I find this very odd. I recently installed Ubuntu Linux to an older PC (I installed over Win 2000) & had no problems connecting to the internet. Now I install Win 7 on this same PC but on a different HDD & cannot connect. If I reset the boot order & go into Ubuntu the internet works like a charm. Re-boot to Win7 & still nothing.I checked the device manager & it says it needs a driver. On another PC I download a zip file with the driver for Netgear FA311. Now I try to install it in Win 7 but the oldest OS offered is Win 2000!It would seem this would be as simple as it is in Ubuntu. LAN connections have been around a long time. Am I overlooking something? What now?

http://mxdtr.com/index.php/netgear-fa311-rtl8139-driver-xp-vista-download/I found a site that says the Vista driver will work in Win 7. After installing, I still cannot get the driver updated. Can this be force installed?

You may try the following method. 1. Download Windows Vista 32bit driver from the website, and unzip the folder Install_Vista_6110_1031 to Desktop.2. Launch "Device Manager". Expand "Unknown device", right-click on the entry under it and click Update Drive Software. 2. Click "Browse my computer for driver software" 3. Choose "Let me pick from a list of device drivers on my computer". 4. Please check the option Show compatible hardware. Then click Have Disk.5. Click Browse and locate to the following path C:\Users\[user name]\Desktop\Install_Vista_6110_1031\WINVISTA\32\NetrtOEM.inf Click Open. Click OK. 6. Follow the instructions to finish the installation. Hope it helps.Arthur Xie - MSFT

Arthur, I appreciate your help; but please tell me where on earth does one find the official Vista driver other than Google? Really, have you ever tried to find something like this at Microsoft? Every search I make @ Microsoft gives me all the possible info on Wireless Network cards & other needless information I could want for a lifetime. And then Microsoft wants to validate my system before downloading! Have you every tried this from Linux PC: the other half of my dual boot system that the intenet is working on? So, even if I could download, it wouldn't let me. I was @ Radio Shack yesterday looking @ LAN cards & what do I find on the shelf but a Netgear FA311 card. It's still current, not obsolite, & Win7 can't use it. It shouldn't be this difficult! http://mxdtr.com/index.php/netgear-fa311-rtl8139-driver-xp-vista-download/ This site says it have the current Vista drive for the FA311. They ARE certified as good. I installed as you suggested but still cannot access the net! Sorry for the rant but I've worked with 3 days without progress! What's next? George

It has indicated that the device is Windows 7 compatible, so the latest Windows Vista driver should work. The problem is that you may not have correctly replaced the incompatible driver. Therefore, I suggest that you follow the above steps to manually upgrade the driver in order to completely replace the old driver.Arthur Xie - MSFT

I think I've found the problem. My Ethernet card is Netgear FA311 v1 . It doesn't say v1 but it is because it uses a National Semiconductor chip rather than a Realtek RTL8139, which is used with v2 & compatible with Vista. National Semiconductor never made a Vista driver for the FA311 v1 version. Looks like I'm up the creek without a paddle. I'm not going to buy new hardware. This is a RC & who knows what else will fail?