Hi guys,

I just recently acquired a Wireless G-Card (Works on B also) for use on a university. I'd like to know if anyone has gotten this specific Linksys model posted in the title to work (WPC54GS w/ Speedbooster).

I've tried ndiswrapper and I think it's the only I can it to work. It's not an Atheros chipset so I can use madwifi and the model is also not supported on http://www.linux-wlan.com/ and their source code. On the ndiswrapper website, someone actually got it to work using ndiswrapper 0.10rc1, but they never posted instructions.

My laptop is a Toshiba A65. At the slackware setup screen, I can setup the rc.pcmcia script configured specifically for that pcmcia card that I have. At boot up, the script runs, and the when the card is in, the power led comes thinking me to believe that the script works. But I could be wrong.

After that, I tried both ndiswrapper 0.10rc1 and 0.12. And I installed the driver from the CD they gave me. I think it is lsbcmnds.inf. I could be wrong. But anyways, when I try to ndiswrapper -l after installing the driver, the output reads that the driver is present, but the hardware is NOT present even when the linksys card is in and the power led is on. Am I doing something wrong?

I'm using Linux 2.6.7. I hope someone has gotten this work because I don't want it lying in the gutter. Thanks.

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Well... Have you *tried* using ndiswrapper yet?

Download the ndiswrapper package from ndiswrapper.sourceforge.net

In the README or INSTALL file, it has detailed instructions on how to install it. If it doesn't work, it doesn't work. You should at least try it before posting a bump three times. If you have tried it, then post what the errors were.

--Shade

The errors were already posted in the first post.

It's doesn't seem to detect although the driver is installed. I'm sure someone has a speedbooster card by now and is willing to try on their slackbox.

post exact contents of said error please

at boot up i start the cardbus manager:

/etc/rc.d/rc.pcmcia

This will start the cardbus manager. I already have the linksys card in. It lights up. The power led is on. Not the link yet of course.

I install ndiswrapper. After installation I run ndiswrapper -i /mnt/cdrom/lsbcmnds.inf noting i hope that's the driver of the card. This is off the CD. I read somewhere that it was recommended to use the CD provided.

Then I type:

modprobe ndiswrapper

ndiswrapper -l

This is where the problem is. The output is:

Installed ndis drivers:
lsbcmnds driver present, hardware NOT present

I can't do anything if the driver tells me the hardware is not there. Of course, I could be using the wrong driver for this model WPC54GS. But atleast someone can tell which drivers to install. Thanks. I know it's a new model and it's supposedly supported in ndiswrapper. Maybe I'm doing something wrong. Help me.

i might be mistaken, but I believe that you need the .sys file as well, try coping the inf and .sys files to your home directory and using ndiswrapper to install them from there, also does the cardbus manager find any slots during system boot-up?

If i remember right, linksys provides native linux drivers. Check their website.

the cardbus manager (rc.pcmcia) does find a slot, which I configured before installing slackware. I think I typed pcmcia after the Slackware CD booted up and it found a slot which it configured. At startup, the script runs and it actively searching for the any cards in the slot. So when I put in the linksys card, the power led turns on the card assuming that the cardbus manager works.

I looked on the Linksys website and all I could find is the zipped version of the CD I got. I couldn't find Linux drivers for it on their website. But there was this GPL code center which provides the source code for the firmware for various devices. I couldn't find WPC54GS there.

Also, do you remember which .sys file I have to install along with lsbcmnds.inf? I looked for the most relevant files on the CD and installed them. I might send linksys an email and ask them if they know what I should do. They are pretty keen on linux support. Feedback appreciated! Thanks guys! Keep sending it in. This will be a good future reference for others who by this card.

Not really. They linked to linux-wlan-ng for a model or two, but this doesn't help here.

Try www.prism54.org

The Linksys people just told me that WPC54GS is a Broadcom Chipset and I was also wondering whether if I have to bring down my internal NIC with the command:

ifconfig eth0 down

and then ifconfig wlan0 up

Of course I can only do this once the driver installed and the hardward has been detected.

Does anyone provide support for the Broadcom chipset?

as far as I know, boardcom was refusing to release source code, so no open-source drivers could be built... I think that ndiswrapper was the only way to get it to work... other than linuxant

Look for a post called can't locate wlan0 in the laptop section I think. Its a 30-post thread about my troubles with this damn speed booster card.