Windows XP won't boot with Linksys

[technoob13]

Windows XP Pro SP1
Intel PIII 500 Mhz processor
Intel manufactured SE440BX-2 motherboard
w/builtin - Audio, 2 USB ports, 2 Serial Ports, 1 Parallel port, 1 Game/MIDI port
(latest BIOS update P17)
256MB RAM
ATI Rage-128 PCI graphics card 16MB
10GB harddrive
CD/DVD-ROM, PS/2 Keyboard & Mouse
No other hardware installed
No other software loaded

It boots fine and doesn't lock up.

After inserting a Linksys Wireless-G (WMP54g) network card, Windows locks up on boot. I get to the desktop and that is it. It freezes and will not continue. In safe mode (with or without network support), I have the same problem.

The instructions for the card instruct you to insert the card first before installing the drivers in Windows XP. In fact, you can not install the drivers prior to inserting the card if you wanted to because the setup will not work that way in XP.

I have tried setting the motherboard to PnP and non-PnP operating system, but neither worked. I inserted the card in a different slot and that didn't help.

Nothing on Microsoft, Intel, or Linksys website gave me any info on this problem. Searching the internet with Google yielded no results either.

Please, help me if you can. If you have run into this problem yourself or have any suggestions, please let me know.

Thanks,
Technoob13

[Telexen]

Do you have ANY other network device installed on the system? The first thing I would do is boot without the wireless card, then uninstall any network device you have - then shut down and remove/disable (for onboard) those devices, then try installign the wireless.

[technoob13]

There are no other network adapters installed or built in to the motherboard. Also, there are no network adapters in the Device Manager. This is a totally new install of Windows XP after the drive was formatted.

It seems to be hanging right where you would normally see the found new hardware message starting but that is just conjecture.

Thanks,
Technoob12

[technoob13]

There are no other network adapters installed or built in to the motherboard. Also, there are no network adapters in the Device Manager. This is a totally new install of Windows XP after the drive was formatted.

It seems to be hanging right where you would normally see the found new hardware message starting but that is just conjecture.

Thanks,
Technoob12

[AzKidd69]

do you have access to another box you can put the card into just to see if the OS will recognize the card, and not cause issues??

it's entirely possible the card is toast...