Arch Linux

starthis

Member

Registered: 2004-12-25

Posts: 46

2.6.20 and ndiswrapper probems

I haven't found any other people reporting problems with 2.6.20 and ndiswrapper yet, but I can't seem to get ndiswrapper working.
Before upgrading to 2.6.20 ndiswrapper worked fine for quite some time.
After the upgrade to 2.6.20 (which finally fixes all my nvidia problems) ndiswrapper didn't work anymore.

I reinstalled it,

ndiswrapper -i driver.inf

and where it normally shows "driver present, hardware present", it now only shows "driver installed".
This doesn't cause any other problems besides no wlan0. (bcm43xx is blacklisted)

When I do "ndiswrapper -a 14e4:4318 driver"

ndiswrapper -l shows "driver present, hardware present"

The moment I modprobe ndiswrapper after binding with my hardware, I get instant kernel panic, and complete laptop lockup (caps lock light starts blinking for some reason). The message was something like 'some program is accessing the hardware directly' (I don't know in what log file these kernel panics are logged, if they are logged)
Whenever the pcmcia wireless card (bcm4318) is inserted the machine freezes, when the card is not inserted it boots fine.

Any ideas?

pelle.k

Member

From: Åre, Sweden (EU)

Registered: 2006-04-30

Posts: 667

Re: 2.6.20 and ndiswrapper probems

If you are using kernel26 from testing, i also assume you are using ndiswrapper 1.37 from testing (right?). It's in testing so you should expect some instability.
I tried out kernel26 and ndiswrapper from there, and i can't say i had any problems with 'em though. (not using the same nic as you!)
I _have_ had to switch to another windows driver version, after ndiswrapper upgrades in the past though.

---

"Your beliefs can be like fences that surround you.
You must first see them or you will not even realize that you are not free, simply because you will not see beyond the fences.
They will represent the boundaries of your experience."
SETH / Jane Roberts

starthis

Member

Registered: 2004-12-25

Posts: 46

Re: 2.6.20 and ndiswrapper probems

Yes, kernel26 and ndiswrapper are from testing. I didn't expect a smooth upgrade, but since I can't find others reporting the same issue, I thought I would mention it. Luckily it is only my backup machine.

I will try some other windows drivers to be sure the driver isn't the problem.

jinn

Member

From: Gothenburg

Registered: 2005-12-10

Posts: 506

Re: 2.6.20 and ndiswrapper probems

I had similar problems with my bcm4312 and ndiswrapper.. But now with some patched the native driver works so I dont need to use ndiswrapper. If I find the text file with the instructions I had saved for this problem, I will post it here.

--edit

try this:

ndiswrapper -i filename.inf
ndiswrapper -l
ndiswrapper -m
depmod -a

Then you might need to restart.. maybe. or try reloading the module if you dont see your hardware with ndiswrapper -l.

Last edited by jinn (2007-02-14 22:49:33)

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The ultimate Archlinux release name: "I am your father"

hacosta

Member

From: Mexico

Registered: 2006-10-22

Posts: 423

Re: 2.6.20 and ndiswrapper probems

the flashing caps are normal in a kernel panic (: about ndiswrapper, maybe you should try another driver from http://ndiswrapper.sourceforge.net/medi … x.php/List
until you find something that says driver present, hardware present like it should.

phrakture

Arch Overlord

From: behind you

Registered: 2003-10-29

Posts: 7,879

Website

Re: 2.6.20 and ndiswrapper probems

This happens to stonecrest as well.. I think I'm the only one for which ndiswrapper works right now.  ndiswrapper releases miss HARD sometimes.  Could you try building a previous version?

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http://phraktured.net

stonecrest

Member

From: Boulder

Registered: 2005-01-22

Posts: 1,190

Re: 2.6.20 and ndiswrapper probems

Yes, indeed this exact same thing happened to me as well, and the latest kernel from testing (2.6.20-3) fixed it for me. I'd give that a shot.

(FWIW, here's the bug report: http://bugs.archlinux.org/task/6401)

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I am a gated community.

starthis

Member

Registered: 2004-12-25

Posts: 46

Re: 2.6.20 and ndiswrapper probems

I upgraded to 2.6.20-3 and it didn't fix the problem, then I downgraded kernel to 2.6.19-2 and ndiswrapper (I think it was 1.34?) and the behavior hasn't changed
Something must of be left behind on my system, or some other package is causing the problem?

I did ndiswrapper -r driver
I removed ndiswrapper (and utils) with pacman -Rd ndiswrapper ndiswrapper-utils
and verified that /etc/ndiswrapper  was empty,
then I installed the the 1.34 version from extra.

Maybe some more steps are needed?

I will try some more combinations with newer drivers tonight.

The ndiswrapper wiki still only recommends the drivers from the driver CD :

Card: Linksys #[WPC54GS v2] SpeedBooster, 54mbps/125mbps -- WPC54GS v2

    * Chipset: Broadcom BCM4318 [Airforce One 54g] 802.11g Wireless LAN Controller (rev 02)
    * pciid: 14e4:4318 (rev 02)
    * Driver: Linksys Driver CD: /mnt/cdrom0/Driver/NT/LSBCMNDS.inf, bcmwl5.sys, LSBCMNDS.cat
    * Other: Kernel: 2.6.15-1-586tsc, Ndiswrapper: 1.5-1 via Debian Etch, wpasupplicant: 0.4.9-1. Works fine, per WPA . Reports speed up to 125Mb/s.

starthis

Member

Registered: 2004-12-25

Posts: 46

Re: 2.6.20 and ndiswrapper probems

I built ndiswrapper 1.34 from source, and the problem still remained.
As suggested I tried a couple of different drivers, and finally I found a pair of drivers that worked for me

ftp://ftp.support.acer-euro.com/noteboo … 80211g.zip

Those drivers did the trick for me. Funny since I have a linksys pcmcia wireless card, and none of the linksys drivers I tried worked...

I suppose it will also work with ndiswrapper 1.37, but I'll stick to 1.34 for now. Never change a working config

Thanks to all for the help.