Ralink rt2x00 chipset on Fedora 5

by mafiosoph — last modified Mar 07, 2008 09:19 PM

— filed under: Wireless

This Howto explains the steps needed to install the necessary Fedora Core 5 kernel drivers to be able to use pci/usb lan cards based upon the Ralink rt2x00 chipsets.

Warning

Fedora Core 5 is EOL, this howto may be useful for other versions of Fedora.

Requirements

Read our Getting Started with Wireless Guide.

Files needed:

Latest kernel.
Kernel Development package for your kernel.

Alternative Setup:

You may also install ndiswrapper as an alternative for this setup. http://fedoramobile.org/fc-wireless/ndis-yum-livna/
Ndiswrapper is a project that focuses on getting support for wireless network devices for which the manufactures do not release any sort of linux driver.

Doing the work

Open a terminal. What is terminal? How do I "open a terminal?"
Update your kernel.
```
su -c 'yum update kernel'
```
Install kernel-devel.
```
su -c 'yum install kernel-devel'
```
At the prompt enter root's password then press enter.
Download the appropriate and latest PCI/PCMCIA nightly CVS tarball for your chipset, not the regular release .
```
Open a browser, go to http://rt2x00.serialmonkey.com/wiki/index.php/Downloads
```
Extract the nightly CVS tarball by performing the following:
```
tar -xzvf rt*.tar.gz
```
Now we need to change to the module build directory, do so by performing the following:
```
cd rt2*cvs*/Module
```
Next we need to compile the module with the make command, do so by performing the following step (NOTE: This step should be performed as a regular user, not as root for security reasons):
```
make
```
Next we need to install the module, to do this you must be root. Switch to root to by performing the following step:
```
su -
```
Enter your root password then press enter.

Next we need to switch to the users directory:

cd /home/(username)/(where you've saved)/rt2*cvs*/Module

Now to install the module perform the following:
```
make install
```

Move the module to where it should be properly placed then insert the module to the kernel.

mv /lib/modules/(kernel version)/extra/rt2*.ko /lib/modules/(kernel version)/kernel/drivers/net/wireless

Next you need to install the module, do so by performing the following step:
```
insmod /lib/modules/(kernel version)/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/rt2*.ko
```
Next we need to create the module dependencies, do so by performing the following:
```
depmod -a
```
Reboot your system. Once it's rebooted, do this to install the driver:
```
su -c 'modprobe rt2*00'
```
Now you need to configure the device. Enter the root password when prompted to.
1. ```
system-config-network
```
2. Click the 'New' button just below the menu bar.
3. Select 'wireless connection'.
4. Select the appropriate wireless device (it is named similar to 'RaLink RT2x00'), then select 'Forward'.
5. In the next screen you need to fill in the appropriate answers which, depends on the configuration of your access point, then select 'Forward'.
6. The next selections need to be made about your network settings, these will be based on your individual network configuration. Select 'automatically obtain' if you use DHCP or have a dynamic ip; otherwise select 'statically set IP' if you have a static IP then complete the remainder of the entries, then select 'Forward'.
7. At the next display select 'Apply'.
8. In the Network configuration pop-up highlight your new wireless device, then select 'Edit'.
9. Select the 'General' Tab, then check the 'Activate device when computer starts' box. After that select 'Ok'.
10. Click on the 'Activate' button below the menu bar to activate the device. If an alert pops up about saving your settings select 'Yes'.

Troubleshooting

How to test

Go to GNOME panel > Desktop > Administration > Network

Deactivate any other network device that you use to access the internet, but leave your rt2x00 active. If you can access the internet after doing this procedure, then your device driver is working fine. You only have to do each of the steps once, after the entire procedure is completed, you don't have to repeat any of the processes.

My kernel version does not match the version of kernel-devel that yum installs:

Make sure you run 'yum update kernel'. This updates your kernel to the latest version so that it matches the kernel-devel when you do a 'yum install kernel-devel'.

A few definitions:

insmod - inserts a module into a kernel
depmod - determines interdependencies between modules
modprobe - inserts or removes a module or a set of modules intelligently (i.e. if module A requires B, then modprobe automatically loads B when asked to load B)

More Information

Disclaimer

We test this stuff on our own machines, really we do. But you may run into problems. If you do, come to #fedora on irc.freenode.net.

Added Reading

http://rt2x00.serialmonkey.com/
Linux Wireless - rt61pci
Linux Compatible Wireless Devices with Ralink chipsets
Ralink Technnology: Products
http://fedoramobile.org/fc-wireless/ndis-yum-livna/

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