compatibility_drivers
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compatibility_drivers [2017/08/18 20:57] – Improved mister_x | compatibility_drivers [2018/07/20 23:16] (current) – italics for "Details" pane mister_x | ||
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* See this [[faq# | * See this [[faq# | ||
- | This section deals with a three related areas: | + | This section deals with two related areas: |
* Determine the chipset of a wireless card | * Determine the chipset of a wireless card | ||
* Determine the driver for a wireless card | * Determine the driver for a wireless card | ||
- | The previous version of this page can found [[compatibility_drivers|here]]. | + | The previous version of this page can found [[compatibility_drivers_old|here]]. |
===== Determine the chipset ===== | ===== Determine the chipset ===== | ||
- | There are two manufacturers involved with wireless cards. The first is the brand of the card itself. | + | There are two manufacturers involved with wireless cards. The first is the brand of the card itself. |
The second manufacturer is who makes the wireless chipset within the card. For example, Ralink, Atheros, Qualcomm. This is the most important company to know. Unfortunately, | The second manufacturer is who makes the wireless chipset within the card. For example, Ralink, Atheros, Qualcomm. This is the most important company to know. Unfortunately, | ||
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You first need to determine what wireless chipset your card uses. This can be done by one or more of these techniques: | You first need to determine what wireless chipset your card uses. This can be done by one or more of these techniques: | ||
- | *Search the internet for "< | + | *Search the internet for "< |
*Search the [[https:// | *Search the [[https:// | ||
*You may also have a look at windows driver file names, it's often the name of the chipset or the driver to use. | *You may also have a look at windows driver file names, it's often the name of the chipset or the driver to use. | ||
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====== Determine the driver ====== | ====== Determine the driver ====== | ||
- | Once you have determined the chipset, check the [[compatibility_drivers# | ||
- | If you are deciding on which card to purchase, check the "[[compatibility_drivers#which_is_the_best_card_to_buy|Which is the best card to buy? | + | Once you have determined the chipset, chances are you already have identified the driver on Linux. If not, match the chipset against the "other resources" |
+ | |||
+ | On Linux, there can be multiple drivers: | ||
+ | - Vendor driver: those do not and will not support monitor mode | ||
+ | - Peer-modified vendor driver: In some cases, they may support monitor mode but there could be caveats | ||
+ | - Staging driver: Standalone driver has been added to the [[http:// | ||
+ | - Kernel/ | ||
+ | |||
+ | If you are deciding on which card to purchase, check the "[[faq#what_is_the_best_wireless_card_to_buy|What is the best wireless | ||
*Hardware compatibility with your existing equipment. | *Hardware compatibility with your existing equipment. | ||
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It is not an easy decision to make. By considering these factors, it will help you make a more informed decision on what to purchase. | It is not an easy decision to make. By considering these factors, it will help you make a more informed decision on what to purchase. | ||
- | ====== | + | ====== |
- | + | ||
- | ===== Alfa AWUS036AC ====== | + | |
Searching for "Alfa AWUS036AC wikidevi" | Searching for "Alfa AWUS036AC wikidevi" | ||
+ | {{ : | ||
The box on the right contain all the information needed to identify the chipset manufacturer and model. In this case, RTL8812AU. | The box on the right contain all the information needed to identify the chipset manufacturer and model. In this case, RTL8812AU. | ||
It also lists the IDs (**0bda: | It also lists the IDs (**0bda: | ||
- | If it were on Windows, even if the drivers were not installed, looking in the device manager, that ID would be found in Details pane of the device itself, in the property " | + | If it were on Windows, even if the drivers were not installed, looking in the device manager, that ID would be found in //Details// pane of the device itself, in the property " |
+ | |||
+ | {{: | ||
Searching for that ID in WikiDevi or any search engine would also help finding the chipset and driver required. Multiple pages would be returned because multiple adapters share the same USB ID. | Searching for that ID in WikiDevi or any search engine would also help finding the chipset and driver required. Multiple pages would be returned because multiple adapters share the same USB ID. | ||
- | The exact same principles apply to internal devices, the only difference is they will be found under lspci. | + | The exact same principles apply to internal devices, the only difference is they will be found under **lspci**. |
Another way to find the chipset/ | Another way to find the chipset/ | ||
+ | |||
In this case, the Windows driver of the AWUS036AC. It doesn' | In this case, the Windows driver of the AWUS036AC. It doesn' | ||
- | Sometimes the name of the files (//.cat//, //.inf// and //.sys//) can indicate the chipset codename. Most of the time, they don't and the .inf file needs to be opened in a text editor (supporting UTF-16). Scroll down and there will be lists of IDs that are supported by that driver. In this example, the driver supports both PCI and USB Realtek devices, so, it will help narrow down what compatibility you have to look for on Linux. | ||
- | If the driver is packed in an executable (//.msi// or //.exe//), unpacking will be required. Sometimes multiple times, such as when it is bundled with a WiFi manager. UniExtract (Universal Extractor) is one of the tools to do so. | ||
+ | {{ : | ||
+ | Sometimes the name of the files (//.cat//, //.inf// and //.sys//) can indicate the chipset codename. Most of the time, they don't and the .inf file needs to be opened in a text editor (supporting UTF-16). Scroll down and there will be lists of IDs that are supported by that driver. In this example, the driver supports both PCI and USB Realtek devices, so, it will help narrow down what compatibility you have to look for on Linux. | ||
+ | If the driver is packed in an executable (//.msi// or //.exe//), unpacking will be required. Sometimes multiple times, such as when it is bundled with a WiFi manager. UniExtract (Universal Extractor) is one of the tools to do so. |
compatibility_drivers.txt · Last modified: 2018/07/20 23:16 by mister_x