Knoppix and Wireless

**aay** · 10-29-2003, 04:54 AM

Ok some people will like me posting this and some won't, because it's essentially it's a post about using closed sorce drivers. Moreover they are Windows drivers with wrappers. I can't resist however because it simply looks so interesting.

Anyone who has wanted to use 802.11g (Broadcom Chip) or Intel Centrino wireless with linux has basically been up the creek until now. But it looks like there is now an option to at least get these working.

If you fall into this category, check out the following page:

http://www.linuxant.com/driverloader/

Linuxant has produced debs for their driver loader so the install shouldn't be hard. I don't yet have any requsite hardware to test these things on, but I would be interested in hearing the experiences of those who try to get their centrino wireless working.

Ok, now flame me for suggesting you use closed source.

**arkaoss** · 10-29-2003, 11:14 PM

woah! this is pretty interesting
I downloaded this, installed it, had to sign up my email with them to "liscence"
and my broadcom which is one of the bcm94301's which isn't mentioned as supported is now at least being noticed by IWCONFIG!!!

this is awsome!
i think now it's just a matter of learning how linux interfaces with wifi, i.e. establishing connections, and getting IP from dhcp, (as test)
but it looks like this thingy might be a good tide-over..
hopefully their willing to at least keep it as "free" as possible....
they seem to charge $15 for other stuff.... I say the manufacturers.. if they ain't willin to make the drivers ought to accept this as a common ground..

i think this is WORKING, and that's a lot better than NUTHIN!

**MarineSct** · 11-04-2003, 05:17 AM

Well, Ive got the 802.11g setup and had probs with Suse's networking...especially having a cable connection behind a Belkin router. Popped this baby in and *BAM* instant access to the net. No hastles.

**paranouei** · 11-08-2003, 10:27 PM

Got it working in a Knoppix 3.3 installed to hard drive. Just install de deb, follow the steps to compile de modules, and then use your browser to upload the windows drivers.

I'm writing this from my Acer Travelmate 800 with Intel Centrino wireless card. Range is great (much better than a PCMCIA Ovislink I tried), and the driver so far works well under linux. I can scan with "iwlist eth1 scan", and set the essid, encryption key, ap, and some more commands with iwconfig.

My main complaint is that when I lose contact with the accesspoint I get:

Code:

Nov  8 10:55:31 murdock kernel: NETDEV WATCHDOG: eth1: transmit timed out
Nov  8 10:55:31 murdock kernel: eth1: Tx timeout! <6>eth1: New link status: Disconnected (0002)

And even if I get connected again, I have to bring down the interface with "ifconfig eth1 down" and bring it up again to make it work. But I don't know if this is a common problem with all wireless devices or just this driver.

**Chribu** · 11-11-2003, 02:45 AM

did you use the drivers from the link on linuxant's web site?
i have a acer travelmate 800LCi but it says it can't find the supported hardware.
i am uploading w70n51.inf

btw when i reboot the web server isn't active anymore, how comes?

Can you get monitor mode active (to use pgms such as kismet)?

**rbrown3rd** · 11-12-2003, 03:05 PM

I am completely new to Knoppix but have a Dell 8500 laptop. I get Knoppix running ok on it but no wireless connection. Sounds like this is a solution but I have no idea how to get it onto the Knoppix CD. Could someone explain it to me as if I were a four year old? Thanks.

Originally Posted by aay

Ok some people will like me posting this and some won't, because it's essentially it's a post about using closed sorce drivers. Moreover they are Windows drivers with wrappers. I can't resist however because it simply looks so interesting.

Anyone who has wanted to use 802.11g (Broadcom Chip) or Intel Centrino wireless with linux has basically been up the creek until now. But it looks like there is now an option to at least get these working.

If you fall into this category, check out the following page:

http://www.linuxant.com/driverloader/

Linuxant has produced debs for their driver loader so the install shouldn't be hard. I don't yet have any requsite hardware to test these things on, but I would be interested in hearing the experiences of those who try to get their centrino wireless working.

Ok, now flame me for suggesting you use closed source.

**banquo0807** · 11-12-2003, 05:12 PM

I have a compaq 2500 laptop with an integrated broadcom chip. I have knoppix 3.3 installed to my hard drive. I can get the wireless to work and it works great, but when i reboot it stops functioning. How can I get this to work everytime without reinstalling the drivers? Is it possible for it to work on startup automatically? If not, how do I control it?

**Stephen** · 11-12-2003, 07:19 PM

Originally Posted by banquo0807

I have a compaq 2500 laptop with an integrated broadcom chip. I have knoppix 3.3 installed to my hard drive. I can get the wireless to work and it works great, but when i reboot it stops functioning. How can I get this to work everytime without reinstalling the drivers? Is it possible for it to work on startup automatically? If not, how do I control it?

If you have to modprobe a module to get it working then you should just add the module name to the file /etc/modules and it will be loaded on boot. If this is not what you do could you post some more details as to the steps involved.

**banquo0807** · 11-12-2003, 09:24 PM

I install driverloader from the deb file I downloaded. Then I just follow the instructions to install the drivers. I do nothing special or extra other than follow the instructions.

**Stephen** · 11-12-2003, 10:35 PM

Originally Posted by banquo0807

I install driverloader from the deb file I downloaded. Then I just follow the instructions to install the drivers. I do nothing special or extra other than follow the instructions.

You should look in the documentents directory for the .deb package you installed it is usually located in /usr/share/doc/package_name there may be additional instructions on how to setup the driver to load automatically. If you can not find anything in the docs how about some clue as to what the instructions told you to do where you found the driver that kind of thing we will need a little more information to help.