I have been posting in the laptop forum and someone suggested i post in the slackware forum since that is what i am using.

I have installed ndiswrapper and downloaded drivers for my onboard wireless on my laptop. You can read what i've done so far in that post

http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...d.php?t=553208

Basically i have the Broadcom Corporation BCM4318 [Air Force One 54G] 802.11g Wireless LAN Controller (rev 02). I recieved drivers from someone with almost the same laptop as mine.

I did a make and make install on ndiswrapper which seemed to work ok.

ndiswrapper -l produces:
bcmwl5 : driver installed
device (14E4:4318) present

i then did ndiswrapper -m which gives:
module configuration already contains alias directive
-ma which gives:
module configuration information is stored in /etc/modprobe.d/ndiswrapper
-mi which gives:
module configuration information is stored in /etc/modprobe.d/ndiswrapper

then did a modprobe ndiswrapper which makes the prompt pause a second, then drops to the next line with a prompt again. No errors or anything.

So then i reboot the pc and do an iwconfig. No wlan0 and dmesg | grep ndis returns nothing

Im at a loss as to what to do next. I am a virtual newbie and am trying to do as much on my own as i can but im totally stuck on this one. I've tried the forums, and that so far is what i've come up with from a few different posts on how to get ndiswrapper working but no luck for me.

Any help is appreciated. Thanks.

try modprobe bcm43xx

Can't locate module bcm43xx

I was told to make sure this wasnt in here because it conflicts and isnt compatible with my laptop but it appears to not be

Can you explain more?

You need to be root when modprobing, installing or run with sudo:
sudo modprobe bcm43xx

Have you done this?
sudo ndiswrapper -i /wireless_driver_dir/your_driver.inf
sudo modprobe ndiswrapper
sudo ndiswrapper -m
sudo modprobe bcm43xx (may be unecessary)

After you modprobe ndiswrapper do not reboot. After modprobe ndiswrapper then try iwconfig.

note: i am logged in as root doing all this

oooooo

i did modprobe ndiswrapper and then iwconfig

I have wlan0 now with all the settings and it says its connected to a wireless point already.

How can i make this do this on startup so i dont have to modprobe ndiswrapper everytime?

We have 4 wireless hubs in range here at work but oddly the one in my office isnt showing up, but the rest do. and it says its connected. This is superb.

I guess im so used to windows and rebooting i figured if i made a change like that i had to reboot.

Baughty assumption i know...bad joe bad

Despite being connected i cant surf or anything and under ip it says unavailable

do i need to enable dhcp somehow?

Try ifup wlan0 or dhcpcd wlan0 as root. Are the acess point encrypted?

Is your connection anyway encrypted? Do you use WPA?

I figured it out with the help of this site
http://www.linuxforums.org/network/w...and_linux.html

Im so proud of myself *pats himself on the back*

I just needed to do a couple commands. iwlist, iwconfig ESSID (network ssid), and dhcpcd wlan0

now to get this on startup so i dont have to remember this 9 step process on each boot!....

no not encrypted but i see from that site how to put in the key for when i get home which is encrypted hopefully it will be as easy as typing in iwconfig wlan0 key s:"thekey" when i get home

If you want it to come up on boot edit /etc/rc.d/rc.inet1.conf and uncomment the appropriate wlan0 lines. If you're going to use an encrypted connection you can enter the key into that as well. The file is pretty self-explanatory.

well i only uncommented 2 lines because i wasnt sure what the rest were used for, rebooted and i have wireless on startup. Thanks so much for all the help. So to recap for a newbie with this chipset you need to:

1) Download NDISWrapper from Download NDISWrapper
2) Download specific driver for your chipset from here: Driver List
3) Unpackage NDISWrapper
- CD to ndiswrapper folder
4) Make
5) Make Install
6) Unpackage driver into ndiswrapper folder
7) ndiswrapper -i drivername.inf (assuming its in the same folder)
8) ndiswrapper -l should display driver installed, device present if correct
9) ndiswrapper -m
10) modprobe ndiswrapper
11) iwconfig (see if wlan0 shows up)
12) iwlist scan (to see available networks)
13) iwconfig wlan0 ESSID networkname (to connect to an access point)
14) iwconfig wlan0 key s:"network key" (if needed)
15) dhcpcd wlan0
16) At this point an ifconfig should show an ip address for wlan0

To add to startup
1) pico /etc/rc.d/rc.inet1.conf
2) uncomment IFNAME[4]="wlan0"
3) uncomment USE_DHCP[4]="yes"
4) Control o then enter to save
5) Control x to exit pico
6) Reboot and test

am i missing anything critical here in case i have to ever do this again...

That's pretty much it.