Comprehensive ndiswrapper troubleshooting guide

[pytheas22]

haha, here I am! Thanks for the suggestion above, wildmanne39, which would have been my first try as well.

Since modifying /etc/modules doesn't seem to do the trick, why don't you try writing a boot script that will run the command "sudo modprobe ndiswrapper" automatically whenever your computer turns on? Hopefully this will achieve the same effect as entering it manually in a terminal.

You can set up a boot script to run that command by first typing:

cd /etc/init.d
sudo gedit ndiswrapper.sh

A blank file will open. Add these lines to it:

#/bin/bash

sudo rmmod ndiswrapper
sudo modprobe ndiswrapper
sudo ifconfig wlan0 up

Then save and close the file, and run these commands:

sudo chmod +x /etc/init.d/ndiswrapper.sh
sudo update-rc.d ndiswrapper.sh defaults

This should do it. Reboot and let us know if your wireless connection comes up automatically.

[Drumclem]

It's working! Amazing! Now I witness the full power of linux and scripts.

Thank you very much sir, I'll bookmark that thread just in case

If that's not too much, could you explain a bit what the script you just had me write did? I mean, precisely, what the commands do etc.?

Francophone P.S.: fabuleux nom de site perso

[wildmanne39]

Hi,

sudo rmmod ndiswrapper

unloads the ndiswrapper driver.

sudo modprobe ndiswrapper

reloads the driver.

sudo ifconfig wlan0 up

brings your wireless back online.

The script does the same thing that you were doing manually after you logged on but it now is doing it automatically when you log in.
Thanks

[pytheas22]

Drumclem: glad it worked. wildmanne39's explanation of what those commands do is pretty thorough.

Je suis content que quelqu'un ait enfin apprecié le nom du domaine

[mojo risin]

Is there a new ndiswrapper version out there by now which works with Linux Kernels 3.2 +? I am atm at the Kernel 3.0 because the ndiswrapper version that I have does not work anymore in 3.2.(says version is too old but the latest version also seemed to be to old according to a friend who tested that.)

[pytheas22]

mojo risin: the Ubuntu 12.04 repositories contain packages for ndiswrapper which should presumably work with the 3.2 kernel, since that is the one Ubuntu 12.04 uses. Have you tried simply installing them with:

sudo apt-get install ndiswrapper-common ndiswrapper-utils-1.9

If you are trying to compiling ndiswrapper from source on the 3.2 kernel and running into problems, you probably need a patch. But unless you have a reason not to, you should probably just use the packages.

[mojo risin]

I have got some logs if you would like to take a look at it. One is from when I am using the 3.2 Kernel. the other is from when I am using the 3.0 Kernel.

This here is the output when using the 3.0 Kernel

morri@schrabbelkiste:~$ dmesg | grep -i fritz
[   32.076236] AVM Fritz PCI driver Rev. 2.1
[   32.076364] mISDN: found adapter Fritz!Card PCI v2 at 0000:00:0a.0
[   32.076383] AVM.1: AVM Fritz!CARD PCIv2 config irq:5 base:0xB000
[   33.548903] hisax_fcpcipnp: Fritz!Card PCI/PCIv2/PnP ISDN driver v0.0.1
[   41.106732] wlan0: ethernet device 00:1f:3f:05:1e:bc using NDIS driver: fwlan, version: 0x2000c6f, NDIS version: 0x501, vendor: 'AVM FRITZ!WLAN USB Stick', 057C:6201.F.conf
morri@schrabbelkiste:~$ dmesg | grep -i fwlan
[   40.198362] ndiswrapper: driver fwlan (,Texas Instruments) loaded
[   41.106732] wlan0: ethernet device 00:1f:3f:05:1e:bc using NDIS driver: fwlan, version: 0x2000c6f, NDIS version: 0x501, vendor: 'AVM FRITZ!WLAN USB Stick', 057C:6201.F.conf

morri@schrabbelkiste:~$ iwconfig
lo        no wireless extensions.

eth0      no wireless extensions.

wlan0     IEEE 802.11g  ESSID:"001601DF4E88"  
          Mode:Managed  Frequency:2.462 GHz  Access Point: 00:16:01:DF:4E:89   
          Bit Rate=54 Mb/s   Tx-Power:10 dBm   Sensitivity=0/3  
          RTS thr:off   Fragment thr:off
          Power Management:off
          Link Quality:62/100  Signal level:-56 dBm  Noise level:-96 dBm
          Rx invalid nwid:0  Rx invalid crypt:0  Rx invalid frag:0
          Tx excessive retries:0  Invalid misc:0   Missed beacon:0

morri@schrabbelkiste:~$ ndiswrapper -v
utils version: '1.9', utils version needed by module: '1.9'
module details:
filename:       /lib/modules/3.0.0-17-generic/kernel/ubuntu/ndiswrapper/ndiswrapper.ko
version:        1.56
vermagic:       3.0.0-17-generic SMP mod_unload modversions 686 

Here is when using the 3.2 Kernel

morri@schrabbelkiste:~$ iwconfig
lo        no wireless extensions.

eth0      no wireless extensions.

morri@schrabbelkiste:~$ ndiswrapper -v
ERROR: modinfo: could not find module ndiswrapper
module version is too old!
utils version: '1.9', utils version needed by module: '0'
module details:
ERROR: modinfo: could not find module ndiswrapper

You may need to upgrade driver and/or utils to latest versions available at
http://ndiswrapper.sourceforge.net

morri@schrabbelkiste:~$ lsusb
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 003 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 004 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 005 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 001 Device 003: ID 152d:2329 JMicron Technology Corp. / JMicron USA Technology Corp. JM20329 SATA Bridge
Bus 003 Device 002: ID 04a9:2220 Canon, Inc. CanoScan LIDE 25
Bus 005 Device 002: ID 057c:6201 AVM GmbH AVM Fritz!WLAN v1.1 [Texas Instruments TNETW1450]

morri@schrabbelkiste:~$ iwconfig
lo        no wireless extensions.

eth0      no wireless extensions.

29.671587] ADDRCONF(NETDEV_UP): eth0: link is not ready
[   29.773063] udevd[300]: starting version 175
[   29.802449] Adding 514044k swap on /dev/sda7.  Priority:-1 extents:1 across:514044k 
[   30.478074] lp: driver loaded but no devices found
[   30.494545] EXT4-fs (sda6): re-mounted. Opts: errors=remount-ro
[   30.724239] parport_pc: VIA 686A/8231 detected
[   30.724251] parport_pc: probing current configuration
[   30.724276] parport_pc: Current parallel port base: 0x378
[   30.724375] parport0: PC-style at 0x378 (0x778), irq 7, using FIFO [PCSPP,TRISTATE,COMPAT,ECP]
[   30.842544] lp0: using parport0 (interrupt-driven).
[   30.842559] parport_pc: VIA parallel port: io=0x378, irq=7
[   30.879064] shpchp: Standard Hot Plug PCI Controller Driver version: 0.4
[   30.922820] via686a 0000:00:04.4: base address not set - upgrade BIOS or use force_addr=0xaddr
[   31.030945] Modular ISDN core version 1.1.21
[   31.058062] NET: Registered protocol family 34
[   31.190125] mISDNipac module version 2.0
[   31.475118] AVM Fritz PCI driver Rev. 2.1
[   31.475239] fcpci 0000:00:0a.0: PCI INT A -> Link[LNKC] -> GSI 5 (level, low) -> IRQ 5
[   31.475248] mISDN: found adapter Fritz!Card PCI v2 at 0000:00:0a.0
[   31.475267] AVM.1: AVM Fritz!CARD PCIv2 config irq:5 base:0xB000
[   31.972949] AVM 1 cards installed DEBUG

(no results for wlan in the dmesg)

[pytheas22]

mojo risin: what is the output of:

locate ndiswrapper.ko
uname -a

[mojo risin]

morri@schrabbelkiste:~$ locate ndiswrapper.ko
/lib/modules/2.6.38-10-generic/kernel/ubuntu/ndiswrapper/ndiswrapper.ko
/lib/modules/2.6.38-11-generic/kernel/ubuntu/ndiswrapper/ndiswrapper.ko
/lib/modules/2.6.38-8-generic/kernel/ubuntu/ndiswrapper/ndiswrapper.ko
/lib/modules/3.0.0-17-generic/kernel/ubuntu/ndiswrapper/ndiswrapper.ko
morri@schrabbelkiste:~$ uname -a
Linux schrabbelkiste 3.0.0-17-generic #30-Ubuntu SMP Thu Mar 8 17:34:21 UTC 2012 i686 i686 i386 GNU/Linux

[mojo risin]

morri@schrabbelkiste:~$ uname -a
Linux schrabbelkiste 3.2.0-25-generic #40-Ubuntu SMP Wed May 23 20:33:05 UTC 2012 i686 i686 i386 GNU/Linux
morri@schrabbelkiste:~$ locate ndiswrapper.ko
/lib/modules/2.6.38-10-generic/kernel/ubuntu/ndiswrapper/ndiswrapper.ko
/lib/modules/2.6.38-11-generic/kernel/ubuntu/ndiswrapper/ndiswrapper.ko
/lib/modules/2.6.38-8-generic/kernel/ubuntu/ndiswrapper/ndiswrapper.ko
/lib/modules/3.0.0-17-generic/kernel/ubuntu/ndiswrapper/ndiswrapper.ko
morri@schrabbelkiste:~$