++ 29/10/04 18:37 +0100 - <Alan J. Flavell>:

Hey Alan,

> Folks,
>
> I'm still trying to get ndiswrapper working properly in SL, as
> previously mentioned to the list.  Sometimes it's worked fine,
> sometimes not. There seem to be definite indications that some
> hot-plugger routines are getting in behind my back and moving scenery
> around while I'm trying to do things by hand...
>
> Several times when I have been trying something, the laptop froze
> comprehensively, and I noticed the CAPSLOCK L.E.D seemed to be
> flashing in a distinctive pattern.
>
> As I watched it, I finally realised that the LED was flashing Morse
> Code, and I worked out that it is flashing out the words FATAL
> EXCEPTION.  Whose little joke was that, I wonder...?  Any clues on
> whether this is a kernel thing, a BIOS thing, or what?  Not that it
> seems to convey much information - but maybe knowing what area the
> "message" might be coming from, would help to understand what's going
> wrong.  A google search for the symptoms has been quite uninformative,
> so I thought I'd risk asking the list.

HA!

That's a 'feature' of the RH kernel (I mean, SL kernel). You can find it
'kernel hacking' section of the kernel build menu (menuconfig or xconfig), I
believe.

(I was thinking of writing a program that crashed a large cluster at random to
create a Morse Code-based symphony of light...

my boss didn't see the humor in this, but I thought it was the best use of the
feature.)

>
> Anyway, at the instant of writing this to the list, I actually do have
> the laptop working on the wireless network using ndiswrapper (version
> 0.11).  The trouble is, I'm still not sure how to get there reliably
> without it hanging or crashing the OS.  At least it's some kind of
> "existence proof".  And as I said before - with so many different
> kinds of wireless card around, and even the "same" model turning out
> to contain different chipsets, the idea of a generic wrapper that can
> run lots of different vendor-supplied Win32 drivers does seem to have
> appeal, don't you agree?

Agreed, but the hanging and crashing _might_ not be a factor of the actual
card, but a number of other problems. For example, a buggy bios/cardmgr/win32
driver/etc. There are ways to track it down, but it's time consuming.

Knowing a card works well is village knowledge. For example, my Cicso wireless
works far better than my built-in wireless, although they are the same
protocol, but yes, different drivers.

I don't know how to solve the instability problem without researching what card
works best or taking the time to debug the existing driver/card pair.

Sorry I don't have a more enlightened perspective,
John

> cheers

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# John Goebel <jgoebel(at)slac.stanford.edu> #
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