Wanted: 2.6.35 kernel with ath9k_htc driver.
I recently purchased a TP-Link TL-WN422G USB wireless dongle just to have an extra around. I researched it very carefully and decided on this one because it has a ZyDAS chipset which will utilise the zd1211rw driver.
The first one got lost in the mail and it took a month before I got a replacement. I plugged it into a laptop with Debian on it and which was already set up to do wireless and before I went to grab the appropriate driver off the net I did an "lsusb" to make sure it was recognized. Surprise!
That's an Atheros chipset! Anyway, undaunted I went to look for a driver. None to be found. After some hours on the net, I figure out what had happened. TP-Link had done a switcheroo. Same model number, same shell, different guts. I've seen this kind of thing before and am quite savvy to this con, but didn't know to expect it in this case. A classic example of this kind of unsavoury behaviour is when Linksys decided to cut the memory in half on the WRT54G without changing the model number. Many people were upset, so Linksys solved the problem by re-issuing the old model and doubling the price. Simple fix.
[rant]
It should be illegal! Imagine buying a Rolls Royce because you like big engines, and it arrives with a 1200cc Suzuki engine. Same body, same model number. Is that OK? I don't think so. That would be a scam. Electronics marketers obviously think differently.
[/rant]
Anyway, (composes self) after a couple of hours on the net I am much wiser and learnt, amont other things, that there are now two versions of the TL-WN422G, and I will now be looking for a driver for an Atheros AR9271 chipset. The good news is that some people are right on it and the new driver bears the very catchy name of ath9k_htc. The bad news is that it is not in the kernel, and won't be until 2.6.35. The even worse news is that I can't find any such kernel anywhere.
I was hoping for a Debian kernel for this particular laptop, but I'll take anything at this point. It seems that Debian does not provide kernels beyond the current one. Kernel.org is the same. All they do is give you sources and you have to compile your own. That led to the next part of my adventure.
I downloaded the sources and tried this for the first time. I warn anybody who tries this that it is a complicated procedure, and a CPU intensive one. On the laptop in question it ran an 85-95% CPU load for about 24 hours. At the end it just unceremoniously gave me a couple of errors. Is that funny!
Now what do I do? Any suggestions? There are lots of kernel compilation how-to's out there. They are all long and complicated. I don't know why someone hasn't made a script (or have they?) or made pre-compiled kernels available. Certainly in my case there is nothing special needed. I just want a kernel with the right driver.
If anybody knows where I can get a 2.6.35 kernel (any distro) or standalone ath9k_htc driver, please contact Ole at here.
it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests
I recently purchased a TP-Link TL-WN422G USB wireless dongle just to have an extra around. I researched it very carefully and decided on this one because it has a ZyDAS chipset which will utilise the zd1211rw driver.
The first one got lost in the mail and it took a month before I got a replacement. I plugged it into a laptop with Debian on it and which was already set up to do wireless and before I went to grab the appropriate driver off the net I did an "lsusb" to make sure it was recognized. Surprise!
Code:
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 0cf3:1006 Atheros Communications, Inc. TP-Link TL-WN422G v2 802.11g [Atheros AR9271]
[rant]
It should be illegal! Imagine buying a Rolls Royce because you like big engines, and it arrives with a 1200cc Suzuki engine. Same body, same model number. Is that OK? I don't think so. That would be a scam. Electronics marketers obviously think differently.
[/rant]
Anyway, (composes self) after a couple of hours on the net I am much wiser and learnt, amont other things, that there are now two versions of the TL-WN422G, and I will now be looking for a driver for an Atheros AR9271 chipset. The good news is that some people are right on it and the new driver bears the very catchy name of ath9k_htc. The bad news is that it is not in the kernel, and won't be until 2.6.35. The even worse news is that I can't find any such kernel anywhere.
I was hoping for a Debian kernel for this particular laptop, but I'll take anything at this point. It seems that Debian does not provide kernels beyond the current one. Kernel.org is the same. All they do is give you sources and you have to compile your own. That led to the next part of my adventure.
I downloaded the sources and tried this for the first time. I warn anybody who tries this that it is a complicated procedure, and a CPU intensive one. On the laptop in question it ran an 85-95% CPU load for about 24 hours. At the end it just unceremoniously gave me a couple of errors. Is that funny!
Now what do I do? Any suggestions? There are lots of kernel compilation how-to's out there. They are all long and complicated. I don't know why someone hasn't made a script (or have they?) or made pre-compiled kernels available. Certainly in my case there is nothing special needed. I just want a kernel with the right driver.If anybody knows where I can get a 2.6.35 kernel (any distro) or standalone ath9k_htc driver, please contact Ole at here.
it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests
So I wrote the Ubuntu Server 10.10 disk and popped in the lappy.
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