Install wireless network card on Linux using Windows drivers
Linux being a freeware OS, has become one of the most preferred operating system after Windows, and the hardware support has been beefed up quite a few notches than earlier. But if you have a wireless card that still does not have native Linux drivers, you might be able to get the card working with a Windows driver and ndiswrapper. Using a Windows driver inside your Linux OS gives you faster transfer rates and better encryption support depending on your wireless card. If your wireless card is working, it is not recommended to install the Windows driver just for fun because it could cause a conflict with the native Linux driver. So if you are wondering how you can install a wireless network card on Linux using Windows drivers, read this tutorial.
Essential requirements
The first thing you need to do is figure out what wireless card you have. If you are not aware about the wireless card you have in that case you can search it at your manufacturer's website.
There are a couple ways to do this and some involve finding the device chipset and others involve scouring through system logs.
Once you know what wireless adapter you are trying to install, go to the manufacturer’s website to download the Windows drivers for the device.
Try downloading the 32-bit Windows XP drivers in .zip format rather than .exe. If you don’t have an option, select the latest Windows driver that your manufacturer provides.
Difficulty and risk level - There is no risk in doing so, and not any difficulty in accomplishing it as well. It only requires basic computer knowledge.
Time taken:
It will depend on processor of system; normally it will take 20 to 30 minutes to install the wireless driver.
Tutorial breakdown:-
Extract Wireless Driver :
To extract the files, browse to the .exe or .zip file, right-click on it, and select "Open with Archive Manager." Click "extract" and copy all the files to an easy-to-find location.
Install Ndiswrapper :
Before installing the network card you have to install Ndiswrapper because Ndiswrapper is the tool that allows Linux to use Windows drivers for wireless card support.
To install it in Ubuntu go to the Software Center and search for ndisgtk.
Install Windows Driver:
Once you have your wireless driver extracted and ndiswrapper installed, open Windows Wireless Drivers from the System -> Administration menu.
In the window that opens, click on "Install new driver" and browse to where you extracted the driver.
Sometimes the .inf files will be in subfolders inside the driver, so you may need to dig around to locate the right file to use.
After you select the .inf file for your wireless card, click "Install." It will take a couple minutes to install the driver, so be patient while it works.
After the driver is installed, the main window will indicate if you selected the right .inf file by telling you if the hardware is present or not. If you selected the wrong driver the first time you can try installing a different .inf file that was extracted from the driver. If none of the .inf files work, you may want to try the driver for the same card for a different version of Windows (e.g. XP, Vista, 7).
To finish, when you get the right driver installed, click "Configure Network" to open Ubuntu network connections and connect to your wireless network.
Now it's completed and you have successfully installed a wireless network card on Linux.
Via: HowtoGeek
