installing rtl8187L linux driver

[scholzilla]

Realtek provides a linux driver for its rtl8187L chipset (note: not 8187b). I've downloaded it, but don't know how to install it. Since it's not a windows driver, i'm assuming ndiswrapper is not the way to go. I searched for documentation on how to do this, but came up empty. Surely this is documented somewhere? If anyone could provide me a link, I'd appreciate it. Please do not send a link to an rtl8187b install page...that has separate issues and requires the windows driver.

[chili555]

If you can see where it is now, Places -> Home, or, perhaps Places -> Home -> Desktop, then you can right click it and select 'Extract here.' Go to the directory that's then been created and see the README. Some prerequisites will be listed which can usually be satisfied with:

sudo apt-get install build-essential
sudo apt-get install linux-headers-generic

Post back if you get stuck.

[scholzilla]

Thanks for the reply. I think this is going to be complicated. When I use make to recompile the driver as instructed by README, it's unsuccessful. Reading the output, it looks as though there is some problem with one of the C scripts. If you're really dedicated and know programming like I don't, I could send you a copy of the output and the C file that appears to contain the problem (something about an invalid pointer).

[chili555]

It would help most to get a link to the package you downloaded. Then I will see if I can trouble-shoot the compilation.

[scholzilla]

You're a beautiful human being. The driver can be found here. Should you be successful, I will put up a how-to sticky and, of course, credit you.

Just a few notes. Here's what I get from running make; the first reference to the softmac.c script that seems to be the beginning of the problem appears just a few lines below where all the directories/files are listed:

matt@Ogodei:~/linux_wifi_driver$ sudo ./makedrv
ieee80211/
ieee80211/license
ieee80211/ieee80211_crypt.c
ieee80211/ieee80211_tx.c
ieee80211/ieee80211_softmac.c
ieee80211/ieee80211_softmac_wx.c
ieee80211/ieee80211_module.c
ieee80211/ieee80211_crypt_ccmp.c
ieee80211/ieee80211_rx.c
ieee80211/tags
ieee80211/ieee80211_crypt_tkip.c
ieee80211/Makefile
ieee80211/readme
ieee80211/.tmp_versions/
ieee80211/.tmp_versions/ieee80211-rtl.mod
ieee80211/.tmp_versions/ieee80211_crypt_wep-rtl.mod
ieee80211/.tmp_versions/ieee80211_crypt_tkip-rtl.mod
ieee80211/.tmp_versions/ieee80211_crypt-rtl.mod
ieee80211/.tmp_versions/ieee80211_crypt_ccmp-rtl.mod
ieee80211/ieee80211_crypt_wep.c
ieee80211/ieee80211.h
ieee80211/ieee80211_wx.c
ieee80211/ieee80211_crypt.h
rtl8187/
rtl8187/license
rtl8187/r8180_rtl8225z2.c
rtl8187/r8180_rtl8225.h
rtl8187/r8187_led.c
rtl8187/r8180_93cx6.h
rtl8187/r8180_wx.h
rtl8187/r8180_hw.h
rtl8187/copying
rtl8187/r8187_led.h
rtl8187/r8180_pm.h
rtl8187/tags
rtl8187/r8187.h
rtl8187/Makefile
rtl8187/r8180_rtl8225.c
rtl8187/readme
rtl8187/install
rtl8187/.tmp_versions/
rtl8187/.tmp_versions/r8187.mod
rtl8187/changes
rtl8187/r8180_wx.c
rtl8187/r8180_pm.c
rtl8187/r8187_core.c
rtl8187/r8180_93cx6.c
rtl8187/authors
rtl8187/ieee80211.h
rtl8187/ieee80211_crypt.h
rm -f *.mod.c *.mod *.o .*.cmd *.ko *~
rm -rf /home/matt/linux_wifi_driver/ieee80211/tmp
make -C /lib/modules/2.6.24-18-generic/build M=/home/matt/linux_wifi_driver/ieee80211 modules
make[1]: Entering directory `/usr/src/linux-headers-2.6.24-18-generic'
  CC [M]  /home/matt/linux_wifi_driver/ieee80211/ieee80211_softmac.o
/home/matt/linux_wifi_driver/ieee80211/ieee80211_softmac.c: In function ‘ieee80211_softmac_scan_wq’:
/home/matt/linux_wifi_driver/ieee80211/ieee80211_softmac.c:421: warning: passing argument 2 of ‘queue_delayed_work’ from incompatible pointer type
/home/matt/linux_wifi_driver/ieee80211/ieee80211_softmac.c: In function ‘ieee80211_softmac_stop_scan’:
/home/matt/linux_wifi_driver/ieee80211/ieee80211_softmac.c:495: warning: passing argument 1 of ‘cancel_delayed_work’ from incompatible pointer type
/home/matt/linux_wifi_driver/ieee80211/ieee80211_softmac.c: In function ‘ieee80211_associate_abort’:
/home/matt/linux_wifi_driver/ieee80211/ieee80211_softmac.c:915: warning: passing argument 2 of ‘queue_delayed_work’ from incompatible pointer type
/home/matt/linux_wifi_driver/ieee80211/ieee80211_softmac.c: In function ‘ieee80211_stop_protocol_rtl’:
/home/matt/linux_wifi_driver/ieee80211/ieee80211_softmac.c:2120: warning: passing argument 1 of ‘cancel_delayed_work’ from incompatible pointer type
/home/matt/linux_wifi_driver/ieee80211/ieee80211_softmac.c:2229:78: error: macro "INIT_WORK" passed 3 arguments, but takes just 2
/home/matt/linux_wifi_driver/ieee80211/ieee80211_softmac.c: In function ‘ieee80211_softmac_init’:
/home/matt/linux_wifi_driver/ieee80211/ieee80211_softmac.c:2229: error: ‘INIT_WORK’ undeclared (first use in this function)
/home/matt/linux_wifi_driver/ieee80211/ieee80211_softmac.c:2229: error: (Each undeclared identifier is reported only once
/home/matt/linux_wifi_driver/ieee80211/ieee80211_softmac.c:2229: error: for each function it appears in.)
/home/matt/linux_wifi_driver/ieee80211/ieee80211_softmac.c:2230:88: error: macro "INIT_WORK" passed 3 arguments, but takes just 2
/home/matt/linux_wifi_driver/ieee80211/ieee80211_softmac.c:2231:94: error: macro "INIT_WORK" passed 3 arguments, but takes just 2
/home/matt/linux_wifi_driver/ieee80211/ieee80211_softmac.c:2232:96: error: macro "INIT_WORK" passed 3 arguments, but takes just 2
/home/matt/linux_wifi_driver/ieee80211/ieee80211_softmac.c:2233:82: error: macro "INIT_WORK" passed 3 arguments, but takes just 2
/home/matt/linux_wifi_driver/ieee80211/ieee80211_softmac.c:2234:82: error: macro "INIT_WORK" passed 3 arguments, but takes just 2
/home/matt/linux_wifi_driver/ieee80211/ieee80211_softmac.c: In function ‘ieee80211_softmac_free’:
/home/matt/linux_wifi_driver/ieee80211/ieee80211_softmac.c:2255: warning: passing argument 1 of ‘cancel_delayed_work’ from incompatible pointer type
make[2]: *** [/home/matt/linux_wifi_driver/ieee80211/ieee80211_softmac.o] Error 1
make[1]: *** [_module_/home/matt/linux_wifi_driver/ieee80211] Error 2
make[1]: Leaving directory `/usr/src/linux-headers-2.6.24-18-generic'
make: *** [modules] Error 2
rm -f *.mod.c *.mod *.o .*.cmd *.ko *~
rm -rf /home/matt/linux_wifi_driver/rtl8187/tmp
make -C /lib/modules/2.6.24-18-generic/build M=/home/matt/linux_wifi_driver/rtl8187 modules
make[1]: Entering directory `/usr/src/linux-headers-2.6.24-18-generic'
  CC [M]  /home/matt/linux_wifi_driver/rtl8187/r8187_core.o
In file included from /home/matt/linux_wifi_driver/rtl8187/r8187_core.c:64:
/home/matt/linux_wifi_driver/rtl8187/r8187.h:29:26: error: linux/config.h: No such file or directory
/home/matt/linux_wifi_driver/rtl8187/r8187_core.c: In function ‘rtl8180_proc_module_init’:
/home/matt/linux_wifi_driver/rtl8187/r8187_core.c:450: error: ‘proc_net’ undeclared (first use in this function)
/home/matt/linux_wifi_driver/rtl8187/r8187_core.c:450: error: (Each undeclared identifier is reported only once
/home/matt/linux_wifi_driver/rtl8187/r8187_core.c:450: error: for each function it appears in.)
/home/matt/linux_wifi_driver/rtl8187/r8187_core.c: In function ‘rtl8180_proc_module_remove’:
/home/matt/linux_wifi_driver/rtl8187/r8187_core.c:456: error: ‘proc_net’ undeclared (first use in this function)
/home/matt/linux_wifi_driver/rtl8187/r8187_core.c: In function ‘rtl8187_rx_urbsubmit’:
/home/matt/linux_wifi_driver/rtl8187/r8187_core.c:730: warning: passing argument 6 of ‘usb_fill_bulk_urb’ from incompatible pointer type
/home/matt/linux_wifi_driver/rtl8187/r8187_core.c: In function ‘rtl8180_tx’:
/home/matt/linux_wifi_driver/rtl8187/r8187_core.c:1648: warning: passing argument 6 of ‘usb_fill_bulk_urb’ from incompatible pointer type
/home/matt/linux_wifi_driver/rtl8187/r8187_core.c:2053:64: error: macro "INIT_WORK" passed 3 arguments, but takes just 2
/home/matt/linux_wifi_driver/rtl8187/r8187_core.c: In function ‘rtl8180_init’:
/home/matt/linux_wifi_driver/rtl8187/r8187_core.c:2053: error: ‘INIT_WORK’ undeclared (first use in this function)
/home/matt/linux_wifi_driver/rtl8187/r8187_core.c:2054:77: error: macro "INIT_WORK" passed 3 arguments, but takes just 2
/home/matt/linux_wifi_driver/rtl8187/r8187_core.c:2055:88: error: macro "INIT_WORK" passed 3 arguments, but takes just 2
/home/matt/linux_wifi_driver/rtl8187/r8187_core.c:2056:80: error: macro "INIT_WORK" passed 3 arguments, but takes just 2
/home/matt/linux_wifi_driver/rtl8187/r8187_core.c:2057:78: error: macro "INIT_WORK" passed 3 arguments, but takes just 2
/home/matt/linux_wifi_driver/rtl8187/r8187_core.c: In function ‘rtl8187_usb_probe’:
/home/matt/linux_wifi_driver/rtl8187/r8187_core.c:2938: error: implicit declaration of function ‘SET_MODULE_OWNER’
/home/matt/linux_wifi_driver/rtl8187/r8187_core.c:2956: error: ‘struct net_device’ has no member named ‘get_wireless_stats’
make[2]: *** [/home/matt/linux_wifi_driver/rtl8187/r8187_core.o] Error 1
make[1]: *** [_module_/home/matt/linux_wifi_driver/rtl8187] Error 2
make[1]: Leaving directory `/usr/src/linux-headers-2.6.24-18-generic'
make: *** [modules] Error 2

Also, I have the latest version of of build-essential installed.

UPDATE: Strangely, I was able to connect with no problems at a cafe last night. This in spite of the fact that lshw -C network lists no wireless driver. Is it possible that there is a hidden, native linux driver that is running my wireless and that I'm just getting a weak signal from other APs? Network Manager shows a strong signal from the APs that I'm dropping, but it also shows that I'm connected when I'm not so I don't know if I can believe it. I hope I'm not sending you on a wild goose chase.

[chili555]

I hope the native driver is working, because, despite working on this for hours and Googling for hours, I cannot get this to work. I have fixed some issues, others have popped up, run it on an earlier kernel, all to no avail.

The native driver is rtl8187. You can see if it's loaded with:

lsmod | grep 8187

If it is not loaded, try:

sudo modprobe rtl8187

Then let's take a look at:

iwconfig
ifconfig

Thanks.

[scholzilla]

Yikes. Sorry I caused you that much trouble. I appreciate your efforts.

Do I want to blacklist ehci_hcd, ohci_hcd in /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist or are these what are working for me?:

matt@Ogodei:~$ lsmod | grep 8187
rtl8187                36096  0 
mac80211              165652  1 rtl8187
eeprom_93cx6            3200  1 rtl8187
usbcore               146028  4 rtl8187,ehci_hcd,ohci_hcd


matt@Ogodei:~$ iwconfig
lo        no wireless extensions.

wmaster0  no wireless extensions.

wlan0     IEEE 802.11g  ESSID:"TOOLEY'S "  
          Mode:Managed  Frequency:2.462 GHz  Access Point: 00:17:3F:DF:E6:C7   
          Bit Rate=54 Mb/s   Tx-Power=27 dBm   
          Retry min limit:7   RTS thr:off   Fragment thr=2346 B   
          Link Quality=48/64  Signal level=49/65  
          Rx invalid nwid:0  Rx invalid crypt:0  Rx invalid frag:0
          Tx excessive retries:0  Invalid misc:0   Missed beacon:0

eth0      no wireless extensions.

matt@Ogodei:~$ ifconfig
eth0      Link encap:Ethernet  HWaddr 00:e0:b8:d3:d8:d5  
          UP BROADCAST MULTICAST  MTU:1500  Metric:1
          RX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000 
          RX bytes:0 (0.0 B)  TX bytes:0 (0.0 B)
          Interrupt:18 

lo        Link encap:Local Loopback  
          inet addr:127.0.0.1  Mask:255.0.0.0
          inet6 addr: ::1/128 Scope:Host
          UP LOOPBACK RUNNING  MTU:16436  Metric:1
          RX packets:576 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:576 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:0 
          RX bytes:60042 (58.6 KB)  TX bytes:60042 (58.6 KB)

wlan0     Link encap:Ethernet  HWaddr 00:c0:a8:d8:96:a1  
          inet addr:192.168.2.12  Bcast:192.168.2.255  Mask:255.255.255.0
          inet6 addr: fe80::2c0:a8ff:fed8:96a1/64 Scope:Link
          UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST  MTU:1500  Metric:1
          RX packets:1412 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:1440 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000 
          RX bytes:1239901 (1.1 MB)  TX bytes:262714 (256.5 KB)

wmaster0  Link encap:UNSPEC  HWaddr 00-C0-A8-D8-96-A1-00-00-00-00-00-00-00-00-00-00  
          UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST  MTU:1500  Metric:1
          RX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000 
          RX bytes:0 (0.0 B)  TX bytes:0 (0.0 B)

So is the usbcore output from lsmod what tells me that the rtl8187 driver is loaded? The driver doesn't show up under iwconfig, but I do seem to be connecting from this cafe fine. Is there a way to configure my connection so I'm not dropping connections so often from other APs that seem to be stable for everyone else?

Many thanks, again.

[chili555]

Do I want to blacklist ehci_hcd, ohci_hcd in /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist or are these what are working for me?

No, they seem to br working perfectly.

that the rtl8187 driver is loaded?

Yes, it is loading fine.

The driver doesn't show up under iwconfig

It wouldn't. It would show under:

sudo lshw -C network

I can't see anything about your settings that I might change. Try to keep the USB device as high as you can. Some of your buddies no doubt have laptops that have the antenna surrounding the screen. In borderline conditions, having your antenna a bit higher may make all the difference.

Let's both keep looking for a better RTL8187 driver. The very few out there today are problematic.

You might try ndiswrapper, if you are a bit intrepid. It's not hard to install and even easier to remove, if it doesn't meet your expectations.

[scholzilla]

yes, let's both keep looking. I also forgot to mention that the driver doesn't show up under lshw -C network either, as far as I can tell:

matt@Ogodei:~$ sudo lshw -C network
[sudo] password for matt: 
  *-network               
       description: Ethernet interface
       product: 88E8038 PCI-E Fast Ethernet Controller
       vendor: Marvell Technology Group Ltd.
       physical id: 0
       bus info: pci@0000:02:00.0
       logical name: eth0
       version: 14
       serial: 00:e0:b8:d3:d8:d5
       capacity: 100MB/s
       width: 64 bits
       clock: 33MHz
       capabilities: pm vpd msi pciexpress bus_master cap_list ethernet physical tp 10bt 10bt-fd 100bt 100bt-fd autonegotiation
       configuration: autonegotiation=on broadcast=yes driver=sky2 driverversion=1.20 firmware=N/A latency=0 link=no module=sky2 multicast=yes port=twisted pair
  *-network
       description: Wireless interface
       physical id: 2
       logical name: wlan0
       serial: 00:c0:a8:d8:96:a1
       capabilities: ethernet physical wireless
       configuration: broadcast=yes ip=192.168.2.12 multicast=yes wireless=IEEE 802.11g

[scholzilla]

The key to making this device work, it turns out, is not to install ANY driver. The native driver in Hardy works just fine. Following the various posts for installing the 8187b driver will only lead you down the same frustrating road I walked down. Likewise, the driver offered for linux by the realtek website does not work.