what is the best version of ndiswrapper to use with Fedora 7?

red hat flyfisherman · 10-09-2007, 03:21 PM

[font="Georgia"]Hey I am a total linux n00b (I just upgraded from FC1 to Fedora 7 this morning) and I need to get my wireless pci card up. I've been reading the threads involving ndiswrapper 0.8 but I thought that maybe I should use a newer version. The ndiswrapper site has detailed instructions for installing under FC6 but not yet for F7.

Any Ideas?

Thanks in advance.

Hangdog42 · 10-10-2007, 08:04 AM

You should probably grab the newest version of ndiswrapper you can get off of their site and give that a go. But be prepared for a real battle, FC7 seems to be extremely hostile to ndiswrapper, even by FC standards. A couple people seem to have gotten it to work, but there are many more who have give up in frustration.

If you've got a Broadcom chipset in your wireless card, be sure to read up on how to blacklist the b43 module.

Kahless · 10-10-2007, 11:37 AM

If you have a broadcom chipset, you should also do some quick research on the bcm43xx driver, which may give you native support under linux without ndiswrapper.

Basically, if you have a compatible card, all you need to do to make it work is to use the bcm43xx-fwcutter tool to extract the firmware from the windows driver to the proper place, and you will have native support.

Hangdog42 · 10-10-2007, 12:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kahless

If you have a broadcom chipset, you should also do some quick research on the bcm43xx driver, which may give you native support under linux without ndiswrapper.

Basically, if you have a compatible card, all you need to do to make it work is to use the bcm43xx-fwcutter tool to extract the firmware from the windows driver to the proper place, and you will have native support.

That is good advice, as long as you're not using FC7. The problem for Broadcom users is that FC7 has dumped bcm43xx in favor of b43 which as far as I can tell is even less developed than bcm43xx. Blacklisting b43 so you can use ndiswrapper isn't as straightforward as blacklisting bcm43xx (there is at least one more module present) and firmware for b43 must be cut from a different file than firmware intended for bcm43xx.

In other words, when it comes to FC7, all wireless bets are off.

PTrenholme · 10-10-2007, 01:19 PM

Now that's strange: I used bcm43xx_fwcutter to extract the firmware for my BCM4310 a couple of years ago (FC5, I think), and then moved to ndiswarpper on FC5 and FC6. When I upgraded to F7, the b43 driver had no problem using the bcm43xx_... firmware in /lib/firmware (after I uninstalled ndiswrapper, of course.)

If you really want to use ndiswrapper in F7, you should be aware that (the last time I looked) only the beta release of ndiswrapper can run with 2.6.22 or 2.6.23 Linux kernels. The problem is, I believe, not a Fedora one, but a ndiswrapper one. It's noticeable in Fedora because Fedora 7 uses a fairly recent (2.6.22.9) kernel version -- not the latest release, but fairly current.

red hat flyfisherman · 10-10-2007, 03:43 PM

I am running Fedora 7

uname -r:
2.6.20-2925.9.fc7xen

card:
Linksys 802.11b Wmp11v4

ndiswrapper version 1.48

When I try to run make distclean i get the error message:
*** kernel tree not found. Please set KBUILD to configured kernel.
*** [clean] error 2

I have successfully untarballed the ndiswrapper (obviously), unzipped the driver that is approved on the ndiswrapper site, and placed all the .inf and .sys files in the ndiswrapper folder (I even threw the .cat files in for good measure). Do I need to recompile the kernel before I can proceed or is there an easier solution?

Thanks for the help.

Hangdog42 · 10-10-2007, 06:29 PM

That error suggests that you need to install the source code for the kernel. There should be an RPM that matches your kernel version either on your install CD/DVD or on your RPM repository if you've upgraded.

Quote:

Originally Posted by PTrenholme

Now that's strange: I used bcm43xx_fwcutter to extract the firmware for my BCM4310 a couple of years ago (FC5, I think), and then moved to ndiswarpper on FC5 and FC6. When I upgraded to F7, the b43 driver had no problem using the bcm43xx_... firmware in /lib/firmware (after I uninstalled ndiswrapper, of course.)

Wow, that is strange. According to the b43 site, you can't use the firmware for bcm43xx. Well, given how screwed up Broadcom support is, I guess I shouldn't be surprised.

PTrenholme · 10-11-2007, 10:34 AM

Well, strange or not, here's my proof from my laptop (a Gateway MX6436):

Code:

$ uname -mr
2.6.22.9-91.fc7 i686
$ ps -e | grep 43
  947 ?        00:01:21 b43
$ locate -r ^/lib.*[^[:digit:]]43[^[:digit:]][^/]*$
/lib/firmware/bcm43xx_initval01.fw
/lib/firmware/bcm43xx_initval02.fw
/lib/firmware/bcm43xx_initval03.fw
/lib/firmware/bcm43xx_initval04.fw
/lib/firmware/bcm43xx_initval05.fw
/lib/firmware/bcm43xx_initval06.fw
/lib/firmware/bcm43xx_initval07.fw
/lib/firmware/bcm43xx_initval08.fw
/lib/firmware/bcm43xx_initval09.fw
/lib/firmware/bcm43xx_initval10.fw
/lib/firmware/bcm43xx_initval17.fw
/lib/firmware/bcm43xx_initval18.fw
/lib/firmware/bcm43xx_initval19.fw
/lib/firmware/bcm43xx_initval20.fw
/lib/firmware/bcm43xx_initval21.fw
/lib/firmware/bcm43xx_initval22.fw
/lib/firmware/bcm43xx_initval23.fw
/lib/firmware/bcm43xx_initval24.fw
/lib/firmware/bcm43xx_initval25.fw
/lib/firmware/bcm43xx_microcode11.fw
/lib/firmware/bcm43xx_microcode13.fw
/lib/firmware/bcm43xx_microcode4.fw
/lib/firmware/bcm43xx_microcode5.fw
/lib/firmware/bcm43xx_pcm4.fw
/lib/firmware/bcm43xx_pcm5.fw
/lib/modules/2.6.22.7-85.fc7/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/bcm43xx
/lib/modules/2.6.22.7-85.fc7/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/b43/b43.ko
/lib/modules/2.6.22.7-85.fc7/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/bcm43xx/bcm43xx.ko
/lib/modules/2.6.22.9-91.fc7/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/bcm43xx
/lib/modules/2.6.22.9-91.fc7/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/b43/b43.ko
/lib/modules/2.6.22.9-91.fc7/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/bcm43xx/bcm43xx.ko

red hat flyfisherman · 10-11-2007, 04:53 PM

Ok thanks Hangdog I will try to reinstall the kernel. Do you think it would be a good idea to update the kernel to the newer (stable) 2.6.23 version with the patch from kernel.org after fixing the problem or should I not bite off more than I can chew and see where i am after the reinstall?

Also i am sure i can find instruction on correctly reinsalling my kernel somewhere on LQ, right?

thanks for the help (and the patience)
I will be out of town this weekend but I will update progress on Monday...
RHF

Hangdog42 · 10-11-2007, 07:22 PM

Quote:

Ok thanks Hangdog I will try to reinstall the kernel. Do you think it would be a good idea to update the kernel to the newer (stable) 2.6.23 version with the patch from kernel.org after fixing the problem or should I not bite off more than I can chew and see where i am after the reinstall?

You misunderstood me, you need to install the kernel source code that matches your current running kernel. You do NOT need to re-install the kernel itself.

red hat flyfisherman · 10-16-2007, 02:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hangdog42

You misunderstood me, you need to install the kernel source code that matches your current running kernel. You do NOT need to re-install the kernel itself.

Ok, my apologies. I found an RPM on my install dvd so what do I need to do now? I have searched this site and elsewhere but I can't seem to find an explanation for installing source code (what does that mean?? and howto??)

I made a symlink /lib/modules/2.6.20-2925.9.fc7xen/build that points to /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.20-2925.9.fc7.xen

I got the gcc rpm and got it and all those libraries and headers installed to so ndiswrapper would run (hopefully).

Just to see what would happen i tried 'make distclean' and it returned a different error this time:
Makefile:35: *** Cannot find kernel version in /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.20-2925.9.fc7xen, is it configured? Stop.

Thanks for your patience. You have to understand this is all pretty confusing to me right now, but I'll get it eventually...

Hangdog42 · 10-16-2007, 05:47 PM

Quote:

I found an RPM on my install dvd so what do I need to do now? I have searched this site and elsewhere but I can't seem to find an explanation for installing source code (what does that mean?? and howto??)

You should be able to install this RPM exactly as you would any other RPM. From the command line you could enter rpm -i filename.rpm and it should go. All that is in this package is the C source code for the kernel, and the .config file used when the kernel is compiled. Note that this source code MUST be for your running kernel. In other words, the kernel identified by the uname -a command should be the same as the filename for the source code.

Quote:

Makefile:35: *** Cannot find kernel version in /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.20-2925.9.fc7xen, is it configured? Stop.

I think that means it is searching for the .config file that should be installed when you install the source code RPM. I think.

Oh, and this kernel may present a real problem. I've seen that ndiswrapper doesn't seem to work with xen kernels. You may need to install a different kernel and source code.

red hat flyfisherman · 10-17-2007, 03:51 PM

Quote:

Oh, and this kernel may present a real problem. I've seen that ndiswrapper doesn't seem to work with xen kernels. You may need to install a different kernel and source code.

I don't really know why I have the xen kernel installed. If I were to go and get the latest stable non-xen kernel from kernel.org and install it will that get rid of xen and give me a better shot at succeeding? I won't need to run that other OS once I get F7 fully functional. I don't run them simultaneously anyway....

The Rpm I found is 'kernel-xen-2.6.20-2925.9.fc7.i686.rpm'

'uname -a' output is

Code:

Linux localhost.localdomain 2.6.20-2925.fc7xen #1 SMP i686 i686 i386 GNU/Linux

When I run 'rpm -i kernel-xen-2.6.20-2925.9.fc7.i686.rpm'

Code:

warning: kernel-xen-2.6.20-2925.9.fc7.i686.rpm Header V3 DSA siganture: NOKEY, key ID 4f2a6fd2
error: can't create transaction lock on /var/lib/rpm/__db.000

What do you think I should do?

Hangdog42 · 10-17-2007, 04:35 PM

Quote:

If I were to go and get the latest stable non-xen kernel from kernel.org and install it will that get rid of xen and give me a better shot at succeeding?

Yes, but it also would mean that you have to compile your own kernel. Kernel.org just has source code, not compiled kernels.

I know Fedora does have non-xen kernels, you might rummage around your repository or install CD and see if there is one.

Quote:

The Rpm I found is 'kernel-xen-2.6.20-2925.9.fc7.i686.rpm'

I think that is the compiled kernel. Source packages usually have 'src' somewhere in the name. At least I think so, since I'm not a Fedora user I'm going on memory here and that probably is a bad idea.

red hat flyfisherman · 10-17-2007, 04:56 PM

Quote:

Yes, but it also would mean that you have to compile your own kernel. Kernel.org just has source code, not compiled kernels.

Well, part of me feels like that if I get the newest kernel, compile and install it then I will have the best shot at getting this to work with ndiswrapper. I just keep reading about problems between F7 and ndiswrapper, so perhaps the 2.6.23.1 kernel will be better.... Of course what do I know?

there are two regular non-xen kernels on the install DVD:
kernel-2.2.21-1.3194.fc7.i586.rpm
kernel-2.2.21-1.3194.fc7.i686.rpm

should I use the i686?