usb network adapter not recognised by windows

Question

i have a usb stick which you plug into a computer and then it gives you 3G internet access. The stick is working fine and works on another old laptop i have, but on my new laptop when i plug it in nothing happens.

What should happen is when you plug it in, it will ask if you want to install the software needed to use it. I had it working on my new laptop but then i uninstalled the software. Now, if i plug it in nothing happens, it doesn't ask if i want to install the software. Other usb devices work however.

Is there anything i can do? Thanks.

Answer 1

You probably need some special drivers for this 3G stick (so that your computer knows what the device is and how to use it properly). Did any disk come with it? If so then insert this disk and if there are any install options on this then do it as it's likely you'll need this for it to work. Otherwise you could just google the model of your 3G stick + "driver" and try and download and install a driver from online.

Answer 2

Normally the more recent USB 3G sticks have the required files stored on them. When it is plugged in you should see a removable drive in the My Computer window I think. Have a look for a file on that drive called AutoRun.inf and open it. There should be the name of an executable which you need to run. If there is no AutoRun.inf then just look for something along the lines of Setup.exe

Note that on some 3G sticks the installer can be disabled after the drivers have been installed so you might not be able to do this.

Answer 3

I use one of these and my USB stick came with a separate USB drive that contained the driver. By and large you should be able to find the drivers from the service provider, but you might also want to try this, just in case: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/Update-a-driver-for-hardware-that-isnt-working-properly