Netgear MA401 pcmcia

Ffestiniog · 04-04-2007, 11:17 PM

Hi, I'm trying Slackware out, and I like it a lot so far. I need to learn how to get my Netgear MA401 pcmcia card to work (on Slackware 11.0 with 2.4 kernel). I set up DHCP with netconfig, and looked through /etc/pcmcia/wireless.opts but I'm not sure exactly what I'm supposed to edit.

I've read that I should run something like: iwconfig eth0 essid key, and then dhcpcd eth0; but I don't know what essid and key should be set to.

Am I on the right track at least? Thanks in advance.

camorri · 04-06-2007, 09:10 AM

Quote:

but I don't know what essid and key should be set to.

These are set in the AP ( access point ) you are trying to connect to. If it is a public AP, keys are usually not used. ESSID may be set, and you can set your self up to connect to 'any'.

erklaerbaer · 04-06-2007, 04:26 PM

hmm, you really want to run the 2.6 kernel ( in extra/ , don't forget udev )

ma401 seems to use the prismII chipset, which is available through the wlanng packages ( again in extra/ i think ). if your card is successfully installed, you should see it with >iwconfig.

In addition you can scan for networks with iwlist scan and configure cour card with iwconfig. /etc/rc.d/rc.{inet1,wireless}* are worth a read too.

Ffestiniog · 04-07-2007, 06:40 PM

I installed a 2.6 kernel with udev, and installed wlanng, but the card does not seem to be recognized at all. With a 2.4 kernel the card was recognized but not functioning. 'iwconfig' recognizes 'lo' 'eth0' 'eth1' with 2.4, but just 'lo' with 2.6

Also, under 2.4, the command 'iwlist scan' gave:

eth1: interface doesn't support scanning: operation not supported

erklaerbaer · 04-08-2007, 10:04 AM

have you installed modules. 2.6 should have better hardware support for everything (except maybe winmodems)

Ffestiniog · 04-21-2007, 09:50 PM

After installing modules and wlanng I did ran iwconfig and dhcpcd and it works fine. I also tried it again with a 2.4 kernel, which also works (I was misusing iwconfig and dhcpcd before).

I have to run dhcpcd after every reboot; can this be done automatically?

H_TeXMeX_H · 04-21-2007, 10:17 PM

You could put it in '/etc/rc.d/rc.local'. It's kind of a hack to do so tho. 'netconfig' should have set it up properly.

Ffestiniog · 04-24-2007, 12:57 PM

Actually dhcpcd does run at startup - it says:

/etc/rc.d/rc.inet1: /sbin/dhcpcd -d -t 60 eth0
dhcpcd[2071]: broadcasting DHCP_DISCOVER

Then it waits a minute and says:

timed out waiting for a valid DHCP server response

It says that regularly until I start X. It also says:

eth1: New link status connected (0001)

(though I have to do 'dhcpcd eth1' anyway)