WiFi adapter not detecting WLAN network(s)

[Shady Cat]

Hello People of the Internet,

As the title says: I ordered a Realtek WLAN usb dongle
( Realtek RTL8192EU WLAN 802.11n USB 2.0 ) for a friend to -as you've probably guessed- help him surf the internet.
the laptop we (read I) am trying to connect, is an Acer Extensa 5630EZ Running Win7 (was built for Win Vista)
Had a pretty hard time finding a Driver for this baby (cd was not working properly) since this product is not acknowledged by the company. i managed to  find the original .ISO image file and thus extracted and install the driver.

My problem is simple (sarcasm )
While all was working just fine before, i now have to restart the system and wait for circa 10 minutes for the networks to show
(i have another laptop just next to it which works fine) then when they finally show up i still can't connect! 

If you have any idea what this could be or need any further details feel free to spam the comment section :p

Thanks in advance

Shady

[Geek-9pm]

The best solution is try another Wi-Fi adapter. Some models of Wi-Fi adapters have chip sets that are not fully supported in all regions of the world. Possibly you have acquired a chip set made by Realtek that was not intended for use in this market.
In any case, using a Wi-Fi adapter from a different supplier should solve the problem.
Presently, Wi-Fi to USB adapters are low-cost items. You do not need to buy $30 adapters, the ones that sell for $15 will work just as good for most situations in a home environment.

[Shady Cat]

thank you for your reply

Please explain your thought about these chipsets not being compatible? how do they work? what exactly makes them incompatible?

I know i could just buy a new one buuuuuut i am not like that. i have a problem and i don't want the easy solution. the easy way is the dumb way

[Geek-9pm]

Here is my way of reasoning. I have been in the electronics business for years and years and have seen how the industry has both standards and non-compliance to standards.
Here is some recent info to consider:
List of Wi-Fi Chipset Vendors
The Market Landscape of Key WiFi Semiconductor Vendors
Chipset vendors fight to stand out

Of curse,  Wi-Fi chips are not as complex as smartphone chips. Still, they compete for the best market share worldwide. Wi-Fi standards can a d do vary by region. So just slight differences in design my have a competitive advantage. Some makers are reluctant to offer free downloads o the drivers needed for Windows  PCs. The driver software is only available on a CD for a certain region and it is included in the package.

Here are some random Realtek
RTL8188SU - Realtek
Rtl8187l - Realtek
RTL8192CU - Realtek
realtek 3070 wifi chip
RTL8187SE
Realtek RTL8723BU chipset
Realtek RTL8187L Chipset

Finding the best driver for each chip can be a tough job. Some might be the same. To make things worse, some chips may look like a chip made by Reltek but coul be a pirate company. And the pirate chip might work almost the same.
Here is a video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mG-FbBl9dJI
Not a good video, but see the sidebar for others videos about the same issue.

Sop I would buy a Wi-Fi adapter  from a vendor who offers refund and/or support.

[Shady Cat]

Thank you for the large amount of info.
I'll keep the adapter so i can toy around with it. after all my question is always "what can i make this do" 
i'll tell my friend to get another adapter.

Thank you for your time

Shady

[Geek-9pm]

You are welcome.