Hello guys,

I got a mini pci-e wireless card (intel 3945 wireless), and want to install it into my desktop PC (dell OptiPlex 390 i5-2400 / Debian testing) through a mini pci-e to pci-e 1x card.

But Linux can not drive it. Command "lspci" can not list the wireless card either, nor the mini pci-e to pci-e 1x card. But this wireless card can be drived on a Linux laptop.

I installed the cards into another desktop PC with WINXP installed, and the wireless cards works fine.

I don't know which is the problem, the dell OptiPlex 390 matherboard or the lack of Linux drivers.
Please can you give some clue to make it work on my Linux PC?

Thank you.

Your problem probably lies somewhere in between no drivers for the adapter card, and the adapter card itself. I've never used one of those before, but I've heard less than spectacular things about them. Can you see the wireless card or the adapter through your machine's BIOS? If not then you're probably dealing with either a busted adapter card or incompatibility between the adapter and the motherboard.

I can't see the wireless card nor the adapter card in the machine's BIOS.
But I remember that I can't see them in the WINXP PC's BIOS either.
It's strange. I will find a Windows PC and check again tomorrow.

It sounds like your adapter might be bad. Let me know how it goes after checking it in another machine. If that machine doesn't detect it either, then that's where your problem is.