I am trying to configure a linksys WPC54G wireless internet card on a SUSE 9.1 computer, I have managed to run the make install commnand when setting up ndiswrapper but whenever I try to run the command modprobe ndiswrapper I get an error message,

here is a copy of the what is displayed on the shell script of what I have done so far (pay particular attention to the error message at the end):

rn102253:/home/chichenitza # rm /lib/modules/2.6.5-7.201-default/extra/ndiswrapper.ko
rn102253:/home/chichenitza # cd /home/chichenitza/ndiswrapper-1.3rc1
rn102253:/home/chichenitza/ndiswrapper-1.3rc1 # make install
make -C driver install
make[1]: Entering directory `/home/chichenitza/ndiswrapper-1.3rc1/driver'
make -C /lib/modules/2.6.5-7.201-default/build SUBDIRS=/home/chichenitza/ndiswrapper-1.3rc1/driver \
DRIVER_VERSION=1.3rc1 \
UTILS_VERSION=1.2 modules
make[2]: Entering directory `/usr/src/linux-2.6.5-7.201-obj/i386/default'
make -C ../../../linux-2.6.5-7.201 O=../linux-2.6.5-7.201-obj/i386/default modules
CC [M] /home/chichenitza/ndiswrapper-1.3rc1/driver/hal.o
CC [M] /home/chichenitza/ndiswrapper-1.3rc1/driver/iw_ndis.o
CC [M] /home/chichenitza/ndiswrapper-1.3rc1/driver/loader.o
CC [M] /home/chichenitza/ndiswrapper-1.3rc1/driver/misc_funcs.o
CC [M] /home/chichenitza/ndiswrapper-1.3rc1/driver/ndis.o
CC [M] /home/chichenitza/ndiswrapper-1.3rc1/driver/ntoskernel.o
CC [M] /home/chichenitza/ndiswrapper-1.3rc1/driver/ntoskernel_io.o
CC [M] /home/chichenitza/ndiswrapper-1.3rc1/driver/pe_linker.o
CC [M] /home/chichenitza/ndiswrapper-1.3rc1/driver/proc.o
CC [M] /home/chichenitza/ndiswrapper-1.3rc1/driver/wrapper.o
CC [M] /home/chichenitza/ndiswrapper-1.3rc1/driver/usb.o
CC [M] /home/chichenitza/ndiswrapper-1.3rc1/driver/divdi3.o
LD [M] /home/chichenitza/ndiswrapper-1.3rc1/driver/ndiswrapper.o
Building modules, stage 2.
MODPOST
CC /home/chichenitza/ndiswrapper-1.3rc1/driver/ndiswrapper.mod.o
LD [M] /home/chichenitza/ndiswrapper-1.3rc1/driver/ndiswrapper.ko
make[2]: Leaving directory `/usr/src/linux-2.6.5-7.201-obj/i386/default'


*** WARNING: Kernel seems to have 4K size stack option (CONFIG_4KSTACKS) removed; many Windows drivers will need at least 8K size stacks. You should read wiki about 4K size stack issue. Don't complain about crashes until you resolve this.


mkdir -p /lib/modules/2.6.5-7.201-default/misc
install -m 0644 ndiswrapper.ko /lib/modules/2.6.5-7.201-default/misc
/sbin/depmod -a
make[1]: Leaving directory `/home/chichenitza/ndiswrapper-1.3rc1/driver'
make -C utils install
make[1]: Entering directory `/home/chichenitza/ndiswrapper-1.3rc1/utils'
cc -Wall -g -DUTILS_VERSION=\"1.2\" -c -o loadndisdriver.o loadndisdriver.c
gcc -o loadndisdriver loadndisdriver.o
install -D -m 755 loadndisdriver /sbin/loadndisdriver
install -D -m 755 ndiswrapper /usr/sbin/ndiswrapper
install -D -m 755 ndiswrapper-buginfo /usr/sbin/ndiswrapper-buginfo

NOTE: Windows driver configuration file format has changed since 1.0-rc2. You must re-install Windows drivers if they were installed before.
make[1]: Leaving directory `/home/chichenitza/ndiswrapper-1.3rc1/utils'
mkdir -p -m 0755 /usr/share/man/man8
install -m 644 ndiswrapper.8 /usr/share/man/man8
rn102253:/home/chichenitza/ndiswrapper-1.3rc1 # modprobe ndiswrapper
FATAL: Error inserting ndiswrapper (/lib/modules/2.6.5-7.201-default/misc/ndiswrapper.ko): Operation not permitted
rn102253:/home/chichenitza/ndiswrapper-1.3rc1 #

There are a couple of things that spring to mind here. First, you don't have permission to load any module. How did you log into root?

The second possibility is more problematic, namely that your kernel doesn't allow modules to be loaded at all. Given the warning about the 4K stacks (that's the first time I've seen that from a Suse user), you may need to find, or compile, a more ndiswrapper friendly kernel.

However, check out how you log into root first as it is the easier of the two to solve.

I agree with Hangdog42. The odds are very good that you were not root when you ran the command. su to root, then run the command and see what you get.

OK I am getting frustrated with trying to run this WPC54G internet card on SUSE,

I have gotten half way through setting it up,

I have gotten ndiswrapper setup and running

I have even gotten the modprobe ndiswrapper command to work but my card doesnt even light up

when I run the iwlist wlan0, command I get the following error message:

rn102253:/home/chichenitza # iwlist wlan0 scan
wlan0 Interface doesn't support scanning.

rn102253:/home/chichenitza #



Do you know of any cards that would absolutely work with SUSE linux??? maybe one that is easier to set up if you do please let me know so that I can go change this one.


or at least can you tell me step by step how to configure it,

also the funny thing is that when I put the card in the slot YAST recognizes the card as a

linksys ACX 111 this is strange because that is not the card that I have installed,

Please help me configure this card or solve my problem

This is really no biggie. The first thing you have to do is configure your card. You use the iwconfig command to do this. You set the SSID of your access point and the WEP key if you use one:

iwconfig wlan0 mode Managed (you may also want to try Auto)
iwconfig wlan0 key HEX_WEP_KEY_HERE (or see the iwconfig man page for how to enter an ascii key)
iwconfig wlan0 essid Your_AP_SSID

If that has worked, when you run iwconfig alone you should see that wlan0 has recongnized your access point.

The next step is to get an IP address. The easy way is using DHCP if your router is set up to be a DHCP server:

dhclient wlan0

The harder way, if DHCP is causing trouble, is to do it by hand:

ifconfig wlan0 1.2.3.4 (only replace that with the IP address you want the card to use)

route add default gw 5.6.7.8 (replace 5.6.7.8 with the IP address of your router)

Then edit your /etc/resolv.conf and for each nameserver your ISP has (you can usually get this info from your router) you add a line like this:

nameserver 1.2.3.4 (only use the proper IP address for the DNS)



Believe it or not, this might be a good thing. One of the more evil things Linksys does is to change the chipsets inside its cards, but not the model number. So the WPC54G you have may not have the same chipset as another WPC54G. I think what this is telling you is that your card uses the Texas Instruments ACX111 chipset. The reason that this is a good thing is that TI is one of the good guys and they release info about their chipsets, so there is a native linux driver for this card. My guess is that Suse has this driver available and Yast is trying to use it. If I were in your shoes, I would stop mucking around with ndiswrapper and give this a go.

Ok thanks for telling me that I can try and configure the card by using the ACX 111 that shows up in yast.

what do you think would be the best way to see if it works??

also I only plan to use the wireless internet card occasionally (when I leave my home etc. and go to a place that has a wireless hotspot). what can I do to make so that I can tell my computer to use the wireless internet as oppossed to my ethernet connection whenever I desire to use wireless??

If the card shows up in the outputs of ifconfig and iwconfig, odds are it will work. But the only way to really tell is to connect to an access point and see if you can access the Internet.


This one is pretty easy. If you need to use a wireless connection, you won't have a cable plugged into your NIC, so it won't grab an IP address. Then you ought to be able to configure your wireless card for whatever access point you're using. If your home has a wireless AP, then you probably will need to disable the wireless card when you are there (I think you can do this through Yast) since having two active cards is usually not a good idea. Of course you can always use the ifconfig command to disable one of the interfaces:

ifconfig wlan0 down

And as a last resort, most laptops have a key combination that actually turns off the power to the wireless card. You can always turn it off when you are home.

Ok, I returned the Linksys card and bought an Actiontec card that I know is natively supported by linux (after doing some research).

I disconnected my Lan line and started up my computer, I got to my desktop and then I inserted the wireless internet card, whenever I did this my computer froze. I at least know that linux recognizes my wireless internet card correctly because it says:

New hardware found: Actiontec 802CAT1,

the only problem is that when it does this it freezes, what can I do to fix this?? do I generally have to wait a couple of minutes for my computer to act normal again or is this some sort of problem?

also I would like to know if having ndiswrapper on my computer can cause any problems, should I uninstall it??

Lets start with the easy question.....

My guess is that it isn't causing any problems, but you should definitely uninstall it anyway. It certainly isn't going to do you any good.


As for the freezing, no, it isn't normal. My guess is that either the wrong module is being used, or the problem is in the firmware. Have a read through this site and make sure you've got the card set up properly and the firmware in place. You also might try booting with the card in place and see if that works. If it does boot, you can at least figure out what module is loaded in support.