Wireless Networking with a Zydas 1201 chip USB device and K?

[ewangr]

As the subject implies, I'm trying to figure out how to get a Belkin F5D6051 USB Stick 802.11b device to work with Knoppix. This device uses the Zydas 1201 chip, and the only driver I could find for this (at linux-lc100020.sourceforge.net) seems to require a kernel patch that I suspect would be a bit more "fun" using Knoppix.

Was wondering if anyone has been able to get this or any other device using this chip to work with Knoppix? Would also appreciate advice as to whether it's easier to use 2.4 or 2.6 kernel for doing this?

Thanks in advance!

[grant_vallance]

Greetings,

I am no Linux expert, but ....

I guess the easiest way you can do it using the Knoppix Live CD option (rather than a HD install) is to use the original Belkin Windows drivers under ndiswrapper.

(Being a novice, I am not sure whether it is possible or easy to upgrade the kernel while using a live CD. Again, I guess you probably could, but that it would be ugly.)

Anyway, that is what I would try, no doubt others could give you a better suggestion.

I have experience getting Belkin cards to work under Knoppix 3.6 (FD5700uk & FD57010uk -- Broadcom chipset) using ndiswrapper. Either 2.4 or 2.6 works, but I have had more success with 2.6. Details are in my post: Success with Knoppix 3.6 and Wireless Networking. Its a sticky so it should be easy to find

HTH

Grant D. Vallance

[ewangr]

I guess the easiest way you can do it using the Knoppix Live CD option (rather than a HD install) is to use the original Belkin Windows drivers under ndiswrapper.

Well, at this point I'd be happy to hear how to do it using an HD Install.

Running ndiswrapper either way (Live or Installed) it appears to install the file, but I then get a message that while the install was successful that there is no device found. I suspect this may have to do with the USB Device ID for the Belkin, which is not one that appears to be in the default files.

Help here would still be GREATLY appreciated.

[grant_vallance]

Apologies for being slighly obtuse.

I only mentioned the Live CD option, because I don't have a clue about the HD option, not having the chance yet to do a HD install, and learn from my mistakes. (Once my Linux box is built; that will be my project ...)

I have only been using Knoppix for a couple of weeks (on and off between writing my thesis and other duties); so I am not that experienced however, when you say that no device was found; when does that error come up? What is your proceedure for trying to activate the card?

The more details you supply, the easier it is to help; particularly for those who know what they are doing ... Anyway, here is another stab ...

Is the card seen with the command: iwconfig

I have seen a similar error, ie. card not being found or recognised, when trying to get my cards going under the Mepis live CD.

Mepis, at least the version I am trying, does not have the niswrapper script that Knoppix does, so I have to do ndiswrapper manually. I.e.

ndiswrapper -i /mnt/hda1/Belkin/bcwl5.inf

modprobe ndiswrapper

As you may guess /mnt/hda1/Belkin/bcwl5.inf is where the requisite driver is on my machine.

From there iwconfig should see your card.

A further manual proceedure would be:

iwconfig

Hopefully, the wireless card is recognised, then:

iwconfig wlan0 essid any

In you might need to set other parameters either using the iwconfig command ("man iwconfig" is very useful) or the wireless config scrip found in the Knoppix menu under Network/Internet menu.

Oh this also assumes wlan0 is the designation of your wireless card under iwconfig, then:

ifconfig wlan0 up

pump -i wlan0

IF you are using DHCP.

Otherwise the wlan config script and or the Networkcard config script should get things going.

I assume this should work the same under HD, if it works at all; apologise if I lead you astray. Its hard doing this without details. If you supply them _maybe_ I might be able to help, or someone more qualified.

HTH (this time!)

Grant D. Vallance

[ewangr]

OK, just to clarify...

There does not seem to be a copy of the Zydas driver in the normal places, so not surprisingly, dmesg shows that there's an unrecognized usb device.

Using the ndiswrapper that Knoppix has, I am able to "install" the appropriate files, but at the end of the install I get a message that the driver was successfully installed, but that no devices appear to make use of it. Looking at the ndiswrapper script and at dmesg, this seems to be a known condition, and occurs when the usb loader can't recognize the device id for the usb device that is attached.

As such, my assumption is that I either patch the kernel and compile the Zydas driver and install it - or that there is something I'm missing in configuring ndiswrapper to add the device id so it was recognized.

I am hoping that someone out there may have either this device (ideally), or have another device that uses this chip, that could provide their expertise in getting this working. Otherwise I will probably reinstall to the HD, do the kernel patch, and compile the driver. That isn't my preference (a bit time consuming on a PII 266), but preferable to having to run downstairs and take turns with the kids to access the internet

Thanks,
Ewan

[mintguy]

I have the same wireless ethernet USB dongle. Did you find a solution to this?

I'm donloading the LiveCD at the moment.

[sgwood]

Have any of you had any luck?

I have been trying to install my USB WLAN ZyDAS ZD1211 in Knoppix.

At http://sourceforge.net/projects/zd1211/ there is a Linux driver.

Here are the instructions:

Building zd1211:
------------

1) untar the package using the command:
tar zxvf zd1211-XXXX.tar.gz

2) cd into the new directory and use "make" and "make install"
to make and install driver.
Be sure to have your configured kernel source at /usr/src/linux
or type make KSRC=[my kernel], replacing [my kernel] with the
directory the kernel you want the driver to be compiled for.

Point 1 is pretty clear but point 2 just gets me nowhere.
If i "make" in the above mentioned path then I get:

root@box:~/Desktop/Stuff/zd1211# make
grep: /usr/src/linux/Makefile: No such file or directory

I guess there is no Make function avialable.

thanks for any replies,

Steven

[echo6]

I guess there is no Make function avialable.

You need to edit the Makefile to point to your current kernel source.

In any case I have not got this driver to work after compiling I get errors complaining about open, read, write and close functions not being available in the module

[sgwood]

thanks echo6,

i did manage to get the "make" function to work
by editing the Makefile with joe but
there then apears to be a lot of errors.

According to the Sourceforge forum there seems to be
a lot of people with the same problem
but here is one person that has got it working.

http://sourceforge.net/tracker/index...83&atid=713755

In this thread it mentions that the NET_RADIO flag in the
kernel needs to be checked. This will in turn load the CONFIG_NET_WIRELESS,
which then allows the driver to properly compile.

I don't know how one sets the NET_RADIO though?