Problems with Atheros AR5006EG 802.11 b/g Wireless Adapter

[DarkPhoenixFF4]

Yeah, it's the wireless. It's ALWAYS the wireless...

The problem is quite simple; I can't get Fedora to detect the card no matter what I do. If I try the Madwifi drivers, I'm hampered by the following problem:

[root@localhost ~]# ifconfig
eth0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:16:36:FD5:6E
inet addr:192.168.2.8 Bcast:192.168.2.255 Mask:255.255.255.0
inet6 addr: fe80::216:36ff:fefd:d56e/64 Scope:Link
UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1
RX packets:2554 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:2858 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
RX bytes:1078528 (1.0 MiB) TX bytes:440708 (430.3 KiB)
Interrupt:16

lo Link encap:Local Loopback
inet addr:127.0.0.1 Mask:255.0.0.0
inet6 addr: ::1/128 Scope:Host
UP LOOPBACK RUNNING MTU:16436 Metric:1
RX packets:3867 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:3867 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:0
RX bytes:21455996 (20.4 MiB) TX bytes:21455996 (20.4 MiB)

Yeah, according to Fedora, the wireless card isn't really there, even though I know it is. It shows up in lspci, though.

03:00.0 Ethernet controller: Atheros Communications, Inc. AR5006EG 802.11 b/g Wireless PCI Express Adapter (rev 01)
Subsystem: AMBIT Microsystem Corp. Unknown device 0428
Flags: fast devsel, IRQ 11
Memory at 34100000 (64-bit, non-prefetchable) [disabled] [size=64K]
Capabilities: [40] Power Management version 2
Capabilities: [50] Message Signalled Interrupts: Mask- 64bit- Queue=0/0 Enable-
Capabilities: [60] Express Legacy Endpoint IRQ 0
Capabilities: [90] MSI-X: Enable- Mask- TabSize=1

Because I can't see it, I can't get it to work with the Madwifi drivers.

I also tried using the Windows driver through Ndiswrapper. It works in Kubuntu and openSUSE, but in Fedora using Ndiswrapper with this particular driver causes a kernel panic:

Aug 11 20:55:54 localhost kernel: ndiswrapper version 1.47 loaded (smp=yes)
Aug 11 20:55:54 localhost kernel: ndiswrapper: driver net5211 (,06/21/2007,5.3.0.56) loaded
Aug 11 20:55:54 localhost kernel: PCI: Enabling device 0000:03:00.0 (0000 -> 0002)
Aug 11 20:55:54 localhost kernel: ACPI: PCI Interrupt 0000:03:00.0[A] -> GSI 17 (level, low) -> IRQ 17
Aug 11 20:55:54 localhost kernel: ndiswrapper (ZwClose:2246): closing handle 0xd46958e8 not implemented
Aug 11 20:55:55 localhost kernel: ndiswrapper: using IRQ 17
Aug 11 20:55:55 localhost kernel: BUG: sleeping function called from invalid context at mm/page_alloc.c:1250
Aug 11 20:55:55 localhost kernel: in_atomic():1, irqs_disabled():0
Aug 11 20:55:55 localhost kernel: [<c045dace>] __alloc_pages+0x2e/0x2aa
Aug 11 20:55:55 localhost kernel: [<c045dd76>] __get_free_pages+0x2c/0x3a
Aug 11 20:55:55 localhost kernel: [<c046587e>] __pte_alloc_kernel+0xe/0x48
Aug 11 20:55:55 localhost kernel: [<c046a337>] map_vm_area+0x6e/0x123
Aug 11 20:55:55 localhost kernel: [<c046a76c>] __vmalloc_area_node+0xf3/0x111
Aug 11 20:55:55 localhost kernel: [<c046a80b>] __vmalloc+0xf/0x11
Aug 11 20:55:55 localhost kernel: [<e056af56>] ExAllocatePoolWithTag+0x58/0x65 [ndiswrapper]
Aug 11 20:55:55 localhost kernel: [<e05674f3>] NdisAllocateMemoryWithTag+0x1f/0x3b [ndiswrapper]
Aug 11 20:55:55 localhost kernel: [<e05682e4>] mp_timer_dpc+0x4b/0x64 [ndiswrapper]
Aug 11 20:55:55 localhost kernel: [<e056979a>] kdpc_worker+0x92/0xa9 [ndiswrapper]
Aug 11 20:55:55 localhost kernel: [<c0433e3b>] run_workqueue+0x85/0x125
Aug 11 20:55:55 localhost kernel: [<e0569708>] kdpc_worker+0x0/0xa9 [ndiswrapper]
Aug 11 20:55:55 localhost kernel: [<c04347cd>] worker_thread+0xf9/0x124
Aug 11 20:55:55 localhost kernel: [<c042229f>] default_wake_function+0x0/0xc
Aug 11 20:55:55 localhost kernel: [<c04346d4>] worker_thread+0x0/0x124
Aug 11 20:55:55 localhost kernel: [<c0436da8>] kthread+0xb0/0xd8
Aug 11 20:55:55 localhost kernel: [<c0436cf8>] kthread+0x0/0xd8
Aug 11 20:55:55 localhost kernel: [<c0405b3f>] kernel_thread_helper+0x7/0x10
Aug 11 20:55:55 localhost kernel: =======================

Trying different kernels had no effect at all; all of them either crash this way or give me a list of similar errors (only instead of forcing a restart, it simply prints the error over and over again). I'm about out of ideas now...

[erikd]

The support for AR5006EG is in one of the latest MADWifi HAL's. It may require building the latest MADWifi to obtain the code. Check out this MADWifi ticket for the latest information: http://madwifi.org/ticket/859

Note that in the ticket they mention that some folks may be suffering from a mis-recognized adapter which shows up as AR5006EG, but is actually an AR5007EG. According to this ticket ( http://madwifi.org/ticket/1192 ), the AR5007EG is not yet supported by the HAL -- at least this was true the last time I checked the ticket.

[DarkPhoenixFF4]

Yeah. It claims it's an AR5006EG, but I'm starting to suspect it's actually an AR5007EG. I get the same errors with the same codes as reported in the AR5007EG topic.

The problem is, I can't use Ndiswrapper because Ndiswrapper and the Windows XP driver this system uses causes the Fedora kernel to crash (I copied the tracedump above). Note that ONLY Fedora's kernels exhibit this behavior; I was able to get the card to work on openSUSE and Ubuntu. The problem is openSUSE doesn't seem to like the sound system, and Ubuntu doesn't want to start the card before someone actually logs in (which is no good if I use LDAP or NFS on the laptop).

[erikd]

Check out the ndiswrapper wiki. They recommend the lastest ndiswapper (you'd need to build it) if you're having kernel crash problems. http://ndiswrapper.sourceforge.net/j...oubleshooting/

[ryptyde]

Here's the card that's in my Sony laptop "Atheros Communications, Inc. AR5006EG 802.11 b/g Wireless PCI Express Adapter" and running F7 and the 2.6.22.1-41.fc7 kernel and it is working for me.

When I check the "Connection Information" from the NetworkManager Applet it says "driver: ath_pci" and when I open "system-config-network" the device is listed as "ath0" if that helps.

I have also installed:
madwifi
ndiswrapper
wifi-radar
wifiroamd
wireless-tools
wlassistant
wpa_supplicant

but don't recall having to use ndiswrapper to get it to work, just sort of mindlessly installed anything related to wifi. I do remember that there were a couple of the earlier kernels that didn't work after an updrade.

I also keep a Belkin Wireless G USB Network Adapter version 4000 handy as I can plug it in and the 2.6.22.X kernels have firmware support.

edit: I drilled down and found that the "ath_pci" was in the madwifi directory located at "/lib/modules/2.6.22.1-41.fc7/extra/madwifi/ath_pci.ko".

.

[erikd]

Ryptyde, you're using the MADWifi driver - ath0 is the interface created by the ath_pci module. You would know if you were using the ndiswrapper driver since you'd have had to dig up a windows based driver to feed ndiswrapper. Ndiswrapper's sole purpose is to enable windows NDIS network drivers in linux for those adapters which don't have native drivers.

It's good to know that the MADWifi driver which supports the AR5006EG has made it into the Fedora repos. I had not verified this myself since I don't need the new support.

DarkPhoenixFF4 seems to be running into a problem that's been run into by others where he may actually have an AR5007EG which is mis-reported by lspci as an AR5006EG. The AR5007EG is not supported yet. This was covered above.

If DP actually has an AR5007EG, then the best solution at this point is to use ndiswrapper.

[erikd]

I have not used ndiswrapper in a couple of years. When I did, it worked very well. Before attempting to build the ndiswrapper from source, you may want to read a few of the threads on this board (just do a search for ndiswrapper).

Also, there are some fedora build notes on the ndiswrapper wiki site -- although they look a bit dated.

I'm not that familiar with how ndiswrapper is put together in the livna rpm. Note that I believe Fedora kernels are built with 4K stacks. Ndiswrapper requires 8K stacks. I've never quite understood this requirement, but I believe it may be that stack guard page virtual memory mangement is not sufficient for the Windows based drivers -- maybe they cannot tolerate page fault interrupts at a critical point.

Anyway, all that aside, when I built ndiswrapper for fedora long ago, I had to also build the kernel and specify 8K stacks -- this is all documented on the ndiswrapper site -- to resolve my kernel panic issue. I am not sure why this is not required for the livna repo based ndiswrapper, so be wary and understand that this issue would need to be dealt with somewhere.

There's a great deal of information on this forum and on the ndiswrapper site about using ndiswrapper with Fedora, so I'm sure it works and works well. Hang in there, I'm sure you'll get it working.

[DarkPhoenixFF4]

I actually tried re-compiling the kernel with 8K stacks, but when it is set, the compilation actually errors out. And I can tell you from experience that with it on, the error occurs even with the latest Ndiswrapper (1.48rc1).

Edit: Sorry, i meant that it errors out with 4K stacks on, even with the latest Ndiswrapper.

[kizwan]

Hello guys,
I also have same wlan hardware, Atheros AR5006EG / AR5007EG (Atheros AR5BXB63 chipset). I managed to get it working using latest ndiswrapper ver 1.47. I also recompile my kernel to disable CONFIG_4KSTACKS since windows driver need 8k of stacks. This is how I did it:-

You need to remove madwifi driver before continue.
** You can use any kernel version. I recommended the latest one.
So, I download kernel source package from fedora mirror: http://mirror.newnanutilities.org/pu...dates/7/SRPMS/
A) Install kernel source rpm. This is what I do:-
# sudo bash
# mkdir /usr/src/redhat
# rpm -ivh kernel-2.6.22.4-65.fc7.src.rpm
# cd /usr/src/redhat/SPECS
Build the kernel for i686 architecture since Fedora 7 is i686 architecture:-
# rpmbuild -bp --target=i686 kernel-2.6.spec
Wait for a while until it finish.
Change to your new kernel source directory:-
# cd ../BUILD/kernel-2.6.22/linux-2.6.22.i686
# vi Makefile
Find: EXTRAVERSION = .4
change to: EXTRAVERSION = .4-65.fc7.kizwan
and save & exit.
NOTE: You can change this value to any value that you like. So we can identify our kernel later on.
# vi .config
Find: CONFIG_4KSTACKS
and delete the line containing CONFIG_4KSTACKS.
and save & exit.
Create RPM package for our new kernel:-
# make rpm
It will ask you about CONFIG_4KSTACKS. Just enter "N"
Wait for a while, this should take a very long time, 1 hour maybe.
Pay attention where exactly "make rpm" create your RPM package
and change to that directory:-
# cd ../../../RPMS/i386/
Install your new kernel:-
# rpm -ivh kernel-2.6.22.465.fc7.kizwan-2.i386.rpm
We must create a ramdisk for our new kernel.
# mkinitrd /boot/initrd-2.6.22.4-65.fc7.kizwan.img 2.6.22.4-65.fc7.kizwan
2.6.22.4-65.fc7.kizwan is taken from Makefile at the top of the file:-
VERSION = 2
PATCHLEVEL = 6
SUBLEVEL = 22
EXTRAVERSION = .4-65.fc7.kizwan
NOTE: "Makefile" file is located at the root of your kernel source directory.
This is the format of your kernel version VERSION.PATCHLEVEL.SUBLEVEL.EXTRAVERSION
So, your version should be = 2.6.22.4-65.fc7.kizwan
Update grub boot menu
# vi /boot/grub/menu.lst
NOTE: Be carefull. Your Fedora 7 may located in different location than mine. Refer to your existing boot (menu.lst) configuration. You may need to change the value, that marked with bold font, with your values/settings.
add this line at the bottom of the file:-
title Fedora (2.6.22.4-65.fc7.kizwan)
root (hd0,5)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.22.4-65.fc7.kizwan ro root=LABEL=/ rhgb quiet
initrd /boot/initrd-2.6.22.4-65.fc7.kizwan.img
And reboot your computer and boot with new installed kernel.

B) Now I will install ndiswrapper ver 1.47 from tarball.
Please remove any madwifi driver from your system and reboot your laptop before continue with below step.
Untar the tarball package. This is what I do:-
# cd ndiswrapper-1.47
# make
# make install
Now I have latest ndiswrapper.
Unzip winxp driver for Atheros AR5007EG, and locate net5211.inf file.
Now I will install the driver:-
# ndiswrapper -i net5211.inf
Confirm it by using this command:-
# ndiswrapper -l
It should look like this:-
net5211 : driver installed
device (168C:001C) present

Need to run this command to write configuration for modprobe:-
# ndiswrapper -m
Test the driver by issuing this command:-
# modprobe ndiswrapper
Run dmesg to see it working.
# dmesg
You should see something like this:-
ndiswrapper version 1.47 loaded (smp=yes)
ndiswrapper: driver net5211 (,06/21/2007,5.3.0.56) loaded
PCI: Enabling device 0000:03:00.0 (0000 -> 0002)
ACPI: PCI Interrupt 0000:03:00.0[A] -> GSI 17 (level, low) -> IRQ 17
ndiswrapper (ZwClose:2246): closing handle 0xf7a5d728 not implemented
PCI: Setting latency timer of device 0000:03:00.0 to 64
ndiswrapper: using IRQ 17
wlan0: ethernet device 00:19:7e:43:e9:4a using serialized NDIS driver: net5211, version: 0x50003, NDIS version: 0x501, vendor: 'NDIS Network Adapter', 168C:001C.5.conf
wlan0: encryption modes supported: WEP; TKIP with WPA, WPA2, WPA2PSK; AES/CCMP with WPA, WPA2, WPA2PSK
usbcore: registered new interface driver ndiswrapper
ADDRCONF(NETDEV_UP): wlan0: link is not ready
ADDRCONF(NETDEV_CHANGE): wlan0: link becomes ready

Run ifconfig, and you should see interface wlan0.
# ifconfig

Put this line in /etc/rc.local so it will auto-start when reboot.
/sbin/modprobe ndiswrapper

If everything is ok, we should have a working Atheros AR5007EG in Fedora 7.
This should work with all redhat based OS and other distro too.

[kizwan]

Please do not confuse with AR5006EG & AR5007EG. At my atheros & laptop, there is a labeled said my atheros is using AR5BXB63 chipset. So, based on the windows xp driver, it said this is Atheros AR5007EG. I think this is latest chipset for AR5007EG. For those who have AR5006EG and use madwifi and it working, it actually REAL AR5006EG. AR5007EG & AR5BXB63 is actually the same, AR5BXB63 is a latest revision for AR5007EG, and both not supported by madwifi yet. For some reason it mistakenly detected as AR5006EG in Fedora 7. However, please check at you wlan adapter or at bottom of your laptop, it should printed the actual chipset for your wlan adapter. If it is AR5BXB63 it will detected under windows as AR5007EG and under Fedora 7 as AR5006EG. Please tell me if my guideline (above) is working or not with you. Good luck.

[DR.DERMANN]

hi all

i need help plz
my wireless card

[root@loptop drdermann]# lspci | grep Atheros
02:00.0 Ethernet controller: Atheros Communications, Inc. AR5006EG 802.11 b/g Wireless PCI Express Adapter (rev 01)

dosnt work

and i update kernel

Linux loptop 2.6.22.4-65.fc7 #1 SMP Tue Aug 21 22:36:56 EDT 2007 i686 athlon i386 GNU/Linux

and madwifi
but stall not work

i try to used ndiswrapper

[root@loptop drdermann]# ndiswrapper -l
net5211 : driver installed
        device (168C:001C) present (alternate driver: ath_pci)

any one can help plz

[kizwan]

(edit)
DR.DERMANN,
Ok. Actually you need to remove madwifi before you can use ndiswrapper. madwifi driver can prevent ndiswrapper to load properly. After removing madwifi, reboot first. After that try load ndiswrapper:-
Need to write configuration for modprobe
# ndiswrapper -m
and load ndiswrapper
# modprobe ndiswrapper

Run dmesg and you should see something like this:-
# dmesg
ndiswrapper version 1.47 loaded (smp=yes)
ndiswrapper: driver net5211 (,06/21/2007,5.3.0.56) loaded
PCI: Enabling device 0000:03:00.0 (0000 -> 0002)
ACPI: PCI Interrupt 0000:03:00.0[A] -> GSI 17 (level, low) -> IRQ 17
ndiswrapper (ZwClose:2246): closing handle 0xf7a5d728 not implemented
PCI: Setting latency timer of device 0000:03:00.0 to 64
ndiswrapper: using IRQ 17
wlan0: ethernet device 00:19:7e:43:e9:4a using serialized NDIS driver: net5211, version: 0x50003, NDIS version: 0x501, vendor: 'NDIS Network Adapter', 168C:001C.5.conf
wlan0: encryption modes supported: WEP; TKIP with WPA, WPA2, WPA2PSK; AES/CCMP with WPA, WPA2, WPA2PSK
usbcore: registered new interface driver ndiswrapper
ADDRCONF(NETDEV_UP): wlan0: link is not ready
ADDRCONF(NETDEV_CHANGE): wlan0: link becomes ready

If your system freeze after issuing "modprobe ndiswrapper", maybe your kernel has limit stacks to 4k. Ndiswrapper need 8k stacks to run properly. You need to recompile your kernel. Use ndiswrapper ver 1.47. Compile ndiswrapper from source. For guideline, please see my earlier post in this thread.

[mikesid]

I am having the same issue. if i do an lspci it comes up as AR5006EG 802.11 b/g Rev 01. Is their a way to tell if its listing the correct chip or if its in fact a AR5007EG?

ive installed the mad wifi drivers but i still dont get an ath0.

[kizwan]

Originally Posted by mikesid

I am having the same issue. if i do an lspci it comes up as AR5006EG 802.11 b/g Rev 01. Is their a way to tell if its listing the correct chip or if its in fact a AR5007EG?

ive installed the mad wifi drivers but i still dont get an ath0.

I can say 99% your card is actually AR5007EG. If it is AR5006EG, it should work with madwifi.
You can open your laptop to see the hardware yourself. It should have a label/sticker at your wifi card. If you don't want to void your warranty, so don't open it. I suggest you to use ndiswrapper to install windows driver. See my earlier post. Its a bit complex, but I have try my best to show step-by-step to do it. The reason why I have to recompile my kernel because windows driver need 8k stacks to work properly. In Fedora 7, the kernel has stacks limited to 2k. Honestly, I don't know what stacks is. Just ask if you need anything. Good luck.

[InfoSecPro]

Originally Posted by kizwan

So, I download kernel source package from fedora mirror: http://mirror.newnanutilities.org/pu...dates/7/SRPMS/
A) Install kernel source rpm. This is what I do:-
# sudo bash
# mkdir /usr/src/redhat
# rpm -ivh kernel-2.6.22.4-65.fc7.src.rpm
# cd /usr/src/redhat/SPECS
# rpmbuild -bp --target=i686 kernel-2.6.spec
Wait for a while until it finish.
# cd ../BUILD/kernel-2.6.22/linux-2.6.22.i686
# vi Makefile
Find: EXTRAVERSION = .4
change to: EXTRAVERSION = .4-65.fc7.kizwan
and save & exit.
# vi .config
Find: CONFIG_4KSTACKS
and delete the line containing CONFIG_4KSTACKS.
and save & exit.
# make rpm
It will ask you about CONFIG_4KSTACKS. Just enter "N"
Wait for a while, this should take a very long time, 1 hour maybe.
# cd ../../../RPMS/i386/
# rpm -ivh kernel-2.6.22.465.fc7.kizwan-2.i386.rpm
We must create a ramdisk for our new kernel.
# mkinitrd /boot/initrd-2.6.22.4-65.fc7.kizwan.img 2.6.22.4-65.fc7.kizwan
2.6.22.4-65.fc7.kizwan is taken from Makefile at the top of the file:-
VERSION = 2
PATCHLEVEL = 6
SUBLEVEL = 22
EXTRAVERSION = .4-65.fc7.kizwan
--> VERSION.PATCHLEVEL.SUBLEVEL.EXTRAVERSION = 2.6.22.4-65.fc7.kizwan
Update grub boot menu

Kizwan,

Thank you for the step by step. I too have the same wifi chipset and am experiencing the same issues as others. The steps above have been followed to the letter but I have 2 questions:

1. You note "2.6.22.4-65.fc7.kizwan is taken from Makefile at the top of the file:-"...What file are you referring too and where is it?

2. What does this mean "--> VERSION.PATCHLEVEL.SUBLEVEL.EXTRAVERSION = 2.6.22.4-65.fc7.kizwan" ? Do I add this line to the file, modify it change it? I guess I do not know what you mean by "-->" .

Thanks again for any assistance on the above questions.