help set up Asus N13 wireless USB dongle

megamanx · 08-17-2012, 11:06 PM

I very much a noob with Linux but its been fun enough so far. I'm trying to set up an Asus N13 wireless USB dongle on my Sony Vaio running Linux Mint 32 bit.

i have attached the results of running lsusb, uname, and dmesg in a terminal.

the USB wireless device came with a CD that had a linux folder. the folder contained a driver and a file called install.sh. I copied the text from install.sh into a terminal but that didn't work (copying stuff into a terminal window has worked many times for me in the past, not this time i guess.)

i also read the readme.txt and some other documents in the disc provided. i couldn't make any sense of it.

that's the only installation method i've tried thus far.

i've googled and searched and while the device, ASUS N13, appears many times, I have not been able to get a foothold on this setup. How do I get this to work?

Thanks

jschiwal · 08-18-2012, 02:27 AM

It looks like the device uses the RTL8192CU kernel module.

Run "lsmod | grep -i rtl" and see if it's listed.
You will need to install the firmware. Is there a directory on the disk that has the firmware. It might also be in a tarball.

Running "modinfo rtl8192cu" may indicate what the firmware file is.

I think the firmware directory for mint is /usr/local/lib/firmware/. There should be a directory on your CD Disc named RTL8192U that contains the firmware that you could simply copy (the RTL8192U directory) to /usr/local/lib/firmware/.

Your distribution may support this device. You might try:

Code:

# aptitude update
# aptitude install firmware-realtek wireless-tools

I got this from this debian page:
http://wiki.debian.org/rtl819x#Realt...L8192U_devices

megamanx · 08-18-2012, 03:22 PM

thanks for the reply.

"lsmod | grep -i rtl" did not return any results.

i have attached the results of "modinfo rtl8192cu"

there is a file in the disc called "rtl8192_8188CU_linux_v3.0.2164.20110715.tar.gz" (is that the firmware?)

there is no /usr/local/lib/firmware/ (can i just create .../firmware/ in there and copy in there?)

i went ahead and tried the aptitude update and install commands (it asked me to sudo). i did it but it said it couldn't find packages for "firmware-realtek" Should I have been online for that?

Thanks again

jschiwal · 08-19-2012, 09:20 AM

You can list the files in the archive with "tar --list -f FILENAME"

Look in /usr/ for a firmware directory. Also try "locate /firmware/. The kernel usually comes with some firmware files so you should find it

Also run "grep -i RTL /boot/config-KERNELVERSION" were KERNELVERSION is your kernel version.
Look for a line RTL8192CU=m. If it says yes, the module is built for your kernel.
Modprobing it after adding the firmware you should be in business.

megamanx · 08-21-2012, 12:31 PM

not there yet but things are moving along in a positive direction (i think).

i had to go back and read up on tar.gz and installing firmware (as you suggested)

if i understood correctly, i think this is what i was supposed to do:
i looked in /usr and also tried "locate /firmware/" and ended up finding lib/firmware that contained files called rtl8192se or something to that effect (i'm not at my comp right now). so i extracted "rtl8192_8188CU_linux_v3.0.2164.20110715.tar.gz" to lib/firmware.

also,
"grep -i RTL /boot/config-KERNELVERSION" said RTL8192CU=m yes.

now i'm reading up on "modprobing" you mentioned. and as for installing firmware I think i still need to compile or make it? i'm still reading up on it.
i'm reading the "readme" and "makefile" from the directory that was extracted into the lib/firmware.

have i understood correctly? (more or less)

thanks

megamanx · 08-22-2012, 09:45 PM

I read the readme file on the CD that came with the device. It said to extract the tar, so I did. Then it says to "make" and I get an error.

Code:

gonzalo@gonzalo-PCV-RX753-UC /lib/firmware/rtl8192_8188CU_linux_v3.0.2164.20110715 $ ls
autoconf_rtl8192c_usb_linux.h  core  ifcfg-wlan0  Kconfig   os_dep  wlan0dhcp
clean                          hal   include      Makefile  runwpa
gonzalo@gonzalo-PCV-RX753-UC /lib/firmware/rtl8192_8188CU_linux_v3.0.2164.20110715 $ sudo make
[sudo] password for gonzalo:
make ARCH=i386 CROSS_COMPILE= -C /lib/modules/3.0.0-12-generic/build M=/lib/firmware/rtl8192_8188CU_linux_v3.0.2164.20110715  modules
make[1]: Entering directory `/usr/src/linux-headers-3.0.0-12-generic'
  CC [M]  /lib/firmware/rtl8192_8188CU_linux_v3.0.2164.20110715/core/rtw_cmd.o
In file included from /lib/firmware/rtl8192_8188CU_linux_v3.0.2164.20110715/core/rtw_cmd.c:24:0:
/lib/firmware/rtl8192_8188CU_linux_v3.0.2164.20110715/include/osdep_service.h:49:29: fatal error: linux/smp_lock.h: No such file or directory
compilation terminated.
make[2]: *** [/lib/firmware/rtl8192_8188CU_linux_v3.0.2164.20110715/core/rtw_cmd.o] Error 1
make[1]: *** [_module_/lib/firmware/rtl8192_8188CU_linux_v3.0.2164.20110715] Error 2
make[1]: Leaving directory `/usr/src/linux-headers-3.0.0-12-generic'
make: *** [modules] Error 2
gonzalo@gonzalo-PCV-RX753-UC /lib/firmware/rtl8192_8188CU_linux_v3.0.2164.20110715 $

How do I get past this step?

Thanks again.