WMI stands for Windows Management Instrumentation, and it is a type of
API (application program interface) that Windows uses to pass binary
data into the wireless driver screen you are viewing. It seems that
the driver is probably failing to parse the data into the appropriate
structure, but I have no idea how. It may be a version synchronization
problem. The properties pages are using WMI and if you don't need to
bother with your wired network, you really don't know. I am almost
sure WMI is not specific to wireless, but it is probably used more. I
think that WMI is somewhat like a procfile interface in Windows, i.e.
a way for userspace applications like the driver you are viewing
access the more powerful kernel, but if anyone else posts here please
correct me if I'm wrong.
You should try first backing everything up, upgrading to the latest
service pack from http://www.windowsupdate.com. Then go to your
hardware website and download the latest drivers for your wireless
connection, and if your network isn't critical for anyone else,
upgrade the router software as well - there should be instructions
online. If that doesn't work, download a copy of open suse from
http://www.opensuse.org and see if that solves all of your problems.
They have a really nice setup for 10.0 (the beta is awful) and its
online updater might just have all of the drivers you wanted; but I
guess this voids your process of saving your settings.
System restoration is absolute **** so DELETE IT IMMEDIATELY! It will
only mess up your computer to a completely unusable extent and due to
the filesystem on Windows, which is not as advanced as the VFS layer
implemented in Linux, it simply cannot back up all of the files on
your drive while Windows is running. Windows just won't back up with a
complete failsafe guarantee unless you have something like Norton
ghost where you back up when Windows is not active. However sometimes
the driver rollback feature is useful for emergencies, but now I think
you should try getting the latest versions of everything, not rolling
everything back so that you get some compatible versions.
Your message really lacks technicality, so I suggest if you want
support from a more general audience you should change the title of
the question; I would think that there are plenty of other people who
have similar problems with wireless. Before you post a new message,
first upgrade to service pack two, and enter the wireless
configuration dialog. Allow it to search for routers, and then you can
have an idea whether the router is being detected and you need login
help (relatively easy) or if you have worse problems, and may need to
change something more - to put it simply - icky. For example, you
might have to change the broadcast channel on your router (there are
11 of them) to the US broadcast channel.
Unfortunately I really don't have much skill if you can't even detect
it; I would recommend getting another computer and trying to see if
the adapter hardware works. If it doesn't, obviously return it. If it
does, you might have quite a bit of trouble, which for me usually
leads to a reinstallation of Windows (where I unconsciously decrease
the Windows partition size and increase the Linux partition size), but
you'll learn the general method of configuring - stubborn
determination and a lot of patience.
Good luck, but don't get disappointed. Computers have a long way to
get really user friendly. I'm waiting for Linux on the Xbox 360 - fast
computers with identical setups for hopefully far less hardware
configuration; except for those hackers with modchips, but they should
be punished for that somehow.
If this is too much of a pain, buy more expensive hardware, or a mac,
which is almost configuration free, but then again you can't do as
much. |
