System specs:
Sony Vaio PCG-XG18
Mandrake 10.1
Linux Kernel 2.6.8
D-Link DWL-650 with ADMtek chip. (I checked with D-Link and verified this using the FCC number)

Steps taken (in detail):
1) Downloaded adm8211-20041111.tar.bz2 driver from Sourmilk.
2) cp the file to /root directory.
3) bunzip2 and tar -xf the file resulting in adm8211 directory.
4) installed latest gcc and the entire kernel source from the Mandrake control center using CDs.
5)Restart machine.
6) Using Konsole log in as root using su.
7) drill into /root/adm8211 directory
8) type: make install, and everything seems to work properly, no errors. after depmod -a automatically finished i'm back at command line.
9) HOWEVER, nothing works. I have no activity on the card and trying to configure it has proved unsuccessful.

I have tried using ifconfig eth0 192.168.x.x to bring it up, didn't work.

modprobe adm8211 seems to work.
lsmod shows adm8211 in the list used by 0.

I'm a newbie at this so any help would be greatly appreciated.

Btw, I used the 20041111 version of the driver because that is the last one before the author requires the kernel to be at least 2.6.9, with this one only 2.6.6 or later is required.

What should I check to make sure the make install worked properly?

I have noticed that when I reboot my machine, lsmod shows that the adm8211 module is NOT in the list. After modprobe adm8211 it shows up again. Why is this?

Once again, a newbie, but fairly savvy, any help please. I've been working on this for two days before posting but I'm over my head now.
Thanks
mepasha

I have the same problem, although I'm using Ubuntu 5.04 (Hoary Hedgehog). But same exact problem, and no matter where I search online I can't find an answer. What gives?

This took a while for me to figure out. Basically D-Link misinformed me.
My version of the D-Link Air DWL-650 actually has the RealTek 8180 chipset.
I can't remember all the versions this card has been through, but if you go to their windows driver download page they list them all with pictures so you can verify against the S/N sticker on the back.

My card has a serial number that ends in V.M1. The M is the important part for mine. If you have an M after the S/N then you actually have the RealTek chipset.

I was able to get it to work using ndiswrapper and the windows driver. Not ideal, I don't like having even a small bit of closed software in my system, but it works in this pinch. The upshot is, that my Asante AL1611 now works as well b/c it uses the same chipset. The irony is I bought the D-Link in the first place only b/c I was told there was no way to use the Asante.
Aren't computers fun?

Thanks for the response. I didn't mention it before, but my card is an SMC2635W, not a D-Link. However, I figured out the solution to my problem, and it was because of the exact same issue as with yours: two different versions of the card with the same model number! Argh!!!!

It turns out that with the SMC2635W, if it's a red card it's "version 1", which uses the ADM chipset, but if it's a blue card it's "version two", which uses a Ralink chipset. For anyone else having trouble with this card, if you've got a blue one, try the RT2400 driver. Here's a link to more detailed instructions I posted (keep in mind that they are a bit Ubuntu-specific).