can't get ndiswrapper to work with D-Link DWL-G122

amy

I'm trying to get my desktop running with feisty, and i can't get my wireless adapter working.  It is a D-Link DWL-G122 rev B1 USB adapter.  I've read the how-to's on installing ndiswrapper, and after searching and searching the only drivers i could find to install were the latest windows xp drivers.  I tried installing these via the instructions in the how-to's, but when i code

ndiswrapper-l

in the terminal i get:

netrtusb : invalid driver!
netrusb : invalid driver!

Can anyone help me figure out what is going on here?  My linux experience is pretty limited, so it is definitely possible i screwed something up...

thanks

Lets check a few things before jumping right in:

1. Ndiswrapper installation --
At command line type and post for me:
ndiswrapper -v

How did you attempt to install ndiswrapper?/

2. Lets find out more about your USB device:
Post the output of:
lsusb

3. Keep the drivers handy, we will need them.  Cross your fingers and hope they will work!

ndiswrapper -v

utils Error: no version specified!
driver version:     1.38
vermagic:    2.6.20-15-generic SMP mod_unload 586

lsusb

Bus 005 Device 004:  ID 2001:3c00 D-Link Corp. [hex] DWL-G122 802.11g rev. B1 [ra link](other usb devices omitted to save myself typing....)  

I should probably note that I'm typing this output in, not cutting and pasting, so the syntax might not be 100% correct but i think i got it right.  

another potentially useful detail is that when i boot the machine up to XP (seperate hard drive), the wireless device works fine, so it isn't a hardware failure.

As far as how I installed ndiswrapper, i followed the instructions in this how to:

community/Wi...er/Ndiswrapper

Since i didn't have intenet access on that computer, i followed the instructions in 2.3 quot;without internet accessquot; and installed ndis through the synaptic package manager off of the 7.04 alternate install cd.  I later downloaded the ndisgtk package through windows and installed that from the command line per the instructions in 2.2.  

Thanks so much for you help, I truly appreciate it.  Some day i hope to understand this stuff well enough to make good on the debts I'm racking up on the forums!  

I

Onto ndiswrapper
Your version has an error and is not installed properly:

utils Error: no version specified!

So first uninstall ndiswrapper. You probably used Synaptic, so use Synaptic to uninstall ndiswrapper

Next we are going to reinstall ndiswrapper -- but from source

Lets do some setup work first - If you have a wired ethernet connection that you can download files, skip to step #4
1. Stick ubuntu cd-rom into driver and wait to become ready
2. At command line type: sudo apt-cdrom add
3. Then: sudo aptitude update
4. Then: sudo aptitude install build-essential

At command line, do the following:
cd ~
mkdir ndiswrapper

Download the ndiswrapper source files and place in the ~/ndiswrapper directory:
from : localhost/sourceforge.net/project/showf...group_id=93482

cd ~/ndiswrapper
tar -zxvf ndiswrapper-1.47.tar.gz
cd ndiswrapper-1.47
make distclean
make
sudo make install

Ok great, now lets check ndiswrapper installation to see if it correct:
ndiswrapper -v

You should see no errors!
Something like this

Code:
utils version: '1.9', utils version needed by module: '1.9'
module details:
filename:       /lib/modules/2.6.20-16-generic/misc/ndiswrapper.ko
version:        1.47
vermagic:       2.6.20-16-generic SMP mod_unload 586


I got a 404 error from the link for the source files, so i downloaded them from here:
from : localhost/sourceforge.net/project/showf...group_id=93482
I assume that was right...  ndiswrapper -v gives me the exact output you had specified.  I'm guessing my next step is to try to reinstall the windows drivers, now that ndiswrapper is installed correctly...

Yes you are correct.

Make sure before installing you completely delete any old installations with the command
sudo rm -R /etc/ndiswrapper *

Then install windows drivers
sudo ndiswrapper -i ****.inf  lt;--- Make sure .inf and .sys files are in the same working directory

Verify installation with
ndiswrapper -l

Then insert ndiswrapper module into kernel
sudo depmod -a
sudo modprobe -i ndiswrapper

Verify successful insertion with
dmesg | more
Look for ndiswrapper and make sure there are no errors

Make ndiswrapper module load at boot
sudo ndiswrapper -m

Reboot
Everything might work at this point, however in many cases there are just a couple more tweaks.  If yours works -- Congratulations

ok i've really done it now

i tried installing the drivers i previously downloaded, and it said the driver was already installed.  I did ndiswrapper-l, and it listed two invalid drivers.  So i did ndiswrapper-v again, and now it seems to be all messed up again.  Here is everything from the terminal from the time i checked to make sure ndiswrapper was installed correctly the first time to where I am now.  I hope i haven't screwed this up even worse!

nick@officemachine:~/ndiswrapper/ndiswrapper-1.47$ ndiswrapper -v
utils version: '1.9', utils version needed by module: '1.9'
module details:
filename:       /lib/modules/2.6.20-15-generic/misc/ndiswrapper.ko
version:        1.47
vermagic:       2.6.20-15-generic SMP mod_unload 586
nick@officemachine:~/ndiswrapper/ndiswrapper-1.47$ cd ~
nick@officemachine:~$ sudo ndiswrapper -i /~drivers/NetRTUSB.inf
driver netrtusb is already installed
nick@officemachine:~$ ndiswrapper -l
netrtusb : invalid driver!
netrusb : invalid driver!
nick@officemachine:~$ ndiswrapper -v
modinfo: could not open ndiswrapper: No such device
module version is too old!
utils version: '1.9', utils version needed by module: '0'
module details:
modinfo: could not open ndiswrapper: No such device

You may need to upgrade driver and/or utils to latest versions available at
from : localhost/ndiswrapper.sourceforge.net
nick@officemachine:~$

unfortunately i did all this before i read your previous post which said to make sure everything from the old installation was cleared out.  Can i do that now and then reinstall the drivers, or do i need to remove ndiswrapper and start over again?  If so, how do i remove ndiswrapper since i installed from source instead of through the package manager?

Make sure before installing you completely delete any old installations with the command
sudo rm -R /etc/ndiswrapper/*

This should remove all the old drivers
You can check with ndiswrapper -l
Nothing should be listed

Then try installing driver again.
Then list output of
ndiswrapper -l

ok i think we're closing in on it:

ndiswrapper -l
netrtusb : driver installed       device (2001:3C00) present (alternate driver:  rt2570)

proceeding with the rest of your instructions...