Need Wifi USB adapter? for desktop

[Steve40th]

Wife got kids a used desktop from her work. Dell, Optiplex 7010 Intel i5 3470 cpu, Windows 7 Professional.
She is going to let the grand kids use it, but it needs a wifi adapter to allow video streaming netflix, disney plus etc.
Wifi at the house is 250Mbs, solid.. Desktop has no blue 3.0 usb ports. Just black ones.
50 feet away from modem router combo from Spectrum cable company.
Any recommendations? Internal to board or stick in USB port type?
Thnx

 

[OzarkEdge]

Wife got kids a used desktop from her work. Dell, Optiplex 7010 Intel i5 3470 cpu, Windows 7 Professional.
She is going to let the grand kids use it, but it needs a wifi adapter to allow video streaming netflix, disney plus etc.
Wifi at the house is 250Mbs, solid.. Desktop has no blue 3.0 usb ports. Just black ones.
50 feet away from modem router combo from Spectrum cable company.
Any recommendations? Internal to board or stick in USB port type?
Thnx

Have you opened the case to determine there is no mini wireless card installed with a couple of antenna wires attached to it.

Can you wire it, at least initially to prove it worthwhile, to save investing in a EOL Win7 machine and finding a Win7 compatible wireless adapter?

OE

 

[Steve40th]

Hey, I opened it up and it has no mini wireless card in there.
It runs great. I can wire anything that needs to be wired..
I know its at the EOL. Its a free desktop for the kids..

 

[cptnoblivious]

It's a free desktop that has no support for it's OS and is not getting security patches.

I'd suggest getting it on the network and installing win10 for free (you still can) or installing an easy to use Linux Distro (like Mint) before letting kids connect to the internet on it

Then base the need for a USB card on the final OS (not Win7)

My $0.02

 

[Steve40th]

It's a free desktop that has no support for it's OS and is not getting security patches.

I'd suggest getting it on the network and installing win10 for free (you still can) or installing an easy to use Linux Distro (like Mint) before letting kids connect to the internet on it

Then base the need for a USB card on the final OS (not Win7)

My $0.02

W10 for free, I honestly thought that was done. Can you assist in that?

 

[cptnoblivious]

Sure, I know how to google

How To Upgrade To Windows 10 For ‘Free’ In 2020 [Updated]

Want a free Windows 10 upgrade in 2020? This is how you do it...

www.forbes.com

There you go

 

[Steve40th]

Sure, I know how to google

How To Upgrade To Windows 10 For ‘Free’ In 2020 [Updated]

Want a free Windows 10 upgrade in 2020? This is how you do it...

www.forbes.com

There you go

Too funny, same page I am on now. I googled after you informed me. I am going to give it a shot. Thnx

 

[cptnoblivious]

Too funny, same page I am on now. I googled after you informed me. I am going to give it a shot. Thnx

Glad you got it sorted and are putting on an OS that will get security patches.

FWIW, I 'upgraded' a 9 year old I3 to Win10 at the beginning of 2020, a weekend before support ran out. I didn't experience any noticable slow down (I mean, it was slow before and after, but not appreciably worse).

I think your i5 should do fine

Good luck!

Edit to add: Though I'm dualbooting it with Linux Mint now, and it runs great on that!

 

[Steve40th]

Thnx again . I do appreciate it. I may upgrade my old laptop too, as it will be the stand by soon...

 

[L&LD]

I would not get any PCIe adaptors nor any USB type ones either. Just buy the cheapest router you can get your hands on that you can use in Media Bridge mode. Done.

 

[Steve40th]

Hey, Thnx everyone. It took Window 10 pro without a glitch.. Activated itself.. Dang.. Cant thank you enough.

 

[cptnoblivious]

There you go! Glad it worked out

 

[cptnoblivious]

@Steve40th one more note: If you want to do a clean install, now that it's registered, you should even be able to do a fresh install of win10 if you need to. Though I haven't personally tried that, generally wanted to keep the softwear I had on the systems...

 

[Steve40th]

My wifes company gave her this and there was nothing on it.. Just OS, no apps, only IE browser... It sat since 2018. When I got it today, I did a windows update and it did everything and installed quite a few updates.
Then , when you all suggested W10, I did it and it was installed and is running great.

 

[L&LD]

@cptnoblivious, that is correct.

I would do it just to make sure that any issues are the computer's and its drivers, not the upgrade itself.

Download Windows 10 (microsoft.com)

Plugin a USB without any files you want to keep on it and click on the 'Download tool now' button.

Follow the steps to create a bootable USB drive and clean install away! The resulting install will be faster and less buggy by far, even if it seems to be working fine today.

 

[noah way]

Gohawking.com for usb WiFi network adapters.