Computer help needed

[Mark]

Hi all,

I have a computer issue I was wondering if someone might be able to help me with-

I have a spare computer that is actually a server that I have moved into a different room, and I wish to use it primarily for internet browsing but I do also have it hooked up to a printer. The problem is that I would prefer to connect to the router over wifi rather than run an ethernet cable, as that will be a bit tedious (but CAN be done if I really have to, I just hope I do not have to as I have to drill through about 4 or 5 walls and ceilings).

Anyway, I have a spare Linksys USB wireless G adapter, model WUSB54GC that I have been unsuccessful to get to work. For an OS, the machine has Windows NT 2003 and apparently since it is an OS for a server I cannot seem to find a simple way to get it to communicate with the Linksys. So then I loaded up Ubuntu 10.04 and while now at least it finds and identifies the device I cannot make it work with this OS either. Part of that (well, a LOT of that) is due to the fact that I am a big time noob when it comes to Ubuntu and Linux.

At any rate, if someone here thinks they can help me work through this I would be greatly appreciative! I would prefer to make the NT2003 OS work if at all possible but if not that's not the end of the world.


Thanks,


Mark

[airgun_novice]

Mark, though I am sure you must have googled , can this link help you?

http://homecommunity.cisco.com/t5/Wirel ... =en#M21287

fantumfan2003 is an expert with Linux N/Wing et al. Why not PM him ?

[timmy]

Mark, I cannot tell you too much about Linux, but I am thinking that what you are referring to as "NT2003" is actually Windows Server 2003 (often referred to as W2K3). This is the same thing as XP -- in fact, one can use W2K3 as an OS for a single computer, the advantage over XP being that it doesn't have all the "eye candy" of XP and that it registers like Windows 2000.

Using drivers for XP should work for your wireless adapter.

[mundaire]

Would you like to connect this desktop to the router over WiFi or use the desktop as a proxy+print server? Personally I'd prefer to hook up the (or at least one) desktop/ server via ethernet and use the WiFi for the other comps at home. Anyhow, what is the exact problem you are facing while hooking it up over WiFi? Is the WiFi network listed/ detected? Is the WiFi router working fine with your DSL modem/ router and are your other computers connecting through the current setup? Also, (though unrelated) please be aware that WiFi is a major network security loophole and I'd suggest that at the very least you enable WEP authentication as well as limit access to predefined MAC addresses.

Cheers!
Abhijeet

[Mark]

I'd like to just connect it to the router over wifi. I do have a laser printer hooked up so it is possible that it would be handy as a print server but not really absolutely necessary.

The actual title of the OS is "Windows Server 2003 R2" (standard edition).

I have dealt with the security issue for the time being by having my house far enough from the road to ensure that anyone trying to connect would have to be hiding in the woods behind the house. If I ever get wireless N then I will have to re-evaluate.

The Device Manager recognizes the WUSB54GC wireless adapter, but says it does not have the proper driver, and when I last tried connecting it up I tried a few different ones and was never able to find one that worked.

I wish I could remember exactly what I had done the first time so I could type it out here, but what happened was I moved it about 9 months ago and struggled with it then and finally gave up with getting it connected. The issue now is that I will have to do my taxes in another couple of weeks and this is the computer I have used for that so all my records are on it and it would be nice to import that stuff, and I don't feel like dragging the box back into the other side of the house as I do need to connect it up eventually anyway.

I hope that explains the situation, nobody worry about insulting my intelligence when coming up with solutions!


Mark

[timmy]

Mark, I would try googling your wifi card and finding the Linksys site, and then trying to find the correct driver. You may even need to get a couple. Then, in the device manager, you can go the "update driver" route and attempt to get the thing to work. I doubt you will get anywhere until you can make the device manager report that the card is working. I am guessing you've probably gone through this process once or more, however, getting the right driver is going to be the key.

I use an old Zoom modem (a real one, not a "win modem", if your memory reaches that far back) on an old P3; it has an application that screens incoming phone calls. The modem is essential, as it sits on the line and receives the calling party number and name. There is only one driver (actually, the *.inf file that selects the driver) that will get this function to work, otherwise the software cannot recognize the incoming call. In the many years I've used this, I've moved the function from system to system, and it is always a BEAST to get the driver loaded correctly.

It was things like this that made me go Mac, however I still have a PC farm here and must eat worms, as I'm doing today (Grrrr!)

[xl_target]

Here is the download page for the WUSB54GC
http://homesupport.cisco.com/en-us/supp ... s/WUSB54GC

There are two versions of the device; Version 1.0 and Version 3.0

Ver 1.0
http://homedownloads.cisco.com/download ... 8_dr,0.exe
Ver 3.0
http://homedownloads.cisco.com/download ... e.DS,0.zip

Download the appropriate driver, save it to a place where you can easily find it (or to a USB stick). You will need to save this driver onto the computer that you want to use with the wireless USB device. Once it is on the correct PC, double click it and execute the file. Let it install itself in a directory if it wants to.

Once it is installed on the hard drive of the computer in question:
Click the START button, right click MY COMPUTER and click PROPERTIES from the drop-down menu. Once the SYSTEM PROPERTIES window shows up, click the HARDWARE tab. Then click the DEVICE MANAGER button.Go to the NETWORK ADAPTERS and right click the appropriate device. Then click UPDATE DRIVER from the drop-down menu. Follow the prompts pointing it to the location where you installed the drivers. Hopefully it will accept them and then it will allow you to hook up to the network.

Let me know if you have any questions.

[Mark]

I suppose this answers my question:

From cisco support:

from Trifon T. (10361) to All Participants:
Sorry that the WUSB54GC adapter has no Windows Server driver. It only has Windows OS driver.



from Mark White to All Participants:
I also have ubuntu 10.04 on the same machine, are there instructions somewhere on how to get it to work that way?
from Mark White to All Participants:
It can recognize the hardware, but that is as far as I can get
from Trifon T. (10361) to All Participants:
There is no Ubunto driver for the adapter too.

[Mark]

So I guess I'll be drilling and pulling in the next few days!

[timmy]

Sorry that the WUSB54GC adapter has no Windows Server driver. It only has Windows OS driver.

Mark, this statement doesn't make any sense to me at all. As I said, Windows Server 2003 is Windows XP without a bunch of GUI eye candy on the desktop and with some services that are used on a lan network. None of this affects what drivers work or don't.

For instance, I have personally used the tips on this website: http://www.msfn.org/win2k3/ to use W2K3 as a workstation/stand alone computer. The drivers are the same. Apparently, your tech support was answering the question with one hand on the keyboard and a sandwich in the other, between hulu sessions.

[xl_target]

The level one tech support is probably someone making minimum wage who doesn't really care and won't research the answer.

Try the drivers at the links that I posted. At the very worst, it will tell you that it can't find the appropriate driver or it will not work. You won't be any worse off than you are right now.

[timmy]

As a PS, here is one system I used W2K3 on:



Here's the insides:





I have 11 of these systems, and this is the first one I bought back in the beginning of 1998. As you see it now, It is running W2K Advanced Server (W2K3 was too slow with the limited processing) and an AMD K6 III processor. One the bottom, you see a 10 GB laptop hard drive which runs the OS. Above are four 2 TB hard disks that store my data. It runs on my home network and is accessed by the other systems on that network.

As the oldest of these systems (I'm currently running 3 of them), this one has been subjected to all sorts of the rudest abuse, such as over clocking the PCI bus from 66 MHz to 83 MHz. The sound blaster card that was used during these "science experiments" was this one:



The sound processor ran so hot it locked up the system, so I arctic silver epoxied a 486 CPU cooler to it and made those problems disappear...

[timmy]

The level one tech support is probably someone making minimum wage who doesn't really care and won't research the answer.

Could be, but most likely he is being evaluated constantly on the time he is allowed to spend on each problem and, in order to keep his job, he must handle as many calls/trouble reports as possible. If you've worked in a call center, you will know what I mean. These sorts of "Services" provided by companies are not a revenue center; they are looked at as an expense, and every trick in the book is used to drive the last penny out of such operations.

I'd submit that this sort of service is a corporate decision, because such operations will quickly and without mercy terminate anyone who doesn't meet their benchmarks.

I think XL's suggestion is spot on and I'd give it a try before hanging up on the wireless NIC.

[Mark]

Well no luck on the drivers, I tried all of them and get a "driver corrupted" error message. The good news is that it inexplicably started working on the Ubuntu side, so it is at least up and running there.

I'm posting with it right now, woohoo.

Now I can spend an evening figuring out if I can get my tax software to run using wine. If I can do that then I'm all set!


Thanks again for the help you guys!

Mark

[xl_target]

Ubuntu is a great OS. It can run well on a surprisingly low powered PC. I never really got Wine to work well, though that was several years ago. The newer version should be better.