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Ndiswrapper the easy Debian way...

Share your HowTo, Documentation, Tips and Tricks. Not for support questions!.
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hkoster1
Posts: 1264
Joined: 2006-12-18 10:10

#41 Post by hkoster1 »

hellfire[bg] wrote:BTW, it appears that ndiswrapper works with kernel 2.6.25-1 without the need for the wireless script described in the first page.
Yes, I gathered that; will adapt the Howto accordingly once 2.6.25 goes official in Lenny. Thanks for the heads-up.
Real Debian users don't do chat...

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hellfire[bg]
Posts: 499
Joined: 2006-06-21 19:15
Location: Sliven, Bulgaria

#42 Post by hellfire[bg] »

Arghhhh it is not working again. I just don`t know what i did to make ndiswrapper stop working. The module is loaded but there is no wireless device (at least ifconfig and iwconfig do not show any). I haven`t done anything related to ndiswrapper - there haven`t been any kernel or ndiswrapper updates, i haven`t changed my modules or blacklist files, i haven`t done anything. The problem appeared for the first time after i had played with usplash - i installed and later removed usplash. After i rebooted i noticed that my wlan0 device nolonger appeared. I just don`t know how usplash is related to ndiswrapper. I tried to use the wirelessfix script proposed in the first page of the howto but it didn`t help. This is what dmesg sayas about ndiswrapper:
debian:/home/hellfire# dmesg | grep ndiswrapper
[ 13.691459] ndiswrapper version 1.52 loaded (smp=yes, preempt=no)
[ 13.746304] usbcore: registered new interface driver ndiswrapper
[ 71.770067] usbcore: deregistering interface driver ndiswrapper
[ 71.811379] ndiswrapper version 1.52 loaded (smp=yes, preempt=no)
[ 71.900945] ndiswrapper: driver bcmwl5a (Broadcom,12/22/2004, 3.100.46.0) loaded
[ 71.908298] ndiswrapper (NdisWriteErrorLogEntry:191): log: C000138D, count: 1, return_address: f8cabd1a
[ 71.908304] ndiswrapper (NdisWriteErrorLogEntry:194): code: 0x10e
[ 71.908369] ndiswrapper (mp_init:216): couldn't initialize device: C0000001
[ 71.908377] ndiswrapper (pnp_start_device:439): Windows driver couldn't initialize the device (C0000001)
[ 71.908395] ndiswrapper (mp_halt:259): device f781a3e0 is not initialized - not halting
[ 71.908399] ndiswrapper: device eth%d removed
[ 71.908432] ndiswrapper: probe of 0000:06:02.0 failed with error -22
[ 71.934633] usbcore: registered new interface driver ndiswrapper
Apparently there is some error but i can`t make anything out of it. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
...to boldly go where no one has gone before...

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mzilikazi
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#43 Post by mzilikazi »

hellfire[bg] wrote:Arghhhh it is not working again. I just don`t know what i did to make ndiswrapper stop working. The module is loaded but there is no wireless device (at least ifconfig and iwconfig do not show any).
Using 2.6.25.4 I tried not to call anything from /etc/init.d/bootmisc.sh also. Sometimes the wireless device would come up and sometimes not (mostly not). I was able to get it working by rmmod ndiswrapper, modprobe ndiswrapper and reconfigure the interface from there but it didn't always work. So I'm still using the script although it is no longer necessary to rmmod ssb. I realize that you may still need it. All I'm doing at the moment is calling modprobe ndiswrapper from /etc/init.d/bootmisc.sh which works. The script is no more than this:

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modprobe ndiswrapper
echo "* Configuring ndiswrapper...."
A grep from my kernel .config

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grep SSB .config
CONFIG_SSB_POSSIBLE=y
CONFIG_SSB=y
CONFIG_SSB_PCIHOST_POSSIBLE=y
CONFIG_SSB_PCIHOST=y
# CONFIG_SSB_B43_PCI_BRIDGE is not set
# CONFIG_SSB_DEBUG is not set
CONFIG_SSB_DRIVER_PCICORE_POSSIBLE=y
CONFIG_SSB_DRIVER_PCICORE=y
CONFIG_USB_OHCI_HCD_SSB=y
Module b43 is still blacklisted in

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/etc/modprobe.d/blacklist
ndiswrapper is still aliased in /etc/modprobe.d/ndiswrapper

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alias wlan0 ndiswrapper
Debian Sid Laptops:
AMD Athlon(tm) 64 X2 Dual-Core Processor TK-55 / 1.5G
Intel(R) Pentium(R) Dual CPU T2390 @ 1.86GHz / 3G

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hellfire[bg]
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Location: Sliven, Bulgaria

#44 Post by hellfire[bg] »

I solved my problem by downloading and compiling kernel 2.6.23.17 from kernel.org (because it is no longer in the debian repositories). I couldn`t get ndiswrapper to work with with neither kernel 2.6.24* nor kernel 2.6.25* from the debian repositories. I`ve tried with and without the wireless script, i`ve tried blacklisting and rmmoding various modules, i`ve tried everything i could come up with and i have most certainly tried everything i have found on the debian, ubuntu and gentoo forums, on google and on various mailing lists and sites. For me ndiswrapper works only with kernels <= 2.6.23 (and 2.6.23 is the only choice for me because the ENE technology card reader i have on my laptop works only with kernels >= 2.6.23 :D ). The b43 driver on the other hand still causes me a lot of troubles and is not usable. Although the b43 driver supports my wireless card - Network controller: Broadcom Corporation BCM4318 [AirForce One 54g] 802.11g Wireless LAN Controller (rev 02) (at least according to the drier`s documentation) my wlan card can only scan for networks but cannot neither create (i need to be able to create an Ad-Hoc network) nor associate with networks. I`ve tried the b43 driver with various distributions - Debian. Ubuntu, Fedora, Gentoo - i got the same error and the same problem with all of them. I tried to post on the b43 mailing lists (https://lists.berlios.de/pipermail/bcm4 ... 07385.html and to seek help on the b43 irc channel but noone could help me. Right now the situation is pretty fucked up for me (i am sorry for the bad language but i am really angry seeing how something that worked perfectly until kernel 2.6.23 was broken in the newer version of the kernel) - my only viable option is to use kernel 2.6.23 and to get one i must compile it myself (usually i do not have problems with compiling and i even prefer to compile some packages by myself but i just think that the debian developers are better qualified to configure a kernel than me).
...to boldly go where no one has gone before...

ouwe_man
Posts: 13
Joined: 2008-05-10 18:10

ndiswrapper

#45 Post by ouwe_man »

Although I'm sure that this is not a support section of the forum, it seems that we can just the same continue to ask our questions....

As far as NDISWRAPPER is concerned, it still works on my tiny little Thinkpad X22 but what I don't understand is: why can I not see any of the other wifi signals floating around, as I can on my wife's Toshiba working under windows?

The easy installation HowTo did not work for me as intended although it seemed to work but the moment I shut the machine down I had nothing on restart. Somehow I managed to do the right thing, somewhere but I'm very nervous at each restart and everytime I ask myself if it was worth the pain and suffering getting Debian to work....

John
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wificraig
Posts: 27
Joined: 2008-06-01 10:50

Hope this helps everyone...

#46 Post by wificraig »

For those who have ndiswrapper working with an earlier kernel (ie. with bcm43xx driver) that upgraded to a kernel with b43, try this:
If your ndiswrapper -l reads that the device is present, thenyou know the windows driver is correct, but the ssb module is still using the wireless device.
Make sure your blacklist includes b43, ssb, (and bcm43xx if you still load an earlier kernel from grub) some systems will also need b44, mac80211, cfg80211 blacklisted (mine did not).
In a terminal:
ifconfig
If the eth0 is NOT listed, then...
In a terminal:
rmmod ndiswrapper
rmmod ssb
depmod -a
modprobe ndiswrapper
Then check ifconfig to see if eth0 is now present.
If so, edit your /etc/rc.local file to read:
rmmod ndiswrapper
rmmod ssb
modprobe ndiswrapper
exit 0
Make sure that you have a wlan0 alias in terminal:
ndiswrapper -m
Disable your other scripts you used, and reboot.
Since ndiswrapper is starting before your scripts disable the ssb module, this will restart ndiswrapper after the ssb has been disabled.

RuralRob
Posts: 1
Joined: 2008-06-08 16:18

This bug might never get fixed

#47 Post by RuralRob »

From what I read in the Linux Kernel development forums, this bug might never get fixed. Linus Torvalds HATES ndiswrapper (because the Windows driver eats a lot of stack space, introduces various stability issues, and technically violates the GPL) and is basically resisting any kernel patches intended solely to fix ndiswrapper-related problems, instead insisting that efforts be focused on making the native drivers work.

cb474
Posts: 150
Joined: 2007-11-15 09:48

#48 Post by cb474 »

Thanks for the howto. If I want to try ndiswrapper, do I have to remove madwifi first (and how would I do that)? Or can I have the two side-by-side and switch between them, depending on which seems to work better with a particular access point?

hkoster1
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Joined: 2006-12-18 10:10

#49 Post by hkoster1 »

cb474 wrote:Thanks for the howto. If I want to try ndiswrapper, do I have to remove madwifi first (and how would I do that)? Or can I have the two side-by-side and switch between them, depending on which seems to work better with a particular access point?
Only one driver can control your wireless device at any one time, either ndiswrapper (leading to a wlan0 interface) or madwifi (probably ath0). If they are both installed, then the one to load first will probably control the device. Reversing this will require unloading them first,

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rmmod ndiswrapper madwifi
(as root) to be followed by loading the required one, e.g.

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modprobe madwifi
and configuring the resulting interface. You could even make a script to do this.

That said, it would probably be less trouble to stick with madwifi (or ath5k or ath9k), since ndiswrapper is known to have problems with WPA/WPA2 Personal security.
Real Debian users don't do chat...

cb474
Posts: 150
Joined: 2007-11-15 09:48

#50 Post by cb474 »

Thanks. I have one particular access point that I need to use a lot, that madwifi seems unable to connect to. But I can connect in windows (on the same laptop), so that's why I thought ndiswrapper might be the solution. But I intend to try ath5k too (although I'm also having a little trouble figuring out how to use ath5k).

chemame
Posts: 1
Joined: 2009-01-27 05:49

#51 Post by chemame »

Your how-to is awesome and was immensely helpful. I'm neither virgin to nor proficient at module-assistant, so when my Debian sid (2.6.26 kernel) system was unable to load the ndiswrapper module, I assumed m-a was where to turn, but wasn't completely comfortable going the path alone.

After following your how-to (and reading they why, not just the cut-n-paste :) ) I am happy to say the little blue light on my airlink usb lit right up. Yay!

Not yet sure if it will actually talk to my wireless router, as it's at work and I can't test that until the morning. Anyway, I'm well pleased so far.

BTW, in answer to the "what to do if I need to bootstrap this thing" question... I found out about ndiswrapper because of this post, which is also where I found out about Puppy Linux, which oddly enough has just about won me over from knoppix. And this from a guy who has mastered his own knoppix CDs for a homeschool education curriculum! In fact, it's the remastering that won me over. Anyway, fwiw, turns out Puppy is an incredibly simple solution to a live CD boot with built-in ndiswrapper support. Assuming you have the windows drivers somewhere local, Puppy can get you online painlessly so you can download whatever .deb files you need... or am I oversimplifying in my head?

hkoster1
Posts: 1264
Joined: 2006-12-18 10:10

#52 Post by hkoster1 »

To each his own... but great you got it working!
Real Debian users don't do chat...

cynwulf

Re: Ndiswrapper the easy Debian way...

#53 Post by cynwulf »

I had to manually add "ndiswrapper" to /etc/modules as doing "ndiswrapper -m" was was returning "module configuration already contains alias directive" even though it wasn't present. Once I'd added it and rebooted it was all good.

I am using the latest WinXP net8185.inf (Realtek) driver, Debian 5, 2.6.26-2-686. The Win98 driver did not work. Strangely enough I've blacklisted the rtl8180 driver but it's still showing up as an alternative:

Code: Select all

net8185 : driver installed
device (10EC:8185) present (alternate driver: rtl8180)
This thread is probably the best guide to Ndiswrapper I've seen.

I've come back to Debian again after a stint with the bug ridden mish mash that is Ubuntu (the latest release is even worse). So far I'm not disappointed. One of my main issues was wireless. Now that I've got this working I see no reason to change distro again (though I will probably be reinstalling at some point soon as I think my hard drive is about to die....).

Many thanks

Cynwulf

tiftmasta
Posts: 2
Joined: 2009-05-25 18:24

Re: Ndiswrapper the easy Debian way...

#54 Post by tiftmasta »

omg thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you

Kinky
Posts: 1
Joined: 2009-09-21 17:13

Re: Ndiswrapper the easy Debian way...

#55 Post by Kinky »

Awesome!
first time i type something into a terminal window (its all chinese to me 'cause i have zero linux experience) and it works woohoo
i did it the short way and everything went fine (i guess, because i had already been trying to installand use ndiswrapper before -graphically- but this didn't work so well; hope this doesn't affect anything)
have a TRENDnet TEW-643pi wireless pci card
boy, am i a happy user... :) now i don't have to boot to winows anymore to access internet :mrgreen:

great post!

a new Debian user

lkraemer
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Re: Ndiswrapper the easy Debian way...

#56 Post by lkraemer »

hkoster1,
May I suggest a little more detail for your ndiswrapper tutorial?

Immediately before your ndiswrapper command, there could be a statement about using
32Bit Windows Drivers for a 32Bit Debian install, and likewise for 64Bit Windows Drivers for a 64Bit Debian install......

Plus the following commands can be used to get more information
on your hardware, wireless, Windows loaded drivers, and Linux drivers.
Copy & Paste to prevent errors!

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lspci
lsusb
dmesg |tail
lsmod
ndiswrapper -l
Last please add information on how to remove Drivers & ndiswrapper, if needed.

Something in the order of:
REMOVE WINDOWS DRIVERS:
If you want to REMOVE the Windows Drivers:...............
If the output of ndiswrapper -l shows any drivers loaded,
remove ALL of them. If memory serves me correctly the command is:

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sudo ndiswrapper -e bcmwl5
sudo ndiswrapper -e ssb
This should clean up nidswrapper & drivers and:

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ndiswrapper -l
should return nothing as being loaded.

Then remove ndiswrapper:

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sudo modprobe -r ndiswrapper
Remove from startup file by editing:

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sudo nano /etc/modules
to remove ndiswrapper.


Thanks.

Larry

hkoster1
Posts: 1264
Joined: 2006-12-18 10:10

Re: Ndiswrapper the easy Debian way...

#57 Post by hkoster1 »

lkraemer wrote: May I suggest a little more detail for your ndiswrapper tutorial?
You may, but I don't think your comments add much (if anything) that a Debian user doesn't
already know, or that couldn't be found by perusing a man-page or two. Your warning about
64- and 32-bit drivers is already prominently displayed in the Howto, adding it once more runs
the risk of annoying your typical Debian user, as does adding a lot of clutter. And what's about
this "sudo" thing...? Geez...
Real Debian users don't do chat...

cynwulf

Re: Ndiswrapper the easy Debian way...

#58 Post by cynwulf »

hkoster1 wrote:And what's about
this "sudo" thing...? Geez...
+1

Just follow this kind of format and everyone is happy, e.g.:

Run the following as root:

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aptitude update
aptitude safe-upgrade
You've saved yourself a lot of extra typing and repetition. The reader can then choose to su or sudo as they see fit.

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bw123
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Re: Ndiswrapper the easy Debian way...

#59 Post by bw123 »

easy? it took me 12 hours to get wireless going this weekend, and it's only Lenny Live CD, thanks for the helpful post. Maybe in a little while I will try Squeeze I think it might support the RTL8187B now.

If I get the Squeeze CD1, will I have to go through the whole thing over again trying to build ndiswrapper.ko without make and gcc? Will I even be able to use wireless during the install, my inquiring mind wants to know. Nice trick to leave ndiswrapper out, and also any tools to make it, if I wasn't a redneck from TN I would say 'HAVE A NICE DAY!'
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Roel63
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Location: Breda (Netherlands)

Re: Ndiswrapper the easy Debian way...

#60 Post by Roel63 »

bw123 wrote:easy? it took me 12 hours to get wireless going this weekend, and it's only Lenny Live CD, thanks for the helpful post. Maybe in a little while I will try Squeeze I think it might support the RTL8187B now.

If I get the Squeeze CD1, will I have to go through the whole thing over again trying to build ndiswrapper.ko without make and gcc? Will I even be able to use wireless during the install, my inquiring mind wants to know. Nice trick to leave ndiswrapper out, and also any tools to make it, if I wasn't a redneck from TN I would say 'HAVE A NICE DAY!'
Just completely forget ndiswrapper and look at http://wiki.debian.org/rtl818x

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