Panda PAU05 USB Wi-Fi

BO Terry

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I have a client desktop (HP Pavilion Elite HPE Win 7 Pro 64, 4 GB RAM) and I can't get the Panda PAU05 USB Wi-Fi to function. It is installed (in theory) but cannot see any networks. On installation, I receive the message: 802.11n USB Wireless LAN Card #2 installed. Ready to use." But when I tried to connect to the network it says "No connections available". Troubleshooting says adapter is experiencing problems.
The computer has Norton 360 & Zone Alarm installed. I deactivated both and turned off the firewall. This Wi-Fi is rated for Win 7, 8 & 10. I tried letting it install on its own. I tried installing it from a downloaded driver on a flash drive. I've tried different USB ports. No help. Any other suggestions?
 
Does a different Wi-Fi adapter work?

I tried a D-Link DWA 130 with similar results. It appears to install the drivers but "no networks" available.

Then to test another approach, I have a Cable Matters USB to Ethernet adapter. I installed it and it works perfectly. That said, they really want/need Wi-Fi on this computer so all that did was reconfirm it can get online.
 
I have a client desktop (HP Pavilion Elite HPE Win 7 Pro 64, 4 GB RAM) and I can't get the Panda PAU05 USB Wi-Fi to function. It is installed (in theory) but cannot see any networks. On installation, I receive the message: 802.11n USB Wireless LAN Card #2 installed. Ready to use." But when I tried to connect to the network it says "No connections available". Troubleshooting says adapter is experiencing problems.
The computer has Norton 360 & Zone Alarm installed. I deactivated both and turned off the firewall. This Wi-Fi is rated for Win 7, 8 & 10. I tried letting it install on its own. I tried installing it from a downloaded driver on a flash drive. I've tried different USB ports. No help. Any other suggestions?
Some comments on the amazon page mention that if you have trouble, don't install the utility app, only the driver.
 
Some comments on the amazon page mention that if you have trouble, don't install the utility app, only the driver.

I didn't see that but did try it already. No luck. Also, uninstalled & rebooted between different tests.
 
Try uninstall Norton and zone alarm rather than just disabling.

Edit: And I'd throw Tweaking at it as well.
It's true, Norton is never truly disabled. While Norton may interfere with communications, I can't imagine it would block wifi discovery.

Also you can try manually connecting to a known ssid instead of the usual discovery. Look at the Network and Sharing Center. "Set up a new connection or network" then "Manually connect to a wireless network"
 
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It's true, Norton is never truly disabled. While Norton may interfere with communications, I can't imagine it would block wifi discovery.

Also you can try manually connecting to a known ssid instead of the usual discovery. Look at the Network and Sharing Center. "Set up a new connection or network" then "Manually connect to a wireless network"

You're probably right. But I've sometimes seen odd problems that I wouldn't have guessed were Norton related suddenly vanish when Norton was removed. That's true of other A/V's as well, but seems more common with Norton.
 
You're probably right. But I've sometimes seen odd problems that I wouldn't have guessed were Norton related suddenly vanish when Norton was removed. That's true of other A/V's as well, but seems more common with Norton.

I will try this in a bit.
 
www.tweaking.com[/URL] if so, just run it or a particular function? I've
seen posts about it but never used it.

If you're really confident about what exactly needs to be fixed, then just choose that section. But that doesn't sound like the case in this situation.

I'd just run it. Pretty much every time I've used it, I've just let it run through the whole gamut of repairs.
 
Try to shut off the power management.
1. Open Device Manager. (Win Key+R > type devmgmt.msc > OK)
2. Expand the Network adapters.
3. Right click on the Ethernet/Wireless Adapter and click Properties.
4. Click the Power Management tab.
5. Remove the check mark beside Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power.
6. Click OK.
7. Test.
 
Try to shut off the power management.
1. Open Device Manager. (Win Key+R > type devmgmt.msc > OK)
2. Expand the Network adapters.
3. Right click on the Ethernet/Wireless Adapter and click Properties.
4. Click the Power Management tab.
5. Remove the check mark beside Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power.
6. Click OK.
7. Test.

No luck, but thanks for the tip. I hadn't tried that yet.
 
Make sure there aren't any issues with the USB controller/controller driver as it sounds like it's more of a communications issue between the adapter and the PC, not the adapter and the network. So make sure the USB controller driver is up-to-date and that there aren't any known conflicts between the controller and that particular adapter (may need to contact the manufacturer about the latter issue).
 

Panda said ZoneAlarm was the culprit. They suggested uninstalling it or changing some settings (which I couldn't get them to send). I worked with ZA support and nothing helped. I uninstalled ZA and ran their cleanup utility. Now I can use the USB Wi-Fi.

After proper Wi-Fi connection, ZA was reinstalled without issue.

Short answer, ZoneAlarm is a PITA!
 
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