Has anybody managed to get a Netgear WPN111 USB Wifi adaptor going in Puppy 2.12?
The device is not recognised by Puppy so I am using ndiswrapper.
Problems start with the fact that there is more than one .inf file on the installation CD. I've tried using one or other or both. One appears to work, the other gets an error. The light on the device never even flickers and wlan0 is never recognised.
Can anybody offer some help?
Geoff
Netgear WPN111 Wifi MIGHT work in Puppy 2.12. WG111 does!
Netgear WPN111 Wifi MIGHT work in Puppy 2.12. WG111 does!
Last edited by GeoffS on Wed 06 Dec 2006, 02:19, edited 3 times in total.
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tempestuous
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I think your chipset is Atheros. There is no native Linux driver for USB variants of the Atheros chipset, so you must use ndiswrapper.
See http://ndiswrapper.sourceforge.net/medi ... x.php/List do a text search for WPN111.
See http://ndiswrapper.sourceforge.net/medi ... x.php/List do a text search for WPN111.
Thanks tempestuous.
You are correct, the chipset is Atheros.
I have been there, the ndiswrapper site, and followed their instructions. That was where the frustration started to set in
.
It notes the presence of more than one driver but doesn't really spell what to do with them - after all, only one driver can be associated with the device - I think!.
I'll stumble around with it again this evening. If I get it working I'll post some comments about how, provided I do remember or even know how I got there.
My laptop (TP 600E) is dependant on wifi as it has no ethernet port.
Thanks again
Geoff
You are correct, the chipset is Atheros.
I have been there, the ndiswrapper site, and followed their instructions. That was where the frustration started to set in
.It notes the presence of more than one driver but doesn't really spell what to do with them - after all, only one driver can be associated with the device - I think!.
I'll stumble around with it again this evening. If I get it working I'll post some comments about how, provided I do remember or even know how I got there.
My laptop (TP 600E) is dependant on wifi as it has no ethernet port.
Thanks again
Geoff
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tempestuous
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This is what I see at the ndiswrapper wiki:
6. Card: Netgear WPN111 108Mbps RangeMAX USB (with super G/MIMO)
Chipset: Atheros USB
pciid: 1358:5f01
Driver: Windows XP driver available on the Netgear CD: netwpn11.inf + wpn111.sys + ar5523.bin
Other: Install both wpn11 and athfmwdl drivers.
That last line makes me suspect that you have one of those adaptors that needs special firmware loading regime. "wpn11" would be the main driver. "athfmwdl" might (?) be the firmware loader.
So it's quite feasible that you do need to load both.
Also, make sure that all Windows files (.inf/.sys/.bin./.cat) are located in the same directory when you set up ndiswrapper. There's a good chance that these Windows files may need to be re-loaded, so copy them into your root directory somewhere.
6. Card: Netgear WPN111 108Mbps RangeMAX USB (with super G/MIMO)
Chipset: Atheros USB
pciid: 1358:5f01
Driver: Windows XP driver available on the Netgear CD: netwpn11.inf + wpn111.sys + ar5523.bin
Other: Install both wpn11 and athfmwdl drivers.
That last line makes me suspect that you have one of those adaptors that needs special firmware loading regime. "wpn11" would be the main driver. "athfmwdl" might (?) be the firmware loader.
So it's quite feasible that you do need to load both.
Also, make sure that all Windows files (.inf/.sys/.bin./.cat) are located in the same directory when you set up ndiswrapper. There's a good chance that these Windows files may need to be re-loaded, so copy them into your root directory somewhere.
Thanks again tempestuous
I haven't got any further this evening but the following is interesting.
The USB viewer finds the device both on the native USB1 port and the PCMCIA/USB2 card.
The drivers are loaded as can be seen from the following:-
--------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------
This is from system log using 'dmesg'
-----------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
I have not been able to find any messages from 'loadndisdriver', then I may not be looking in the right place. The important comment appears to be "couldn't allocate memory'. This machine has 288 Mb of ram and a swap partition.
To provide these 'quotes' I have created a file on a usb stick, then booted puppy 1.09 to get online and post this. Bit clumsy. In 1.09 I use a Belkin PCMCIA (F5D-6020) card which you helped me get going some time ago. The ndiswrapper site is VERY discouraging regarding that device!!
Further comment welcome
Geoff
I haven't got any further this evening but the following is interesting.
The USB viewer finds the device both on the native USB1 port and the PCMCIA/USB2 card.
The drivers are loaded as can be seen from the following:-
--------------------------------------------------------
Code: Select all
sh-3.00# ndiswrapper -l
installed drivers:
athwpn driver installed
netwpn11 driver installed
sh-3.00# This is from system log using 'dmesg'
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Code: Select all
ndiswrapper: driver athwpn (,12/05/2003,1.00.001) loaded
ndiswrapper (add_bin_file:320): couldn't allocate memory
ndiswrapper (get_bin_file:282): loadndiswrapper failed (59904); check system log for messages from 'loadndisdriver'
sh-3.00# I have not been able to find any messages from 'loadndisdriver', then I may not be looking in the right place. The important comment appears to be "couldn't allocate memory'. This machine has 288 Mb of ram and a swap partition.
To provide these 'quotes' I have created a file on a usb stick, then booted puppy 1.09 to get online and post this. Bit clumsy. In 1.09 I use a Belkin PCMCIA (F5D-6020) card which you helped me get going some time ago. The ndiswrapper site is VERY discouraging regarding that device!!
Further comment welcome
Geoff
might be a bit of a dafty but - i had problems and all i did was make sure the drivers were loaded then
Code: Select all
#modprobe ath_pci
#ifconfig ath0 up
but my card was PCMCIA so im not to sure your gonna benifit from this :oops: Thanks for your comment chill3r but as you suspected not much help 
.
I have found something, (well Google found it) at
http://www.ubuntuforums.org/archive/ind ... 03229.html
and another one
http://mandrivausers.org/lofiversion/in ... 31070.html
Looks as though they might be relevant but I don't know what to do with them, maybe somebody will have a useful comment.
However, it does appear that the WPN111 is a troublesome little brute!!
Geoff
.I have found something, (well Google found it) at
http://www.ubuntuforums.org/archive/ind ... 03229.html
and another one
http://mandrivausers.org/lofiversion/in ... 31070.html
Looks as though they might be relevant but I don't know what to do with them, maybe somebody will have a useful comment.
However, it does appear that the WPN111 is a troublesome little brute!!
Geoff
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BlackAdder
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- Joined: Sun 22 May 2005, 23:29
Well, the news is not so good.
This device needs its firmware loaded before it will work properly. There is an nidwrapper utility program load_fw_ar5523 that loads the firmware, but it does not seem to be included with Puppy 2.12.
An alternative might be to add a Windows driver that loads the firmware, but it is not included with the drivers for this device.
Others have reported getting the firmware loaded under Windows and then rebooting the system into Linux. Not a satisfactory way of doing things, though.
This device needs its firmware loaded before it will work properly. There is an nidwrapper utility program load_fw_ar5523 that loads the firmware, but it does not seem to be included with Puppy 2.12.
An alternative might be to add a Windows driver that loads the firmware, but it is not included with the drivers for this device.
Others have reported getting the firmware loaded under Windows and then rebooting the system into Linux. Not a satisfactory way of doing things, though.
Thank you BlackAdder
You have put sense into what I've been reading. That certainly accounts for the apparent erratic behavour reported by most users. I'm certainly not going to load windows every time just to get this thing working
I've also got a Netgear WG111v2 Wireless USB Adapter. One of the variants with the Prism54 chipset. The main reason I didn't try it first was that its software comes in a .exe file and .cab file and needs extracting however the ndiswrapper web page gives it an OK provided you work out which version you have!
Thanks again BlackAdder, you've saved me wasting more time.
Geoff
You have put sense into what I've been reading. That certainly accounts for the apparent erratic behavour reported by most users. I'm certainly not going to load windows every time just to get this thing working
I've also got a Netgear WG111v2 Wireless USB Adapter. One of the variants with the Prism54 chipset. The main reason I didn't try it first was that its software comes in a .exe file and .cab file and needs extracting however the ndiswrapper web page gives it an OK provided you work out which version you have!
Thanks again BlackAdder, you've saved me wasting more time.
Geoff
Considering all the previous I've given up on the WPN111.
I'd made a mistake with the WG111 - the s/ware does not have to be extracted - it is just a plain .inf.
Importantly it worked 'out of the box' with ndiswrapper and I'm making this post using it. I can now go ahead with using 2.12 on this laptop -
Thanks to everybody for the help even if it did lead to 'Won't work'
Geoff
I'd made a mistake with the WG111 - the s/ware does not have to be extracted - it is just a plain .inf.
Importantly it worked 'out of the box' with ndiswrapper and I'm making this post using it. I can now go ahead with using 2.12 on this laptop -
Thanks to everybody for the help even if it did lead to 'Won't work'
Geoff
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tempestuous
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- Location: Australia
BlackAdder,
I just saw your post in the developer forum about "kernel.shmmax" and "kernel.shmall" http://www.puppyos.net/forum/?1165211060
I attach sysctl from Vector linux. gunzip it into /sbin
EDIT: sysctl.gz removed
I just saw your post in the developer forum about "kernel.shmmax" and "kernel.shmall" http://www.puppyos.net/forum/?1165211060
I attach sysctl from Vector linux. gunzip it into /sbin
EDIT: sysctl.gz removed
Last edited by tempestuous on Tue 05 Dec 2006, 20:17, edited 1 time in total.
tempestuous :- does this mean I should download your patch and try the WPN111 again?
I thought it was going to need the ndsiwrapper utility (load_fw_ar5523 ) to write the firmware. How does this solve the problem?
The WG111 is working but - it appears to disappear occasionally and is quite hard to find again
GeoffS
I thought it was going to need the ndsiwrapper utility (load_fw_ar5523 ) to write the firmware. How does this solve the problem?
The WG111 is working but - it appears to disappear occasionally and is quite hard to find again
GeoffS
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tempestuous
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- Joined: Fri 10 Jun 2005, 05:12
- Location: Australia
It's not a patch. See the developer forum link to see what BlackAdder is doing.
My understanding is that "load_fw_ar5523" was only packaged as a separate utility back in the early days when ndiswrapper was trying to accommodate non-standard firmware loading. Apparently this code is now written into the ndiswrapper kernel module, so a separate utility is no longer required.
My understanding is that "load_fw_ar5523" was only packaged as a separate utility back in the early days when ndiswrapper was trying to accommodate non-standard firmware loading. Apparently this code is now written into the ndiswrapper kernel module, so a separate utility is no longer required.
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tempestuous
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BlackAdder, procps-3.2.7 attached as we discussed.
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- procps-3.2.7.pup
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BlackAdder
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Thanks tempestuous (and GuestToo). I will test later in the day.
GeoffS - an update in case you are confused about what is happening.
It looks as though the latest version(s) of ndiswrapper is/are greedy for memory when downloading firmware to wireless adapters that do not have non-volatile memory. Your WPN111 and my DWL-650+ are in that category. tempestuous has supplied a small package that should enable Puppy to provide the required additional memory space. Assuming that it works for me, I will post instructions on its use.
In the meantime, if you have an earlier version of Puppy 2.xx, you could try your WPN111 with that. Puppy versions before 2.12 used ndiswrapper 1.15; Puppy 2.12 has ndiswrapper 1.26. My DWL-650+ works correctly with ndiswrapper 1.15. It was all my fault, I asked Barry to upgrade ndiswrapper in the belief that a version later than 1.21 was needed to enable Wifi Protected Access (WPA) support. It is not so.
Both 1.15 and 1.26 work well with WPA. 
GeoffS - an update in case you are confused about what is happening.
It looks as though the latest version(s) of ndiswrapper is/are greedy for memory when downloading firmware to wireless adapters that do not have non-volatile memory. Your WPN111 and my DWL-650+ are in that category. tempestuous has supplied a small package that should enable Puppy to provide the required additional memory space. Assuming that it works for me, I will post instructions on its use.
In the meantime, if you have an earlier version of Puppy 2.xx, you could try your WPN111 with that. Puppy versions before 2.12 used ndiswrapper 1.15; Puppy 2.12 has ndiswrapper 1.26. My DWL-650+ works correctly with ndiswrapper 1.15. It was all my fault, I asked Barry to upgrade ndiswrapper in the belief that a version later than 1.21 was needed to enable Wifi Protected Access (WPA) support. It is not so.
Both 1.15 and 1.26 work well with WPA. BlackAdder - Thanks for your further comments. I'll try the 'fix', when you have posted your instructions and I've got a few minutes. Meanwhile the WG111 is working OK - the habit of disappearing seems to have disappeared .
I do have, somewhere, an earlier V2 Puppy but I don't want to mess around with that for the moment.
Don't blame yourself for the later ndiswrapper. We should use the latest versions. Nobody will know if it has bugs if nobody uses it
GeoffS
.I do have, somewhere, an earlier V2 Puppy but I don't want to mess around with that for the moment.
Don't blame yourself for the later ndiswrapper. We should use the latest versions. Nobody will know if it has bugs if nobody uses it
GeoffS
Hey Guys (or girls?) I just bought (ordered) a few of these WG111's (because they were cheap and according to this thread, they will run under puppy.
I really don't care what version of puppy I need to run to use them, I just want to have PC's in kids rooms run puppy instead of windows and don't want to spend alot on the wifi adapters.
Question is, would one of you guys be able to find time (in a week or two when they arrive) to walk me through getting them going?
I really don't have a clue what I'm doing with wireless, so I might need an irc or PM type of instruction to get the first one working, after that I can likely do it again using message log.
Thanks in advance for any help offered
I really don't care what version of puppy I need to run to use them, I just want to have PC's in kids rooms run puppy instead of windows and don't want to spend alot on the wifi adapters.
Question is, would one of you guys be able to find time (in a week or two when they arrive) to walk me through getting them going?
I really don't have a clue what I'm doing with wireless, so I might need an irc or PM type of instruction to get the first one working, after that I can likely do it again using message log.
Thanks in advance for any help offered
If you find my posts helpful and you want to say thanks, please consider clicking the www button under my posts to visit my website.
SnowDog -
You're welcome to some help but do you have an Access Point or do you aim to use connection sharing via one of your computers?
If you have an Access Point as far as I have found it is dead easy
If you want to share your connection well, I don't even know if puppy will do it. I always found it unreliable in Windows. (XP is better than the previous versions but still flaky) and finally gave up and bought an Access Point. It's a 4 port ethernet hub, provides a firewall and makes you think about security so is really very useful and cost me less than $AUD100.
There - you've got some comments from me
Good luck, and keep asking
Geoff
You're welcome to some help but do you have an Access Point or do you aim to use connection sharing via one of your computers?
If you have an Access Point as far as I have found it is dead easy
If you want to share your connection well, I don't even know if puppy will do it. I always found it unreliable in Windows. (XP is better than the previous versions but still flaky) and finally gave up and bought an Access Point. It's a 4 port ethernet hub, provides a firewall and makes you think about security so is really very useful and cost me less than $AUD100.
There - you've got some comments from me
Good luck, and keep asking
Geoff
Thanks Geoff.
I have a linksys wireless WRT54G router, that I had running under XP's ICS. I really want to get rid of the window factor from the loop though.
I have all kinds of hardware and software options to build my little network from the ground up.
All kinds of distro's like Suse, Ubuntu, Kubuntu, Knoppix, Mandriva, Slackware, Gentoo, etc. etc.
Hardware (that I would/could dedicate to this job) consists of various PIII-IV systems, laptops, network cards, switches, hubs, hardware router, UPS, etc., but however I do it, I'd like it to be able to dish out the wireless internet in such a way that's it's basically a plug & play situation for some wireless Puppy laptops. (which probably just means the right wireless cards on the Puppy machines)
I would like it be fairly secure from the outside (internet) world, without having to learn a whole bunch of new stuff about being a server admin if possible.
I'm open to any ideas anyone has.
Thanks
I have a linksys wireless WRT54G router, that I had running under XP's ICS. I really want to get rid of the window factor from the loop though.
I have all kinds of hardware and software options to build my little network from the ground up.
All kinds of distro's like Suse, Ubuntu, Kubuntu, Knoppix, Mandriva, Slackware, Gentoo, etc. etc.
Hardware (that I would/could dedicate to this job) consists of various PIII-IV systems, laptops, network cards, switches, hubs, hardware router, UPS, etc., but however I do it, I'd like it to be able to dish out the wireless internet in such a way that's it's basically a plug & play situation for some wireless Puppy laptops. (which probably just means the right wireless cards on the Puppy machines)
I would like it be fairly secure from the outside (internet) world, without having to learn a whole bunch of new stuff about being a server admin if possible.
I'm open to any ideas anyone has.
Thanks
If you find my posts helpful and you want to say thanks, please consider clicking the www button under my posts to visit my website.
WPN 111
I will watch the outcome of the various fixes for the WPN111 with interest as I have just taken the Linux plunge with Puppy today. From what I've seen so far, I can't understand why I delayed for so long.
I too have this adapter (no wired connection) and don't want to have to re-instate the old modem if I can help it. Until a work-around is available, I have to use a different machine running XP to access great resources like this - defeats the object really.
Keep trying people!I Wish I could help more but am a complete Linux/Puppy novice just trying to get my head round it but I'll attempt some of the suggestions here anyway and report back.
I too have this adapter (no wired connection) and don't want to have to re-instate the old modem if I can help it. Until a work-around is available, I have to use a different machine running XP to access great resources like this - defeats the object really.
Keep trying people!I Wish I could help more but am a complete Linux/Puppy novice just trying to get my head round it but I'll attempt some of the suggestions here anyway and report back.