External wireless card for iMac G5?

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Hi, I have a 24-inch mid-2007 iMac and for the past six months or so I have had to manually connect to the Internet each time I woke it up, until a few days ago it stopped connecting to the Internet altogether. A computer engineer told me that the wireless card was broken and that I should just go to an Apple store and buy a wireless card that plugs into a USB port. However, the employees at the Apple store told me that not only do they not sell those, but also that I would have to bring the computer in to have the internal card replaced, as it is impossible to use an external card for an iMac. I am loathe to do this as I just had to bring the computer in to replace the hard drive a few days ago and the Apple store is rather far away.

Reading online it seems like it is indeed possible to get an external wireless card and USB adapter for an iMac, but sadly I know just about nothing relating to networks, routers, and wireless internet and I really don't want to make a mistake. So for anyone who might know, can I use an external wireless card for my particular model of iMac, and if so, which type of wireless card should I get?

If it helps, I have an Airport Extreme base station and under System Profiler it states that the AirPort card in the computer is an AirPort Extreme (0x14E4, 0x88). Thank you in advance!
 

BrianLachoreVPI


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March 2011 15" MBP 2.3GHz i7 Quad Core 8GB Ram | Mid 2011 27" iMac 3.4 GHz i7 16 GB RAM 2 TB HDD
You have a million choices - here's one to get your search started. Cisco-Linksys AE1000 High-Performance Wireless-N Adapter Just search for USB wireless Adapter - and you'll find what you need. Since the Airport Extreme is an 802.11n router - try to get an 802.11n wireless adapter to maximize performance.
 
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Thanks for your reply! I have ordered a wireless card and will report back.
 
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Okay, I just got the D-Link DWA-130 wireless adapter and was told that it would work for Macs OS 10.5 or later. However, all the support seems to be only for Windows. When I plug it into my iMac the computer does not respond at all, but my brother's PC recognizes it instantly. Is there something I have to do to get my computer to recognize it?

I apologize for the probably infantile questions; please bear with me! I would hugely appreciate any response. Thanks!
 

chscag

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I just looked over the manual for the DWA-130 and I can find nothing that shows or states that it's supported for Mac OS X. It looks like it's a Windows only adapter, but I can't be sure from what I read.

I found a LINK to the DWA-130 user forums. Perhaps you can find something on there to help. It looks like there are topics about using it on a Mac.
 

Slydude

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I am currently using For only $9.75 each when QTY 50+ purchased - Mini USB Wireless Lan 802.11N Adapter - 1T1R (150Mbps) | USB Network Adapters - Wireless this adapter and it works quite well. It does have a software driver but that seems to work well with OS X. I did have to do a little poking around to find the most recent driver update though.

I also have a similar device that I do not like as much from Newer Technology. For some reason if I have to restart the Mac it wants me to re-enter the network name and password. Normally this would be a minor inconvenience but the Mac I am using it on is almost headless and has no keyboard attached.
 
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Thanks everyone! I was indeed suspicious about the D-Link router but the fellow at Office Depot assured me. :( I have also tried the Linksys AE1000, mentioned previously, with no luck - the same problem as with the D-Link. I don't suppose I'm doing anything wrong there?

I have ordered the AfterTheMac adapter, so hopefully that will solve the problem. Thanks for the suggestions.
 
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Ask Sly what he did with the other 49 USB adapters. Might be able o get one cheap?
 
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Okay, I got the AfterTheMac adapter today and am quite pleased with it - it has good support and step-by-step instructions for the clueless like me - except I have the exact same problem. The computer does not even register that I've plugged in a device (neither does the adapter light up), even if I check under Network in System Preferences. The USB ports definitely work and I've tried it in all of them. I've never had this problem with a USB device before so I don't know what to do. How can I get the computer to recognize it?
 

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