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  • From: baslinux AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • To: baslinux AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [BL] cardbus working with BL2
  • Date: Sat, 10 Jan 2009 04:04:32 +0000 (UTC)

I have a Netgear FA51 Fast Ethernet cardbus card working with BL2.
It is listed in the online config for pcmcia.
There is no manfid, but there is a PCI id. (Either one can be used in the config file.)
Some cards list both (cardctl ident, or cardmgr).

pci 0x1217, 0x1985

Modules needed are cb_enabler, misc/crc32 (for 2.4 kernels, not listed
in the online config but I got crc32 unresolved symbol) and tulip_cb.

It connected with my router via dhcp.

I compiled drivers for D-Link 650+ (acx_pci.o) and D-Link G650 (ath_pci.o)

Compile them in a separate directory but you need the kernel .config and Makefile. The ath (G650) required sysctl and a few other things in kernel .config. I compiled the new kernel too.

I have not tried them with cb_enabler. Without it, one asks if I have CARDBUS enabled in my kernel, and one has lots of unresolved symbols.
(They don't appear to be working anyway in Win98 - one can't find the router, one is not found by the OS. But sometimes laptops that work with linux wireless and modems don't work with the same hardware with Win98 - a Gateway 2000 does that for me and wont' work with a WPC11 Linksys v 4 that works elsewhere but not in this computer either).

I added cb_enabler to the modules in my online package.

I will upload the other two modules that I compiled only if they at least install (with cb_enabler).

About half of my 100-233MHz laptops will not physically accept cardbus.
Some accept USB but not cardbus, and vice versa.
The cards don't slide in all the way - something hits the slot.

Toshiba Satellite 100MHz and 133MHz (has USB).
(I think Steven also has older Toshibas therefore is not testing cardbus)
Dell 166Mhz
Compaq Presario 233MHz (Cyrix Media chip, acts like 120MHz, older design).

Laptops which did accept the card include:
Compaq Armada 120MHz (no USB) - the Netgear card works in it
Compaq Armada 233MHz
Hitachi 133MHz. (Works with a Compaq power supply).

The Armadas need to be booted with a special parameter using 2.2.26 kernel but are otherwise highly suitable for BL, as is the Hitachi.

People are starting to give me Cardbus cards.

The reason I could not compile yenta_socket is that 2.4 kernels do not use it, just i82365.o (same as for non-cardbus). I learned this recently while reading about linux on an Compaq R3000 laptop (to which my partner just grafted a Toshiba screen made by a different manufacturer). Even the newer linuxes don't support all the features of the newer laptops.

The D-Link G needs a late 2.4 kernel. One of the tools refused to compile with that kernel and gcc 2.95.3. Parse error. The 650+ is a B. I think these cards would provide more functions than the older ones, where iwspy etc are not implemented, and the G maybe also WPA encryption. Our library is happy with non-encrypting Aironet 340 - but is this a security risk for users of it?

The cardbus ethernet card will transfer files 10X as fast as 16-bit ones.

This only took me about five years to figure out.

Sindi Keesan



  • [BL] cardbus working with BL2, baslinux, 01/09/2009

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