Having made some progress I thought I better answer my own post below for any Belkin users out there who would rather use Linux drivers:
On Monday 23 October 2006 16:55, Mick wrote: > Also, this is what dmesg shows: > > ======================================= > ohci_hcd: 2005 April 22 USB 1.1 'Open' Host Controller (OHCI) Driver (PCI) > Loading module: rt73usb - CVS (N/A) by http://rt2x00.serialmonkey.com. > wmaster0: Failed to select rate control algorithm > wmaster0: Failed to initialize rate control algorithm > rt73usb->rt73usb_alloc_dev: Error - Failed to initialize device. > rt73usb->rt73usb_probe: Error - Failed to allocate device. > usbcore: registered new driver rt73usb > ======================================= > > On Monday 23 October 2006 14:20, Mick wrote: > > Hi All, > > > > A friend gave me a Belkin F5D7050 USB wifi adaptor which I am struggling > > to get going. I checked the Wiki which describes how to use ndiswrapper > > but it also mentions that there are drivers in portage for this purpose. > > > > http://gentoo-wiki.com/Belkin_F5D7050 > > > > I opted for the latter, set the rt73usb USE flag and emerged the rt2x00 > > drivers. > > > > However I still cannot see my new device as a network interface. Can you > > help? > > > > Supporting info below: > > =============================================== > > Bus 002 Device 003: ID 050d:7050 Belkin Components F5D7050 ver 1000 WiFi > > Device Descriptor: > > bLength 18 > > bDescriptorType 1 > > bcdUSB 2.00 > > bDeviceClass 0 (Defined at Interface level) > > bDeviceSubClass 0 > > bDeviceProtocol 0 > > bMaxPacketSize0 64 > > idVendor 0x050d Belkin Components > > idProduct 0x7050 F5D7050 ver 1000 WiFi > > bcdDevice 0.01 > > iManufacturer 1 Belkin > > iProduct 2 Belkin 54g USB Network Adapter > > iSerial 0 > > bNumConfigurations 1 > > Configuration Descriptor: > > bLength 9 > > bDescriptorType 2 > > wTotalLength 32 > > bNumInterfaces 1 > > bConfigurationValue 1 > > iConfiguration 0 > > bmAttributes 0x80 > > MaxPower 300mA > > Interface Descriptor: > > bLength 9 > > bDescriptorType 4 > > bInterfaceNumber 0 > > bAlternateSetting 0 > > bNumEndpoints 2 > > bInterfaceClass 255 Vendor Specific Class > > bInterfaceSubClass 255 Vendor Specific Subclass > > bInterfaceProtocol 255 Vendor Specific Protocol > > iInterface 0 > > Endpoint Descriptor: > > bLength 7 > > bDescriptorType 5 > > bEndpointAddress 0x81 EP 1 IN > > bmAttributes 2 > > Transfer Type Bulk > > Synch Type None > > Usage Type Data > > wMaxPacketSize 0x0040 1x 64 bytes > > bInterval 0 > > Endpoint Descriptor: > > bLength 7 > > bDescriptorType 5 > > bEndpointAddress 0x01 EP 1 OUT > > bmAttributes 2 > > Transfer Type Bulk > > Synch Type None > > Usage Type Data > > wMaxPacketSize 0x0040 1x 64 bytes > > bInterval 0 > > Device Qualifier (for other device speed): > > bLength 10 > > bDescriptorType 6 > > bcdUSB 2.00 > > bDeviceClass 0 (Defined at Interface level) > > bDeviceSubClass 0 > > bDeviceProtocol 0 > > bMaxPacketSize0 64 > > bNumConfigurations 1 > > =============================================== > > > > =============================================== > > # ifconfig -a > > dummy0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 3A:6B:52:36:4D:99 > > BROADCAST NOARP MTU:1500 Metric:1 > > RX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0 > > TX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0 > > collisions:0 txqueuelen:0 > > RX bytes:0 (0.0 b) TX bytes:0 (0.0 b) > > > > eth0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:02:A5:B6:A1:8F > > UP BROADCAST MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1 > > RX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0 > > TX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0 > > collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000 > > RX bytes:0 (0.0 b) TX bytes:0 (0.0 b) > > > > lo Link encap:Local Loopback > > inet addr:127.0.0.1 Mask:255.0.0.0 > > UP LOOPBACK RUNNING MTU:16436 Metric:1 > > RX packets:8 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0 > > TX packets:8 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0 > > collisions:0 txqueuelen:0 > > RX bytes:400 (400.0 b) TX bytes:400 (400.0 b) > > =============================================== > > > > PS. The eth0 above is my NIC not the Belkin adaptor. There were two problems with the above set up, both module related: The rt73usb was not suitable for my chip. The 050d:7050 under lsusb is supposed to tell you that - but I only found conflicting and confusing info on Google. This is because Belkin changed the chip without changing the model number; its pot luck which chip you may end up with and therefore trial and error is required to find out the driver that works for your USB chip. So, I changed the USE flag for the next available (rt2500usb) and remerged net-wireless/rt2x00. This was a mistake. The new module conflicted with rt73usb which I could remove just by unmerging rt2x00. I had to unmerge rt2x00, manually delete all items under /lib/modules/2.6.17-gentoo-r8/rt2x00/ and then emerge rt2x00 with the right flag (rt2500usb). The next module problem had to do with rc80211_simple which rt2x00 requires to function properly. Once modprobed and entered it in /etc/modules.autoload.d/kernel-2.6 the adaptor showed up under iwconfig & ifconfig: ======================================================== # iwconfig wlan0 wlan0 IEEE 802.11g ESSID:"3141 6404" Mode:Managed Frequency:2.442 GHz Access Point: 00:0F:CC:66:12:C8 RTS thr:off Fragment thr=2346 B Encryption key:off # ifconfig wlan0 wlan0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:11:50:18:55:3F inet addr:192.168.1.38 Mask:255.255.255.0 UP NOTRAILERS RUNNING MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1 RX packets:12221 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0 TX packets:9665 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0 collisions:0 txqueuelen:0 RX bytes:11445153 (10.9 Mb) TX bytes:1147251 (1.0 Mb) Base address:0xd000 ======================================================== Thereafter, setting up a link in the init.d scripts is required: # cd /etc/init.d && ln -s net.wlan0 net.lo as well as configuring the /etc/conf.d/net for your access point, WEP key, etc. Plugging in the USB adaptor should now automatically load the necessary driver, connect to your access point, run dhcpcd and get you on the Internet - all on its own ;-) Some nuisances: briefly unplugging the USB adaptor should not cause much of a problem, plug it back in and you're in business. However, try running: # /etc/init.d/net.wlan0 restart and a major crash is on the cards. I haven't found a respectable way of shutting down the runaway processes and the ensuing kernel oops, (should file a bug soon). Also, the driver does not offer much of a clue on the speed of the connection therefore there is not much point in running kwifimanager. Other than that I have had no trouble with the connection in the first two days (only went down once). Don't know how it performs with the wpa_supplicant yet. That'll be my next challenge. -- Regards, Mick
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