Hacking SUSE Linux 10.1

[Valour]

This thread discusses the Content article: Hacking SUSE Linux 10.1

Finally finished. One of the longest articles I've ever written, but packed with lots of information.

I'll soon have a link to pre-order the PDF I wrote for Prentice Hall, from which this article was partially derived. If you found this article useful and want to give back, buying the $8 PDF (which includes in-depth installation instructions, Atheros and Centrino driver how-tos, and various other extras that are not in the Hacking article) would help me out a lot. When I get the link, I'll post it here and in the article.

-Jem

EDIT: The guide was updated today, 7/11/06, to reflect changes in software repositories and updates from Novell.

Post edited by: Valour, at: 2006/07/11 12:26

[brentcore]

awesome update of the article to 10.1. I have a question, which I know is in HUGE demand, about the wireless problem in SUSE 10.1. SUSE 10.0 recognized and configured my atheros-chipset wireless card (Netgear wg511T) automatically, yet this feature is broken in 10.1 due to the removal of the non-GPL madwifi atheros drivers. I bought that netgear card back during 10.0 because my built in wireless (broadcom 4318) refused to work with ndiswrapper (the indicator light came on but it couldn't connect to my wireless network).
Back to the atheros card: do you have any suggestions/tutorials explaining how to hack those atheros drivers back into SUSE 10.1? Or even suggest a surefire pcmcia wireless card that definitely works with SUSE 10.1 natively without the use of ndiswrapper or broadcom43xx-fwcutter? I am desperate to put SUSE 10.1 on my laptop and would be willing to spend the money for a new card. Thanks! (btw can you put me on the mailing list to be notified when the pdf is ready for sale?)

[Valour]

brentcore wrote:

awesome update of the article to 10.1. I have a question, which I know is in HUGE demand, about the wireless problem in SUSE 10.1. SUSE 10.0 recognized and configured my atheros-chipset wireless card (Netgear wg511T) automatically, yet this feature is broken in 10.1 due to the removal of the non-GPL madwifi atheros drivers. I bought that netgear card back during 10.0 because my built in wireless (broadcom 4318) refused to work with ndiswrapper (the indicator light came on but it couldn't connect to my wireless network).
Back to the atheros card: do you have any suggestions/tutorials explaining how to hack those atheros drivers back into SUSE 10.1? Or even suggest a surefire pcmcia wireless card that definitely works with SUSE 10.1 natively without the use of ndiswrapper or broadcom43xx-fwcutter? I am desperate to put SUSE 10.1 on my laptop and would be willing to spend the money for a new card. Thanks! (btw can you put me on the mailing list to be notified when the pdf is ready for sale?)

I'll add you to the list for pre-ordering the PDF. It will be $8, and has a tentative release date of June 2, though I think my editor will have a pre-order link for me within the next few days.

EDIT: there is now Atheros support available through YaST. Just search the Package Manager for madwifi. The article has been modified with the proper instructions.

Post edited by: Valour, at: 2006/05/22 16:10

[brentcore]

wow--that was the fastest, most thourough, and helpful reply to any linux question i've ever asked in my life. THANKS! :woohoo: i will try out your instructions and get back to you on my success/nonsuccess.

[Valour]

brentcore wrote:

wow--that was the fastest, most thourough, and helpful reply to any linux question i've ever asked in my life. THANKS! :woohoo: i will try out your instructions and get back to you on my success/nonsuccess.

If the drivers won't compile, do this:

cd /usr/src/linux
make mrproper
make cloneconfig
make modules_prepare

Then go back to the madwifi source code directory and do this:

make clean
make
make install

But do let me know if you can compile/load the module without doing this. I had some errors on a 64-bit system, and KNetworkManager doesn't seem to like the ATH driver for some reason, but if you configure the network by hand:

ifconfig ath0 up
dhclient ath0

Then it works perfectly... for me, anyway.

-Jem

[brentcore]

I'm in the process of reinstalling 10.1 back onto the laptop--i've been using 10.0 since my problems from before. I'm on CD 3 now...I am really crossing my fingers that your instructions will work for me because I've spent some serious late night sessions (hours upon hours) working with ndiswrapper and whatnot trying to get this sorted out. if this works, I will be SO glad!

[Valour]

brentcore wrote:

I'm in the process of reinstalling 10.1 back onto the laptop--i've been using 10.0 since my problems from before. I'm on CD 3 now...I am really crossing my fingers that your instructions will work for me because I've spent some serious late night sessions (hours upon hours) working with ndiswrapper and whatnot trying to get this sorted out. if this works, I will be SO glad!

I've been testing this since your first post, and I've successfully gotten a network connection.

The only caveat I have discovered is that KNetworkManager doesn't seem to want to show that there is a network connection, nor will it display the link status, but the network is indeed up. Sometimes if I mess with ifconfig and some other network tools, KNetworkManager will snap into shape and show the link status. I suspect this is a problem with KNetworkManager above all else.

KNetworkManager aside, you can get the network up through the command line as shown in my previous post. Anyway, do let me know what happens. I should be up for at least the next two hours working on the SUSE guide, so I'll check back periodically.

-Jem

Post edited by: Valour, at: 2006/05/21 01:46

[brentcore]

ok, I unpacked the contents of the driver onto my desktop, then navigated to the source folder. I typed make and got the following error:
[code:1]
linux:/home/brent # cd /home/brent/Desktop/madwifi-ng-r1587-20060521/
linux:/home/brent/Desktop/madwifi-ng-r1587-20060521 # make
/bin/sh: cc: command not found
Makefile.inc:119: ***KERNELCONF: /lib/modules/2.6.16.13-4-default/build/.config does not exist.. Stop.
[/code:1]

so then I tried your second set of instructions about if the driver won't compile and got pretty much the same error:
[code:1]
linux:/home/brent/Desktop/madwifi-ng-r1587-20060521 # make mrproper
/bin/sh: cc: command not found
Makefile.inc:119: *** KERNELCONF: /lib/modules/2.6.16.13-4-default/build/.config does not exist.. Stop.
[/code:1]

I'm assuming I ought to go to Yast and download kernel sources? When I installed 10.1 just now, I opted for the quickest installation (with Gnome by the way), so I think I have packages missing. Off to Yast now.

[Valour]

Oops -- forgot to mention the prerequisite packages. Install these from the Software Manager in YaST:

gcc
gcc-c++
make
kernel-source
kernel-syms

After that, you can compile the driver and such.

-Jem

[brentcore]

ok update now:

I installed kernel-source from yast, tried the make command in the atheros driver folder contents and now got a different error message:
[code:1]
linux:/home/brent/Desktop/madwifi-ng-r1587-20060521 # make
/bin/sh: cc: command not found
Checking requirements... ok.
Checking kernel configuration... FAILED
Only kernel versions 2.4.x and above are supported.
You have .
make: *** [configcheck] Error 1
[/code:1]

ok so I'm trying your second set of instructions again now and get the following:

[code:1]
linux:/usr/src/linux # make mrproper
/usr/src/linux-2.6.16.13-4/scripts/gcc-version.sh: line 11: gcc: command not found
/usr/src/linux-2.6.16.13-4/scripts/gcc-version.sh: line 12: gcc: command not found
make: gcc: Command not found
CLEAN /usr/src/linux-2.6.16.13-4/include/asm include/linux/autoconf.h include/linux/version.h
[/code:1]

so it appears gcc wasn't installed by default.:P As you can tell, I'm a total noob, but hopefully if I can update you on my dumb mistakes maybe it can help you on your upcoming pdf guide (a little idiot-proof testing from dummy himself never hurts!). Anyways, back to Yast for gcc...