I've been digging around looking for answers so I am going to go ahead and ask. Netgear ma521 pcmcia card - has anyone gotten this to work under linux. I was running Mandrake 9.1 (card didn't work under this) but due to acpi problems I switched to Suse 8.2. YAST sees the card but it won't set the card up: acts like it is setting the card up but no device appears at the end). I tried to manually set the card up and nothing. Netgear ma401ra cards work (according to various searching). HInts, questions, ideas. I live next to a park with wireles acess so I thought - hey..how hard can it be. As with al things linux I've learned alot but apparently not enough.

Here is what I am running:
2140 compaq
amd xp2200
wlan-ng is installed
Suse personal 8.2
wireless-tools are installed.

Thanks for any and all help.
Randy

Is this a cardbus card? if so, what's the output of "/sbin/lspci"

If this is a normal pcmcia card, what's the output of "/sbin/cardctl ident"

When in doubt, give both.

Cheers,

Finegan

From lspci:
00:00.0 Host bridge: ATI Technologies Inc: Unknown device cab0 (rev 13)
00:01.0 PCI bridge: ATI Technologies Inc U1/A3 AGP Bridge [IGP 320M] (rev 01)
00:02.0 USB Controller: ALi Corporation USB 1.1 Controller (rev 03)
00:06.0 Multimedia audio controller: ALi Corporation M5451 PCI AC-Link Controller Audio Device (rev 02)
00:07.0 ISA bridge: ALi Corporation M1533 PCI to ISA Bridge [Aladdin IV]
00:08.0 Modem: ALi Corporation Intel 537 [M5457 AC-Link Modem]
00:0a.0 CardBus bridge: O2 Micro, Inc. OZ6912 Cardbus Controller
00:10.0 IDE interface: ALi Corporation M5229 IDE (rev c4)
00:11.0 Bridge: ALi Corporation M7101 PMU
00:12.0 Ethernet controller: National Semiconductor Corporation DP83815 (MacPhyter) Ethernet Controller
01:05.0 VGA compatible controller: ATI Technologies Inc: Unknown device 4136
02:00.0 Ethernet controller: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd.: Unknown device 8180 (rev 20)

The netgear card is the Realtek Semiconductor.

and for fun:
linux:/home/randy # cardctl ident
Socket 0:
no product info available
manfid: 0x0000, 0x024c
function: 6 (network)

RTL8180, check out the monster thread on its twin brother, the Linksys WPC11 Version 4.

http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...threadid=61832

Cheers,

Finegan

It works......

Thanks you, finnegan.

Here is how it is done.
1. Go to the realtek webpage anddownload the source rtl8180_24x_suse82.zip
2. I am running the 2.4.20-4gb-athlon kernel (suse 8.2). There isn't a source for that kernel - I keep reading there is. I went to the online update and downloaded the "vanilla" 2.4.20 source. When you load the 2.4.20 source go to /usr/src/linux/include/linux and change the line in version.h to 2.4.0-4gb-athlon.
3. Unzip the realtek source. READ the very readable readme file.
4. Type make.
5. test by doing insmod rtl8180_24x.o
6. iwconfig

It should be up and running.

Here is an update for everyone that has been emailing me. It seems I had this card abot halfway set up. My only access for wireles is in the park down the street (hopefully that is about to chnge but anywho) - A gy Named jmes phillip emailed me about two weeks ago and we hashed through his setup and got it to work - there were a couple of things I was missing (and didn't know it sice I haven't been to the park since my original post...thank you work and home repair) - So here it is....

Thanks. Here are the details:

1. download the rtl8180_24x.o driver + complementary
files. (on the realtek site you can get it in suse
format).

2. read the README and follow the instructions on how
to augment the code for your specific kernel.

3. recompile the driver

4. copy the driver+files in
/lib/modules/"kernel"/wlan-ng

5. edit /etc/pcmcia/wlan-ng.conf
and add at the very top

device "rtl8180_24x"
_ _class "wlan-ng" module "rtl8180_24x"
card "Netgear Ethernet controller"
_ _manfid 0x0000, 0x24c
_ _bind "rtl8180_24x"

6. in the directory where you first unpacked the rtl
driver there is a script wlanup. you need to edit it
according to the parameters of your router. It has to
look something like this

#Load module
/sbin/insmod -f rtl8180_24x.o

#Set SSID
/usr/sbin/iwpriv wlan0 wlan_para networktype=infra
/usr/sbin/iwpriv wlan0 wlan_para wepmode=off
/usr/sbin/iwpriv wlan0 wlan_para ssid2scan="your_essid"
/usr/sbin/iwpriv wlan0 wlan_para channel=your_channel

/usr/sbin/iwpriv wlan0 wlan_para addmac=your_MAC

#Enable wireless lan driver
/usr/sbin/iwpriv wlan0 enable

#Configure wlan0 IP address
dhcpcd -n wlan0

----------------------------------

I tried to apply the recipe above on Mandrake (as opposed to suse, which I believe was used in that post) but the end result was not good. I can (reproducably) freeze my laptop by doing sudo wlanup (insmod of that module, I guess).

The link led is blinking, the laptop is completely frozen, but the screen still shows exactly what was on when it froze. The last message is the output from ifconfig which seems successful, but then it locks up. (I need to turn it off to get anywhere.)

Any ideas where to go next? Any hope Mandrake 9.2 could help? Any other distribution/kernel/driver?

I'm inclined to return the wlan card to the shop and go hunt for a different card - any ideas what to buy in that case.

More details are below - if you think some more information would be helpful, just tell me.

/Patrik


far> uname -a
Linux localhost 2.4.21-0.25mdk #1 Thu Jul 24 13:10:52 MDT 2003 i686 unknown unknown GNU/Linux

downloaded rtl8180_linuxdrv_v13(gcc3.xx).zip
unpacked, edited Makefile, etc.
compiled, installed
rebooted


[patrikj@localhost rtl8180_linuxdrv_v13_gcc3]$ ls -l
totalt 680
-rwxr-xr-x 1 patrikj patrikj 2156 nov 2 20:19 Makefile*
-rwxr-xr-x 1 patrikj patrikj 2150 aug 22 12:15 Makefile~*
-rw-r--r-- 1 patrikj patrikj 288501 aug 22 12:15 priv_part.o
-rw-r--r-- 1 patrikj patrikj 1503 aug 22 12:15 r8180_export.h
-rw-r--r-- 1 patrikj patrikj 17901 aug 22 12:15 r8180_if.c
-rw-r--r-- 1 patrikj patrikj 4488 aug 22 12:15 r8180_if.h
-rw-r--r-- 1 patrikj patrikj 13319 aug 22 12:15 r8180_pci_init.c
-rw-r--r-- 1 patrikj patrikj 528 aug 22 12:15 r8180_pci_init.h
-rw-r--r-- 1 patrikj patrikj 9174 aug 22 12:15 r8180_type.h
-rwxr-xr-x 1 patrikj patrikj 5072 aug 22 12:15 readme*
-rw-r--r-- 1 patrikj patrikj 285 aug 22 12:15 rls_note_0822
-rw-r--r-- 1 patrikj patrikj 296081 nov 2 20:19 rtl8180_24x.o
-rwxr-xr-x 1 patrikj patrikj 155 aug 22 12:15 wlandown*
-rwxr-xr-x 1 patrikj patrikj 487 nov 2 21:01 wlanup*
-rwxr-xr-x 1 patrikj patrikj 424 aug 22 12:15 wlanup~*
[patrikj@localhost rtl8180_linuxdrv_v13_gcc3]$ head Makefile

#-----------------------------------------------
#Specify kernel version and include path
#-----------------------------------------------
KERNELRELEASE=2.4.21-0.25mdk
INCLUDEPATH=-I /usr/src/linux-$(KERNELRELEASE)/include/


#-----------------------------------------------
#Specify compiler and compile flags.

[patrikj@localhost rtl8180_linuxdrv_v13_gcc3]$ more wlanup
#Load module
/sbin/insmod -f rtl8180_24x.o

#Set SSID
/sbin/iwpriv wlan0 wlan_para networktype=infra
/sbin/iwpriv wlan0 wlan_para wepmode=off
/sbin/iwpriv wlan0 wlan_para ssid2scan=BlinkaLillaSt
/sbin/iwpriv wlan0 wlan_para channel=6

/sbin/iwpriv wlan0 wlan_para addmac=00095B6383D0

#Enable wireless lan driver
/sbin/iwpriv wlan0 enable

#Configure wlan0 IP address
/sbin/dhcpcd -n wlan0



#Configure wlan0 IP address
/sbin/ifconfig wlan0 192.168.1.180
echo "$(/sbin/ifconfig wlan0)"

You did recompile the drivers? If you did just try to load the driver (I'm not logged into my laptop at the moment; sending this from XP) with /sbin/insmod -f rtl8180_24x.o
or wherever insmod is loaded on mandrake. Does it freeze again?
I doubt that 9.2 will help. I fooled around with the 3 iso files provided to club members and the card wasn't recognized at all. PLus acpi was still not supported for my laptop (enabling it caused it to freeze) so I think I'm hanging with suse for now; I may just make a whole hearted conversion over to the germans.
I'm not really sure what card to tell you to trade in for it. I tried a linksys card back in the summer; of course at that point I thought that all you had to do was plug it in and go.....why I thought that I don't know.
I've got a website somewhere bookmark'd...probably on my laptop... with pcmcia wireless cards and driver availability. What type of laptop do you have?

Thanks randy3629 for your answer - and your questions.

1. Yes, I recompiled the driver (the rtl8180_24x.o file was not in the
pack I downloaded, so I had to).
2. I have since read more on the other thread about the rtl8180 and
realized nobody has made it work under Mandrake (9.1).
3. The laptop in question is

(MAXDATA) ARTIST Harvard SL Pro TFT

366MHz Intel Mobile Pentium II
PCI BIOS revision 2.10
hda: FUJITSU MHC2040AT, ATA DISK drive, 3909MB w/0kB Cache, CHS=993/128/63
hdc: TOSHIBA CD-ROM XM-1902B, ATAPI 24X CDROM drive, 128kB Cache


Actually, I have another laptop (with built-in wlan working with
Linux) - this "Artist Harvard SL Pro" is a friend's machine.

Unless I find out a solution pretty soon (4 days left of the "free return,
no question" policy) I'll return the card.

/Patrik

PS. If you are interested, my own laptop is a Dell Latitude C840 (desktop
replacement, not very mobile at 331mm (w) x 276mm (d) x 44mm (h)
3.4kg, but fits in my backpack)

It contains a TrueMobile 1150 Mini-PCI which is supported in Mandrake
9.1. I did spend a fair amount of time this spring on selecting a
laptop to buy which supported built-in wlan directly.

exactly the same problem here,

compiled the drivers for 2.4.22 vanilla and when executing iwpriv wlan0 enable, the laptop hangs completely (a sony vaio here).