WLan, I need help please

[velocity8]

OK, I am sad to say my first post here is this but, Ihave read thoroughly 2 weeks worth of WLAN stuff and cant find help. I have posted in other forums but can't get help. Can s1 please give me a 1to1 walkthrough with this, I need internet at my desktop bady. Ihave a Linksys WMP11 V4 and I read a post just like it but cant get it to work.

I just did a fresh install of Fedora 8, what should I do, I am trying to get my wireless card to connect to the internet? I have other computers and a usb to transfer files.

Thank you so much for your answers.
Kenny

Edit: also, I am a complete noob at Linux so please have patience if I ask a question about the terminal

[Zero-Override]

have you read about ndiswrapper? for linksys this is the way to go (it's HARD to get working if your not lucky, i know from experience)

there are a LOT of guides for it ;) one drawback can be that you need quite a few packages to get it running which may be hard if you don't have any internet ;)

*edit*
i had a WMP54G V4.1

[velocity8]

yes i have read about it, but I get errors so I just did a fresh install and wanted to know if someone could give me a step by step help guide.

Thanks for yuor speedy answer though

[velocity8]

also I have kernel 2.6.23 if that helps, does anyone know what to do??

[Agares]

Ok to install ndiswrapper do this in the terminal and make sure your connected to the internet:
su -
yum install kmod-ndiswrapper

Next install an xp driver as root:
ndiswrapper -i /location of driver/<driver>.inf

Then do this to make sure it got installed
ndiswrapper -l

These next commands I can't remember if you need them or not. It's been a while since I have used ndiswrapper but here they are you can look them up in man ndiswrapper.

ndiswrapper -m
ndiswrapper -ma

After this you can use modprobe to load the driver or just restart the computer either way is fine.

[velocity8]

hey agares, thanks for the answer, but I dont have internet through that computer. Is there a way to do it without internet.

[Agares]

Yes but you'll need to go to the Livna repository on another computer. I forgot to mention to download the rpm for that in the instructions it will be called something like livna-release-<fedora version>.rpm. Just google it and find the file that matches your kernel version. It will be named kmod-ndiswrapper-<kernel version>.rpm. After that the rest of the instructions will work. Also the repository is an ftp site just to let you know.

[Zero-Override]

his way is the proper way (and you the -m and -ma were required for updating some files i believe)
use an rpm searchengine to locate the kmod-ndiswrapper and look at its dependancies ;) (not all searchengines provide this but most do ;)

[Agares]

Ya thanks Zero-Override I forgot about those. A good one to use is rpmfind.net.

[velocity8]

ok i am gonna do this now, what are dependencies?

also how do i make sure which kernel i have?

[Zero-Override]

"uname -a" will show you which kernel you have
dependancies are the files a program needs to operate (like if you install a mediaplayer it needs sounddrivers to operate and codecs to decode the music)

good luck :)

[velocity8]

I just downlaod my kernel, i am going to install it in 5 sec. I will edit this post to tell u the results, one last thing, how do i install rpms?

[velocity8]

this is really stupid, it says i cant install the rpm bcz It cant retrieve software info, bcz there IS NO INTERNET CONNECTION.

I think i realized that. How can i install it then, through the terminal?ive been using the software installer that comes w/ fedora. How do i install it from the terminal its downloaded to my Desktop.

Thanks

[Zero-Override]

rpm -ivh <location and name of the .rpm file>
that's how you install it ;) (and then it won't check for online crap ;) )

also, yes i believe there is a difference between the 2 versions, but i also recall reading something about it not really mattering all that much anymore since 2.6.18 kernel but for safety i'd say it does matter

[velocity8]

Ok i think i got this right, I went into terminal as root and typed "rpm -i file.rpm" I typed in the actual file., and I get this error:

Failed Dependenices:
ndiswrapper-kmod-common >= 1.48 is needed ....

What do i need to install if i did it right?

Edit: i just read your post, zero, and I typed it in that way and got the same error.

On another note, Im pretty sure I should use 686 since its for AMD, and i got a 2nd other dependency for trying 586. (it was a kernel for 586)

[velocity8]

Sorry bout this but i can connect thorugh my ethernet to the web. What should I type in the terminal to install ndiswrapper?

[Agares]

Just do this:

su -
rpm -ihv http://rpm.livna.org/livna-release-8.rpm

then follow the instructions I gave you earlier. :D

[Zero-Override]

in this case you need the ndiswrapper-kmod-common installed before you install ndiswrapper itself

there is also a kernelbug (not sure if it is fixed by now though, it's an old one) but sometimes Fedora can identify a 686 computer as 586

what type of AMD do you have? if you have a fairly new computer (one year old) then you will most likely want to go with 686. also, if you aren't sure, go with 386, that's always good ;)


*edit*
missed the second page, sorry ;)

[velocity8]

Ok, I followed Agares's proposal and I think I installed ndiswrapper, heres the code, what should I do now?

Code:
[velocity8@localhost ~]$ su -
Password:
[root@localhost ~]# su -
[root@localhost ~]# rpm -ihv http://rpm.livna.org/livna-release-8.rpm
Retrieving http://rpm.livna.org/livna-release-8.rpm
warning: /var/tmp/rpm-xfer.FmumY1: Header V3 DSA signature: NOKEY, key ID a109b1ec
Preparing... ########################################### [100%]
1:livna-release ########################################### [100%]
[root@localhost ~]# yum install kmod-ndiswrapper
livna 100% |=========================| 2.1 kB 00:00
primary.sqlite.bz2 100% |=========================| 313 kB 00:02
Setting up Install Process
Parsing package install arguments
Resolving Dependencies
--> Running transaction check
---> Package kmod-ndiswrapper.i686 0:1.52-4.lvn8.1 set to be updated
--> Processing Dependency: kmod-ndiswrapper-2.6.24.3-50.fc8 = 1.52-4.lvn8.1 for package: kmod-ndiswrapper
--> Running transaction check
---> Package kmod-ndiswrapper-2.6.24.3-50.fc8.i686 0:1.52-4.lvn8.1 set to be updated
--> Processing Dependency: kernel-i686 = 2.6.24.3-50.fc8 for package: kmod-ndiswrapper-2.6.24.3-50.fc8
--> Processing Dependency: ndiswrapper-kmod-common >= 1.52 for package: kmod-ndiswrapper-2.6.24.3-50.fc8
--> Running transaction check
---> Package ndiswrapper.i386 0:1.52-1.lvn8 set to be updated
---> Package kernel.i686 0:2.6.24.3-50.fc8 set to be updated
--> Finished Dependency Resolution

Dependencies Resolved

================================================== ===========================
Package Arch Version Repository Size
================================================== ===========================
Installing for dependencies:
kernel i686 2.6.24.3-50.fc8 updates 17 M
kmod-ndiswrapper i686 1.52-4.lvn8.1 livna 8.2 k
kmod-ndiswrapper-2.6.24.3-50.fc8 i686 1.52-4.lvn8.1 livna 91 k
ndiswrapper i386 1.52-1.lvn8 livna 33 k

Transaction Summary
================================================== ===========================
Install 4 Package(s)
Update 0 Package(s)
Remove 0 Package(s)

Total download size: 17 M
Is this ok [y/N]: y
Downloading Packages:
(1/4): kmod-ndiswrapper-1 100% |=========================| 8.2 kB 00:00
(2/4): kmod-ndiswrapper-2 100% |=========================| 91 kB 00:01
(3/4): kernel-2.6.24.3-50 100% |=========================| 17 MB 01:50
(4/4): ndiswrapper-1.52-1 100% |=========================| 33 kB 00:00
warning: rpmts_HdrFromFdno: Header V3 DSA signature: NOKEY, key ID a109b1ec
Importing GPG key 0xA109B1EC "Livna.org rpms <rpm-key@livna.org>" from /etc/pki/rpm-gpg/RPM-GPG-KEY-livna
Is this ok [y/N]: y
warning: rpmts_HdrFromFdno: Header V3 DSA signature: NOKEY, key ID 4f2a6fd2
Importing GPG key 0x4F2A6FD2 "Fedora Project <fedora@redhat.com>" from /etc/pki/rpm-gpg/RPM-GPG-KEY-fedora
Is this ok [y/N]: y
Running rpm_check_debug
Running Transaction Test
Finished Transaction Test
Transaction Test Succeeded
Running Transaction
Installing: kernel ######################### [1/4]
Installing: ndiswrapper ######################### [2/4]
Installing: kmod-ndiswrapper ######################### [3/4]
Installing: kmod-ndiswrapper-2.6.24.3-50 ######################### [4/4]

Dependency Installed: kernel.i686 0:2.6.24.3-50.fc8 kmod-ndiswrapper.i686 0:1.52-4.lvn8.1 kmod-ndiswrapper-2.6.24.3-50.fc8.i686 0:1.52-4.lvn8.1 ndiswrapper.i386 0:1.52-1.lvn8
Complete!

[velocity8]

I installed the Windows driver, and when I type ndiswrapper -l, I see my driver listed as installed, and my device is present. What do I do next?

[Agares]

Ok next you will need to download the drivers you need. Then you need to do this as root:

ndiswrapper -i /<driver location>/<driver>.inf
ndiswrapper -m
ndiswrapper -ma

You will probably need to extract them from an exe I will look around to see what I can find. Unless you already know of a way Zero-Override?

[Agares]

Can you show the output of ndiswrapper -l ?

[velocity8]

Yeah I did that already, read my post above to tell me what to do next.

Thanks Agares

[velocity8]

output of ndiswrapper -l:

lsipnds: driver installed
device (its to longto type) present

[Agares]

Ok how about the output of dmesg | grep <device name> you probably only need the chipset name for example mine is Broadcom.

[Agares]

Ok I missed the part where you said it was working my bad lol I was doing this to help diagnose the problem. Ok next you will need to setup NetworkManager. So are you using the gnome or kde desktop?

[velocity8]

gnome desktop

[Agares]

Ok go to System > Administration > Services then at the top you should see NetworkManager and NetworkManagerDispathcer. Make sure those are checked and when you have them seleceted go ahead and start them.

[velocity8]

ok i did that

[Agares]

Ok you should be ready to go. A little NetworkManager icon should now be in your system tray. :) If there arent any wireless networks around though it wont show up.

[velocity8]

hey agares, one last thing, I did iwconfig and it said it isnt associated to any access points so there is no internet.
Any ideas?

[Agares]

I forgot to mention to set the network settings to let networkmanager control the connection.

[Agares]

Go to System > Administration > Network
Then select your device and hit edit. After that select Controlled by NetworkManager.

[velocity8]

I went to the network, but Idoesn't see my device. How do I switch this?
Kenny

[Zero-Override]

did you install any drivers?
which wlan card do you have?
what is the output of "lspci" ?
lol :P

[velocity8]

OK, yes i installed drivers when i do ndiswrapper -l i get my driver installed and my device is present. I have a linksys wmp11v4

The output of lspci is all of my pci cards, nothing specific

[Zero-Override]

have you done a modprobe?
modprobe -a
modprobe -m
modprobe -ma
i think all of these were required to make ndiswrapper work (about 95% sure)

[velocity8]

i did those, but I still cant see my access point.

How can I fix this? Can I just switch back to Windows and have Wifi

[velocity8]

Please can anyone help me?

Kenny

[Agares]

There have been issues with Fedora 8 on wireless. It's apparently some sort of regression that is said to be fixed in the latest Kernel and NetworkManager packages. You could try doing

yum update kernel kernel-devel kmod-ndiswrapper NetworkManager

the kernel-devel is the kernel development package you may need this later.

[Alej0]

I'm having the exact same problem as velicity8, just with a different card model (WMP54G). Drivers seem to be installed, and my device is recognized, but in the System > Administration > Network, I can't find it anywhere.
I also can't use the
yum update kernel kernel-devel kmod-ndiswrapper NetworkManager
since I cannot alternatively connect with a wire.
Is there anywhere I could download these through a vista computer and thereafter transfer them to the fedora pc via USB?
Thanks,
Alex

[Agares]

There should be a wizard under the Network thing that will let you add the device.