Help me install my wireless network card on Debian Desktop

[lindsey]

Here ASUSTeK Computer Inc. - Networks - ASUS PCE-N13

you may download the driver and install it yourself; once you've succeeded, please tell me how you did it. Please mind, I am a one-time Linux convert and quitter that gave up on Linux a long time ago, because frankly it is too complicated and I'm just a user who needs to get things done today, not in the few weeks time it takes to figure these things out. Since Debian Squeeze got released I wanna test it out, but my PCI card, ASUS PCE-N13 needs to be set up.

Driver install too technically advanced. Please translate the instructions for me into idiot-proof set of steps.

The accompanying instructions are far from self-evident:

================================================== =====================
Build Instructions:
====================

1> $tar -xvzf RT2860_Linux_STA_x.x.x.x.tgz
go to "./RT2860_Linux_STA_x.x.x.x" directory.

2> In Makefile
set the "MODE = STA" in Makefile and chose the TARGET to Linux by set "TARGET = LINUX"
define the linux kernel source include file path LINUX_SRC
modify to meet your need.

3> In os/linux/config.mk
define the GCC and LD of the target machine
define the compiler flags CFLAGS
modify to meet your need.
** Build for being controlled by NetworkManager or wpa_supplicant wext functions
Please set 'HAS_WPA_SUPPLICANT=y' and 'HAS_NATIVE_WPA_SUPPLICANT_SUPPORT=y'.
=> #>cd wpa_supplicant-x.x
=> #>./wpa_supplicant -Dwext -ira0 -c wpa_supplicant.conf -d
** Build for being controlled by WpaSupplicant with Ralink Driver
Please set 'HAS_WPA_SUPPLICANT=y' and 'HAS_NATIVE_WPA_SUPPLICANT_SUPPORT=n'.
=> #>cd wpa_supplicant-0.5.7
=> #>./wpa_supplicant -Dralink -ira0 -c wpa_supplicant.conf -d

4> $make
# compile driver source code
# To fix "error: too few arguments to function ¡¥iwe_stream_add_event"
=> $patch -i os/linux/sta_ioctl.c.patch os/linux/sta_ioctl.c

5> $cp RT2860STA.dat /etc/Wireless/RT2860STA/RT2860STA.dat

6> load driver, go to "os/linux/" directory.
#[kernel 2.4]
# $/sbin/insmod rt2860sta.o
# $/sbin/ifconfig ra0 inet YOUR_IP up

#[kernel 2.6]
# $/sbin/insmod rt2860sta.ko
# $/sbin/ifconfig ra0 inet YOUR_IP up

7> unload driver
$/sbin/ifconfig ra0 down
$/sbin/rmmod rt2860sta

================================================== =====================

[reed9]

The rt2860sta driver is included with Debian Squeeze. You need the non-free firmware, provided by the package firmware-ralink.

If you have an internet connection, add the non-free section to your sources.list and do

su -
aptitude update && aptitude install firmware-ralink
modprobe rt2860sta

Otherwise download the package, transfer to your computer, and install manually.

If you're looking for linux that more or less "just works" why go with a distro like Debian that has strict policies on non-free software? Why not something lke Linux Mint, which has non-free firmware, flashplayer, codecs, etc all installed out of the box?

[lindsey]

add the non-free section to your sources.list

Umm...how is this normally done?


Yeah I know, Debian not necessarily the most user-friendly. I only have a sentimental affiliation with Debian cause it was my first Linux distro. Gave up within weeks. Curious to see how far it's gone since Lenny. Now I mostly use Windows, occasionally Ubuntu - but since there's nothing I can do on Ubuntu that I can't do on Windows. I'm no computer sci major, just need to get things done, so strictly speaking i should probably stick to windows even :P

[lindsey]

The rt2860sta driver is included with Debian Squeeze. You need the non-free firmware, provided by the package firmware-ralink.

If you have an internet connection, add the non-free section to your sources.list and do

su -
aptitude update && aptitude install firmware-ralink
modprobe rt2860sta

Otherwise download the package, transfer to your computer, and install manually.

If you're looking for linux that more or less "just works" why go with a distro like Debian that has strict policies on non-free software? Why not something lke Linux Mint, which has non-free firmware, flashplayer, codecs, etc all installed out of the box?

Ok, so I've done a sudo dpkg -i firmware-ralink_0.28_all.deb

And it seems to be installed now.

What needs to be done now?

iwconfig produces nothing.

[lindsey]

sudo apt-get install wireless-tools

sudo iwconfig
(lo, eth0 and wlan0 appear)
sudo ifconfig wlan0 up
sudo iwlist wlan0 scan
(my network ID appears)
sudo iwconfig wlan0 essid XXXXXXXX
sudo iwconfig wlano key s:XXXXXXXX
sudo dhclient wlan0

then i open a browser, and no internet connection

come on, this is pretty routine; somebody must know. suggestions?

[lindsey]

problem seems to be it can't ssdi-associate.

wpa2/wpa support is in question.

iwconfig approached in the usual way produces no results.


Also, see:
rt2860sta - Debian Wiki

That document was my best chance; it didn't help; i don't know what more i can do except quit Debian a second time.

i've wasted 2 days following obscure instructions.

mind, with Ubuntu it was plug and play.

of all the distros i gave Debian the most of my patience and time.

support for wireless network cards patchy, even when Linux support is officially boasted on the package and in official Linux documentation. Everything a nightmare to install and configure. can somebody still save the day? or will it be goodbye debian forever, debian let me down?

[reed9]

You can't connect to a WPA network using just iwconfig and dhclient. You need to use wpa_supplicant. Or, better, use a network manager like wicd.

Otherwise configuring wpa_supplicant by hand is a bit of a pain.

I think it's unfair to say that Debian is failing you, so much as you are expecting it to be something it's not. It is by and large for more experienced users, not a general desktop. It can excel as a desktop operating system, but to set it up that way requires some knowledge. Ubuntu's whole purpose is as a general OS; it's no wonder that more things work out of the box.

[lindsey]

You can't connect to a WPA network using just iwconfig and dhclient. You need to use wpa_supplicant. Or, better, use a network manager like wicd.

.

The major problem atm is I can't apt-get install.

I'm in a catch-22 situation: need internet connection to get an internet connection going.

But I can't transfer on USB thumbdrive and manually compile because far too many dependencies and auto config-make-make install doesn't work with some packages.

I thought wicd was shipped with Debian 6.0; why can't i just apt-get install it off the CD (i checked it was in my sources list)?

[reed9]

I'm sure it is included in one of the CDs, but I don't know if it's on the first one.

You can download the deb packages from the Debian repos, and all the dependencies, from a computer with net access, and then install locally. But finding all the dependencies is the sticking point.

I've never used it, but there's a project called keryx that is an offline package management solution for Debian/Ubuntu.

Obviously, the easiest solution is if you can find a wired connection for a few minutes.

[lindsey]

there is now another problem.

for some reason debian no longer enters into desktop environment since i physically disconnected all peripherals and relocated my computer to the nearest ethernet outlet.

i appear to be in command line. how do i tell debian to get into desktop environment again?