I read all the feedback on this item before I bought it and was aware of software/driver problems with negear adapters so I downloaded and installed the latest driver without bothering with the CD included. During the install I chose to use windows to set up the network and managed to get this working although it was a bit of a fiddle.
Initially i had a lot of problems with the explorer not connecting to the internet despite excellent reception. Eventually I realised the problem was being caused by Netgear's Smart Wizard which was added to the "Start up" list of programmes. This seemed to be interferring with XP wireless network. Once I turned it off everything was fine and has not caused problems since.