Installing Ubuntu on Acer Aspire 3684WXMi

Make sure you use the appropriate version of the drivers for your version of Linux. If you're using a 64-bit version of Linux, you must use 64-bit drivers. You can check this using the following command:

Code:

getconf LONG_BIT

I personally recommend using the wicd program for WiFi connectivity. It boasts built-in WPA support and has been successful where other network connection manager programs have failed.


This chipset showed up on my Acer Aspire 5050-3785. The lspci program spit out the following info:

Code:

Atheros Unknown device 001c (rev 01)

It also has been incorrectly labeled as an AR5006X device, in some cases.

Here is a step by step procedure to install the drivers manually (in case you don't want to use the script I wrote, or if it doesn't work properly). Open a terminal and copy/paste the following lines:

1a. Download the ndiswrapper (v1.4 source code and AR5007EG Windows drivers:

Code:

wget http://wifix.sourceforge.net/software.php?title=ndiswrapper

1b. Download the AR5007EG Windows XP drivers:
If you're using a 32-bit version of Linux, use this command:

Code:

wget http://blakecmartin.googlepages.com/ar5007eg-32-0.2.tar.gz

For 64-bits of blazing WiFi glory, use this:

Code:

wget http://blakecmartin.googlepages.com/ar5007eg-64-0.2.tar.gz

2. Extract the archives:

Code:

tar xvf ar5007eg-*.tar.gz
tar xvf ndiswrapper-newest.tar.gz

3. Ensure you have your kernel headers and the build essential package.

Code:

sudo aptitude update && sudo aptitude install linux-headers-$(uname -r) build-essential

4. Blacklist the ath_pci kernel module (it doesn't support our chipset).

Code:

echo "blacklist ath_pci" | sudo tee -a /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist

5. Compile ndiswrapper:

Code:

pushd ndiswrapper-*/
sudo make uninstall
make
sudo make install
popd

6. Install the Windows drivers (using ndiswrapper):

Code:

pushd */ar5007eg/
sudo ndiswrapper -i net5211.inf
popd

7. Make sure ndiswrapper loads up every time we start Linux:

Code:

sudo modprobe ndiswrapper
echo "ndiswrapper" | sudo tee -a /etc/modules

8. Restart your computer.

Code:

sudo init 6

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FAQ
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Q: Linux seems to see my device now, but it can't see any networks. What can I do now?
A: This frequently happens on built-in devices. There's usually either

• A switch on your computer somewhere that toggles whether the wireless radio is on or off (BEWARE! Some of these are very unintuitive. The setting that may seem like "on" may be "on" and vice-versa.)

• A keyboard combination that enables/disables the wireless connection (usually Fn+F2).

• A setting in the BIOS that needs to be changed. This can be frustrating to track down. The BIOS is the program that loads before your OS. When your computer first boots, there's a key you can press to go into the system setup; look for a wireless setting in there that you can enable.

Q: I can see wireless networks. Why can't connect to any of them?
A: There are a couple options to try here. If you're using WICD to connect and WPA encryption, under preferences, make sure that for WPA Supplicant Driver, you're using WEXT (make sure you've installed WPA_Supplicant). If you're using WEP, try putting your key in "double quotes". If you can't connect to an encrypted network, try removing they key to see if that's the problem. If you're not using WICD, try it out; many people have been successful simply after switching the wireless connection manager program to WICD.

Q: None of this worked. I'm no closer to having my wireless working than I was when I first installed my OS. What's wrong?
A: Try running sudo modprobe ndiswrapper; the program should run silently. If you get any output, there's a problem. If the ndiswrapper,ko file can't be found, run sudo depmod -ae, then try sudo modprobe ndiswrapper again.

If you installed your OS a long time ago, some people have had better success with a fresh install. Try installing the drivers while running from the Live CD.
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EDIT: I removed the instructions for using the script. It seemed to not work for anyone other than me. I checked it over several times and couldn't figure out why. The instructions and the script seem to perform the same set of operations.