Guide: Turn your Killer E2200 NIC into Qualcomm Atheros AR8161

[mtrai]

the problem was the killer driver for some ppl, not everyone had trouble with the software, that's what i experienced myself.

I understand...but the new drivers with or without the package no longer cause me any issues...it has been updates about a half dozen time. The issue way back was we could not get the driver without the full network manager software. My understanding was for most people the issue came with the killer suite network manger.

But anyhow the new website and offering not only new killer suite but also a stand alone driver was a finally a smart move. The new killer suite by the way runs smooth on win 10 TP. I do use both from time to time. If I need to check network usage I will install the suite...right now just running the driver. It is nice they finally gave us a choice

Though honestly I could seem to detect a difference between using the drivers from the OP and using the stand alone drivers from Killer. The one thing I could not figure out was that there is a small linux "box" with the killer e2200 built in and could not figure out how to test it and understand what that Linux kernal actually does.

 

[Pill Monster]

Fwiw u can find new Atheros drivers at station-drivers.... I have TP link WLAN card with Archer C7 chip, same as Atheros/Qualcomm.

I haven't had many driver issues but I did get 2 bsod's just lately, one with the .314 set in W7 and another while testing Windows 10 in VMware........

It was from some Qualcomm app left over after uninstall. lol I heard a few people had problems with the killerlan software

 

[g7394381]

Can someone tell me if I have been infected :

C:\Users\User\AppData\Local

there is a zero byte file called Driver_LOM_8161Present.flag

anyone else with the Killer network adapters have this or just me?

 

[remixedcat]

"Killer" and another company that won't be named tarnish the Atheros name

 

[Siju John]

Does this work on windows 10? I tried this but the name didn't change for the card.

 

[Shou Miko]

Does this work on windows 10? I tried this but the name didn't change for the card.

I haven't tried it on Windows 10, and as far as I can see Atheros haven't released a officiel driver for it.

I am not planning about my rig with Windows 10, I will do that when i get Skylake so can't really test it out sry,

 

[Primus Pilus]

Hi!!! I tried it in windows 10, and works perfectly. Everything works fine. Now I'm going to try to return to the new driver of killer, only to test.
My rig: Gigabyte Z97X Gaming Gt, i7 4790k, 16 Gb ram, 500 gb ssd, 2Tb Hd. Gigabyte GTX 780 Ti (2) SLI

 

[terroralpha]

i specifically avoid motherboards that try to push proprietary trash like this. they can write whatever BS they want on their boxes but i know for a fact that nothing beats an Intel made NIC.

 

[remixedcat]

i specifically avoid motherboards that try to push proprietary trash like this. they can write whatever BS they want on their boxes but i know for a fact that nothing beats an Intel made NIC.

Intel wireless is really good as well. highest performers are Intel and Broadcom based adapters

 

[Siju John]

Hi!!! I tried it in windows 10, and works perfectly. Everything works fine. Now I'm going to try to return to the new driver of killer, only to test.
My rig: Gigabyte Z97X Gaming Gt, i7 4790k, 16 Gb ram, 500 gb ssd, 2Tb Hd. Gigabyte GTX 780 Ti (2) SLI

Which driver did you use for windows 10?

 

[remixedcat]

Also note with this the chipset for ATHEROS is ARxxxx and for QUALCOMM Aheros is QCAxxxxx

 

[comfytoday]

Which driver did you use for windows 10?

I managed to get this working with the listed V2.1.0.21 driver on Windows 10.

I had to first delete the device from Device manager, and uninstall the driver when it asks. Otherwise the Killer driver stayed installed no matter what I tried.

I haven't been able to rid my system of all the Killer stuff yet, but at least the card is working now.

FWIW I'm using a Gigabyte GA-Z97X Gaming 5 motherboard.

(Qualcomm® Atheros Killer E2201 LAN chip (10/100/1000 Mbit)

Thanks for the guide.

 

[Siju John]

I managed to get this working with the listed V2.1.0.21 driver on Windows 10.

I had to first delete the device from Device manager, and uninstall the driver when it asks. Otherwise the Killer driver stayed installed no matter what I tried.

I haven't been able to rid my system of all the Killer stuff yet, but at least the card is working now.

FWIW I'm using a Gigabyte GA-Z97X Gaming 5 motherboard.

(Qualcomm® Atheros Killer E2201 LAN chip (10/100/1000 Mbit)

Thanks for the guide.

Still trying to figure out what steps you took. So I deleted the driver and then tried to install the legacy driver and it wouldn't show up. Every time I try to update the killer it goes back to being the killer.

 

[comfytoday]

Still trying to figure out what steps you took. So I deleted the driver and then tried to install the legacy driver and it wouldn't show up. Every time I try to update the killer it goes back to being the killer.

Basically I right click on the Killer Network Adapter in Device manager > Uninstall > Check the box to DELETE driver for this device

Then you won't have a relevant network adapter listed. So you have to add a new device, and I just followed the instructions listed in this thread... does that help?

 

[simont]

I had huge problems and after 2 days of trying around I think I found the problem why PING always worked but Skype/Dropbox didn't (I've cut the GIF, in fact it took 30s+ until Skype/Dropbox reconnected):

 

[Siju John]

Basically I right click on the Killer Network Adapter in Device manager > Uninstall > Check the box to DELETE driver for this device

Then you won't have a relevant network adapter listed. So you have to add a new device, and I just followed the instructions listed in this thread... does that help?

Well I was able to delete it but the problem came with the next part. I went to add legacy hardware, tried to go through it manual and when it came to the have disk part i put in the right folder but the Models don't show up so i can't pick anything. the only option is to go back.

 

[comfytoday]

Well I was able to delete it but the problem came with the next part. I went to add legacy hardware, tried to go through it manual and when it came to the have disk part i put in the right folder but the Models don't show up so i can't pick anything. the only option is to go back.

Did you choose "Let me pick from a list of device drivers on my computer"?
Not the search for drivers in this location at the top....

 

[Siju John]

Did you choose "Let me pick from a list of device drivers on my computer"?
Not the search for drivers in this location at the top....

Yes. I don't understand what is going wrong.

 

[TheGuruStud]

Intel wireless is really good as well. highest performers are Intel and Broadcom based adapters

I hope that was a joke. I can't tell...

Newest killer drivers fixed the memory leak and driver stability issues even with their service running.

 

[remixedcat]

what issues did you have with intel and bcm?

 

[TheGuruStud]

what issues did you have with intel and bcm?

BCM is fine. There's the famous Intel centrino wifi that just randomly drops connection frequently. Intel promised a driver fix forever, but couldn't deliver b/c it's a hardware issue. They never owned up to it. Also, their reception has been atrocious for as long as I can remember.

The drivers have been buggy even for new AC chips.

If it's not an wired ethernet adapter, I don't want it from them.

 

[remixedcat]

what centrino model?

 

[TheGuruStud]

what centrino model?

Google tells me 2230. That sounds right from what I remember.

Atheros wireless has always been great for me. I just make sure to install the latest driver and haven't seen any issues.

I wonder if they used those Intel WiFi chips in macbook pros back then. I've seen those crash under load.

Guess what cheapo chip works every time...realtek lol

 

[Freezer]

I had huge problems and after 2 days of trying around I think I found the problem why PING always worked but Skype/Dropbox didn't (I've cut the GIF, in fact it took 30s+ until Skype/Dropbox reconnected):

The application UI is horrible! Developers need to stay way from these types of childish and unprofessional designed apps. They need to learn that they do not provide anything but wasted space on the desktop, besides that start developing a UI that is CLEAN and professional like Intel tools, much like the Intel NIC driver control panel.

Killer NIC's are nothing but hogwash and as someone said epeen marketing.

Intel NIC's are by far superiror than any on the market, it's not a "fanboy-ish" statement, but a fact. Intel fully documents their hardware, software, and support channels... not only excellent support. No other company follows suite.

 

[Xiphos]

I'd like to report the atheros AR8161 driver kinda works for Windows 10 x64. It works, but when loading webpages, there is noticeable lag. like a second or two before it loads webpages.

I tried killer suite v1.1.55.1538 and only big name sites loads; such as facebook and youtube will load with bandwidth control enabled. If I disable bandwidth control, all webpages will load. However upon reboot bandwidth control is enabled again, and I have to manually disable it.

then I tried Standard Drivers (no Killer features) and everything works perfectly. Pages loads right away, no lag.

My motherboard MSI Z87-GD65 has the Killer E2200 ethernet adapter.