forcing XP to use a driver

[Asp]

I've got a laptop and a wifi PC card -- D-Link DWL-G630. (Both quite old.)

I'm having some problems connecting to a new wifi router.

I have found advice that using a driver from ASUS gives better results, the ASUS device has the same chipset.

(This post -- from 2004, so I don't think profitable to resurrect that thread.)

This says :

I used XP's add/remove hardware to use mrv8ka51.inf as the driver for the DWL-G630. I then set up WPA-PSK on both the DI-524 and DWL-G630.

But when I try this and point to the folder with the inf and sys files, Windows just says "no suitable drivers found" and reverts to the D-Link software.

Is there a way to override this? .

[Tripredacus]

First you need to check to see if the HwID for your device is in the INF you are pointing to.

When Windows looks for drivers, it looks for the HwID in the INF. For the most part, Windows can be tricked into using a driver by just putting the HwID in the INF. However there are a few problems you can run into:

1. The driver components may not work properly with the device, some functions may not work like power save, or the signal might not be great.

2. The driver may not install properly because the hardware is different. You'll end up with a Code error on the device description. Worst case scenario is that you could experience a lock up or a crash.

3. Windows isn't that dumb tho, because it will end up saying the the best driver is already being used. This could be because of multiple reasons, such as the subsys being specified, a driver is signed, or the date/version is higher.

In order to force Windows to use a driver, the best option (without having to learn exactly how Windows handles drivers) is to uninstall the current device and delete the already installed drivers. Even if you were to just uninstall the device and try to update with the "forced" drivers, Windows will reject it because it will still look at the other drivers on the system to find a better one. So you need to make sure those aren't there.