DSL 3.3 and Linksys Wireless WPC54GS ver.2

Forum: Networking
Topic: DSL 3.3 and Linksys Wireless WPC54GS ver.2
started by: GDSLC

Posted by GDSLC on Sep. 03 2007,21:55

Hi, I'm new to DSL and so far loving it after bouncinging WinXP from my Dell Inspiron 1200. Everything seems to work except my wireless card. I would greatly appreciate any help and update this topic dilligently for others.

Config: Dell Inspiron 1200 with Cisco Linksys Wireless-G 2.4 GHz 802.11g Notebook Adapter with Speed Booster Model WPC54GS ver.2.

The card has one green light on and was working fine with Windows. When I access 'DSLpanel' and click 'Wlanconfig' I get a message that reads 'No wireless network card found.'.

I went to the DSL wiki which linked me to ndiswrapper.sourceforge.net where I found:

1. Card: Linksys WPC54GS v2 SpeedBooster, 54mbps/125mbps – < http://www.linksys.com/servlet....Wrapper >

* Chipset: Broadcom BCM4318 Airforce One 54g 802.11g Wireless LAN Controller (rev 02)
* pciid: 14e4:4318 (rev 02)
* Driver: Linksys Driver CD: /mnt/cdrom0/Driver/NT/LSBCMNDS.inf, bcmwl5.sys, LSBCMNDS.cat
* Other: Kernel: 2.6.15-1-586tsc, Ndiswrapper: 1.5-1 via Debian Etch, wpasupplicant: 0.4.9-1. Works fine, per WPA . Reports speed up to 125Mb/s.

I downloaded the zip but I can't find any instructions anywhere on how to utilize the contents of the zip file with DSL.

I'm not sophisticated with PCs and could really use a few step by steps.

Thanks! Gary

Posted by ^thehatsrule^ on Sep. 04 2007,00:23

To get the contents of the zip file, open a terminal and use `unzip <filename>`
That should get you everything in it, though I think ndiswrapper only needs the .inf and .sys files.

Posted by GDSLC on Sep. 05 2007,01:01

Hi and thanks for the reply. After unzipping I see a directory structure that looks like this:

home/dsl/WPC54GS Setup Wizard 2.1/Driver/9X and
home/dsl/WPC54GS Setup Wizard 2.1/Driver/NT

Both directories have 3 files: LSBCMNDS.cat, LSBCMNDS.inf, and bcmw15.sys

but I don't know which to use, I don't want to pick the wrong ones and then have trouble trying to uninstall them.

Also, I don't understand how to use NDISWRAPPER. After choosing it from DSLpanel, it displays 4 fields:

Inf file - I assume I put the path to one of the inf files listed above?
device - it already has the value 'wlan0' pre-filled
sid - is empty (is this the name of my router?)
wep - is empty

GDSLC

Posted by jpeters on Sep. 05 2007,01:21

Quote (GDSLC @ Sep. 04 2007,21:01)

Both directories have 3 files: LSBCMNDS.cat, LSBCMNDS.inf, and bcmw15.sys

but I don't know which to use, I don't want to pick the wrong ones and then have trouble trying to uninstall them.

Also, I don't understand how to use NDISWRAPPER. After choosing it from DSLpanel, it displays 4 fields:

Inf file - I assume I put the path to one of the inf files listed above?
device - it already has the value 'wlan0' pre-filled
sid - is empty (is this the name of my router?)
wep - is empty

GDSLC

I'm guessing the windows/9x drivers should work. Paste them into home/dsl and direct ndiswrapper to /home/dsl/LSBMMNDS.inf (you can rename it to "netcard" so that the default name works). Check what your SSID is for your router...it probably defaults to "linksys."

Run "ifconfig" in aterm to check what interface to type in. It's usually eth0 or ath0. If you haven't set up WEP, don't put in anything. The SSID and WEP setting are usually found by typing 192.168.1.1 into your browser. The default user is "admin", with no password.

Posted by roberts on Sep. 05 2007,01:23

Typically the .inf and .sys files need to be in the same directory.
If you wish to manually issue commands and step through the process you can.

Open a xterm as root
cd into the directory containing the .inf and .sys
# ndiswrapper -i LSBCMNDS.inf

Then check by using this command

# ndiswrapper -l

Should say hardware

# modprobe nsidwrapper

Next check to see if a wireless ethernet device has been created by using

# iwconfig

Hopefully you will see an unconfigured device, likely wlan0

If your router broadcasts and is open, no wep, you can try

# pump -i wlan0

If you are using wep then you can use instead

# iwconfig wlan0 essid name-of-your-router key 99:99:99:99

Where 99:99:... is your wep entered as colon separated pairs.
Then finally

# pump -i wlan0

There could be many reasons for failure, like irq conflicts, bus assignments etc.

But by steppping through the process you can see how far you can get.

HTH

Posted by GDSLC on Sep. 06 2007,01:22

jpeters and roberts, thanks for your replies!

I followed roberts instructions and BAM! it works (you are a computer GOD!). However, there is one small problem, when I turn off the PC, I have to repeat all the steps. How can I make the command sequence stick?

BTW, Here is my root session... the weird part is after I execute "ndiswrapper -l" it shows:

Installed drivers:
lsbcmnds driver installed, hardware present
netcard invalid driver!

Also, I am loving DSL, lightening quick startups, no rebooting, no viruses, Firefox is great, snappy UI,

Posted by GDSLC on Sep. 06 2007,01:27

jpeters and roberts, thanks for your replies!

I followed roberts instructions and BAM! it works (you are a computer GOD!). I can browse the net with Firefox. However, there are two small problems. First, after I execute "ndiswrapper -l" it shows:

Installed drivers:
lsbcmnds driver installed, hardware present
netcard invalid driver!
wpc54gs invalid driver!

Second, when I turn off the PC, and turn it on again, I lose the card, andI have to repeat all the steps. How can I make the command sequence stick between shutdowns?

Also, I am loving DSL - lightening quick startups, no rebooting, no viruses, Firefox is great, snappy performance, and clean UI. A real pleasure.

thanks again,

GDSLC

P.S. How the heck do you copy text from the command shell?

Posted by lucky13 on Sep. 06 2007,01:45

Quote

P.S. How the heck do you copy text from the command shell?

Read the "getting start" page that pops up in dillo. It tells you how to copy and paste from a terminal. If you're in the console (edit: you can also do what follows in an X terminal), you're limited to piping to a file unless you have a utility like screen. To pipe, use the greater-than sign between the command you need and an appropriate filename.

Code Sample

command > file.name

Or you can start vim and get whatever command output directly in vim by entering the following while in command mode:

Code Sample

:r !fullcommand

Then save that (:w filename) and quit (:q) to do whatever you need with it.

At least ninety-nine more ways to skin that cat...

Posted by roberts on Sep. 06 2007,02:11

Quote

Second, when I turn off the PC, and turn it on again, I lose the card, andI have to repeat all the steps. How can I make the command sequence stick between shutdowns?

You can enter those commands in a script or

Try to use the ndiswrapper gui. You now know what files, names, and key it wants.
Using the ndiswarpper.gui will make a script for you called myndis.sh

It is in /opt/ for DSL v3.x
and in /home/dsl/ for DSL v4.x

If the gui and/or its script does not work, you at least know what does work and you can edit the script. But likely the script will work.

For automatic wireless setup upon boot and the script to /opt/bootlocal.sh

For on demand use of your wireless, just execute the script with
$ sudo /opt/myndis.sh
Or make an icon to run this.

In DSL v4.x the icon and the script creation is done for you.

Posted by GDSLC on Sep. 07 2007,01:09

roberts, The NDISWRAPPER gui program did create the file you mentioned but I couldn't figure out how to make it execute from /opt/bootlocal.sh. When I tried executing myndis.sh from the command line, I got some message that pump can only be run by root. I ended up putting these 2 lines at the end of the file /etc/profile:

modprobe ndiswrapper
pump -i wlan0

Now when I boot up, Firefox connects immediately without me having to execute anything manually.

Thanks much for all your help! This board rocks!

GDSLC