I have configured an old laptop I owned to access the wireless network I have. The box runs fedora core 5 and a mini pci 1350 card. Since there’s a lack of documentation online on how to install and configure some hardware I decided to share my experise in this area with everyone, so buckle up and enjoy the ride. (Modify the driver names to suit your environment).
1- download ndiswrapper src files from the sourceforge site
2- logging as root using
- # su -
- #make && make install
3- after the sources compile and the software installs you need to get install the windows drivers for the mini pci 1350
- #cd /to/wlan/card/windows/drivers
- #ndiswrapper -i bcmwl5.inf
- #ndiswrapper -l ( you should see hardware present)
- #ndiswrapper -m
4- note that if you are using kernel > 2.6.15, it is precompiled with the bcm43xx drivers so you need to prevent loading it during boot up.
- #echo “blacklist bcm43xx” >> /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist
5- unload the bcm43xx driver using
- #rmmod bcm43x
6- load the ndiswrapper module
- #modprobe ndiswrapper
7- scan for networks and connect
- #iwlist wlan0 scan
- #ifup wlan0
and voila!!