Wireless Troubles

The wireless network adapter worked in PCLinuxOS for a few days. After that, I couldn't seem to bring up the connection again. From reading some posts in the PCLOS forums, it sounds like upgrading to the latest kernel would help me with my problem. However, since I don't have an Internet connection, it's sorta difficult to download and install the latest kernel. Maybe I can download the files using Windows first.. if I ever have time..

I also tried the latest release of Ubuntu linux (8.04 Beta). The adapter works pretty well after following some steps I found in their forums. However, Ubuntu seems to have a problem with my system and will occasionally lock up and force me to do a hard reset. I've had some serious problems with Ubuntu in the past. That's why I've been using PCLOS. Unfortunate, because Ubuntu is otherwise a nice OS.

So, I'll probably use Windows XP until PCLOS comes out with its next release. (Unless I want to give the recent MiniMe variant a spin, which is a minimal version of PCLOS.) Even in Windows, my new Linksys wireless card has issues. For some reason, it'll frequently take minutes to initialize the card after booting into Windows. It's like it's trying to wake up from a long slumber. Pretty annoying when it takes over 10 minutes to be able to get to the Internet.

Configuring Wireless Networking in PCLinuxOS

After moving to our new apartment, we no longer have our computers in the same room. Instead of running an Ethernet cable through the place, I bought a wireless network adapter. First I bought the Linksys USB wireless network adapter. However, it didn't work well and kept dropping the connection. I exchanged it for the Linksys PCI wireless network adapter. Here are the steps I took to get it working in PCLinuxOS 2007 Gnome Edition:

Install the Linksys WMP54G PCI wireless adapter in Windows
Locate the Linksys drivers in Windows (probably under C:\Program Files\Linksys\WMP54Gv4)
(The driver files can probably be found directly on the Linksys CD as well)

Reboot into PCLinuxOS
Add "ndiswrapper" to the /etc/modprobe.preload file (as root)
Reboot PCLinuxOS

Go to Control Center -> Network & Internet
Remove the existing RaLink wireless interface
Select "Set up a new network interface"
Choose "Wireless" and click Next
Choose "Use a Windows driver (with ndiswrapper)" and click Next
Choose "Install a new driver" and click Next
Browse to the "rt61.inf" driver file
The setup program will then scan for wireless networks and show the list
Select your network and click "Next"
Enter appropriate login info
Choose "Automatic IP (BOOTP/DHCP)" and click Next
Leave DHCP selections checked and click Next
Check "Allow users to manage the connection" and "Start the connection at boot"
Start the connection :-)