To Compile ndiswrapper 1.58rc1 for Linux 3.5.4

ndiswrapper allows Linux users to use Windows drivers for PCI/USB network adapters on Linux. If you own a network device for which Linux support is still absent or premature, then you need to compile ndiswrapper yourself and install Windows driver for your network device. Fortunately, today's Linux supports most network devices out-of-box, so most distributions don't bother to include ndiswrapper. However, I am compiling ndiswrapper believing that Windows NDIS drivers would outperform native Linux drivers.

To my surprise, building the latest version of ndiswrapper (1.58rc1) did not require any patch. After compiling Linux 3.5.4, I downloaded the ndiswrapper source from the sourceforge site. I chose the testing version because I thought it would work better with Linux 3.5.x. I unpacked the source.

tar xzvf ndiswrapper-1.58rc1.tar.gz
cd ndiswrapper-1.58rc1

I typed the following commands to compile and install ndiswrapper.

KVERS=3.5.4 make uninstall
KVERS=3.5.4 make
KVERS=3.5.4 make install

Then, I generated modules.* files again.

depmod -e -m -F /boot/System.map-3.5.4 3.5.4

The following files were installed by ndiswrapper.

/lib/modules/3.5.4/misc/ndiswrapper.ko
/sbin/loadndisdriver
/usr/sbin/ndiswrapper
/usr/sbin/ndiswrapper-buginfo
/usr/share/man/man8/loadndisdriver.8
/usr/share/man/man8/ndiswrapper.8

Also read:

• Linux: Installing Windows Vista/7 Wireless Driver for use with ndiswrapper
  
• Linux: To Compile wpa_supplicant on Debian 3.1 Sarge
  

Setting Up Windows 7 on Compaq Presario V5306US

I installed Windows 7 Home Premium on my old Compaq Presario V5306US notebook. Installation went without a problem, but 3 hardware components were not detected. They are:

• ATI Mobility RADEON XPRESS X200M Series


• In-Build Conexant ATI AC '97 Modem


• HP Quick Launch Buttons

Since both of the built-in Ethernet and wireless network adapters are detected by Windows 7, I started Windows Update and installed the display driver through Windows Update. Drivers for the modem and quick launch buttons can be downloaded from HP/Compaq support site. For the quick launch buttons, extract the package with 7-zip and only install the driver.

The following pictures are taken from the device manager that list devices available in Compaq Presario V5306US.

Windows ME Drivers for VIA EPIA-M 10000

Today I restored Acronis TrueImage backup of Windows ME on my computer that has VIA EPIA-M 10000 motherboard. Because the backup was made on a different system, Windows ME recognized new hardware upon the first boot. There were some hardware components that Windows ME couldn't find the driver for, so I had to search and download the drivers from the Internet. The following is the list of Windows ME drivers that need to be installed additionally for VIA EPIA-M 10000.

• VIA/S3G CLE266 UniChrome IGP
  
  Install CLE266_WinME_16012004_Rotation.zip"
  
• VIA VT1616 AC'97 Codec
  
  Install Vinyl AC'97 Codec Combo Driver (vinyl_v700b.zip)
  
• VIA USB 2.0 Enhanced Host Controller
  
  Install OrangeWare USB 2.0 Driver.
  

Windows XP Drivers for VIA EPIA-M 10000

If you install Windows XP on a computer with VIA EPIA-M 10000 motherboard, you need to get the following drivers.

• CLE266 Display Driver for C3M266 Motherboards
  
• VIA VT1616 AC'97 Codec
  
  Install Vinyl AC'97 Codec Combo Driver (vinyl_v700b.zip)
  

Using GParted To Create Dual-Boot Vista Partitions

Have you ever wished to have multiple Windows installed on your computer? Having a multi-boot system has many applications, such as:

• Set up one Windows system for your work or school, and set up another Windows system for your family and kids, all in one single computer
  
• Use one Windows installation for your sensitive data, and use another installation for gaming and the Internet
  
• Set up multiple Windows for different languages, for example one for English and another for Spanish
  
• Try different Windows versions, one for Vista, one for XP and another for Windows ME.
  

In order to set up multiple installations of Windows in a single computer, you need to slice your hard drive into several partitions using a partitioning tool such as GParted. Get a GParted live CD and boot your computer with it.

Partitioning Advices

Here's what you need to know about multiple Windows installation:

• One primary partition must be set up with Windows Vista or XP and set active. This partition will be used to boot itself and optionally other Windows partitions, primary or logical.
  
• If multiple primary partitions have Windows installed, then only one of them should be active and the others should be hidden.
  

GParted in Action

Once you booted GParted live CD, launch GParted.

In most case, you'll see a Windows partion (type ntfs) as the first primary partition. If you need to resize it to make space available for the second Windows partition, you can use GParted, but I recommend you to use ntfsresize.

Now hide your existing Windows partition by right-clicking it and choosing Manage Flags.

Clear the boot flag and set the hidden flag. Then click Close.

Click the unallocated area and click New on the toolbar. Create new Partition dialog appears on screen. Set the size in the New Size box, create it as a Primary Partition and make it ntfs. Click Add.

Look at the GParted window and make sure the new hard disk layout is okay. Click Apply on the toolbar.

A confirmation dialog appears. Click Apply.

If everything goes well, a dialog appears saying All operations successfully completed. Click Close.

Right-click the newly created NTFS partition and select Manage Flags from the right-click menu. In the Manage flags window, only set the boot flag and click Close.

Quit GParted. Put your Windows installation DVD into your CD-ROM and reboot.