Installing WUSB54Gv4

JawsThemeSwimming428 · 2008-03-24 16:33:20

I am a potential (gotta get it working first) Arch user. I ran Ubuntu for a while and have been running Mepis and antiX for some time as my main OSes. I am not the most knowledgeable Linux user but I have read through the Beginners Guide and the Official install guide as well as some interesting topics on the forums. The only issue I am having so far with installing Arch is getting my wireless card to work. As stated in the Subject I have the Linksys WUSB54Gv4 USB wireless adapter. It uses the rt2500usb Windows driver from Ralink. Can anyone help me out with installing this (most likely with Ndiswrapper) and getting it working? Thanks!

nightm4re · 2008-03-25 19:25:54

Hi -

I just set up what I think is the same usb wireless dongle last night. I can help a bit.

First of all, there is an archlinux wiki page about this chipset (RaLink Rt73) but it appears to be quite out of date. It gave me enough clues to move forward though, and I got a working wireless connection.

You don't need to use Ndiswrapper, Ralink appears to be pretty good about Linux support, and have released a number of Linux drivers. From http://www.ralinktech.com/ralink/Home/S … Linux.html, you can grab the drivers, RT2501USB(RT73:RT2571W/RT2573/RT2671), version 1.1 at time of writing.

You can follow these steps, although I am doing them from total memory as I'm not at home right now, so you may need to improvise with my errors.

wget http://www.ralinktech.com.tw/data/drivers/2008_0117_RT73_Linux_STA_Drv1.1.0.0.tar.bz2
tar xfvj 2008_0117_RT73_Linux_STA_Drv1.1.0.0.tar.bz2
cd 2008_0117_RT73_Linux_STA_Drv1.1.0.0
cd Module
chmod 755 Configure          (filename may be different, its very similar to this though)
make config
make
sudo make install

That installs the module. Load it with modprobe rt73, then check your iwconfig output. If it says something like rausb0, you have a working device.

I don't know about WPA cuz my old setup only uses WEP (i know, i know, i'll update it sometime). I configure the device with iwconfig and then connect with dhcpcd. Important: make sure you bring up the device with ifconfig rausb0 up or none of the configuration will hold.

sudo iwconfig rausb0 essid sundowning
sudo iwconfig rausb0 key (wep key here)
sudo dhcpcd rausb0

This was enough to get me working. I currently have a problem with setting that to all come up automatically on systme boot, but if you can get this far and get it working, that's some progress anyway. cheers.

nightm4re · 2008-03-25 19:26:56

And yes, i'll update the wiki when I get all the issues ironed out, aka, dealing with WPA, and getting it to start automatically on boot.

tomk · 2008-03-25 21:46:05

Drivers for Ralink chipsets are now included in the mainline kernel. Udev will load the correct module for your dongle when you plug it in, and you can then configure it in any of the usual ways. Have a look at the Wireless wiki page for more info.

The drivers suggested by nightm4re still work, but a well-supported kernel driver is always a better option IMO.

JawsThemeSwimming428 · 2008-03-26 13:14:16

Thanks, I will post back here when I give it a shot!

nightm4re · 2008-03-26 14:56:42

tomk wrote:

Drivers for Ralink chipsets are now included in the mainline kernel. Udev will load the correct module for your dongle when you plug it in, and you can then configure it in any of the usual ways. Have a look at the Wireless wiki page for more info.
The drivers suggested by nightm4re still work, but a well-supported kernel driver is always a better option IMO.

Good info, thanks for it. For forum posterity, would you mind including the kernel version number where they are present? Mine is a few versions back (2.6.23?) and I don't have it, so having that version number in this thread would be useful.

JawsThemeSwimming428 · 2008-03-27 15:17:42

I agree with nightm4re. What kernel version is that in? Also, what would I have to do in order to get that wireless working in the correct kernel version?

tomk · 2008-03-27 18:23:29

Ralink drivers were merged in the 2.6.24 kernel.

nightm4re · 2008-03-28 20:21:23

Sorry to keep blathering in here, but I've now got a problem with the kernel drivers.

First, I had to copy the firmware from the ralink driver (that i talked about earlier) into /lib/firmware (a dir I had to make) in order to get it to respond to ifconfig commands.

Now, it just times out when dhcpcd'ing it. Not sure how to proceed, can I make dhcpcd more verbose?

tomk · 2008-03-29 00:09:02

/lib/firmware is standard for this, but it's up to the user to create it - not everyone needs it, after all.

dhcpcd options are in /etc/conf.d/dhcpcd - try the -d (debug) flag.

Before you do, though, make sure you're associating with your router - iwconfig will tell you. No point in debugging dhcp until you've got a valid wifi connection.

JawsThemeSwimming428 · 2008-04-02 20:38:45

So (excuse the beginner question) if it is included in the 2.6.24 kernel and I download the new stable Arch ISO when I install it should automatically configure my WUSB54Gv4 adapter? Or if this isn't the case what would I have to do to get it to work with the native kernel driver?

tomk · 2008-04-02 21:07:49

The driver should be detected and loaded automatically - the rest of the configuration is up to you.

JawsThemeSwimming428 · 2008-04-03 00:07:00

Ok... the wireless connection right now is my only means of Internet access on this machine. I do not have security turned on (shame on me, just for right now) on the the wireless router. When I am installing Arch will I be able to use this? What do I have to do to get it configured for use during the install?

tomk · 2008-04-03 10:04:57

iwconfig will do it for you - the man page is quite comprehensive.

Arch Linux

#1 2008-03-24 16:33:20

Installing WUSB54Gv4

#2 2008-03-25 19:25:54

Re: Installing WUSB54Gv4

#3 2008-03-25 19:26:56

Re: Installing WUSB54Gv4

#4 2008-03-25 21:46:05

Re: Installing WUSB54Gv4

#5 2008-03-26 13:14:16

Re: Installing WUSB54Gv4

#6 2008-03-26 14:56:42

Re: Installing WUSB54Gv4

#7 2008-03-27 15:17:42

Re: Installing WUSB54Gv4

#8 2008-03-27 18:23:29

Re: Installing WUSB54Gv4

#9 2008-03-28 20:21:23

Re: Installing WUSB54Gv4

#10 2008-03-29 00:09:02

Re: Installing WUSB54Gv4

#11 2008-04-02 20:38:45

Re: Installing WUSB54Gv4

#12 2008-04-02 21:07:49

Re: Installing WUSB54Gv4

#13 2008-04-03 00:07:00

Re: Installing WUSB54Gv4

#14 2008-04-03 10:04:57

Re: Installing WUSB54Gv4

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