Hello, thanks for any help you can give
Distro: Fedora 7

uname -r : 2.6.21-1.3228.fc7

Problem:

First i was trying to install drivers for my RT73 chipset wireless network adapter. To do this i was trying to install ndiswrapper 1.47.

While installing this i got error messages that led me to belieive that i needed to install my kernel source stuff.

So i found a walk through and followed it. Everything worked until the last step where i couldn't figure out what next to do... i used the walk through here: www mjmwired net/resources/mjm-fedora-f7.html

after i typed:

rpmbuild -bp --target=$(uname -m) /usr/src/redhat/SPECS/kernel-2.6.spec

it did everything and now i have no idea what to do next! Still can't install ndiswrapper.

Another problem which i had to get around was that while installing the kernel.src.rpm it couldn't make the path usr/src/redhat/SOURCES so i had to do that from root myself. I couldn't make it from the desktop explorer either, it said i didn't have the privelege or something.

All i want to do is get my wireless adapter up and running... I'm a complete noob to linux and am havign proper troubles.

Please help

Thank you

Layth

If this is the default installed kernel then the file or files you need are on the install cd. You need to install kernel-devel-2.6.21-1.3228.fc7.rpm or close to that. There may also be one called kernel-headers-2.6.21-1.3228.fc7.rpm

To install change to root and to the location of the file and run this command.
rpm -ivh kernel-devel*.rpm
Same for kernel-headers.

Brian

I upgraded this kernel form 3194 to 3228.... i don't really understand your instructions anyway :S sorry, i'm so crap!

Where ever you got the new kernel there should be some other rpm files like kernel-devel and or kernel-headers. You need to install the kernel-devel*.rpm that matches the kernel version are running. Items like ndiswrapper, madwifi, and host of others require to be compiled to work with the kernel you are running. So once you get the needed rpm install as describe in the above post as root.

Brian

Putting yourself down will not help anyone....

Let's back up a bit.

First, how did you determine that you would need ndiswrapper?---i.e. do you know that there is no Linux driver for your wireless card? Have you tried setting up the wireless using the Fedora tools?

If you DO need to compile something, you have to have the headers that match your installed kernel--you do not need all of the kernel source. Searching in the package manager using "headers", "build", or "devel" should find the right package.

Do the instructions for ndiswrapper include the actual compile steps--eg configure, make, and make install?

Just for kicks, you might try a LiveCD with SUSE 10.2 or Ubuntu 7.04. Using these, you wireless **might** work right out of the box.

I got my wireless to work with Ndiswrapper on ubuntu, all I had to do was install 2 .deb packages

This is a very good question. Did you try installing the driver using your package manager?

right...

I'm not sure where fedora tools are!

I downloaded some linux drivers for my adapter but have no idea what the readme file means or what it wants me to do! I heard that other people have installed the same chipset using ndiswrapper, that's why i was gonna use it.

So.. where are these fedora tools?!

http://docs.fedoraproject.org/

Managing software with Yum.

ok... that looks good, i'm gonna do some reading and then see if i can do it

will let you know, keep this thread open!

I'm assuming that Fedora has wireless setup tools somewhere in the menus--eg under networking

Right... success!

Fedora does have wireless tools but not for the wireless adapter i've got. I managed to install the RT73 chipset adapter using the cvs drivers downloaded from serialmonkey and following the instructions at http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=400236

The only problem is, although now i'm online, i've got no user interface to set up new connections when i move my laptop around, i've got to keep going back to a terminal and typing out the details for the new network i want to connect to!

anyone know a way around that?