort. It's not so much that the feature 'needs work' as it is the fact that USB-TCP/IP translation is not suited to multi-gigabyte backups. In future, I'll use Shareport for low-bandwidth activities (like my thumb drive.)

[2] I may actually disable my (wired) NIC in Device Manager, if only to get rid of the icon in my system tray telling me "a network cable is unplugged." No kidding? 

[3] Upon further research I think that getting less than 4 bars of signal strength all the time may have more to do with my physical setup. I live out in the suburbs, and - lucky me - there are no other networks in my area with a signal strong enough to interfere with mine. The DWA-140 sticks out the back up my computer, which is pushed back almost to the wall and right next to a corner.  I'd like to experiment with moving the adapter, but I'll certainly try setting the radio channel manually as well. In any case, I'm getting 4 bars 95% of the time, and never a dropped connection, so I ain't complaining!

[4] I'll experiment with D-Link's and Window's WLAN utilities and see which works better for me. All other things being equal, I guess I'll use D-Link software with D-Link hardware.

Thank you very much for your help.

[EddieZ]

You're welcome. This was an outstanding posting!