Something seems to be wrong with, or missing from, ndiswrapper in this copy of PCLOS (latest version--I downloaded it Sunday), that I installed earlier today.

I know ndiswrapper is present, because when I typed "ndiswrapper" in the console to make sure, it gave the normal message--ndiswrapper version #, etc. But when my activities in the console--installing the needed Windows INF file for ndiswrapper, and then typing "modprobe ndiswrapper"--didn't get me online, I tried the PCLOS control center. I told it to use a Windows driver with ndiswrapper (it had apparently been set on "null"), but it said ndiswrapper or some aspect of it was "not present." Why would it say that when ndiswrapper obviously is there?

Please quote the exact error message.

Probably "some aspect" of ndiswrapper is not present, and the control center can't figure out which bit. . Have you tried installing an updated ndiswrapper package.

Okay. When I tell the PCLOS control center to use the Windows INF file for an ndiswrapper driver (it's optional, because PCLOS claims to have its own driver for my network adapter), it says "Unable to find the ndiswrapper interface!" Then "Firmware files are required for this device." It also gives the second error message if I tell it [I]not[I] to use an ndiswrapper driver but to use the native driver it claims to have.

Mr. Bridge, I must be on the Internet to download Ndiswrapper as you suggested, and this problem must be resolved before I can connect. So as far as getting a new Ndiswrapper, I'm stuck.

This is not the catch 22 it looks like. For years I was updating my linux box at a net-cafe. Such cafe's can be very accommodating... especially if you are prepared to pay extra for the bandwidth/inconvenience/etc.

However, I note that you must be on the internet to read this...

... OK... what exactly is the wireless card in question? (lspci - if it is internal, lsusb if it is a dongle.)

I have some reading for you to help you figure out what you are missing in your configuration.
http://www.linuxfordummies.org/index.php?topic=96.0
http://ndiswrapper.sourceforge.net/m...dex.php/List#G

> However, I note that you must be on the internet to read this...

If I were, I could access websites. I can't. ...Correction: I'm on the internet reading/typing here when I go back to Windows as I have done now. I'm disconnected in PCLOS.

... OK... what exactly is the wireless card in question? (lspci - if it is internal, lsusb if it is a dongle.)

Linksys WUSB54G.

Linksys WUSB54G appears to use a prism54 chipset... which is supported by open source drivers.

usb ID: 5041:2234
http://prism54.org/

What does iwconfig have to say?

And, presumably, you can download files in windows and copy them to linux? Not as convenient as aptitude, I know.

The ntfs driver lets you mount windows drives read-only and ntfs-3g will mount them read-write.

You can run a command in linux and save the output thus:

lsusb > lsusb.txt

copy this text file to the windows partition, then you can copy it here. Same with everything else.

Meanwhile, what sort of distro is U-Feisty?

... but "U-7.04" sounds like a submarine!

In trying to install a new Ndiswrapper, which I downloaded with the Windows partition and then copied over when I went back to PCLOS, I have eben stymied by one of my limitations: I don't understand how to install stuff with Synaptic. I suppose I could install it with the console, typing "make distclean," "make install," etc., but isn't Synaptic supposed to handle this?

Um... which file did you get and where from?

If it is a deb file, you use dpkg (hopefully pclos didn't mess with the names).
If it is a tarball (.tgz or .tar.gz or similar) then you gotta do the source install stuff.

Synaptic only handles stuff from a proper deb file... in a properly configured repo.

There are a number of different chipsets issued at different times on this card. Have a look at this link on the PCLinuxOS Web Site and see if any of the threads work for you:

http://www.pclinuxos.com/index.php?o...action=search2

and then type WUSB54G in the search box.