Intel PRO/Wireless 2200BG Again - please be gentle
Forum: Networking
Topic: Intel PRO/Wireless 2200BG Again - please be gentle
started by: Foucault
Posted by Foucault on July 21 2006,23:28
Please help me...I'm completely lost!Firstly, I'm far from being a techie. I'm reasonably competent with Windows, and managed to set up a Wireless network when I got my ThinkPad.
I've tried searching for information, but the advice I've found looks like a foreign language to me.
DSL looked like a good way for me to "dip my toe in the waters" of Linux, but now I'm starting to think that it's for people who are already comfortable "under the hood." Please convince me I'm wrong!
My laptop contains an Intel PRO/Wireless 2200BG wireless card.
I booted from the DSL CD I created, but my wireless card was apparently not recognized. That didn't come as a great surprise, and searching here has revealed that others have had problems with this too. But I don't understand the various responses - they look scary.
If I can't access the Web via my wireless network, DSL is pretty much useless to me. To try to find help, I have to keep booting back to Windows just so I can get on the Web!
It looks like I have to obtain a driver from somewhere, but I don't know how to install it or where to put it.
I need someone to walk me through this step by step. For all its faults, Windows at least mostly does all this for you.
Posted by ^thehatsrule^ on July 22 2006,00:31
The driver of your card is ipw2200See Robert's post on it in the recent thread:
< http://damnsmalllinux.org/cgi-bin....t=14495 >
No one has compiled it for the most recent version of DSL (yet) though.
The reason why Windows would detect your card is because Intel is probably a MS partner. Bear in mind that DSL is created to genericly support as many machines within 50mb. You could also try another distro since you're just starting out with Linux.
Posted by Foucault on July 22 2006,00:49
^thehatsrule^ - I do appreciate your response...I really do, but...Your answer, and the recent post you refer me to (which I'd already found but didn't understand) is precisely my problem. I don't understand the terminology.
You say "The driver of your card is ipw2200" - now in Windows, I'd download this from somewhere, and it would be ready to go. But you say:
"No one has compiled it for the most recent version of DSL (yet) though."
Huh?
So there's one available, but it won't work? How would you compile it? I can't just download it and it's ready to roll?
In the post you refer me to, Robert says:
"1. Try DSL-N which has prowireless and a 2.6 kernel.
2. Use DSL v 2.1b which has a 2.4.31 kernel
3. Try to compile the modules for 2.4.26 yourself.
4. Check ndiswrapper site to see if it is supported."
I just tried DSL-N, booted up, and I wasn't connected to the Internet. Why?
Is 2. saying that an older version of DSL will work for me?
3. How would one go about "trying to compile the modules for 2.4.26"? Remember, I have no idea of where to start.
4. I followed a link to the ndiswrapper site which seemed to mention my wireless card, but whatever I downloaded didn't seem to work. It looked like it was just re-downloading the windows driver.
You mention "another distro" - is there a free, very friendly version of Linux that will support my wireless card?
Please don't think I'm being ungrateful. I know I'm coming across as needy, but I'm going to need someone to take the time to walk me through this.
Thanks
Posted by ^thehatsrule^ on July 22 2006,01:15
I'll try to refer my replies to this post:| Code Sample |
| In the post you refer me to, Robert says: "1. Try DSL-N which has prowireless and a 2.6 kernel. 2. Use DSL v 2.1b which has a 2.4.31 kernel 3. Try to compile the modules for 2.4.26 yourself. 4. Check ndiswrapper site to see if it is supported." |
---
| Code Sample |
| "No one has compiled it for the most recent version of DSL (yet) though." Huh? So there's one available, but it won't work? How would you compile it? I can't just download it and it's ready to roll? |
That's for #2 - you can use DSL v 2.1b, in which you said right
| Code Sample |
| Is 2. saying that an older version of DSL will work for me? |
---
| Code Sample |
I just tried DSL-N, booted up, and I wasn't connected to the Internet. Why? |
Says you have to use prowireless.. maybe here?
< http://downloadfinder.intel.com/scripts....ID=1784 >
I'm not too sure about this myself.
---
| Code Sample |
| 3. How would one go about "trying to compile the modules for 2.4.26"? Remember, I have no idea of where to start. |
Yea, compiling is different... you could download the ipw2200 sources and compile it, using gcc*.dsl. That would probably be too much for you unless you got some time.
---
| Code Sample |
| 4. I followed a link to the ndiswrapper site which seemed to mention my wireless card, but whatever I downloaded didn't seem to work. It looked like it was just re-downloading the windows driver. |
ndiswrapper works by "wrapping" around windows drivers.
See "Ndiswrapper" under: < http://damnsmalllinux.org/wiki/index.php/DSLPanel >
---
| Code Sample |
| You mention "another distro" - is there a free, very friendly version of Linux that will support my wireless card? |
Probably a lot since anyone can compile it. I can't say any operating system can be easy to set up, but bigger distros will probably have some read-to-go package or something - I can't say from experience for this cause I don't use wireless.
[ OK so I used code tags instead of quote tags.. :P ]
Posted by Foucault on July 22 2006,01:24
Thanks for not giving up on me thr!"ndiswrapper works by "wrapping" around windows drivers.
See "Ndiswrapper" under: < http://damnsmalllinux.org/wiki/index.php/DSLPanel" >
This sounds like something I could use. I must already have the driver, since my card works with Windows. So, I just need to find out the name of the driver, and plug it into ndiswrapper - is that it?
Posted by ^thehatsrule^ on July 22 2006,01:30
Yea, just use the ones you use for windows - should work 
However, the easiest way to get your card working would be just to use that older version of DSL, though - which other people who have your wifi chipset seem to be doing.
But good luck, hopefully something works out for you!
Posted by Foucault on July 22 2006,17:31
I can try the older version (I assume that there are archives here somewhere). What would I lose by using the older version?
Posted by Foucault on July 22 2006,18:33
Well, scrub that idea! I obtained version 2.1b, booted up, and it still didn't connect via my wireless card. OK, perhaps I should just try the wrapper with the latest version.
Posted by Foucault on July 22 2006,19:12
Well, I found the location of my driver (w29n51.sys), and put that in ndiswrapper, but I got a "connection failed" message. What now?ndiswrapper is not the friendliest program I've ever used!
Posted by Foucault on July 22 2006,19:57
OK, so my next move was to locate the w29n51.inf file, rather than the .sys file. Putting that into ndiswrapper, I still came up unable to connect. I'm about ready to give up on this, and Linux. Now I understand why Linux is popular with techies, and Windows is popular with regular people who just want to get things done
I'm sure DSL is a wonderful OS for those with the technical know-how to work out how to do this without any help, but it really is difficult for the rest of us.Perhaps I might try a different version of Linux, if I can find a free, but friendly flavor, that does this kind of thing for you.
Posted by ^thehatsrule^ on July 22 2006,20:35
| Code Sample |
| Well, scrub that idea! I obtained version 2.1b, booted up, and it still didn't connect via my wireless card. OK, perhaps I should just try the wrapper with the latest version. |
You'll need to download the ipw2200 driver still ( < http://distro.ibiblio.org/pub.....31.dsl > ) using the instructions from ( < http://distro.ibiblio.org/pub....sl.info > ). [This can also be seen from the myDSL icon on your desktop]
---
| Code Sample |
| OK, so my next move was to locate the w29n51.inf file, rather than the .sys file. Putting that into ndiswrapper, I still came up unable to connect. |
I'm not sure.. but did you have the other files in the same folder as well? Did you set Device to wlan0? Maybe you should manually specify your SSID (and WEP if applicable).
Actually maybe you probably have to _start_ your connection after setting up the hardware. What shows up under iwconfig and/or iwconfig -a ? Hopefully someone else will help out here.
---
| Code Sample |
| I'm about ready to give up on this, and Linux. Now I understand why Linux is popular with techies, and Windows is popular with regular people who just want to get things done I'm sure DSL is a wonderful OS for those with the technical know-how to work out how to do this without any help, but it really is difficult for the rest of us. |
Perhaps... but it's all a matter of perspective. Most are just used to windows, so setting things up in there are just the way they are familiar with. The first time I downloaded a program on windows and installed it and configured it, it took me over an hour with someone guiding me over the phone.
---
| Code Sample |
| Perhaps I might try a different version of Linux, if I can find a free, but friendly flavor, that does this kind of thing for you. |
I can't say DSL is the best for someone new to be setting up non-automagically set up hardware. However, it's the best distro out there for its tiny footprint, speed, and portability (to other machines). If speed/space isn't an issue for you (What are your machine specs?) you might want to try a full-fledged linux desktop distro. I'd recommend Ubuntu for you - its very user-friendly, has all the newest stuff out there, and has some great default settings. Apparently it also supports your wifi chipset out-of-the-box. Of course there are many many other distros and variations, but trying different ones is all part of the fun
. Of course if you decide to do this instead, once you feel up to it, try DSL again.---
On a side note: you could use the edit button instead of adding so many posts in a row >.>
Posted by Foucault on July 25 2006,12:59
As an update: After trying a few other Linux distros, I've found that they all seem to have a problem where the PRO/Wireless card is concerned. So far, I'm liking Puppy Linux - it seems to be friendly for Windows users and like DSL boots from a CD. There are instructions for installing the PRO/Wireless driver, and I'm getting a clarification via their forums.Thanks for all your help. Perhaps I'll revisit DSL once I get Puppy working.
Posted by stdoubt on Aug. 05 2006,22:27
Foucault,I'm surprised no-one has recommended to you to try
"ubuntu". It has support "out of the box" for your wireless chpset.
There is simply NO configuration required.
ubuntu is not perfect, but for a Windows convert it's really your
best bet to get up and running quickly. The ubuntu CDs are dual
purpose "liveCD" and InstallCDs so you can test it first. I have the 2915abg
which uses the same driver as your chip. It "just works"
Good Luck!
Posted by CappyCaffeine on Aug. 07 2006,00:05
Hi all!LTNS..
The problem with the Intel ProWireless 2200 is not the driver.. it is the firmware.
You need the firmware version 2.2 since the driver with DSL-N 0.1RC3 uses driver 1.01.
I have created a directory /lib/firmware but have not been able to modprobe ipw2200 and have it load the firmware properly.. gives me an error -2
So, the driver is in DSL-N, but the firmware will not load.. YET!
I'll work on it.ciao!
Cappy.
Posted by ^thehatsrule^ on Aug. 08 2006,06:20
| Quote (stdoubt @ Aug. 05 2006,18:27) |
| I'm surprised no-one has recommended to you to try "ubuntu". It has support "out of the box" for your wireless chpset. |
heh, in my previous post I did recommend that, but I suppose he's looking for a ready light distro.
Posted by Foucault on Aug. 08 2006,06:53
Well - it's interesting this topic has suddenly come to life again!I ended up trying Puppy Linux. I found the user-interface to be very friendly for one who had experience with Windows. The community there is fantastic, and helped me get through the inevitable teething troubles with getting my wireless card to work.
The upshot of this is: I am currently responding to this thread using Puppy Linux on my laptop using the IPW2200BG wireless card.
So, I'm up and running. I may revisit DSL at some point in the future, but right now I'm a very happy puppian!
Thanks for the help, guys!