Make sure you have uninstalled any existing drivers or software you have installed for this specific Belkin adapter. As there is no Windows 7 driver from Belkin yet at the time of writing, this shouldn't be a problem.
Step one. Visit the Ralink website:
Head to the “Software” page, and on the Windows page download the “USB (RT2870 /RT2770 /RT307X /RT2070 /RT3572/3370)” driver (currently dated 12/01/2009). This driver package includes drivers for Windows 2000, XP 32 & 64-bit, Vista 32 & 64-bit and Windows 7 32 & 64-bit.
Step two. Right-click the installation file and set the Compatibility Mode to “Windows XP SP2”. This step is required, as the Windows 7 drivers do not contain the “PSP Xlink Mode” option in the Advanced settings of your network adapter. The drivers installed when the installer is in compatibility mode still function properly under Windows 7 64-bit.
Step three. Run the installer (now set for XP SP2 compatibility).
- Click the “I accept the terms of the license agreement” radio button and click Next. - When asked “Choose to install…”, select the “Install driver only” radio button and click Next. - Click Install. - Wait for the “InstallShield Wizard Complete” dialogue box to appear. - Click Finish.
Step four. Insert your Belkin F5D8053 N wireless USB adapter into a powered USB port on your computer. Given the size of its casing potentially obstructing other nearby USB ports, you may want to use the stand that comes with it.
You should get a notification from Windows 7 saying drivers were NOT successfully installed.
Step five. Go the Windows “Control Panel” and open up “Device Manager”. Under the category “Other devices” will be “F5D8053 N Wireless USB Adapter” with a yellow triangle and black exclamation point (warning symbol) next to it. Right click the F5D8053 adapter and select “Update Driver Software…”
Step six. When asked “How do you want to search for driver software?”, select “Browse my computer for driver software. On the following screen, select “Let me pick from a list of device drivers on my computer”.
From the “Select your device's type from the list below” listing, select “Network adapters” and click Next.
From the “Manufacturer”, select “Ralink Technology, Corp.” [DO NOT SELECT “Ralink Technology Corp.” Make sure to select the one WITH the 'comma' in the manufacturer name.] From the “Network Adapter” list, select “802.11n USB Wireless LAN Card (Ralink Technology, Corp.)”. Click Next.
You will receive a dialogue box titled “Update Driver Warning” stating “Installing this device driver is not recommmended because Windows cannot verify that it is compatible with your hardware. If the driver is no compatible, your hardware will not work correctly and your computer might become unstable or stop working completely. Do you want to continue installing this driver?” Click Yes.
Windows will beep a few times and the blue light on the Belkin adapter should flash. You will receive a dialogue stating “Windows has successfully updated your driver software” for the device “802.11n USB Wireless LAN Card”. Click Close.
“802.11n USB Wireles LAN Card” will now appear under “Network adapters” in the “Device Manager”. (It is possible that the device may have a number after it depending on how often you've installed/uninstalled the drivers and didn't take the time to clear out any leftover registry entries afterward. This is not harmful.)
As an aside, if you just want to use the adapter as a Wireless N adapter on Windows 7 and not specifically for Xlink Kai, you can stop here. Otherwise, keep going.
Step seven. Right-click “802.11n USB Wireless LAN Card” and click Properties. Select the “Advanced” tab. From the “Property” list, select “PSP Xlink Mode”. From the “Value” dropdown list, change the entry from “Disable” to “Enable”. Click OK. Close the “Device Manager”.
Step eight. Next, access the Xlink Kai Configuration Tool. Under the “Network Settings” section, from the “Network Adapter” dropdown list select the “802.11n USB Wireless LAN Card”. Check/enable the “Enable PAT” and “Follow PSP SSID” from the Packet Capture Engine section.
Step nine. Configure your PSP's “Ad Hoc Mode” from its “Network Settings” to operate on “Ch 1” instead of Automatic.
Step ten. Run Kai.
