Puppy Linux Discussion Forum

[rmrossjr]

This card is a real pain. Difficult to make work on many distros. Got it to work on Puppy, but very inconsistent. If the interface is not recognized at boot, I am having a hard time figuring out how to get it recognized. Unfortunately, cannot really figure out how I got it to work the first time - I was so frustrated - I was working off a number of posts.
Downloaded firmware for bcm43xx. Also have downloaded bcmwl15.inf for ndiswrapper - get an error message, but then it says that it is loaded.
Using Puppy 2.14 from a live CD - fast!
Not very experienced user and would love to get this issue resolved.

[gary101]

Hi rmrossjr & welcome!

Just a couple of questions about your setup.

Is it the ndiswrapper you are using or the native linux driver when you get it to work?

What kind of encryption are you using if any? WEP etc.

[rmrossjr]

I think it is the bcm43xx driver becuase I do not think that ndiswrapper is loading at boot and the other driver is loading. How may I confirm this?
From previous experience, I know that using WEP will make things too difficult - so, no encryption.

[gary101]

Open a console window and type the command lsmod

That will show which drivers are loaded for your device. Let me know whether if you see your driver i9n the list (if not it is not loading at boot)

The WEP encryption is simple to setup, I suggest the#at you have some type of encryption setup for security and wep is the simplest.

First of all lets get your card connecting.

[rmrossjr]

Gary:
Your are correct about setting WEP. I use it, but not when I am working with a new distro.
Did not see the driver you mentioned from lsmod.
Thanks

[gary101]

OK its getting a bit late here so I will leave you with some thoughts and check back in the morning.

First off all you need to know if your driver is loading (as above) if not we will probably have to load the windows ndiswrapper driver at boot (instructions below)

First of all, Rarsa (net setup guru) has been working on a new wizard here http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?p=99397

Give it a try and see if that solves your woes.

If not follow the instructions below to set up your connection at boot
Click on your home icon then on the up arrow (top left corner) Go to directory called etc, Go to directory called rc.d
Open file rc.local as text.
add these lines:

modprobe ndiswrapper
iwconfig wlan0 essid xxxxx channel xx
if [ -e /etc/dhcpc/*.pid ]; then
rm /etc/dhcpc/*.pid
fi
dhcpcd -t 5 -d wlan0


replace XXXXX with your info and save file

rc.local is run at boot up

If you set a wep encryption key on your wireless router add to the end of the second line
key xxxxxx

If none of this works we need to make sure that you are using the correct driver but as you seem to be able to intermittently connect I will presume you have the right one.

[gary101]

looks like we cross posted

I will be here for another half an hour if you want to try the above and post back

Gaz

[rmrossjr]

Gary:
Here is the deal - have rebooted a couple of times and the wireless is working. Still not sure which driver is being used. Positive that I could not replicate.
Question - leave it along until more problems arise?
Many thanks

[gary101]

Hey, If it works don't fix it

Glad to hear that its working.

Gary