problems with a TP-Link wifi adapter

[chermany4ever]

Hello guys. I'm having problems with a wifi adapter. It's the TL-WN8200ND v2 that I bought especially cause it works with XP but I can't make it work. I was able to test it in another PC that has Windows 7 and it works fine. Has a lot of reach and I can make the most of the 5mb connection speed. Thought about buying it cause the prior one I have that works in XP is also a TP-Link but one of those little ones that doesn't have great range and since I'm far from the router the only way to navigate was sharing the wifi signal from the cell phone -which does see the signal- and though I manage to navigate my speed is limited to 1MB. When I plug the card at the USB port the light turns on but when installing the drivers the system fails to communicate with the card. I don't know if it may be a conflict with the old drivers of the little card? Thought that cause wanting to go back to the old card I couldn't, even when uninstalled everything that had to do with the new one, so was forced to return to an image of my system. Also thought perhaps the problem was that I used SP2 so I tried to install XP SP3 to check but it didn't work either. Any ideas?

[jumper]

https://www.tp-link.com/in/support/download/tl-wn8200nd/v2/?app=store has two driver versions for the v2. Which did you try?

 

[chermany4ever]

Hello jumper. Thanks for taking the time to look at the drivers page. 

 

The adapter came with a CD which I used initially to install the drivers. When it didn't work, I think the first thing I did was go to the TP-Link drivers page to see if there was anything else that might. The thing is that TP-Link has different pages for each country. I don't remember seeing two different drivers when I made the attempt but if they were there it's very likely that I chose the most up to date one. I have this habit of always going for the latest drivers available. I was able to check that the file I've saved is that one, the latest.

 

I will try to install it again using the previous one. Being two years older maybe they'll work. I certainly hope so. 

[tekkaman]

Some computers have problems with Wifi via USB. A fellow attorney from the building asked me for help with an old computer. He bought from a dude a Core 2 Duo desktop for $200.   For some reason I get no stable Wifi signal on that computer. And it was running Windows 7. On other computers that same adapter works fine. 

I was using this one:

https://www.amazon.com/TP-Link-Nano-Archer-T3U-Wireless/dp/B09KTDXPY3/138-3872363-9753139?pd_rd_w=VCIQk&content-id=amzn1.sym.9cf17164-13e4-4652-96f9-f76b8f33fec0&pf_rd_p=9cf17164-13e4-4652-96f9-f76b8f33fec0&pf_rd_r=TRH0PR84S0KZXC3495GM&pd_rd_wg=0XZEU&pd_rd_r=860d8f4c-1a63-4971-a145-69136f4bb8db&pd_rd_i=B09KTDXPY3&th=1

Edited September 22 by tekkaman

[jumper]

Probably an RF issue. Try different:

• Wifi channels / power levels
• shielding / reflectors
• USB ports / hubs / cables
• monitor refresh rates
• cpu and system clock speeds

 

[chermany4ever]

On 9/3/2025 at 4:50 AM, jumper said:

https://www.tp-link.com/in/support/download/tl-wn8200nd/v2/?app=store has two driver versions for the v2. Which did you try?

 

Hello jumper. You did it! It worked. I was using the new driver. Trying the old XP one worked. The problem was I still couldn't connect but after a little comparing bertween XP and Windows 7 I noticed in XP there was no such thing as WPA2 security protocol. Turns out I needed and update from that era and in spanish! So it almost beat me but fortunately I was able to find one link alive! So I got it working now.

In fact, now I'm trying to upgrade from Windows 7 to X-Lite 10 and 11 versions and they run great but after a day or two where everything worked I'm having trouble and getting "no internet, secure" messages... thou XP 32 is still able to connect and enjoy full speed. All with the same adapter. Very strange.

Thank you jumper. 

[chermany4ever]

It was being blocked by TinyWall. Seems the latest version for Windows 10 and 11 you have to allow certain necessary services in TinyWall to be able to browse thou I also suspect incompatibilities with the Windows Firewall, which apparently in these versions can no longer be disabled. So installed GlassWire which is a "friendly" Windows Firewall manager and it works fine thou now I'm having some problems with the wifi adapter. Seems system instability. Of these trimmed versions of X-Lite, Windows 10 feels more stable than 11 but I must admit that 11 is much prettier. I'll try to surf and try to deal with the problems to see if I can achieve some acceptable stability.

 

Thanks again guys!

[NotHereToPlayGames]

1 hour ago, chermany4ever said:

I also suspect incompatibilities with the Windows Firewall, which apparently in these versions can no longer be disabled.

Windows Firewall CAN and SHOULD be DISABLED in Win10 and Win11.  Not that difficult!

You should also go one step further and disable one of its "dependencies" (ie, BFE Service [Base Filtering Engine]).

[chermany4ever]

3 hours ago, NotHereToPlayGames said:

Windows Firewall CAN and SHOULD be DISABLED in Win10 and Win11.  Not that difficult!

You should also go one step further and disable one of its "dependencies" (ie, BFE Service [Base Filtering Engine]).

Hello friend, thanks for joining. I've been trying different debloated versions for weeks. Tiny11, several X-Lite releases, miniOS11... unfortunately I had instability issues with all of them. The kind that don't leave you alone and make you decide it's not worth it. That's why I was almost ready to settle with X-Lite 10 Optimum when someone recommended that I try X-Lite 11 Phoenix. Works very well but... comparing XP with Windows 7, they improved the robustness but also made an attempt to “shield” the OS so that you can no longer do what you want with it. With 10 and 11 I've noticed that they've made more of an effort not only to shield it but also to condition you to follow the path they lay out for you and if you stray from it... a sad screen appears and Windows won't start anymore.

Since the XP days, the first thing I always do when clean installing is permanently disable Windows Updates and the Windows Firewall. Here -after much struggle- I was able to force 11 to stop downloading updates. But in all the versions I tried, the Firewall is not only enabled, it's forced-enabled. Although you can go to Services and Stop it somehow, you cannot access to Disable it. Only one of these versions did not have it enabled -which made me happy- but after a while of installing programs and tweaking it to my liking, it suddenly activated itself out of the blue and that resulted in problems, incompatibilities and instability to the point it became impossible to cope with.

It's as if in these newer versions of Windows all native services like Windows Update, Defender, Firewall plus other programs, are all interdependent, so if you decide to do without one, it results in a series of problems wich ends up creating so much instability that it becomes unbearable.

After so many attempts, I've learned a lot about what to touch and what not to, let's say, to not interfere with the system's "sensitivities" in an effort to keep it stable, even if I have to go along with it, like this decision to discard TinyWall and install GlassWire, accepting the native firewall. That way I've achieved some stability = fewer problems.

Honestly, what you're telling me gives me hope and makes me want to keep investigating. But that would mean starting from scratch with another clean installation... and as I said, I've spent many weeks on this and as the seasons are changing, I won't have the time to sit here for so long anymore. But I appreciate the info, as always. I'm leaving you an image so you can see that the "Windows Defender Firewall" cannot be disabled, or at least, I was unable to achieve it. If you have any information on whether the Firewall can really be permanently disabled without ruining the OS, let me know. Maybe I'll give it a try. Everything I tried on my own, in-depth Google searching, was unsuccessful.

[NotHereToPlayGames]

40 minutes ago, chermany4ever said:

I'm leaving you an image so you can see that the "Windows Defender Firewall" cannot be disabled, or at least, I was unable to achieve it.

I can post the How-To later today.  Trust me, it CAN BE PERMANENTLY DISABLED.

Admittedly, I would still be running XP if there was no way to disable Windows Defender "crap" in 10 and 11.

[NotHereToPlayGames]

I should add that when I say "can be", I am referring to *ALL* versions of 10 and at least *early* versions of 11.

I will have to REINSTALL a newer version of VirtualBox and a Win11 25H2 VM to see if the "old tricks" still work for *all* versions of 11.

[chermany4ever]

5 minutes ago, NotHereToPlayGames said:

I can post the How-To later today.  Trust me, it CAN BE PERMANENTLY DISABLED.

Admittedly, I would still be running XP if there was no way to disable Windows Defender "crap" in 10 and 1

 

The How-To guide would be welcome. Won't abandon XP. Today I was using it after many weeks of struggling with 11 and everything about it is comfortable and straightforward.

 

7 minutes ago, NotHereToPlayGames said:

I should add that when I say "can be", I am referring to *ALL* versions of 10 and at least *early* versions of 11.

 

This Phoenix version is from 2022. The times I tried to make radical changes to the OS ended up with irreparable problems that forced me to start from scratch.

11 looks beautiful and I've discovered new programs that blew my mind, like Zen browser. But I have the feeling that if you want to get along with 11 you have to walk on eggshells.  

[NotHereToPlayGames]

I've trial-ran Phoenix in the past and again as recently as two weeks ago (when "Nexus" was brought to my attention).

Phoenix, Tiny, Micro, Slim, Nano, X-Lite, Nexus, Chris Titus Tech - DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME WITH ANY OF THEM !!!

These (all of them!) are targeted for the SPOON-FED CROWD too "lazy" (my opinion) of doing the legwork themselves.

Not to be misread, there is a HUGE "MARKET" for that route (I applaud the endeavor, it's just "not for me").

You kind of sound like me - ie, YOU WILL NEVER BE 100% SATISFIED with these spoon-fed variations and the ONLY way to achieve 100% Satisfaction is to DO THE WORK YOURSELF.

I cannot stress it enough, you need WINREDUCER-EX.  Yes, takes time, but WELL WORTH IT in the end.

Edited 1 hour ago by NotHereToPlayGames

[NotHereToPlayGames]

I can officially confirm that the OLD TRICK still works even for as new as Win11 25H2.

The utility is called Windows Update Blocker v1.8 (last updated way back in 2023 - again, STILL WORKS for brand new Win11 25H2).

It's just a run-as-is portable program, NO INSTALLATION, just extract and execute once then delete if you so desire.

Yes, this was originally intended to block Windows Updates but it also works to disable an otherwise 'automatic' Windows Defender Firewall.

 

YOU HAVE TO EDIT / ADD TO THE DEFAULT .INI FILE -

 

Before:

 

After:

Edited 39 minutes ago by NotHereToPlayGames