# TP-Link WN781 Gentoo

## MoneBrx

Hi everybody, this is my first post in this great Gentoo forum   :Very Happy: 

I've recently bought a new desktop pc and now I need a wireless card. I found this TP-Link WN781 pci-express card:  here is the tp-link card official page.

I googled the internet to know if this card works on Gentoo but I didn't find anything useful. I found out that it is supported from Linux Kernel on http://linuxwireless.org/en/users/Devices/PCI but what I really want to know is if this card will work on a Gentoo system out of the box so that I could use it to install Gentoo on my pc using the minimal installation cd. Will this card work from the minimal install cd? And also, do you think it's a good card for wireless and linux system? 

Thanks   :Smile: 

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## NeddySeagoon

MoneBrx,

Welcome to Gentoo.

A Broadcom based wireless card.  Thats a bad choice, but never mind.

It works as well in Gentoo as in any other Linux.  Everyone uses the same basic kernel.

The Gentoo LiveCDs have very little support for wireless, for several reasons. However, none of the code from the liveCD ends up in you Gentoo install, so you can use any LiveCD you like to install Gentoo. Try SystemRescueCD

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## MoneBrx

NeddySeagoon, 

Thank you for your fast reply.

If a Broadcom card is a bad choice, could you tell me a better pci-express wifi card?

I'm looking at the sysrscd site. I didn't knew there was such a distro!!

Does the SystemRescueCD has more support for the wireless card? 

With this CD i can install Gentoo simply following the x86 handbook? I've never thought about that, but as you said, "none of the code from the liveCD ends up in your Gentoo install" 

That's Great   :Very Happy: 

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## NeddySeagoon

MoneBrx,

SystemRescueCD has much better support for wireless than the Gentoo liveCDs.  I do not know if your b43 support is included or not but its only a CD to download and test.

I can't recommend a PCIe wireless card. All my wireless adaptors are USB devices (even the internal ones) and I only know of Broadcom issues from the forums and IRC.

Most liveCDs, other than the Gentoo ones, need you to 

```
mkdir /mnt/gentoo
```

before you can follow the handbook. SystemRescueCd has that directory already made, so you can start with the handbook right away.

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## cach0rr0

 *MoneBrx wrote:*   

> 
> 
> If a Broadcom card is a bad choice, could you tell me a better pci-express wifi card?
> 
> 

 

broadcom drivers are still pretty crap under linux, basically

the open source drivers are clunky, and the proprietary driver finicky about kernel settings 

when hunting for a wireless card under Linux, look less at the maker of the card, and moreso at the chipset

Atheros chipsets have always been quite well-supported under Linux

Intel chipsets tend to do pretty well also (exception being some of the older ones, e.g. 'Intel Pro Wireless 2200')

I'd personally expand on NeddySeagoon's comments, and actually say I've had *better* experience with USB wireless adapters under Linux than I have PCI/PCIe ones. No idea why. 

This is probably the best general guide I've found for determining what's well-supported on Linux - http://www.aircrack-ng.org/doku.php?id=compatibility_drivers

If it works well with aircrack, generally it's because the driver for Linux is relatively stable and functional. Not a hard rule, but a sound rule of thumb at any rate. 

Don't just look at the charts, read a few of the comments under "Which is the best card to buy"

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## MoneBrx

Thanks for your reply.

I'm currently using a DWL 122G rev C1 USB wifi adapter I found at home. It works really well with SystemRescueCD so i can use it to set up my Gentoo box. 

If you say USB is better for linux wireless (I also found out that it works very well) I'll probably won't buy an internal wifi card. 

Another problem is that I could only use a pci express card because that's the only expansion bus I have, and it doesn't seem there are many pci-ex wifi card working on linux.

I'll probably continue to use my USB adapter.

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## cach0rr0

 *MoneBrx wrote:*   

> 
> 
> If you say USB is better for linux wireless (I also found out that it works very well) I'll probably won't buy an internal wifi card. 
> 
> Another problem is that I could only use a pci express card because that's the only expansion bus I have, and it doesn't seem there are many pci-ex wifi card working on linux.
> ...

 

more than anything, if you have the option, avoid Broadcom like the plague. I've had to help more users and fight through more headaches trying to get clunky Broadcom cards working than I particularly care for - it's a problem child, no two ways about it. It works fine on Windows, not to slight their hardware, but to that end whatever positive others might say about Broadcom cards has thusly become irrelevant tome, for I deem them a headache and clunky, and the forum history will confirm the same!

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