# Netgear WG311 (v2) = Texas Instrument chipset

## mani-man

Hi!

I bought a Netgear WG311 yesterday. I have wireless networking enabled in the kernel, and I have installed Madwifi. Everything is ok so far. 

The modules get's loaded ok, but the ath0 device doesnt get created. when I do a lspci, I only see results for two ethernet devices. One with chipset for realtek (another nic in the machine), and one with an Texas Instrument chipset (I suspect this one is for the Firewire interface).

Is the hardware not detected properly? As far as I know, I should see the Atheros chipset for the WG311 card when I do a lspci? Or has Netgear changed the chipset in the WG311 card (it says v2 on the box)? 

Is it 'coz Im missing CONFIG_MODULE_UNLOAD=y that lspci doesnt detect the card? Are there any other specific things i have to think of regarding the kernel (which is 2.6.1)?

It says on the package that minimum requirements is a PIII but I have AMD 2500+, and I cant really see this as a problem.

br

.mLast edited by mani-man on Thu Jan 29, 2004 11:24 pm; edited 2 times in total

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## mani-man

Oh, and another thing. As far as I can see, I should use Madwifi _but_ when i look at prism54.org, it seems as they support the WG311 card as well. How can that be? It's not a prism card, right?

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## dsd

i dont know the specifics relating to your hardware, but i do know that lspci scans the PCI bus and outputs whatever it finds.

lspci is *not* dependant on which devices your kernel supports and doesnt support, which modules you have loaded, etc.

so, if you arent seeing it in lspci, it sounds like your system isnt recognising you have the card installed. are you sure it is seated firmly in the PCI slot? do you dual boot - if so, does the other OS pick it up?

if you are still in trouble, post the output of lspci and i'll take a look

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## mani-man

 *dsd wrote:*   

> i dont know the specifics relating to your hardware, but i do know that lspci scans the PCI bus and outputs whatever it finds.
> 
> lspci is *not* dependant on which devices your kernel supports and doesnt support, which modules you have loaded, etc.
> 
> so, if you arent seeing it in lspci, it sounds like your system isnt recognising you have the card installed. are you sure it is seated firmly in the PCI slot? do you dual boot - if so, does the other OS pick it up?
> ...

 

Looks like it picked it up, But it wasnt at all what i expected.

```
01:08.0 Network controller: Texas Instruments: Unknown device 9066
```

This means that I now have to look for away to get a WG311 with texas instruments chipset working.

Any suggestions?

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## dirty

https://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic.php?t=122584&highlight=acx100

what i haver read is ther the texas driver

i have spend a lot time with this card and find out that there are different versions one with a prism54 chipset one with madwifi and now what you write i think there is a new one with a texas chipset. i foud it bad from netgear that they use different chipsets under the same card name "wg311" and do not specifi that

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## Catach

mani-man, i've also got the newer v2 WG311. I've been trying to use

madwifi drivers but they all fail. have you had any success with the acx100 drivers? that installation looks complicated...

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## ptitfluff

hello,

I've bought recently the WG311 ... v2 ... thanks Netgear   :Confused: 

this post to say : ndiswrapper 0.6 work fine ... but no wep, no mode master   :Crying or Very sad: 

Hope it can help ...

tchooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

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## uxbod

Yee ha  :Smile:  Confirm it works aswell.  At least I can remove the cable from dangling down the stairs  :Smile: 

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## dsd

have you tried the new prism54 kernel driver?

according to this page, your card is supported.

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## uxbod

tried but it is not detecting the card  :Sad: 

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## ptitfluff

.... Cool you tried the Prism54 ... one question : What's the *.arm file ???????

thanks

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## clar77

 *ptitfluff wrote:*   

> .... Cool you tried the Prism54 ... one question : What's the *.arm file ???????
> 
> 

 

I beleive its some 'magic' firmware used by the windows driver that was engineered into the prism54 driver, sorta like a winmodem I think.  I use this driver with great success on my desktop but can't get it to work with the TI chipset on my powerbook (PPC linux). If you get it working please let us know how!!! 

Chris

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## ptitfluff

well .... I don't understand many things ...

when i try to compile the prism54 drivers, I've got always the same error when I do "make modules" (when compiling the driver or  patching the kernel ...)

let you see by yourself !

If someone know why moduleparams.h isn't here ......

```

make[4]: Entering directory `/usr/src/linux-2.4.25_pre7-gss-r3/drivers/net/wirel

ess/prism54'

gcc -D__KERNEL__ -I/usr/src/linux-2.4.25_pre7-gss-r3/include -Wall -Wstrict-prot

otypes -Wno-trigraphs -O2 -fno-strict-aliasing -fno-common -fomit-frame-pointer

-pipe -mpreferred-stack-boundary=2 -march=i686 -DMODULE -DMODVERSIONS -include /

usr/src/linux-2.4.25_pre7-gss-r3/include/linux/modversions.h  -nostdinc -iwithpr

efix include -DKBUILD_BASENAME=islpci_mgt  -c -o islpci_mgt.o islpci_mgt.c

islpci_mgt.c:25:31: linux/moduleparam.h: No such file or directory

islpci_mgt.c:59: error: syntax error before "int"

islpci_mgt.c:59: warning: type defaults to `int' in declaration of `module_param

'

islpci_mgt.c:59: warning: function declaration isn't a prototype

islpci_mgt.c:59: warning: data definition has no type or storage class

make[4]: *** [islpci_mgt.o] Error 1

make[4]: Leaving directory `/usr/src/linux-2.4.25_pre7-gss-r3/drivers/net/wirele

ss/prism54'

make[3]: *** [_modsubdir_prism54] Error 2

make[3]: Leaving directory `/usr/src/linux-2.4.25_pre7-gss-r3/drivers/net/wirele

ss'

make[2]: *** [_modsubdir_wireless] Error 2

make[2]: Leaving directory `/usr/src/linux-2.4.25_pre7-gss-r3/drivers/net'

make[1]: *** [_modsubdir_net] Error 2

make[1]: Leaving directory `/usr/src/linux-2.4.25_pre7-gss-r3/drivers'

make: *** [_mod_drivers] Error 2

```

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## clar77

which kernel are you using ? I always used 2.6.x with no problems.

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## UberLord

```
make[1]: Leaving directory `/usr/src/linux-2.4.25_pre7-gss-r3
```

That didn't give you a clue? lol

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## clar77

well yeah but I was trying to 'gently' suggest that he use a 2.6 kernel. oh well.

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## UberLord

 *clar77 wrote:*   

> well yeah but I was trying to 'gently' suggest that he use a 2.6 kernel. oh well.

 

 :Smile: 

Only thing I've found that just doesn't like 2.6 is OpenAFS which I'd really like to try out! Ah well....

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## ptitfluff

snif ... no solution for prism54. Before go back to ndiswrapper, I try :

```
ACCEPT_KEYWORDS="~x86" emerge prism54
```

Of course after emerging hotplug, compiling my kernel with the Hotplug firmware loading support ....

and oh my !! emerge succes, but 

```
modprobe prism54
```

tell me something like that :

```
/lib/modules/2.4.25_pre7-gss-r3/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/prism54/prism54.o: init_module: No such device

Hint: insmod errors can be caused by incorrect module parameters, including invalid IO or IRQ parameters.

      You may find more information in syslog or the output from dmesg

/lib/modules/2.4.25_pre7-gss-r3/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/prism54/prism54.o: insmod /lib/modules/2.4.25_pre7-gss-r3/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/prism54/prism54.o failed

/lib/modules/2.4.25_pre7-gss-r3/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/prism54/prism54.o: insmod prism54 failed
```

Uberlord : thanks for your wireless configuration script [french]Ca cartonne !![/french] ^_^

And I don't want to change for the 2.6 kernel !!!!   :Rolling Eyes: 

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## UberLord

 *ptitfluff wrote:*   

> 
> 
> ```
> /lib/modules/2.4.25_pre7-gss-r3/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/prism54/prism54.o: init_module: No such device
> 
> ...

 

I would say that it cannot find your card and the prism54 driver won't work. Going to a 2.6 kernel will probably not fix your problem  :Sad: 

 *Quote:*   

> 
> 
> Uberlord : thanks for your wireless configuration script [french]Ca cartonne !![/french] ^_^
> 
> And I don't want to change for the 2.6 kernel !!!!  

 

Glad you like the scripts  :Smile: 

Shame you cannot use them  :Sad: 

Any reason why don't want to use a 2.6 kernel?

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## ptitfluff

no shame, it's work perfectly with the ndiswrapper driver !!! The only problem is the mode master (not supported) and the Wep key.

For the 2.6 ... no idea, I like the 2.4 and I don't find any good reason to change ^__^

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## UberLord

 *ptitfluff wrote:*   

> no shame, it's work perfectly with the ndiswrapper driver !!! The only problem is the mode master (not supported) and the Wep key.
> 
> 

 

Master mode isn't that import to most people

Manages and Ad-Hoc are the two important modes

 *Quote:*   

> 
> 
> For the 2.6 ... no idea, I like the 2.4 and I don't find any good reason to change ^__^

 

Hey - fair enough!

Most of the noticable 2.6 improvements have been backported to the 2.4 Gentoo kernel which you are using.

However, some haven't and won't like NPTL support. NPTL is a must for a multi-media style desktop when using xmms, mplayer or xine. It's also a must for servers using apache. Well, not a must, but it sure makes things run a bit better  :Smile: 

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## uxbod

I am on 2.6.5 so could you post how you got prism to work with the card please?

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## ptitfluff

soooorry, I give up ....

I can't compile the prism54's driver on my gentoo   :Crying or Very sad:   always the same error about the "linux/moduleparam.h" ???

So if someone have a WG311v2 based on the Texas Instrument Chipset and use the prism54's driver or something else ... We waiting   :Wink: 

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## dsd

ptitfluff: perhaps one good reason to change to 2.6 is the fact that prism54 is already included in the kernel, no need to patch it in yourself..

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## me4015

If you have V2 of the netgear cards the prism dirvers will not work, they are for the older V1. Im about to try and install this card myself using the acx things, failing that ill try ndiswrapper

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## collosi

I finally got this card to work properly with ndiswrapper.  For anyone attempting to do this I would suggest using the drivers that came with the card and don't forget to copy over both *.bin files and the *.sys and *.inf when typing "ndiswrapper -i /path/to/<driver.inf>", this is the only way i got the ndiswrapper module to load correctly.  

I also used the ndiswrapper-0.8-rc2 with kenel 2.4.26, I will be attempting the 2.6.6 kernel and CVS version of ndiswrapper later today.  Good luck guys, hope this will help someone.

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## DAharon

I am currently trying to get my wg311 card to work also.  I installed ndiswrapper, copied the Windows 98 drivers and .bin files from the NetGear installation cd to /lib/windrivers, and ndiswrapper -i /lib/windrivers/wg311v2.inf works as expected.  I then enter modprobe ndiswrapper.

dmesg output includes:

```
ndiswrapper version 0.8 loaded

Unknown symbol: ntoskrnl.exe:IoCreateUnprotectedSymbolicLink

Unknown symbol: NDIS.SYS:NdisMIndicateStatusComplete

Unknown symbol: NDIS.SYS:NdisMIndicateStatus

Unable to prepare driver
```

Not sure what to do now.  I already tried the drivers for win2k and winxp with worse results.  Maybe I should also mention I am using kernel 2.6.5 and I have enabled wireless networking in the kernel.  Although I didn't choose any drivers or anything in menuconfig.

BTW, what command allows me to view all modules installed?

----------

## ptitfluff

hello

```
lsmod
```

you should see the list of loaded module.

Something with :

```
ndiswrapper -l
```

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## DAharon

So I still have the same problem.  LS MOD reveals that the ndiswrapper module is indeed loaded, but I get these errors when I type dmesg:

```
ndiswrapper version 0.8 loaded 

Unknown symbol: ntoskrnl.exe:IoCreateUnprotectedSymbolicLink 

Unknown symbol: NDIS.SYS:NdisMIndicateStatusComplete 

Unknown symbol: NDIS.SYS:NdisMIndicateStatus 

Unable to prepare driver 
```

I also tried a driver called GPLUS.inf that I got from the ndiswrapper website at the bottom of the page.  In the little spreadsheet the GPLUS pci id matched the Texas Instruments wg311v2 (104C:9066).

When I do ndiswrapper -l it says that wg311v2.inf is present, or if I try GPLUS it says present,fuzzy.  After modprobe there is no extra device.  No wlan0 or anything.  I already have an eth0 device from the onboard NIC on my mobo.  

I'm not sure what to do here.  I am assuming that once you load the module for a device, its /dev/<name> should automatically appear.  

iwconfig shows only eth0, lo.

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## collosi

did you disable SMP in your kernel?

also, make sure you copy over all the correct drivers

does your folder /lib/windrivers look somehthing like this?

```
bash-2.05b# ls /lib/windrivers                               

FwRad16.bin   FwRad17.bin   netwg311.sys  wg311v2.inf

```

once it looks like the above try 

```
bash-2.05b# ndiswrapper -i /lib/windrivers/wg311v2.inf

```

if you need to remove the old driver then do so with ndiswrapper -e. Now you driver should be present and modprobe should load the driver correctly.

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## DAharon

Yes, I did disable SMP in the kernel.

Yes, I have all four driver files.

I really don't know what to do now.  ' modprobe ndiswrapper ' gives the errors above.  iwconfig returns lo, dummy0, and eth0, and says that they aren't wireless devices.

If I do ifconfig before fiddling with anything at all, it only shows lo.  not even my ethernet card.

Again, notice that I have an sis900 onboard NIC AND a Netgear wg311v2.

The sis900 modules loads properly (I think.  I haven't even used it).

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## StevenTodd

Total newbie here... so be gentle....

I just got Gentoo install on my X1000 laptop.

All is ok but for two things:

I have a NetGear WAG311 wireless mini-pci card.  I dont have drivers. Where and what drivers can I use. (Also please point me in the right direction to install them.) Will WG311 drivers work?  I think it's an Atheros chipset.

The other issue, but correctable is with my eth0.  It seems that it is not starting.  But if I "sudo /etc/init.d/net.eth0 restart it does restart and the world is fine.  How do I correct the starting of eth0 ?

Thanks in advance!!

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## UberLord

 *StevenTodd wrote:*   

> Will WG311 drivers work?  I think it's an Atheros chipset.

 

If it's an Athereos chipset, then you can use the madwifi-driver - an old version is in portage. You don't need ndiswrapper.

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## DAharon

Well, I'm not sure whats wrong with ndiswrapper, but it looks like the guys at sourceforge.net working on the acx100 driver should have it going in the next two weeks or so.  (I hope)

I just dont understand what I'm missing here.  If we are all using wg311v2.inf, and we are all using ndiswrapper 8, why do I get these wierd probs and you guys dont?

On the GPLUS.inf side, I remember seeing a site where the guys were having success with it if they renamed the file.  But now I can't find the site and I would really like to try again with the renamed file.

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## ptitfluff

collosi, the .bin files must be like this : FWRAD16.BIN and FWRAD17.BIN (uppercase)  ... no ? I' don't remember exactly ...

DAharon, are your sur that your card is a WG311 "v2" ?

something like : 

```
lspci -v -v
```

should say what's the chipset of your wireless NIC

----------

## DAharon

lspci reveals a TI 9066 chipset.

My fwrad*.bin files are not all in uppercase.  I wasn't aware they should be.  Should all the driver files be in uppercase?

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## ptitfluff

Perhap's I make a mistake, but ndiswrapper doesn't need any .bin files ?? It's prism54's drivers who use this files (in uppercase).

  Which version of the driver you use in fisrt ? W98 or XP ... I presume you remove it before you try the XP's files after your W98"s drivers ?

If you don't : 

remove the w98's driver with : 

```
ndiswrapper -r <wg311v2.inf>
```

copy the XP drivers : .inf and .sys files, and load it with :

```
ndiswrapper -i </path/to/wg311v2.inf>
```

If it's doesn't work ... try the latest CVS version (I don't remember which command is for download the last version ...) or try the 0.7 version present in portage (That what I use with the XP wg311v2 files)

```
ACCEPT_KEYWORDS="~x86" emerge ndiswrapper
```

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## DAharon

Thanks guys, using the winXP drivers I got ndiswrapper to load wlan0.  Now I just need to configure it.  One more question.  It won't let me use Master mode, so I guess I'll try Ad-Hoc.  Whats the difference between the two?

----------

## ptitfluff

oh god, how can I explain the difference between the Master and the Ad-hoc mode .... in english   :Confused: 

In master mode, your pc can be use like an AP (Access Point) - it's like the cellular phone system : One big antenna and many phone connected (in this case, it's not many phone ... but another computer)

In Ad-hoc mode, all the pc are access-point and client - you can imagine ... it's like the p2p system ...

It's what I suppose and what's I can explain in english, If it's wrong : perhap's someone can explain it with more detail

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## DAharon

OK, been busy lately, but decided to play around with this a little more today.  I got ndiswrapper to load.

'iwlist wlan0 scan' finds my AP.

I set my essid, key, mode, and channel.

Then I type:

ifconfig wlan0 up

OK

dhcpcd wlan0

And it just hangs.  Not quite sure what to do now.

This is the output of iwconfig wlan0:

```
wlan0     IEEE 802.11g  ESSID:"MY_WIFI_NETWORK"  

          Mode:Managed  Frequency:2.442GHz  Access Point: FF:FF:FF:FF:FF:FF  

          Bit Rate:54Mb/s   Tx-Power:10 dBm   Sensitivity=0/3  

          RTS thr:2347 B   Fragment thr:2312 B   

          Encryption key:XXXX-XXXX-XX

          Power Management:off

          Link Quality:100/100  Signal level:-65 dBm  Noise level:-256 dBm

          Rx invalid nwid:0  Rx invalid crypt:0  Rx invalid frag:0

          Tx excessive retries:0  Invalid misc:0   Missed beacon:0
```

notice Access Point: FF:FF:FF:FF:FF:FF

should it look like that?

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## DAharon

Well, still not able to connect.

You guys who got it to work, can you post your settings please?

What mode are you using?  Are you using WEP? etc...

Thanks

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## ptitfluff

still not able to connect ... you're not very lucky ....

I'm sorry but I have no more internet connection until my ISP be more serious and faster   :Crying or Very sad: 

So my gentoo box is sleeping and me at work

I can say just one thing : WEP key don't work with ndiswrapper ... perharp's you should try connect to your AP without WEP encryption ... with the minimal stuff ...

and you can post here : https://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic.php?t=122435, Uberlord have a lot of experience in wireless configuration

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## Aciel

Has anyone found a solution to this? I've got the same card and don't know what drivers to use for it.

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## DAharon

No solution for me yet.  I don't want to go without WEP since there are other wireless networks in my area.

Right now I am playing with acx100

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## ptitfluff

Ohh, it's a really good news !!!

Could you post when your W311v2 work with acx100 ? and tell how you do this   :Smile: 

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## reznor666

Take a look at my HOWTO since you're using a acx chip

based lan card.

https://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic.php?t=195301

But WEP still isn't implemented in the acx drivers yet.

For more information take a look at

http://acx100.sourceforge.net

especially take a look at the changelogs

for the different fixes for pre8.

reznor666

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## reznor666

There is also the possibility that your card is not supported by your

Mainboard! A friend of mine had this problem:

The WG311 needs a PCI 2.2 compatible slot and his mainboard supports PCI 2.1 only.

Take a look at:

http://www.netgear.com/products/details/WG311.php?view=

and take a look at your mainboard's manual.

reznor666

----------

