ungottable 0 Posted April 26, 2006 Ok ok...so I just got Suse Linux 10.0 three days ago. I've always been a Mac and Windows user and have NO clue what I'm doing on Linux.. PLEASE HELP ME!! So here goes.. I built a small computer for my sister to access the internet and decided to buy Suse Linux 10.0 for security reasons (vs Windows and all its virus problems). After I installed the Gnome desktop I tried poppin on the Netgear WPN111 Wireless USB Adapter, but when trying to run the .exe it didn't work. Now I'm not completely ignorant, but I thought I'd give it a try anyway. HELP ME!! What do I do now? Am I helpless? Is there a driver for it? How would I install something like that (keep in mind I've had it for 3 days) ANY HELP WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED! -Thanks in advanced -ungottable P.S.-Also, what recommendations would you have to better the Linux experience(add-ons, software, etc)? Share this post Link to post
danleff 0 Posted April 26, 2006 Two comments. Well, maybe more. Linux and USB wireless adapters are a little difficult to set up. realize that these adapters are made for Windows users, as are their drivers. It is possible to get it to work with some persistence on your part. Linux does not use exe files. These are Widows executable files. What exe file are you trying to use, the driver package from the Netgear website? Do you have the cd that came with the adapter with the Windows XP drivers on it? Just a suggestion for the future. When you buy any OS, make sure that the hardware that you are planning to use is compatible with the OS. SuSE has a good hardware compatability database for this purpose. Share this post Link to post
zenarcher 0 Posted April 26, 2006 One more suggestion. Make sure you post which version of the WPN111 you have and what chip it uses. This often makes a difference and can help someone figure out compatibility. More than likely, you're going to need to go through a ndiswrapper setup, using the Windows driver that came on the disk, or download the latest driver from the manufacturer's website. Regards, zenarcher Share this post Link to post
ungottable 0 Posted April 26, 2006 First of all...Thanks for your quick replies guys! I have the CD that came with the device and the device itself..I bought it at best buy 1 week ago... I don't know exactly what build it is or what chip it's using, but I know it's new lol. Sorry I cant be more specific on the device itself, but I hope the information I provided helps both of us. Hope to hear from you guys/gals soon! -ungottable Share this post Link to post
zenarcher 0 Posted April 27, 2006 I would imagine somewhere on the device or with the documents with it...or on the box, there would be a revision number and also the chip that's being used. Often, you're in corner without that info, as it can be necessary to do the configuration. Regards, zenarcher Share this post Link to post
danleff 0 Posted April 27, 2006 I did some looking around. It appears that in your case, the WPN111 comes in one version, an Atheros chipset. There are two basic packages that can be installed to get Atheros chipsets to work in Linux. The first, madwifi does not support USB devices, from what i can gather. The second, ndiswrapper, should work. The issue is accessing the drivers from your cd, or off the Netgear website. They comes, as you noted, in an exe format. Fedora does not allow you to easily extract them - don't know about SuSE. The idea would be to extract the drivers, so that you can use them with ndiswrapper. Ndiswrapper can use the raw native drivers to get the device working. Let me look more at this. The process for your device is a little more complicated than usual, of course! You can look at the cd and see if the drivers come in a folder...they should be in a directory marked Drivers-->Windows, or XP. If the cd just has the exe file, then this will not work easily. I do know that there is a way to extract these files (inf and sys files are what you are looking for), but I can't remember what the process is right now. You may also find them, if you did an installation of Windows on this system, or any other box, in a directory marked wpn111_setup.zip_FILES depending on the version of the drivers that you used. Of course, there are two versions of the drivers, with differnt names of directories that either create when they are extracted. Share this post Link to post
ungottable 0 Posted April 27, 2006 OMG! I AM SO SORRY!! The whole time I've been saying that I have a WPN111 it's actually been WG111T.. I am so sorry I had it confused for the one I used to have that stopped working. They both look the same and everything so I thought they were the same... Please forgive me. I guess we're back to square one. Ok, So here is some additional information that I have gathered from inserting the cd that came with the device in a windows os computer.. hope it helps: Resource CD: Version 1.1 Files on cd that look like they might be the one's I need: Within the ndis5 folder: ar5523(BIN File)-151kb athfmwdl(Security Catalog)-0kb athfmwdl(Setup Information)-2kb athfmwdl(ATHEROS USB Driver/System File)-43kb netwg11t(Security Catalog)-0kb netwg11t(Setup Information)-18kb wg11tnd5(WG111T Wireless NDIS 5 Driver/System File)-279kb Also on CD: autorun(System Information)-1kb AUTORUN(AUTORUN MFC Application)-904kb Here is my exact device on Netgear's website: http://kbserver.netgear.com/products/WG111T.asp Again, I am so sorry we started out on the wrong foot with false information. I had a WPN111 but it died so i got the WG111T thinking it was the same device; so I gave you the information from the wrong box..Now I throw away the wrong box and have only the WPN111 box with its documentation, and not the WG111T. Just by chance I still have the WG111T Resource CD, so I can't tell you exactly what build my device is once more...sorry. Hopefully the information provided up top will be enough.. Thanks again for having patience with me, you guys have been great! -ungottable Share this post Link to post
danleff 0 Posted April 29, 2006 A preity good guide on installing ndiswrapper in SuSE 10 can be found here. Also, take note of the specifics for your card here. I will be away until May 5th, so hopefully others can comment if you have questions. Share this post Link to post
zenarcher 0 Posted April 29, 2006 Danleff is absolutely correct. Andrew's guide for installing wireless in SUSE 10 is the very best I've ever found. Following his guide, I was able to set up wireless on my notebook computer, with SUSE 10, without a problem. It's important to read and follow each step he offers,...exactly. If you have problems, Andrew is great about answering and helping, as well. You can get to Andrew's wireless guide here: http://nextgen.no-ip.org/~andrew/linux/ndiswrapper/ndiswrapperinfo10.php Regards, zenarcher Share this post Link to post
rowdy235 0 Posted May 8, 2006 Well, if you're still looking for a solution, I only have 1 linux system, but I have the same adapter on a Windows system. On the root of the cd, there should be a file netwg11t.ini. This should be the file to wrap. I've never tried it, but thats the one I used to install on my windows system. Hope this helps. Share this post Link to post
someguyouknow 0 Posted May 28, 2006 i am a noob at this too and i was just going to go out and buy that wireless adapter..... from what i gather, you can install the rpm for the Atheros chipset.... http://packman.links2linux.org/?action=827 but i dont know where to go from there.... i was trying to find a wireless adapter to use with SuSE 10.1..... any suggestions?.....will a WG111T be ok?.... anyone have luck with that?.... Share this post Link to post
