US Robotics 5417 card in Ubuntu

[Zak Jones!]

Hey, I'm having trouble using my 5417 card in Ubuntu. I know the card works, but Ubuntu isn't seeing any networks to connect to. There's obviously a network, but for some reason, Ubuntu doesn't see it.

Something is telling me that Ubuntu doesn't know it's got a card plugged into the motherboard, but what do I know?

[mrrangerman43]

Welcome to JL

Have you checked ifconfig to see what it lists? Open a terminal window and check the command. Also what output do you get from lspci you may need to prefix the command with sudo. Also check dmesg and post the output.

[i845_]

Hi Zak. Welcome to JL.

The wireless card that you mention (a US Robotics USR5417), is built around the Broadcom 4318 chip. It is known to be supported by NDISWrapper (I'm assuming that the built-in driver isn't somehow working...)

Here (http://www.linuxquestions.org/linux/answers/Networking/NdisWrapper_The_Ultimate_Guide/)'s a fool-proof guide to all your woes.

/* edit */

These pages are probably a bit *more* relevant...

Ubuntu Hardy: installing the b43 driver for Broadcom 4318 chips (http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=197102)
Ubuntu Hardy: Broadcom chips + NDISWrapper (http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=766560)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Here's how Wikipedia defines NDISWrapper (just in case...)

NDISWrapper is a free software driver wrapper that enables the use of Microsoft Windows drivers for wireless network devices (cards, USB modems, and routers), on Unix-like operating systems, for devices sharing the same architecture only, namely either the Intel x86 architecture or x86_64. NDISWrapper works by implementing the Windows kernel and NDIS APIs, and dynamically linking the driver to this implementation.

Native drivers for Unix and Linux are not available for many wireless network adapters, as manufacturers supply neither drivers nor the information required to write them. NDISWrapper allows Windows drivers available for virtually all adapters to be used under Unix and Linux.

[Zak Jones!]

Wow, such quick, competent help. Thanks a bunch. Anyways, I can't get Ubuntu to let me enable the built-in driver. If you know of a way to force that, I'd like to know.

i845_,

Otherwise, I'm working on getting NDISWrapper to work. I can't download it, 'cause the internet doesn't work...

mrrangerman,

I'm going to have to log the terminal after I type all your commands. I'll edit the file onto this post in a minute or two

[Zak Jones!]

/*EDIT/*

zak@zaks-computer:~$ ifconfig
eth0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:07:e9:bf:a7:e0
UP BROADCAST MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1
RX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
RX bytes:0 (0.0 B) TX bytes:0 (0.0 B)

lo Link encap:Local Loopback
inet addr:127.0.0.1 Mask:255.0.0.0
inet6 addr: ::1/128 Scope:Host
UP LOOPBACK RUNNING MTU:16436 Metric:1
RX packets:688 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:688 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:0
RX bytes:35584 (34.7 KB) TX bytes:35584 (34.7 KB)

zak@zaks-computer:~$ lspci
00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation 82845G/GL[Brookdale-G]/GE/PE DRAM Controller/Host-Hub Interface (rev 01)
00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation 82845G/GL[Brookdale-G]/GE Chipset Integrated Graphics Device (rev 01)
00:1d.0 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801DB/DBL/DBM (ICH4/ICH4-L/ICH4-M) USB UHCI Controller #1 (rev 01)
00:1d.1 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801DB/DBL/DBM (ICH4/ICH4-L/ICH4-M) USB UHCI Controller #2 (rev 01)
00:1d.2 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801DB/DBL/DBM (ICH4/ICH4-L/ICH4-M) USB UHCI Controller #3 (rev 01)
00:1d.7 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801DB/DBM (ICH4/ICH4-M) USB2 EHCI Controller (rev 01)
00:1e.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801 PCI Bridge (rev 81)
00:1f.0 ISA bridge: Intel Corporation 82801DB/DBL (ICH4/ICH4-L) LPC Interface Bridge (rev 01)
00:1f.1 IDE interface: Intel Corporation 82801DB (ICH4) IDE Controller (rev 01)
00:1f.3 SMBus: Intel Corporation 82801DB/DBL/DBM (ICH4/ICH4-L/ICH4-M) SMBus Controller (rev 01)
00:1f.5 Multimedia audio controller: Intel Corporation 82801DB/DBL/DBM (ICH4/ICH4-L/ICH4-M) AC'97 Audio Controller (rev 01)
01:00.0 Network controller: Broadcom Corporation BCM4318 [AirForce One 54g] 802.11g Wireless LAN Controller (rev 02)
01:08.0 Ethernet controller: Intel Corporation 82801DB PRO/100 VE (LOM) Ethernet Controller (rev 81)


there you go!




BTW, I'm going to take this opportunity to say that I'm totally new to linux, in case you hadn't figured that out already.

[i845_]

@Zak

The lspci listing that you posted has this entry:
01:00.0 Network controller: Broadcom Corporation BCM4318 [AirForce One 54g] 802.11g Wireless LAN Controller (rev 02)

so we know now that the card is indeed a Broadcom 4318.

I can't get Ubuntu to let me enable the built-in driver.

Seems to me like a problem of interfering modules (unsure). Try disabling it before using NDISWrapper.

I can't download it, 'cause the internet doesn't work...

You could download the packages manually here (http://packages.ubuntu.com). Run a search for ndiswrapper. You need the ndiswrapper-common, and ndiswrapper-utils-1.9 packages. Make sure that you download the appropriate packages for your Ubuntu release (hardy, feisty,...). You'll also need the Windows drivers (http://rapidshare.com/files/140337551/broadcom-wlan.tar.bz2.html) for your card.

You will end up with two .deb files and a .tar.bz2 file. Place all of these in your home directory (/home/zak). The .tar.bz2 file contains the Windows drivers in a compressed form. The .deb files represent installable software packages for your Ubuntu system. Of these, install ndiswrapper-common first, and then, ndiswrapper-utils.

Here's the command to install a .deb package:

sudo dpkg -i <path to the appropriate .deb file>

Now, follow this (http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=766560), ignoring these steps:

Step 1, lines 2 and 3:

sudo apt-get install ndiswrapper-utils-1.9
mkdir ~/bcm43xx; cd ~/bcm43xx

The whole of step 2. Instead, issue this:

tar jxvf broadcom-wlan.tar.bz2 && cd broadcom-wlan

The rest is the same.

Once you're done with setting up NDISWrapper, configure (https://help.ubuntu.com/community/WifiDocs/WirelessNetworking) your wireless card, and enjoy.

[Zak Jones!]

:eek: Wow. That's absolutely the best looking, most helpful post I've ever seen on a forum. I feel bad for solving it on my own now. :( If it's any consolation, I really appreciate it a lot, and JL is now going to be my primary support forum.

Turns out my computer just didn't have the drivers 'cause it wasn't completely updated. I plugged it directly into the internet, and had the update manager do its thing. Checked the hardware stuff, and the B43 driver was there, waiting to be checked.

Thanks again!