Streaming music from your computer speakers wirelessly via wi-fi sounds like a great idea and it is but if you purchased a Linksys WMB54G and tried setting it up on your Vista machine, chances are you gave up and threw the device out the window. Thanks to Google and some trial and error, I figured out how to get this "non-Vista" device working on a Vista computer.
It's amazing to me that Linksys didn't make this device Vista compatible but I am not here to write about that. Instead, I will show you step by step how to get this wireless music bridge to work on your computer.
1. Throw the CD that came with the unit out! If you happen to run the software on your computer, you will have more problems than you can image.
IMPORTANT - The utility program is registry heavy so if you installed the old version that came on the CD, you will most likely have issues even if you UN-install it and install the new version. I had to do a system restore and restored my system prior to installing the original utility program.
2. Go to Linksys Drivers and download
XP, Vista Setup Wizard (XP and Vista) Ver.2.18
XP, Vista Firmware (XP and Vista) Ver.2.18
3. Connect the wireless music bridge directly into the Ethernet port of your computer - NOT into your router (you will loose Internet connection unless you are using wireless so print this page in case you need to come back to these directions.
4. Run the firmware program - it's pretty self explanatory - make sure the device is plugged into the wall and your computer and do not interrupt the process. The new firmware version should be 2.18
5. Once the firmware is upgraded, run the installation program by double clicking on the "setup" file.
6. Click where it says "Click here to start" - this will detect the bridge connected to your Ethernet port. Once connected, you can add a password, change the name and set it up to be seen on your wireless network.
*If you use WPA or WPA2 security in your network, it is the equivalent to PSK and PSK-2 in the Linksys setup so just be aware that you will not see anything about WPA
7. Once the device is all configured, it will ask you to install the utility which is the program that runs on your computer that sends the audio to the device. Follow the on screen prompts and install the utility. You will probably get an error after installing the utility because it will not run on Vista as is - just close the error message and continue.
8. After everything is installed, you can disconnect the Ethernet cable from your computer.
HERE IS THE IMPORTANT PART TO GET IT WORKING IN VISTA
9. Click on Start and type in "msconfig" where it says "start search".
10. Click on the startup tab and find "CMflywave Application" - uncheck the box to the left of it and click OK.
11. Find these three files on your hard drive:
cmas2ds.exe
cmflywav.exe
wmb54g.exe
(look for them inside the linksys install folder in program files)
12. Right-click on each of these files and go to properties - Then find the compatibility tab and check the box where it says "Run this program in compatibility mode for: and select (Windows XP Service Pack 2) and then click OK.
13. Now, double click on these 3 files in this order:
cmas2ds.exe
cmflywav.exe
wmb54g.exe
The utility should now run successfully in Vista. Click on "Scan for music bridge" and your device will show up in the list. Click on the device and click "connect" and now all your audio will be sent to the bridge.
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So a few days went by and all of a sudden, the music was not being transferred to the wireless bridge. I do not know if I reboot or what but now whether the bridge showed as connected or not, the music was just coming out of the computer speakers.
What I did then was go to my sound settings and right click on the active device for the computer speakers - I then disabled them.
Next I reboot the computer and when it came back up, I verified that the computer speakers were disabled. I then went to the Linksys folder and double clicked on cmflywav.exe and wmb54g.exe (NOT cmas2ds.exe)
The bridge was able to connect and the music transferred.
In conclusion, this device was more headache than it was worth. I paid with shipping for a refurbished model and all the hours wasted trying to get it to work were not worth the money I saved on the device. If you are not a tech savvy person, this device is NOT for you. Linksys needs to get on the ball and resolve all the software issues with the WMB54G.
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