you have to download linux-wireless to a stick

http://mirror.slitaz.org/packages/stable/linux-wireless-2.6.30.6.tazpkg

and then install it as root with "tazpkg install linux-wireless"

see here: http://forum.slitaz.org/index.php/discussion/2237/how-to-install-a-tazpkg-file

hi,

thanks for the reply, tried this but it says i already have wireless, which i do if the option 'Wireless network connections' is what you mean under the system tools section.

Are you sure that that is the right firmware? If it is, then you have to copy that to "/lib/firmware" and reboot. Then try to connect again. Otherwise try the "rt2870" which is at the bottom of the page.

then you have to load the module as root

modprobe rt2870sta

hmmm
i downloaded RT2870USB and Firmware RT28XX USB Series. placed both folders in /lib/firmware, rebooted, tried modprobe but it keeps failing, 'no such file or directory' and module not found.

i then went to wireless network connections, went to drivers tab, changed the 'firmware' drop down option to rt2870usb-firmware (which was never there before) and the 'module' drop down to rt2x00usb and also others but none worked.

where can i get a rt2870 module? would that fix it?

also the hardware detection shows the same message from the first post...

Maybe something is messed up. You could go to the control box and check "Initialization->Load Modules", remove some items from there, also remove them with "modprobe -r" and then try "tazhw detect-pci" and "tazhw detect-usb" having the adapter connected. The firmware itself is not a module and should be automatically loaded by the module, i.e. must not be in the modules list.

I also had some problems with my older machine mainly because it has only USB 1.1 and not 2.0. So I had to use ndiswrapper.

You'd need these packages for 3.0:
tazpkg install libdb-4.7.25.tazpkg
tazpkg install gdbm-1.8.3.tazpkg
tazpkg install perl-5.10.0.tazpkg
tazpkg install ndiswrapper-driver-1.55_2.6.30.6.tazpkg
tazpkg install ndiswrapper-utils-1.55.tazpkg
tazpkg install ndiswrapper-1.56.tazpkg

These for latest "cooking":
tazpkg install libdb-4.8.26.tazpkg
tazpkg install gdbm-1.8.3.tazpkg
tazpkg install perl-5.12.2.tazpkg
tazpkg install ndiswrapper-driver-1.56_2.6.36.tazpkg
tazpkg install ndiswrapper-utils-1.56.tazpkg
tazpkg install ndiswrapper-1.56.tazpkg

Then just use the windows driver (CD):
ndiswrapper -i "..path../XXX.inf"
modprobe ndiswrapper

Last but not least you have to put "ndiswrapper" in the "Load Modules" list...

went to initialization, what do i actually do here? theres a 'Change' button i can click on but it does nothing. the Load Modules part has
'yenta_socket parport_pc snd_via82xx tulip' there.

to use modprobe to remove things, should i go to the directory where the file is and -r it from there? can you give an example please? and how can i find all the firmwares? cause they are not in /lib/firmware...

holycrap lol. i dont even understand what 'cooking' means....
i have 3.0 so ill use the top listed files, but where can i download them from? i cant use the laptop since its not connected, ethernet wont work ;(

If you are not connected, how can you post here??? ;-)
The packages are in the "Packages Database" - you'll find the link on this page if you look a bit. Download them and copy anywhere in your slitaz computer. I have the instructions above saved in a script along with these packages and windows driver on a USB-pen, so I can reinstall any time. When using "ndiswrapper" you don't need firmware any more. And "modprobe" works from anywhere, it's about "kernel modules"...

laptop right next to my pc :)
libdb 4.7.25 on here and on berkley website 4.8.26 no longer available for download...can i use the latest one they have?

heres the page
http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/database/berkeleydb/downloads/index-082944.html

Look here:
http://pkgs.slitaz.org/stable/misc.html#libdb
http://pkgs.slitaz.org/stable/misc.html#gdbm
http://pkgs.slitaz.org/stable/development.html#perl
http://pkgs.slitaz.org/stable/meta.html#ndiswrapper

ok so all 4 pkg installed, rebooting now

you stated to install .inf
the windows installer is an .exe
also do i need speech marks?

heres what i got from trying with .exe
usage: ndiswrapper OPTION
(bunch of options)
(then message about devid either PCIID or USBID of the form XXXX:XXXX as reported by 'lspci -n' or 'lsusb' for the card


what happened?

The list has 6 packages and not 4. The other ndiswrapper packages are in the "Depends:" line. I don't know what you have for your adapter, a CD or an installer package. If it's only an "exe" then you have to find a way to unpack it with 7-zip or so. You have to find the appropriate ".inf" file and specify that in the ndiswrapper command. I'm disconnecting now....

@Hymie - why you think he needs ndiswrapper - there is a linux driver for these devices.

here is the debian howto: http://wiki.debian.org/rt2870sta

so when its a usb-device, it is supported by the rt73usb or/and rt2500usb drivers. Both drivers are in linux-wireless. So the only package you need is linux-wireless

then modprobe rt73usb or rt2500usb shoud make the usb card work

I don't think anything. ;-) He said that he has all the wireless packages installed and firmware put in place and it wouldn't work. I had problems with my p54usb / isl3887usb on a machine that has only USB 1.1. That module/firmware works only on USB 2.0. So I was just explaining how I put it working for myself. And for him it would (also) work with ndiswrapper although it's not the better solution.

ok im having trouble with blacklisting some modules.
im in wireless manager, i want to blacklist the rt2500usb and other similar modules.
im going to the .etc/modprobe.d folder, here i create a new text file and it should contain 'blacklist rt2500usb' right?
then what do i do exactly??

You have to create the file "/etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf" and write there the name of the module you want to blacklist, i.e. only "rt2500usb". The file usually doesn't exist, so you have to create it by yourself.

ok, so how do i create a .conf file? is it just a text file with .conf? right clicking shows only new folder or text file

In "linux" the extensions have not a big meaning, i.e. it's simply a text-file named "blacklist.conf". And there you can write with "leafpad" the name of the module(s) you want to blacklist.

ok, made a blacklist file in many ways to make sure it works. ran 'depmod -ae' but it said the e must be E, did it and tried blacklist, nothing happened...

really appreciating the help btw

The safest is to reboot after blacklisting modules. Then you should "tazhw detect-usb" with the wlan-adapter plugged in.

rebooted, tried detect-usb but still the same result as the first message

I cannot help you more. In my case I have 2 computers that I'm using the same wlan-adapter for, one with USB 2.0 and one with USB 1.1. In the first case I just found and put the firmware in the "/lib/firmware" folder since it is not part of the "get-wifi-firmware" package and it worked. But I cannot tell you which the exact firmware is that you need - that's what you have to find out. In the second case I had to use "ndiswrapper" according to above, and I didn't even blacklist the p54usb module (used for MY wlan adapter), just removed it from the Control Box->Initialization->Load Modules list and replaced it with "ndiswrapper". That also works. So there is not much more I can contribute...

The blacklist file is named just blacklist (without the .conf extension): /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist

@azi_linux: a common problem faced by a lot of new Slitaz users is confusion between the stable and cooking versions. Installing a cooking module on stable or vice versa will typically result in the "no such file or directory" errors by modprobe. This is because cooking uses version 2.6.36 of the linux kernel vs stable which uses 2.6.30. When you 'download' a package from the packages database, you have to make sure you select the correct option (stable or cooking) depending on which iso you originally downloaded to install on your laptop.

"No such file or directory" simply means that modprobe could not find the driver (.ko.gz file), most likely because you installed a version that was for a later kernel, whereas modprobe is looking in the kernel path loaded during boot. To verify, try the following:

# uname -r

then

# find / -name rt2870*

The find command will return the path where the module rt2870 is installed. You will find the kernel version in the path. If that does not match the result from 'uname -r', then you know what your problem is.

If this doesn't lead you towards a solution, you might want to consider reinstalling from scratch and starting over.

i just checked the GRUB, i cant believe i didn't notice it, it says cooking,. so im assuming i did it wrong and got all the wrong files. which one would you recommend for the rt2870/3070 usb drivers to go with? if the stable i can just make a new cd and install it....

azi_linux GRUB boot message in stable may be confusing it says cooking after kernel upgrade. To change this you can edit /boot/grub/menu.lst and remove cooking from title. But it is only title, so you don't have to do it. Check kernel version with
uname -r
2.6.30 means stable
2.6.36 means cooking
It may be confusing. Would be nice, when someone with access to repos could correct it.

@Gawron's correct, do confirm by using the 'uname -r' command. If mismatched kernel versions is your issue, reinstalling is probably a cleaner way to start. If you are new to Slitaz and/or Linux in general, I would recommend go with stable, it's a lot more predictable and trouble free.

It's not so important, but in the "cooking" "release" that I installed, I have blacklisted the "nouveau" driver in "blacklist.conf" and it doesn't appear any more in "lsmod". So maybe both filenames work.
http://pkgs.slitaz.org/ gives the options "stable / cooking / 2.0 / 1.0"
"stable" is the same as "3.0" (the latest stable release).
"cooking" means "testing / unstable" with latest packages but risky.

There are hundreds of linux distros and each has it's own "slang". The most peculiar is maybe the "puppy" slang.

its 2.6.30.6, so cooking, ill get stable installed and try get the drivers on right now

sorry, had it misunderstood, it is a stable release since its 2.6.30.6
clean start at least :)
any suggestions where to start?
is it possible to display screenshots anywhere on this site?

after trying a whole lot other stuff i have decided to put windows back on it (sigh) and is installing at this very second.
thank you to all you guys who tried to help, much appreciated :)

Linux can be a pain, especially because there are so many different distros and it's rapidly changing. Since the market-share is not so big besides the diversity, there is also little support from the hardware manufacturers - all the drivers have to be written or adapted by the community. But anyway what is written here might help someone else ;-)