Problems installing ndiswrapper

[EverKing]

Hey there,

I'm experiencing Linux for the first time. Just installed Fiesty on my HP zv6000 laptop and I'm trying to get the wireless working (I use WPA of course). I've browsed around the forums here (and elsewhere) and found a solution that looks like it will work, but requires the use ndiswrapper and I can't get it installed.

Here's what I've done:

downloaded "ndiswrapper-1.44.tar.gz";
extracted the tarball to a ~/Downloads/ directory;
Read the README and the INSTALL files;
Attempted to follow the instruction is INSTALL...
As root,
make uninstall (untill no "remove" messages appear)
make
make install

It appears to work properly, but it does not appear to install at all. Is there another step I need to actually install the program and let it be usable by the system? Right now it doesn't show in any place of my system.

Any help will be most appreciated! Once I get ndiswrapper I think I'll be able to get the rest of it working.

[Gediminas2]

Re: Problems installing ndiswrapper

How do you know it's not installed?
Did you try typing

ndiswrapper

in the konsole?
Some programs don't appear in the K menu

[askrieger]

Re: Problems installing ndiswrapper

What Gediminas2 was trying to say was that you should give the command "ndiswrapper" at the konsole. Personally, if I just wanted to make sure it was installed without starting something, I would type "which ndiswrapper". That would tell me where the ndiswrapper command was installed. I would then go to that directory ("cd <wherever>") and enter the command "ls -l". that would tell me exaclty which files were installed and (from the cryptic characters "-rwxr-xr-x" before the file names who had permission to read, write, and execute the file.

[EverKing]

Re: Problems installing ndiswrapper

Yeah, that's how I first realized it wasn't installed. I tried running the ndiswrapper command

sudo ndiswrapper -i "path/driver.inf"

it came back with something like "ndiswrapper is not a recognized program" (don't remember the exact wording).

[askrieger]

Re: Problems installing ndiswrapper

Unless you're set getting version 1.44, the easiest way to get ndiswrapper is to start your favorite package manager (Adept, or Synaptic) and install the Kubuntu packages "ndiswrapper-common" and "ndiswrapper-utils-1.9". You will have to have These packages are actually version 1.38, but it ought to work. Everything will be put in the right place with the correct permissions automagically. I suggest taking a look at this page at the Ubuntu Community Help Wiki. The instructions are for Edgy, but I think they will work in Feisty as well. Note that there is an obsolete reference for something special to do for AMD64 but that is obsolete. Be sure to check the references listed on that page regarding adding repos and installing software, if you feel unsure about these topics, and remember that we're here to help if you get hung up.

[EverKing]

Re: Problems installing ndiswrapper

Holy Crap!

Sorry...I decided to take your advice and get the ndiswrapper-common from Adept. I am floored by this application. Not only was I able to get ndiswrapper installed and working, but a number of other util's that I needed or wanted. The scope and size of the repository is truly impressive. Not only that, but the ease of getting new software. If I had any doubts about the advantages of Open-Source over licensed (i.e. Linux over windoze) they just died...if for no other reason than Adept.

Now, I saw something on the forum here about WLAN freezing at 28%...I'm having the same problem. I'll take my inquiries there.

Thanks for the help!

[EverKing]

Re: Problems installing ndiswrapper

Alright, this is me on wireless.

I figured out that the problem was in the driver. I looked at it and the preloaded driver was still taking precedence over ndiswrapper. I found This Article, followed the steps and it worked like charm. Thanks again for the help.