thanks AlbertLionHeart and tipstir. I checked other posts about the same problem and found one that mentions the prior install of the card like tipstir mentions, and I did do that. however, this was as per the instructions with the unit, so now I'm really confused. the instructions call for installing the card, then when the found new hardware wizard appears, insert the provided driver and utility cd-rom. after loading the driver, you load the utility. once the driver and utility, you're supposed to configure the wireless adapter. when this screen comes up it shows "card unplugged" and that's the end of that. should I try installing the driver first? one of the other posts mentions uninstalling the drivers, including cleaning out the registry and start menu. should I try that? thanks again for your help, it's much appreciated.