Atheros ndiswrapper

From openSUSE

The easiest and best way to get your Atheros WLAN card to work is to use madwifi. See Atheros madwifi for more information. If all fails, you can try ndiswrapper.

The release notes of SUSE Linux 10.1 say

The following kernel module package was changed internally:
   * Various drivers for wireless LAN cards. The madwifi driver for Atheros WLAN cards was removed.

You can either use the downloads for the driver as described here or use the ndiswrapper as described below.

Here is the complete solution for the Atheros Communications, Inc. AR5212 802.11abg NIC.

Note: after initially trying this guide on an ibm t43p it would not work with the default version of ndiswrapper. I had to download the latest version (1.43 stable) and compile / make / make install. I then had to add the line "modprobe ndiswrapper" to the beginning of /etc/rc.d/network to get it to start on boot.

Further Note: Don't forget, if you end up updating your opensuse system so you are running a new kernel, you will have to recompile ndiswrapper again.

For the AR5005G (frequently used in laptops) you will need a more recent of the windows drivers. If you have access to the installation under windows you can copy the drivers from C:\Program Files\Atheros\Driver

# become root
su 

# check whether compatible hardware is installed
lspci  | grep AR5212 

# install ndiswrapper via regular yast methods

yast2 -i ndiswrapper ndiswrapper-kmp-default

# download atheros NDIS driver. (you can also try to extract it from the Windows Driver CD)
wget http://cdgenp01.csd.toshiba.com/content/support/downloads/atheros_wpa_driver.exe
or if you are using the 64bit version (x86_64) you will need the driver for 64 bits
wget http://76.8.192.78/test/atheros64wireless.zip

# install atheros binary driver
unzip atheros_wpa_driver.exe (or atheros64wireless.zip) 
ndiswrapper -i net5211.inf 

# load kernel module
modprobe ndiswrapper

# check output for errors
dmesg | grep ndiswrapper 

# reboot if necessary

# finally, bring network interface up
ifup wlan0

# use NetworkManager applet to connect

You can also configure it via YaST2:

 Start YaST Lan Module
 "Add" a new card.
 Set "Device Type" to "Wireless"
 Set "Module Name" to "ndiswrapper"

 

 Then configure the rest of card as usual (or let NetworkManager do the rest).