AR242x 802.11abg Wireless PCI Express Adapter [168c:001c] (rev 01) not working on Dell Vostro Laptop in Ubuntu 8.04.2

Hi,

# Please try this Atheros driver installation procedure:

# First under System/Administration/HardwareDrivers, disable both the Atheros HAL and the Atheros wireless thing and then reboot.

# Then from a terminal type (press enter key after each line)

sudo aptitude update

sudo aptitude install build-essential subversion

cd ~

mkdir madwifi

cd madwifi

svn co https://217.24.1.142/madwifi/branches/madwifi-hal-0.10.5.6

cd madwifi-hal-0.10.5.6

make

sudo make install

sudo gedit /etc/modules

# Now add the Atheros kernel module ath_pci to the list of modules to be automatically loaded at boot by adding

ath_pci

# to the end of the /etc/modules file. (Gedit editor automatically opens)

sudo gedit /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist

# Now add the following 3 lines at the end of the /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist file:

blacklist ath5k_pci
blacklist ath5k
blacklist ndiswrapper

Now you can reboot and it should work.

Hope this helps,

Regards,

Mark

Dear Mark
Thanks, my wireless is functioning now,

Just one doubt, will this problem recur during subsequent updates and will repeating the procedure suffice.
regards
Kartik

Hi,

Yes, the problem will reoccur when a newer Linux kernel is installed. When that happens, just run these commands again in
the madwifi-hal-0.10.5.6 directory containing the driver source code:

make
sudo make install

Regards,

Mark

to be honest, a new kernel is rarely needed. People just see updates and install them. They see the kernel held back (very logically) and then find ways to make it install despite the fact they don't need it at all.
You only need a new kernel if you are having speed or hardware issues. NEWER IS NOT BETTER

I'd run through the installation procedure again:

http://ubuntumanual.org/posts/185/install-atheros-ar242x-802-11abg-wireless-driver-in-ubuntu

I always advise people this guide whom have an Atheros AR242x