Belkin F5D5050 USB to 10/100 Ethernet Adaptor - Networking
by Belkin Components
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List Price: Category: CE See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Belkin F5D5050 USB to 10/100 Ethernet Adaptor - Networking
Customer Review: Replace the motherboard?!! Nah!! Just get this!
Summary: 5 Stars
When a storm fried my ethernet port, the Mac forums I researched said you'd have to replace the motherboard to fix it. That, of course, would mean a ridiculous amount of money.
Fortunately, I found an article that recommended this under-$30 device. To make it work with Mac OSX, it explained, you'd just need to download the free Pegasus USB-to-Ethernet driver (found at sourceforge, among others).
Well, I got it today, plugged it in, and at first it didn't pull up an IP address. I called my ISP and went through a couple of simple steps -- something involving a manual setting in my network -- and soon up popped those beautiful IP address numbers. Who knows -- it might have just taken the modem a minute to figure it out and the settings I fiddled with might not have done anything. Point is, it worked with minor hassle.
What a relief! Great product at a great price. (Would be even better if it came with the Mac software/driver - we're not Untouchable Fringe People, you know, Belkin!) ;)
***ADDENDUM: When I upgraded to OS 10.5.6 several months later, the adapter continued to work for a couple of weeks and then it got futzy. It wouldn't work until I unplugged it and replugged it in -- every time I turned the computer on, I'd have to do this.
I was going to buy a replacement but first searched the net to see if this had happened to anyone else. I'm glad I did -- it turns out it *was* related to the upgrade, and a fix was available in the Apple support/discussion forums.
Again, Belkin: Please make your great product more Mac-friendly! One shouldn't have to jerryrig the software to get it to work.
Customer Review: Gets the Job Done
Summary: 5 Stars
I needed an ethernet adapter in order to log on to an employer's network from home, because their server could not read my DHCP with the cable I was using. The Belkin F5D5050 was among those recommended for this purpose.
I used Super Saver shipping and received the Belkin in the mail much sooner than I was expecting, as it shipped the very next day after I ordered it (way to go Amazon). The item was in perfect condition in packaging that was easy to unwrap.
Setting up the adapter was as simple as plugging it into a USB port and hooking it up to the router. My laptop recognized the manufacturer instantly and created drivers without me having to open the wizard. One thing to note is that the drivers that automatically install are for Windows XP, but this model does have an update available to make it compliant with Vista, you just have to download it from Belkin's website. There is a little bit eyestrain involved in locating the correct driver update, but once you've found it, downloading is a snap.
The adapter did precisely what I purchased it to do, and for general purposes it works much better than the setup I was using before, which is a nice bonus. I'm very pleased with this purchase and would recommend it to others looking for an adapter for similar reasons.
Customer Review: 1 Stars
My netbook's Ethernet port stopped working and it isn't really worth the hassle to send it in. But since I sometimes use the netbook to configure network devices and wanted a way to move large files at a reasonable speed so I needed a hardwired port. I bought one of these after seeing that the overall reviews were good. I should have read further as it was a big disappointment. First, the thing is huge--I've used a travel mouse in the past that is about the same size. Second, this device is USB 1.1 and finally there's no Windows 7 driver available. I was, after much effort, able to install it using the Vista driver available from Belkin. My reward was whopping 5Mbps transfers. I realize that the USB 2.0 standard has only been out a scant 10 years so I guess its unreasonable to expect something would use 2.0.I then bought a Linksys USB300M which I received today. The UPS driver was barely out of my driveway before I had it installed and testing shows the 90Mbps transfers that I'm accustomed to with a hardwired network connection. And the Linksys is just big enough to hold the connector so it won't take up any room in my bag.
Customer Review: This gadget saved me almost $280!
Summary: 5 Stars
My daughter's HP DV6226US notebook was plugged into our router/hub when lightning struck the cable box in our community. While the router came out unscathed, the Motorola cable modem, Netgear hub, my son's desktop PC and my daughter's HP notebook all sustained damage. All but the notebook were a total loss. On the notebook, the built-in ethernet adapter took the hit and stopped working. Although the wireless continued to work fine, that would be little help when she returned to school in the fall and connect to the cable in her dorm room. As the 1 year warranty on the notebook expired in February 2008, HP wanted $300 to repair it. Before committing to the repair, I decided to try the Belkin F5D5050 as I had used one previously on an old laptop and it worked fine. After downloading the Vista drivers from the Belkin website, the Belkin ehternet adaptor came to life! The money I saved on this fix will be put towards a new notebook for her maybe next year.Customer Review: This item works just as promised - great
Summary: 5 Stars
When a recent lightning storm came thru I thought all my equipment made it thru okay - I just lost a few light bulbs. But when I could not get online I found my network port was dead. I had the choice of putting in a network card but all the slots were used so I started looking for somthing else to fix my problem.
A USB to Ethernet Adaptor was just the answer. When I searched and came up with a Belkin product I felt safe in trying. I was not dissapointed. It installed with just a plug in and was able to be back on line in minutes. All I had to do was add this device as a network connetion and I was up and running.
This adaptor shows no compromise from the built in port I was using before. It fixed my problem and I was back to work. It did just what it advertizes and no installations issues. I trust the Belkin name and was fully satisfied. I would recommend this for a fix over installing a network card.