Wi-Fi with NdisWrapper!!

Many vendors do not release specifications of the hardware or provide a Linux driver for their wireless network cards. The ndiswrapper project implements Windows kernel API and NDIS (Network Driver Interface Specification) API within Linux kernel. A Windows driver for wireless network card is then linked to this implementation so that the driver runs natively, as though it is in Windows, without binary emulation. With ndiswrapper, most miniPCI (builtin), PCI, PCMCIA (Cardbus only) or USB wireless network cards work in Linux with x86 or x86-64. Although ndiswrapper is intended for wireless network cards, other devices are known to work: e.g., ethernet cards, USB to serial port device, home phone network device etc.

I got into this matter because one of my friend bought a Compaq Pressario V6425TU laptop but the Wifi (wlan vendor: Broadcom) won’t work in F7.

URL: http://ndiswrapper.sourceforge.net/joomla/

The latest stable version is 1.48. It can also be yum-installed from livna repository.

Usage: First we have to install ndiswrapper kernel module (from livna):

# yum install ndiswrapper

Then we check whether any conflicting driver is there or not. If present it should be blacklisted. To do this (replace ‘driver’ with driver name say ‘bcm43xx’):

# echo 'blacklist driver' | \
tee -a /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist

Now for PCI wireless adapter do a # lspci -n or for USB wireless adapter do # lsusb. Once the wifi card is identified, note down the chipset ID of the form 104c:8400. Then we install the crap…the INF file (eg: bcm43xx.inf) of the Windows driver

# ndiswrapper -i /path to/driver.inf

To make sure if the driver is properly installed we list the currently installed drivers for ndiswrapper:

# ndiswrapper -l

If the driver is properly installed it will echo:


Installed ndis drivers:
{driver} driver present, hardware present

If you don’t see this, try a different driver such as the drivers for Windows 2000, or another driver matching the PCI ID on the ndiswrapper list. The installation of driver can be done easily by a GUI ndisgtk.

After installation, now we run the following commands to add the driver module in kernel:

# depmod -a
# modprobe ndiswrapper

Now with # ifconfig or # iwconfig the wifi card will appear with an interface name like wlan0. If wlan0 is shown then wifi is working!! We can then create a network connection.

Invisible Mouse Pointer!!

During the InstallFest we faced a weird problem. The mouse was working but the mouse pointer was invisible. It was M$ optical mouse with nVidia video driver. So we first added the mouse device in /etc/X11/xorg.conf:

Section "InputDevice"

Identifier "Mouse"
Driver "mouse"
Option "device" "/dev/mouse"
Option "Protocol" "Auto"

EndSection

Then we added the most crucial line in the nVidia driver section of xorg.conf. By default, HWCursor is on.

Section "Device"

.......
Driver "nv"
Option "HWCursor" "Off" #New option

EndSection

For more details of options of nVidia video driver “nv” see #man nv

Happy Surfing!!!

 

I was damn tired with my old BSNL dial-up connection!! So I switched on to Airtel and after some Googling, I was able to connect my FC6 to the internet (GPRS internet provided Airtel in India) using my brand new Nokia 6020 and CA-42 data cable. In fact, I am writing this post from my FC6. Now i’m getting a superb connection of 230 kbps!!

Anyways, this is what I did:

1. Su to root and enter run modprobe using the product and vendor ID of CA-42.

[Joy@localhost ~]$ su
Password:
[root@localhost Joy]# /sbin/modprobe usbserial vendor=0×0421 product=0×0802

2. Now connect your 6020 to the PC via the CA-42 cable.

3. Then run the command “wvdialconf create”

[root@localhost Joy]# wvdialconf create

It will scan the ports for modem. It should find a Nokia modem in one of the ports. In my case, it was detected in /dev/ttyUSB0. Here’s a screenshot:

4. Now, open KPPP. Provide the root passoword when prompted.

Now create a new connection with the following Account details:

• Name : Airtel (anything!)

• Number : *99#

• Authentication : script-based (select from list)

The rest of the Account settings you can keep as default.

Now click on the Modem tab and provide the following Modem details:

• Name : Nokia 6020 (anything!)

• Modem : /dev/ttyUSB0 (select from list)

• Speed : 230400 (select from list)

Save it.

Now, from the KPPP main window, select our new connection and click on “CONNECT”.

Thats it ! After “Modem Ready” and “Logging on to Network” messages displayed, KPPP will establish the connection and will minimize to the task bar.

Happy surfing! If you face any issues, please let me know!!