Installing
From Realtek Linux wireless driver
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Installing the rtl-wifi driver
NOTE : the rtl-wifi drivers are in recent kernels. rtl8180 is in mainline kernel since 2.6.23 and 2.6.25 is in mainline kernel since 2.6.25, so under these kernels you don't need to compile the driver if you only wants to make your wifi working.
Preparing the System
You need a full build environment with gcc, make and the kernel-headers installed. Also you need install module-assistant package and run "module-assistant prepare" as root.
For get source code of the Subversion directory, you need install subversion
Debian/Ubuntu
Open a terminal and install this:
apt-get install build-essential subversion module-assistant
And to finish run:
module-assistant prepare
Note : if you are not root, write "sudo " before the commands.
Getting the Driver
For now on we haven't made a release so you must check the sources out of the Subversion directory.
svn co https://rtl-wifi.svn.sourceforge.net/svnroot/rtl-wifi rtl-wifi
If Subversion doesn't work use this snapshot: http://www.hauke-m.de/fileadmin/rtl-wifi/rtl-wifi-20070729.tar.bz2 (rev. 57)
If this version doesn't work please use this version it's more stable.
svn co -r52 https://rtl-wifi.svn.sourceforge.net/svnroot/rtl-wifi rtl-wifi
If Subversion doesn't work use this snapshot: http://www.hauke-m.de/fileadmin/rtl-wifi/rtl-wifi-20070221.tar.bz2 (rev. 52)
Under Debian or Ubuntu with kernel 2.6.22, please use rev. 62 (rev. 52, 57 and > 63 doesn't compile rtl818x-newstack)
svn co -r62 https://rtl-wifi.svn.sourceforge.net/svnroot/rtl-wifi rtl-wifi
If you run kernel 2.6.24 use this one : http://rapidshare.com/files/92812937/rtl818x-mod2.6.24.tar.bz2.html (mirrored here : http://kjo.herbesfolles.org/docs/rtl818x-mod2.6.24.tar.bz2)
If you just have rtl8187 and you want use last rev under Debian or Ubuntu with kernel 2.6.22, comment the line `obj-m += rtl818x-newstack/ยด in file Makefile.
Removing mainline ieee80211 Stack
The ieee80211 Stack is also in the newer Linux mainline kernel, but it isn't compatible with the version used for the rtl-wifi project yet. It has to be deleted before insmodding the modules into the kernel.
You can find it with:
find /lib/modules/`uname -r` -name ieee80211
if this shows any result you have to delete with this
rm -r /lib/modules/`uname -r`/kernel/net/ieee80211
or move the files so the kernel can't load them and loads our version.
But it is not enough, we must unload ieee80211 module with this:
modprobe -r ieee80211
or reboot the system
Making and installing the driver
To install the driver for a rtl8187 or rtl8185 based card you have to build the driver and the ieee80211 stack needed by the driver. It can be done by make, so only type in make into the console, when you are in the driver main directory.
cd rtl-wifi make
Now all kernel-modules are build and they need to be insmodded into the kernel. This has to be done as root, because the normal user isn't allowed to add kernel modules.
For kernels > 2.6.22, that use the mainline version of eeprom_93cx6 you may need to do this:
modprobe -v eeprom_93cx6
Now insmod the modules you've just built:
insmod ieee80211/ieee80211_crypt-rtl.ko insmod ieee80211/ieee80211_crypt_wep-rtl.ko insmod ieee80211/ieee80211_crypt_tkip-rtl.ko insmod ieee80211/ieee80211_crypt_ccmp-rtl.ko insmod ieee80211/ieee80211-rtl.ko
If you have a rtl8187 based card insmod the rtl8187 driver.
insmod rtl8187-newstack/r8187.ko
or if you have a rtl8185 based driver use this.
insmod rtl818x-newstack/r8180.ko
Installing permanently
If you get a connection to your Access Point install it permanently with
make modules_install
in the main directory. Now the kernel module will be loaded into the kernel every time when starting the system.
If this install method doesn't work, do:
# mkdir /lib/modules/`uname -r`/kernel/net/ieee80211 # cp ieee80211/*.ko /lib/modules/`uname -r`/kernel/net/ieee80211 # cp rtl8187-newstack/*.ko /lib/modules/`uname -r`/kernel/net # cp rtl818x-newstack/*.ko /lib/modules/`uname -r`/kernel/net # depmod -ae
Now, your card will be load on kernel boot or, if USB, when insert your card.
Support
If everything worked well you should see a new network interface called wlan0. If you got any errors please look into the dmesg and ask in our form, so we can see if it is a bug or if you did something wrong.
If you need support go into our Forum
