How do I install a driver into linux

golpemortal · 09-28-2003, 11:00 AM

so far is sitting on my desktop of my redhat 9 but don't know how to install it and i was wondering if you guys want to give a hand..

trying to install a atheros wireless driver for my loptop..

peace · 09-28-2003, 11:16 AM

What is the file extension?

In other words, is it an RPM file or source?

golpemortal · 09-28-2003, 11:22 AM

i think is a file source

this is the file name

madwifi-20030802
620.0k

megaspaz · 09-28-2003, 01:27 PM

never seen a .Ok file. can you post a link to where you got this file?

Caeda · 09-28-2003, 04:08 PM

Its sitting on his desktop, and he's not quite smart enough to figure out that the file name doesnt end with .0k, and that its redhat saying the size if 620.0k

ehdwuld · 09-28-2003, 04:19 PM

http://ruslug.rutgers.edu/viewtopic.php?p=1436

golpemortal · 09-28-2003, 04:20 PM

no not smart!!!!!!!!!
i guess you don't know that this is my first time with linux
I'm trying to get the hand on this

if you want to help is ok but if you don't want then don't flame the newbies ..

megaspaz · 09-28-2003, 04:24 PM

well, not to sound like an a-hole, why did you post a link to a forum? what is the exact link for downloading the file you got? i don't want to sit there and read a bunch of posts to find it.

anyway forget about the link.
does the file end with a *.bz or *.gz extension? is it a binary shell script, *.bin, or an rpm?

right click on the file and click properties to get the filename.

ehdwuld · 09-28-2003, 04:28 PM

the post went thru , in detail, what this guy did to install
thought it would help
reading is a usefull tool

megaspaz · 09-28-2003, 04:30 PM

omg! sorry, i thought you were the original poster posting a link to the forum of where he downloaded the file. yes reading is a useful tool.

ehdwuld · 09-28-2003, 04:41 PM

sawrite

golpemortal · 09-28-2003, 07:36 PM

ok, guys here is the link where i got the driver for my wireless

http://sourceforge.net/projects/madwifi/

the extantion is
.tgz
that is the one that I need help on how to install it..

so what if I'm a

i'm here to learn

megaspaz · 09-28-2003, 08:01 PM

right click on the file and choose extract here. go into the madwifi* folder. you'll need to get your kernel source code installed. get that and follow these instructions:

Quote:

Building the driver
===================
To build the driver at the top level you may need to edit Makefile.inc
to set the pathname to your Linux kernel distribution. By default this
path is obtained automatically.

If you are cross-compiling the driver for a different platform define
the CC, LD, and STRIP macros appropriately. For example:

#CC= /export/tools/bin/mips-linux-gcc
#LD= /export/tools/bin/mips-linux-ld
#STRIP= /export/tools/bin/mips-linux-strip

Once you've got Makefile.inc configured appropriately, do:

make

This will generate three important files:

Linux 2.6
driver/ath_pci.ko (driver for PCI/Cardbus devices),
ath_hal/ath_hal.ko (Atheros HAL), and
wlan/wlan.ko (802.11 support layer)

Linux 2.4
driver/ath_pci.o (driver for PCI/Cardbus devices),
ath_hal/ath_hal.o (Atheros HAL), and
wlan/wlan.o (802.11 support layer)

These files can be loaded with insmod or modprobe; e.g.

Linux 2.6
insmod wlan/wlan.ko
insmod ath_hal/ath_hal.ko
insmod driver/ath_pci.ko

Linux 2.4
insmod wlan/wlan.o
insmod ath_hal/ath_hal.o
insmod driver/ath_pci.o

(note you must load the wlan and ath_hal modules first as the driver
depends on them). You can also try:

make install

to install the drivers where they can be loaded automatically, i.e.
/lib/modules/<your kernel name>/net.

Note that you MUST do a "make clean" before compiling for a different
version of Linux; e.g. building for 2.6 after building for 2.4.

that's from the README file in the extracted directory. after those instructions, there's instructions for using the driver.

golpemortal · 09-28-2003, 09:47 PM

will try it
thanks
will post if i get lost

gt6350a · 11-06-2003, 11:07 PM

I tried your advice and recieved this message:
---------------
root@precious madwifi-20030802]# make
Makefile.inc:98: /lib/modules/2.4.20-20.9/build/.config: No such file or directory
make: *** No rule to make target `/lib/modules/2.4.20-20.9/build/.config'. Stop.
[root@precious madwifi-20030802]#
----------------

what can I do to correct this error and properly install my ORiNOCO card?