Neta 980 Lost its Mind

BTW, I don't recommend extracting the CAB files and renaming them in the case of drivers like this, unless there is no alternative that works. I normally do this with applications only, and even then avoid it if there are lots of embedded files (apart from the tedious work of renaming all of them, there's nothing to tell you if some of them belong in a subfolder inside the application's folder).

Damn. Ok... I can execute the cab files now where I couldn't before. There is an A and a B cab file. These were downloaded from the cisco site which indicated these were specifically for the aironet 350 wifi card and for ce .net 4.1 however when either cab file is initiated the error msg I get is "The application is not supported for this device type, and may not work correctly on this device. Do you wish to continue installation?" I continue... and goes through the install... then looks to immediately de-install the files as the cisco directory created under program files is empty at the end.

Well... I have determined that the files are actually on the unit... they just don't show up in the start menu even tho they ARE where they need to be in the \windows\start menu\programs\cisco directory. The cisco folder shows up in the start menu... but the exe files do not show... I can go to the directory in explorer and find the executables... and attemp to start them but I get the "cannon find 'acu' (or one of it's components)" message. This goes for any of the 5 exe's located there.

Make sure you've added aygshell.dll and doclist.dll to that Aironet folder (or to \Windows) and try opening the Aironet utility by double-tapping on ACU.exe directly. (Make sure that you have "Show all files" checked under View -> Options in Windows Explorer on the Airpanel, so you can confirm that the DLLs are there.)

Edited by CE Geek 2008-12-29 9:10 PM

Ok.... the two files were lost when I had to pull battery to restart unit when attempted install hung the unit. Put them back in the windows directory and I can now run all the executables. Now I only need to figure out how to set up the profile. The drivers are apparently speaking to the aironet card as I can pull up the statistics and see activity.

So.... here goes trying to actually set up a profile for the ssid desired.

You've been great help CE.... will keep on this and see if I can overcome what looks to be the last hurdle for network connectivity.

Ok... it looks as tho when a profile is created... the default property fields are not created... i.e. ssid, wep, client name, etc. The property listing is completely empty. So it looks like I need to probably try to reconstruct this in the registry I assume.

Sounds like it. Weird, though, that it doesn't save them in the registry.

Would appear that the properties, perhaps the profile itself, is not being created in the registry..... I assume that most of these will be DWORD entries... I have no way of knowing however. Would be nice to see a registry entry listing from another who is using the aironet card so I can recreate it by hand.

Edited by hdokes 2008-12-29 10:35 PM

This is interesting. I have discovered that the software is creating the profiles in the registry WITH the full list of properties.... so it would appear that when using the client utility it is not pulling those properties from the registry. Going to hand enter some values and see what happens.

No luck forcing values into the registry. It is clear that the client utility is not reading from the registry. Back to the drawing board. I wonder if the native cisco drivers could be interfering here... no idea what files comprise the originals so don't know what to remove otherwise.

I did manage to find a docking station for the ap100 and it should be here in a few days. Paid a bit more than I desired ($99.00 plus shipping) but man these things are far and few between.... figured I better jump on this while I had the chance to.

I've never tried a true crossover cable with my Neta. Those cables (at least the ones I am familiar with) have some logic circuits. With that you most likely would have to deal with possible driver issues.

I am going to try to attach a poor picture of a Neta USB cable.






CE Geek - Here is a link to 4.1 Solitaire. I think all you have to do is unzip the files in your \Windows folder and create a shortcut. (However, its been several years and I haven't reread the thread. (So I don't really know for sure.) Let me know if this doesn't work and I'll try again.
Link to CE.Net 4.1 Solitaire

Perfect! Thanx, David G!

Where'd you find the Airpanel dock, hdokes? I've been looking high and low for one with no luck.

Hey CE, I found one here in the mid west at a small time computer store a friend of mine owns. It is possible that there may be a second unit available to. If so I'll keep you in mind. Given the scarcity of these things it's highly likely that the price will be the same that I paid as well as it is from the same source I got mine.

You are welcome!


Y'all may want to hold off on buying a the cradle for a couple of days if you can. I may be selling some (or all) of my Neta 980 stuff.

Note: I still use my Neta 3 or more times a week as an e-book reader. It has been great in this capacity for 4 years.

My unit has been having problems with it's charging circuit for well over a year. Now it appears to have totally bit the dust. (I haven't fully ruled out bad batteries - I have 2 batteries and neither is charging correctly.)

I am thinking of selling my docking station (with a charger) to help finance a new battery if I can locate one.

The reason for not posting this in hpcBay is that I don't quite know what to do at this point. If you or any of the other guys are interested in the cradle let me know via direct contact.

David, I'll swap an unused Airpanel 100 battery for the cradle. I'll even through in the USB keyboard from my v110.