# *URGENT* Setting up Wi-Fi network Win/Lin

## plonka2000

Hi all,

I'm ordering some Wifi kit from ebay today because my new house will not allow me to cable...

Its quite urgent because I host my website at home and my network is important to me.

I'm asking what would be the best and easiest Wifi cards to get installed and working in Linux.

Here are the variables in my life:

1) I currently use Gentoo and Unbuntu. Considering Mandrake in future for my simple M$-minded housemate.

2) I have 2 laptops and 2 desktops (I will need to get 2 PCMCIA cards and likely 2 PCI cards and a router).

3) I want the fastest transfer speed possible (I dont intend to use 'b', so 'g' only).

4) I use ADSL for internet so that needs to be incorporated into router.

5) I intend to order this kit by the end of today.

Please anyone who can assist me in finding what I need. I'm going through ebay with a fine-toothed comb for good deals but in terms of compatibility, I'm kindly asking for anyone to post here what is best.

Also, if anyone who knows of any good deals on http://www.ebay.co.uk/ (Or anywhere else) could you please post a link to the auction here.  :Smile: 

Thanks all.

----------

## TheRAt

For the PCMCIA adapters, I have used the Linksys Wireless-G Notebook Adapter (WPC54G Ver 1.2)

with both Gentoo and RedHat 7.3, 9.0 and FC2

Worked flawlessly, with minimal configs...

----------

## plonka2000

I've found these pages, if anyone is interested:

http://www.fdlinux.com/wirelesscompat.html

http://www.hpl.hp.com/personal/Jean_Tourrilhes/Linux/

http://www.hpl.hp.com/personal/Jean...ss.drivers.html

http://www.linuxquestions.org/hcl/index.php?cat=10

These are especially interesting:

http://www.damnsmalllinux.org/talk/node/74

http://www.joot.com/dave/writings/a...nux-howto.shtml

http://tuxmobil.org/pcmcia_linux.html

I'll add new lists or information I find.

Does anyone else recommend anything in particular?

----------

## plonka2000

Hi All,

I thought I'd just update on what I got.

In the end I purchased a Linksys router, PCMCIA Card and PCI Card from PCWORLD (UK). Walked into the store and bought them in the end...

All three models have the "35% faster" plastered all over, which I was pleased about...

I used my Windows PC to configure them at first as my internet is not yet setup in my new place so I cant download a config (yet).

It was working quite well, however, it didnt run at 108mbs as I was originally promised by the PCWORLD staff... So I'm taking it back tommorow.  :Rolling Eyes: 

Today, however, I ordered replacements from http://www.misco.co.uk in the shape of these:

1x NETGEAR DG834GT 802.11G 108MBPS WIRELESS ADSL ROUTER MODEM WITH FREE WG111T 108MBPS USB ADAPTOR (You get a FREE 108mbs 802.11g USB ADAPTOR!!!  :Very Happy: )

2x NETGEAR WG511 802.11G 54MBPS WIRELESS PC CARD HALF PRICE OFFER (Got 2 as they were on special  :Very Happy: )

1x NETGEAR WG311T 54/108MBPS 802.11G WIRELESS PCI CARD

The item numbers are 94818, 47758 and 45950 respectively.

Hopefully, these will arrive tommorow and I will then return my PCWORLD kit. I always preferred Netgear kit anyway.  :Smile: 

Can anyone provide any advice on how to setup these items (Especially the PCMCIA cards) or point me in the right direction?

Thanks all.

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## xbmodder

it wont necceraly run at  108MBPS. more like 54. What are you benchmarking with?

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## andrewd18

The Netgear stuff is good, and seems to work well in Linux, using ndiswrapper or otherwise.

As far as the 108MBPS, xbmodder is correct. I'm running the D-Link 108 series of WIFI stuff, and even in Windows I don't get the 108MBPS it's rated at. I usually get about 70% of that. And the drivers from madwifi.sourceforge.net work with Atheros chipsets, but do not support the 108MBPS speed yet, so in Linux I'm maxed at 54MBPS.

~~ Andrew D.

linuxnoob@wi.rr.com

----------

## plonka2000

Most of the info here was pieced together from here.

If you have problems deciphering my instructions, refer to the above page for developer clarity.

Obviously, this HOWTO can be used with other supported devices, and I guess with other distrobutions if you change the wording a little.

For me, my PCMCIA Netgear WG511 is being installed onto my IBM-T41 laptop running Gentoo 2.6.10-gentoo-r6.  :Smile: 

The first thing I did was make sure that my device was recognised by lspci:

```
# lspci

0000:00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corp. 82855PM Processor to I/O Controller (rev 03)

0000:00:01.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corp. 82855PM Processor to AGP Controller (rev 03)

0000:00:1d.0 USB Controller: Intel Corp. 82801DB/DBL/DBM (ICH4/ICH4-L/ICH4-M) USB UHCI Controller #1 (rev 01)

0000:00:1d.1 USB Controller: Intel Corp. 82801DB/DBL/DBM (ICH4/ICH4-L/ICH4-M) USB UHCI Controller #2 (rev 01)

0000:00:1d.2 USB Controller: Intel Corp. 82801DB/DBL/DBM (ICH4/ICH4-L/ICH4-M) USB UHCI Controller #3 (rev 01)

0000:00:1d.7 USB Controller: Intel Corp. 82801DB/DBM (ICH4/ICH4-M) USB2 EHCI Controller (rev 01)

0000:00:1e.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corp. 82801 Mobile PCI Bridge (rev 81)

0000:00:1f.0 ISA bridge: Intel Corp. 82801DBM (ICH4-M) LPC Interface Bridge (rev 01)

0000:00:1f.1 IDE interface: Intel Corp. 82801DBM (ICH4-M) IDE Controller (rev 01)

0000:00:1f.3 SMBus: Intel Corp. 82801DB/DBL/DBM (ICH4/ICH4-L/ICH4-M) SMBus Controller (rev 01)

0000:00:1f.5 Multimedia audio controller: Intel Corp. 82801DB/DBL/DBM (ICH4/ICH4-L/ICH4-M) AC'97 Audio Controller (rev 01)

0000:00:1f.6 Modem: Intel Corp. 82801DB/DBL/DBM (ICH4/ICH4-L/ICH4-M) AC'97 Modem Controller (rev 01)

0000:01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: ATI Technologies Inc Radeon Mobility M7LW [Radeon Mobility 7500]

0000:02:00.0 CardBus bridge: Texas Instruments PCI4520 PC card Cardbus Controller (rev 01)

0000:02:00.1 CardBus bridge: Texas Instruments PCI4520 PC card Cardbus Controller (rev 01)

0000:02:01.0 Ethernet controller: Intel Corp. 82540EP Gigabit Ethernet Controller (Mobile) (rev 03)

0000:03:00.0 Network controller: Intersil Corporation Intersil ISL3890 [Prism GT/Prism Duette] (rev 01)
```

The very last line lists my WG511. This is good, and means it is recognised in hardware.  :Smile: 

If you wish to further test to make sure that is exactly it, simply eject your PC CARD, then run lspci again to see whats missing.  :Smile: 

If there is nothing missing, thats not good and you want to make sure your PCMCIA is configured properly in your kernel.

Now that that works, onward...

Install 'ndiswrapper'.

My version is 1.1, which is currently in the '~x86' unstable branch. To set it permanently, put this line in your /etc/portage/packages/packages.keywords:

```
net-wireless/ndiswrapper ~x86
```

After all that is done, emerge ndiswrapper.

```
# emerge ndiswrapper
```

NOTE: if you get an error at this point, telling you to add/remove kernel modules, this is fine.

All you need to is recompile your kernel. You need use these commands:

```
# cd /usr/src/linux
```

and

```
# nano -w .config
```

In nano, use CTRL+W to find the line(s) you require then edit them.

Eg: To turn a kernel option off, set it like this:

```
# CONFIG_4KSTACKS is not set
```

Eg: To turn a kernel option on, set it like this:

```
CONFIG_NET_RADIO=y
```

Next you will need to recompile to make these changes effective:

```
# make && make modules && make modules_install && make install
```

Once that is done, emerge ndiswrapper and it will work.

To configure ndiswrapper, you need to check for the right driver you need here.

Once you have downloaded the appropriate driver from your manufacturer, you need to install it.

NOTE: To get my WG511 driver installed, I had to DOWNLOAD AND INSTALL the 3.0 netgear driver from here.

After I downloaded it, and after much wrestling with extracting the cab files using 'cabextract' and 'unshield', I found that actually installing the .exe file on a Windows PC and browsing to C:\Program Files\NETGEAR\WG511\Driver listed all the required files:

netIL511.cat

netIL511.inf

netwg511.cat

netwg511.inf

WG511ICB.sys

I copied them over to my laptop using Samba, browsed to the directory which the files were and ran this command to install them:

```
# ndiswrapper -i netwg511.inf
```

After that installed, I ran this command to get a listing of my ndiswrapper devices:

```
# ndiswrapper -l

Installed ndis drivers:

netwg511        driver present, hardware present
```

Kool, it works.  :Smile: 

EDIT: After this, as I've found, sometimes its best to run (Otherwise you may not be able to modprobe):

```
# update-modules
```

Now that my WG511 is installed and the drivers are installed for it, I needed to install 'wireless-tools':

```
# emerge wireless-tools
```

Specifically, out of the wireless tools, I will need 'iwconfig' and 'iwlist', but we'll get to that later.  :Wink: 

Now I need to do this to make sure the driver is loaded:

```
# modprobe ndiswrapper
```

If you get an error, it means that the driver is not loaded. Syslog is run by 'dmesg', which you may need to emerge and configure.

Check your system log, it will show your error. If the driver loads successfully, you should see something like this:

ndiswrapper version V loaded ('V' is your version)

My version is 1.1, which is in the '~x86' unstable branch.

NOTE: If you get an error, make sure you have run 'update-modules' then try again.

Fixed that error for me.

Now run 'iwconfig'. This is my output:

```
# iwconfig

eth0      no wireless extensions.

lo        no wireless extensions.

sit0      no wireless extensions.

wlan0     IEEE 802.11g  ESSID:off/any

          Mode:Managed  Frequency:2.457 GHz  Access Point: 00:00:00:00:00:00

          Bit Rate:2 Mb/s   Tx-Power:32 dBm

          RTS thr:2347 B   Fragment thr:2346 B

          Encryption key:off

          Power Management:off

          Link Quality:100  Signal level:0  Noise level:0

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

          Tx excessive retries:0  Invalid misc:145   Missed beacon:0
```

This shows my config is working.  :Smile: 

Next, I need to scan for available wireless networks. If your wireless device shows up as something else than 'wlan0'.

Where I'm writing this howto, I have no wireless network around me so this was my output. I assume its looping back my card to itself:

```
# iwlist wlan0 scan

wlan0     Scan completed :

          Cell 01 - Address: 02:04:23:72:3D:C7

                    ESSID:"NETGEAR"

                    Protocol:IEEE 802.11b

                    Mode:Ad-Hoc

                    Frequency:2.462 GHz (Channel 11)

                    Quality:0/100  Signal level:-16 dBm  Noise level:-256 dBm

                    Encryption key:off

                    Bit Rate:1 Mb/s

                    Bit Rate:2 Mb/s

                    Bit Rate:5.5 Mb/s

                    Bit Rate:11 Mb/s

                    Extra:bcn_int=100

                    Extra:atim=1
```

NOTE: If you know what the name of your Wireless network is you can do this:

```
# iwconfig wlan0 essid ESSID
```

 (Where 'ESSID' is your Wireless LAN name)

THEN do:

```
# iwlist wlan0 scan
```

Right, I think thats it.  :Smile: 

I will post some more when I get my lappie home... At work until 9pm today... Joy.  :Sad: 

I hope someone gets some enjoyment from this, as I couldnt find a HOWTO anywhere.  :Smile: 

----------

## plonka2000

Well now that the card is configured and you've (hopefully) found your wireless network, all we need to do is complete the installation and make this permanent.

I recommend running both 'ifconfig' and 'dhcpcd' (Then 'ifconfig' again)because you will get to check out your network card config before grabbing an IP address.

```
# iwconfig wlan0

wlan0     IEEE 802.11g  ESSID:off/any

          Mode:Managed  Frequency:2.457 GHz  Access Point: 00:00:00:00:00:00

          Bit Rate:2 Mb/s   Tx-Power:32 dBm

          RTS thr:2347 B   Fragment thr:2346 B

          Encryption key:off

          Power Management:off

          Link Quality:100  Signal level:0  Noise level:0

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

          Tx excessive retries:0  Invalid misc:2   Missed beacon:0
```

Then:

```
# iwlist wlan0 scan

wlan0     Scan completed :

          Cell 01 - Address: 00:0F:B5:57:22:B6

                    ESSID:"mywlan"

                    Protocol:IEEE 802.11g

                    Mode:Managed

                    Frequency:2.437 GHz (Channel 6)

                    Quality:0/100  Signal level:-60 dBm  Noise level:-256 dBm

                    Encryption key:off

                    Bit Rate:1 Mb/s

                    Bit Rate:2 Mb/s

                    Bit Rate:5.5 Mb/s

                    Bit Rate:11 Mb/s

                    Bit Rate:6 Mb/s

                    Bit Rate:9 Mb/s

                    Bit Rate:12 Mb/s

                    Bit Rate:18 Mb/s

                    Bit Rate:24 Mb/s

                    Bit Rate:36 Mb/s

                    Bit Rate:48 Mb/s

                    Bit Rate:54 Mb/s

                    Extra:bcn_int=100

                    Extra:atim=1
```

Then:

```
# ifconfig wlan0

wlan0     Link encap:Ethernet  HWaddr 00:09:5B:EF:40:20

          BROADCAST MULTICAST  MTU:1500  Metric:1

          RX packets:1 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0

          TX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0

          collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000

          RX bytes:247 (247.0 b)  TX bytes:0 (0.0 b)

          Memory:10800000-10801fff
```

Then:

```
# dhcpcd wlan0
```

Then to make sure the configuration works:

```
# ifconfig wlan0

wlan0     Link encap:Ethernet  HWaddr 00:09:5B:EF:40:20

          inet addr:192.168.0.3  Bcast:192.168.0.255  Mask:255.255.255.0

          inet6 addr: fe80::209:5bff:feef:4020/64 Scope:Link

          UP BROADCAST NOTRAILERS RUNNING MULTICAST  MTU:1500  Metric:1

          RX packets:2 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0

          TX packets:5 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0

          collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000

          RX bytes:837 (837.0 b)  TX bytes:888 (888.0 b)

          Memory:10800000-10801fff
```

This now shows that my 'wlan0' card is picked up an IP address from my wireless router. HOORAY!!!  :Very Happy: 

Now the final check to confirm:

```
# iwconfig wlan0

wlan0     IEEE 802.11g  ESSID:"mywlan"

          Mode:Managed  Frequency:2.437 GHz  Access Point: 00:0F:B5:57:22:B6

          Bit Rate:54 Mb/s   Tx-Power:32 dBm

          RTS thr:2347 B   Fragment thr:2346 B

          Encryption key:off

          Power Management:off

          Link Quality:100/100  Signal level:-42 dBm  Noise level:-256 dBm

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

          Tx excessive retries:2  Invalid misc:15   Missed beacon:0
```

HOORAY!!!  :Very Happy:   :Very Happy:   :Very Happy: 

And finally, an extract straight from the ndiswrapper website:

 *Quote:*   

> Once everything works fine you can write the correct modprobe settings to load ndiswrapper automatically when wlan0 interface is used, by running
> 
> ```
> # ndiswrapper -m
> ```
> ...

 

And THATS IT!!!  :Smile:  Your wireless card should be working fine. In fact, I've written this whole last section on my laptop, from the other side of the house. :p 

I hope this helps someone, and please let me know if it does... Thanks.  :Smile: 

----------

## martincox

TheRat, How did you configure your wireless card? Using ndiswrapper? Im a noob and having trouble configuring my laptop.

----------

## Remillard

By the way, the Netgear stuff will work with the madwifi drivers as well.  Might be easier than getting ndiswrapper working.  I'm using the Netgear WG311 (the pci card version) and it works really nicely.

----------

## plonka2000

 *Remillard wrote:*   

> By the way, the Netgear stuff will work with the madwifi drivers as well.  Might be easier than getting ndiswrapper working.  I'm using the Netgear WG311 (the pci card version) and it works really nicely.

 

Kool, I'll keep that one in mind for when I do my desktop (WG311T).  :Smile:  However, I find that ndiswrapper is nicer because of the wider support for chipsets.

Also, it makes it better because the way Window$ drivers are used. Means drivers can be updated as new drivers are released by the manufacturers.

I had a look on the site, and cant seem to find any howto or install guide/ruitine... Am I missing something (Probably  :Rolling Eyes:  )?

----------

## plonka2000

Just re-installed most of my Server, and I'm having a few problems getting ndiswrapper to work with an identical WG511 card as listed here.

I'm working through it, but I've been updating this howto with notes of ways of how to get around issues when installing and using ndiswrapper.

Anyone else that has any input or related questions, post in this thread.

EDIT: The Madwifi project homepage is here for anyone interested.

I'm thinking about doing a howto on that but accoring to here my cards are not supported.

However, here is a nice FAQ for anyone interested to read...  :Smile: 

----------

