[SOLVED] cant get wifi card to work

schneidz · 07-06-2009, 01:57 PM

hi, i got a zotac ion board and i plugged in a Intel Pro/wireless 3945ABG Mini-pci Express Network Adapter. but i cant get it to recognize my wifi card:

Code:

(T: XBMCLive)xbmc@XBMCLive:~$ lspci
00:00.0 Host bridge: nVidia Corporation MCP79 Host Bridge (rev b1)
00:00.1 RAM memory: nVidia Corporation MCP79 Memory Controller (rev b1)
00:03.0 ISA bridge: nVidia Corporation MCP79 LPC Bridge (rev b2)
00:03.1 RAM memory: nVidia Corporation MCP79 Memory Controller (rev b1)
00:03.2 SMBus: nVidia Corporation MCP79 SMBus (rev b1)
00:03.3 RAM memory: nVidia Corporation MCP79 Memory Controller (rev b1)
00:03.5 Co-processor: nVidia Corporation MCP79 Co-processor (rev b1)
00:04.0 USB Controller: nVidia Corporation MCP79 OHCI USB 1.1 Controller (rev b1)
00:04.1 USB Controller: nVidia Corporation MCP79 EHCI USB 2.0 Controller (rev b1)
00:06.0 USB Controller: nVidia Corporation MCP79 OHCI USB 1.1 Controller (rev b1)
00:06.1 USB Controller: nVidia Corporation MCP79 EHCI USB 2.0 Controller (rev b1)
00:08.0 Audio device: nVidia Corporation MCP79 High Definition Audio (rev b1)
00:09.0 PCI bridge: nVidia Corporation MCP79 PCI Bridge (rev b1)
00:0a.0 Ethernet controller: nVidia Corporation MCP79 Ethernet (rev b1)
00:0b.0 IDE interface: nVidia Corporation MCP79 SATA Controller (rev b1)
00:0c.0 PCI bridge: nVidia Corporation MCP79 PCI Express Bridge (rev b1)
00:10.0 PCI bridge: nVidia Corporation MCP79 PCI Express Bridge (rev b1)
00:15.0 PCI bridge: nVidia Corporation MCP79 PCI Express Bridge (rev b1)
00:16.0 PCI bridge: nVidia Corporation MCP79 PCI Express Bridge (rev b1)
00:17.0 PCI bridge: nVidia Corporation MCP79 PCI Express Bridge (rev b1)
00:18.0 PCI bridge: nVidia Corporation MCP79 PCI Express Bridge (rev b1)
03:00.0 VGA compatible controller: nVidia Corporation Device 087d (rev b1)
(T: XBMCLive)xbmc@XBMCLive:~$ ifconfig -a
eth0      Link encap:Ethernet  HWaddr 00:01:2e:26:0e:15  
          inet addr:192.168.5.3  Bcast:192.168.5.255  Mask:255.255.255.0
          inet6 addr: fe80::201:2eff:fe26:e15/64 Scope:Link
          UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST  MTU:1500  Metric:1
          RX packets:537 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:449 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000 
          RX bytes:358782 (358.7 KB)  TX bytes:56468 (56.4 KB)
          Interrupt:21 Base address:0x6000 

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:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:0 
          RX bytes:0 (0.0 B)  TX bytes:0 (0.0 B)

(T: XBMCLive)xbmc@XBMCLive:~$ iwconfig 
lo        no wireless extensions.

eth0      no wireless extensions.

(T: XBMCLive)xbmc@XBMCLive:~$

how can i make it recognize and connect to my router ?

Electro · 07-06-2009, 03:02 PM

In the PCI listing, you only have a wired NIC and not a wireless NIC. The BIOS probably has it disabled or something worst like a whitelist problem. Ask Zotac to make sure your wifi NIC is compatible with the motherboard. Certain serial numbers are for OEM and others are for end-users.

schneidz · 07-06-2009, 04:43 PM

^ thanks, in the bios the only pci express option i see is to enable/ disable l0s and l1 link power states (whatever that is - didnt seem to work).

i dont see anything about a whitelist (how do i enable/ disable the whitelist in bios ?) or is it that i need to buy another computer to use with this wifi card ?

_____________

i got an email from zotac's tech support and it seems like the pci-e slot is only compatible with their wifi module. not sure where i can buy one...

Electro · 07-07-2009, 03:35 PM

A whitelist can not be access by the user. It is included from the motherboard manufacture or OEM when the BIOS is created. Creating your own BIOS could be done to make sure the whitelist module in the BIOS is not included. The chances of making the motherboard useless is high when making your own BIOS.

You can either send your motherboard back or keep it. Buying the ZOTAC IONITX-A-U may not be completely supported in Linux because of the WiFi NIC.

schneidz · 07-07-2009, 07:15 PM

^ yeah i asked tech support if i buy their azurewave wifi module if it would work with linux without ndiswrapper but he was not sure. so i'll get a usb wifi adapter eventhough its not ideal.