[ale] Linspire 5.0

[Chris Ricker]

On Fri, 27 May 2005, Geoffrey wrote:

> > I like the Intel 2200 b/g and Intel 2915 a/b/g for mini-PCI if your
> > notebooks support that
> 
> I'm curious what you mean by 'support that.'  I assumed that if you had a
> mini-pc, any mini-pc card should work.  Am I incorrect on this assumption?

I meant having mini-pci slots (not all notebooks do)

But yes, some manufacturers have black lists or white lists in their BIOS 
of mini-PCI cards. IBM does that for some models, as does HP/Compaq.... 
Officially it's for FCC compliance. In reality it's for vendor lock-in (so 
you'll have to pay $100 for the card from IBM instead of $30 for a card 
with one letter different in its PCI id that you bought off ebay)

> I recently tried to use an Xterasys mini-pci card in my hp pavilion.  It won't
> even boot with the card in.  I get:
> 
> 104-Unsupported wireless network device detected.
> System haulted.  Remove device and restart.
> 
> I figured this was simply hp's way of forcing you to purchase the higher
> priced laptop that has the card already in it.
> 
> I'm assuming it might be that this laptop does not have an antenna for a
> mini-pci card, thus they don't want you calling support when such a card does
> not work.  I was expecting that card would work, just that my range would be
> (quite) limited.

Usually that means it's black-listed (or, more likely, not white-listed).

A BIOS update, or a search of the shadier sides of the 'net for 
aftermarket-modified BIOS updates for your laptop will probably be 
required to get that card working.

> > The drivers are open source and well-maintained, and they've got monitor
> > mode enabled in the firmware now (so kismet and friends work ;-). The cards
> > are quite cheap too - I think I paid $20 each for an order of 2200s.
> 
> Pointers for where one might purchase such a card?

Dell sells them cheaply

later,
chris