More ThinkPad ProblemsForum: Laptops Topic: More ThinkPad Problems started by: GodMedia Posted by GodMedia on Sep. 28 2004,07:52
I'm currently using an IBM ThinkPad 2621-A20 iSeries laptop.I have tried a couple of different live CDs (all Knoppix variants) and I always have the same problem: my Linksys WPC11 Wireless PCMCIA card won't work. This precludes me from accessing the Internet or my network thus keeping me from being able to fully partake of Linux on my laptop. I don't want to give up my Windows XP Pro setup as I am a graphics and video designer and I am very happy with the software I am currently using for my work, but I do want to learn more Linux and make use of it as much as I can. What can I do to fix this problem? Please note that I am very new at Linux so I ask that you please respond with simple, clear instructions. I learn quick, but I am just starting out at this. Posted by GodMedia on Sep. 28 2004,21:11
No one even knows what I'm talking about, eh?
Posted by cbagger01 on Sep. 28 2004,22:22
Truth be told,those Linksys WPC11 cards a touch-and-go with linux. Depending on the version of the firmware inside your card your experience could range from just "plug-n-go", to loading special drivers, to out-of-luck. You might be able to get the card to work in Linux using the MS Windows driver files and a program called ndiswrapper. Try using the "Search" button at the top of this page and search for either "WPC11" or "ndiswrapper" and search ALL FORUMs FROM THE BEGINNING or NEWER. Hope this helps. Posted by GodMedia on Sep. 29 2004,01:16
You know, I am getting pretty fed up with the whole Linux and open-source thing already. I have yet to find any distro of Linux that will work right with all of my hardware all at once without a ton of fixes and reverse engineering.This is not to mention that none of the apps that I want to use are available on Linux without a bunch of emulation and other bloatware. The native Linux stuff that looks interesting has buglists a mile long and often hasn't been updated in a year or more. And this whole attitude of "some stuff works, some stuff don't" is just plain BS. I want to sit at my computer and do my work, not sit and work at trying to get my computer to be useable. It makes me want to just go out and send a nice thank you note to Bill Gates. Posted by ke4nt1 on Sep. 29 2004,02:04
along with many hundreds of dollars of your cash.. and another several hundred of your dollars to vendors who create bloatware that require numerous patches, registration, EULA's , piggyback other programs, yearly upgrade fees, etc.. and several hundred more to other vendors that create other softwares that patch holes, stop macros, remove viruses, firewall your network, and also require frequent updates to fix bugs and broken functions.. If your truly into graphics/video production on Windows boxes, your very familiar with the Matrox's, Adobe's, Pinnacle's, Scenarist's, Macromedia's, Sonic's forever patching and updating their softwares to fix even the lamest of production challenges.. If your serious about Graphic design and Video/DVD production, get a mac. You'll pay even more bucks for hardware and software, but you'll get the job done .. If you need to check your mail, browse the web, manage your servers securely, create business and professional documents, and communicate virus-free with the computing community at large, linux offers a wealth of advantages and a world of possibilities, without the need to empty your wallet or share your valuable personal information with any jr. high school script kiddie.. And I use a WPC11 wireless card without any difficulties in DSL .. Would you like some help? 73 ke4nt Posted by cbagger01 on Sep. 29 2004,02:25
Go for it. Windows is a great OS to get some work done.From your description of your needs, you are trying to use the wrong OS. Basically, you have 3 choices: (1) Use MS Windows ™. As far as hardware support goes, most stuff works great. Why? Because it is the dominant operating system of the planet Earth and a hardware vendor would be a fool to make and sell a product for the average user and not write a driver for it. You shouldn't be thanking Bill Gates. Instead, thank Linksys for their great Windows hardware support. Microsoft doesn't write the drivers, Linksys programmers do. Linksys leaves the Linux driver writing to VOLUNTEER programmers who reverse-engineer the driver by playing with the hardware because the vendors don't even publish the hardware / software specifications for their products. If you think that this is a Linux-only problem, you are mistaken. Try to get Windows (nt) or Windows 95 drivers for the latest hardware and you will reach the same dead end, only without the hoards of volunteers trying to bridge the gap for you. (2) Use a Macintosh ™. While it doesn't have the breadth of hardware and software that MSWindows has, the stuff that is made for the Mac JUST WORKS. And as a bonus the operating system doesn't crash or get infected with viri or worms every 6 months or so. (3) Use Linux, but do some HOMEWORK first and find out if that snazzy new wireless card plays nice with Linux or not. It's not hard. Red Hat and a bunch of other vendors have compatibility lists that are easily accessable. Or you could always use < http://www.google.com > to search for information. It takes about 5 minutes of advanced scouting before you go out and buy that card. In fact, there is a "Wireless Cards supported by DSL" thread in this very forum if you bothered to look before you started whining about how nobody answered your post after a few hours. In case you were wondering, nobody cares if you use Windows instead of Linux. I know I don't. I am using Windows right now myself, so why should I care if you are too lazy to help yourself or don't want to learn new things while you gain a greater understanding about how your computer works. Use the right tool for the job. In your case, that tool is Win2000/WinXP Posted by cbagger01 on Sep. 29 2004,02:42
Oh yeah, I almost forgot:All of those neat Windows programs that are sold in those nice shiny shrink-wrapped boxes also have buglists a mile long. The only difference is that the open source projects let you read the buglists. This is also true for Windows, assuming that you use Windows Update to keep yourself current. Just for giggles, start Windows Explorer and look at your C:\windows or C:\winnt directory. How many directories that begin with "$NtUninstall" do you see? Each one of them represents a collection of bugfixes that were downloaded into your computer. For my XP SP1 install, I count 46 of them, and this doesn't include any of the fixes that were already covered by my SP1 update. But look on the bright side. There are people at Microsoft working very hard to fix all of the problems that are discovered in Win XP. Enjoy this while it lasts because Microsoft may follow their product support cycle and stop doing this for XP at the end of next year because the OS is no longer supported. Of course you could always pony up the dough for Longhorn or stop using your current computer and replace it with a new one that has Longhorn preinstalled on it. Even if your current computer is still quite usable. Posted by GODMEDIA on Sep. 29 2004,02:47
Having been interested in computers since the days of the Commodore Vic-20 and C64, I have been out of the loop on much more than the PC and Microsofts products for some time due to the kind of work I do.I never expected Linux to do all of the things I can do on my Windows box or with a Mac, I don't need it to. I just want to mess with it a bit and get a feel for what it can do. I bought my WPC11 a while back before I ever messed with Linux on this box, and it works fine for what I want it to do with this box. I wanted to try out Linux but can't because as usual Linux doesn't play well with a lot of different hardware. I don't think I want to shell out any money for a new wifi card just to mess with Linux, particularly when Linux is so often free for the downloading. This situation is frustrating to many of us who are wanting to try Linux but come from a Windows and DOS world. Sure, there is going to be a learning curve to getting into Linux, that's why forums exist. I shouldn't have to come here and be afraid to ask a question, however dull-headed, just because I'm new to Linux. I admit I don't know much about Linux, but I want to learn. It is very frustrating, however, to try and learn when I can't have something as simple as my wifi card working. Now, is there anyone who can explain to me how to get this card working? Should I ditch the wifi and just use my 3Com and some cat-5 to connect to my network instead? Or should I just ditch the idea of even trying Linux and go on paying for Mr. Gates' new yacht? Posted by ke4nt1 on Sep. 29 2004,03:21
There are many people using the WPC v2 and v3 cards..The latest, v4, requires a bit of trickery, but nothing you couldn't walk-thru one time... If you did purchase your card "a ways back" , chances are very good you have the v2 or v3 version, which is not "plug n pray" , but is very easy to setup .. Try these for starters in a root shell .. wlanctl-ng wlan0 lnxreq_ifstate ifstate=enable wlanctl-ng wlan0 lnxreq_autojoin ssid=YOUR_SSID authtype=opensystem pump -i wlan0 or iwconfig wlan0 essid "myssid" > whatever essid you use iwconfig wlan0 enc aa:bb:cc:dd:ee: > your encryption key, if you use one in hex pump -i wlan0 Let us know what card you have.. Once you get it up and running, backing up the settings is easy, than you never have to mess with it again.. 73 ke4nt Posted by GODMEDIA on Sep. 29 2004,03:23
Very cool, thank you! I am not at that box just now, but I will print this and try it out when I get home in a little while and also let you know more then. Thanks again! Posted by ke4nt1 on Sep. 29 2004,03:42
Let us know....73 ke4nt Posted by GodMedia on Sep. 29 2004,06:38
*sigh*Well, it appears that I didn't buy my WPC11 long ago enough, it is a Version 4. I went ahead and tried the commands you gave me, but no joy (obviously). I kept getting a "no such device" response. What do I do now? Posted by GodMedia on Sep. 29 2004,23:51
Okay, I am now browsing on the net with DSL and Dillo using my 3Com card and a wired connection (that's right CAT-5 to the rescue). It's pretty cool, but I would still prefer to go wireless with my WPC11. Sadly, as I said before, it is a v4, so I know that it will require a bit of work, but what can I do?Anyways, it's cool to be on the net with Linux! Posted by ke4nt1 on Sep. 30 2004,00:48
Goto ndiswrapper.sourceforge.net..Get the recommended WINDOWS DRIVERS for the card. Make sure you have an *.inf file and a *.sys file Let us know when you've got them in hand .. 73 ke4nt Posted by GodMedia on Sep. 30 2004,02:54
Cool!I've got the latest drivers for windows from the link at ndiswrapper. One quick super-newbie question: I used WinXP to DL the drivers to a folder on my HD, but I have not been able to understand how to read the files on my HD from DSL, or any other flavor of Linux for that matter. Perhaps it will all become clear once we get going, eh? Anyways, I've got what you asked for. Posted by ke4nt1 on Sep. 30 2004,03:15
Is your XP partition NTFS, and is it the first partition on the Hard Drive( typically is.. ) There is a mount app in your slit - the bar of tools in the right hand lower corner. In the mount app there are 2 arrows, and a 'screw' shaped button next to them.. press the arrows till you see the drive hda1 press the screw button, it will turn green now you have mounted read-only your NTFS XP partition. open the emelfm app, ( filing cabinet icon on the left side of the screen ) maneuver to the /mnt directory by clicking thru up directories inside it , you will see the hda1 directory. click on it to open it, and you will see your XP files.. 73 ke4nt Posted by GodMedia on Sep. 30 2004,03:24
Okay, I'm in!Now, I have the drivers you asked for, what do I do with them? Posted by ke4nt1 on Sep. 30 2004,09:10
...schweet...Grab the latest release.. 0.8.2 We have incorporated both ndiswrapper and an easy to use gui with it. This verson of DSL was released to the public about an hour ago, ......sri about the wait - I knew it was coming, and it's better than walking you thru a compile and install :-) Using your desktop menu, goto System > Net Setup > ndiswrapper Fill in the blanks... 1. Location to your .inf file > if on another partition, make sure you mount it first 2. Device = I'd leave it wlan0 for now 3. SID = your essid for your router/access point 4. WEP = your encryption key , if you use one = e.g. aa:bb:cc:dd:ee:ff:gg:hh:ii:jj:kk:ll:mm:nn for a 128 bit key 5. click "OK" - look for blinkie lights on your card if you have them If you have troubles, check the ndiswrapper website for tips.. If you want to backup/restore these changes to survive a reboot, let me know, and I can help with that too.. Enjoy ! 73 ke4nt Posted by GodMedia on Sep. 30 2004,17:41
W00t! as they say in the hacker-kiddie circlesThank you! I'll set this up tonight when I can get to my other machine (with the CD burner). I will let you know how it goes. Posted by GodMedia on Oct. 01 2004,01:36
Well, just an update before moving on to other issues somewhere else. Got my WPC11 v4 working with DSL 0.8.2 and ndiswrapper following the instructions ke4nt gave me. If anyone else has these issues, this looks to be the answer!Thanks again for the help! Posted by ke4nt1 on Oct. 01 2004,01:57
Good Work, GodMedia..73 ke4nt |