This thread was posted by myself here too -
http://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/showthread.php?p=2677980#post2677980
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I want to start this thready by saying this
-
"Trying to compile / build drivers on Linux just sucks all the fun out of doing anything on linux"
Its starts with the fact that there are so many flavours of linux, we do it this way, they do it that way; its almost as bad as different congretions of churches everywhere creating their own flavours.
Then you find a website that specifically says that these instructions are Fedora Core 6 and you think "Wow great; now I am sorted" only to find down the line that the instructions and the execution of those instructions diverge so badly within the first 5 lines of their instructions that resolving the differences and issues especially if your not an experienced linux user becomes impossible.
I have a HP NX7400 Laptop; and I am unable to either get my Ethernet or my Wireless connections going. I've even tried the Bluetooth option to connect via my cel to the net to at least be able to have some kind of connection to the internet.
These Make with the Makefile solutions - no matter they say; those things dong work and is very undfriendly for a volatile environment such as linux which release a new flavour every month. The paths and the symbolic links and all of that are just never the same. Then you need to find this kernel because it requies that module to be compiled and the circle is just vicious.
So ok... Great we've go open source here and people need to buy into the concept of this wher people are collaborating together to create something that is free - this I really respect BUT...
If you find that really everything you try doing is a dead-end you you really start to wonder if this Opensource thing is worth it????
I really am going to keep on trying to figure this out; but here is a simple example.
I thought that these guys were supposed to be the experts in explaining how to get the Wireless Card on your HP NX7400 Laptop going.
I mean this is THE site as even so proclaimed by HP
http://ipw3945.sourceforge.net/
For installing the Intel PRO/Wireless 2915ABG Network Connection.
But when I work through their specific instructions or their INSTALL document as they call it; there is such a divergence on similaraties after the initial steps that it becomes untrackable.
If you look at the Quick Install Steps -
Everything works fine until this point - >>>
Once the ieee80211 subsystem is installed, we build the ipw3945.ko module:
% tar xzvf ipw3945-1.1.3.tgz
% cd ipw3945-1.1.3
% make
They specifically mention there that you should tar this file (with a difference in the version; which is understandable) cd into the specified folder (which is also a bit different because of the version. AND THEN your supposed to type MAKE.
Dont believe for one second that works anylonger NO....
there is no Makefile instrunctions in that folder or in any of the subfolders. There is however another readme there which basically confuses the reader into oblvion never coming back to what you were supposed to do ther in the first place.
Then another few lines down; which is normally understandable if you need to download something from the web, except we're talking NIC's here (Network Interface Cards) what kind of contingency did they put in place; what if you the only way for you to get the files to your machine is using a USB driver or having to write a CD/DVD the whole time; where in my case I cant get either the Ethernet or the Wireless or the Bluetooth connections going, so basically I am screwed here.
I know that I am complaining terribly here; but my point here is someone will need to take charge of certain areas.
I know that I might not be such an experienced Linux user; but I have been working with computers 14 years now and I am not just talking drag and drop here, and still after being busy for almost 18 hours I accomplished nothing in trying to get my Laptop to work on a LAN (connectivity in other words.)
So yeah; I am super-duper frustrated here and I just want o call out to all the LINUX FUNDIES OUT THERE, that HUMANS BEINGS DONT READ CODE OK, and you guys need to go and sit down and think of a plan on how to stablise some of this stuff; otherwise your going to strangle yourselfs in red-tape and probably never get the average windows user to move to something like this because its simple close to impossible to set-up.
Anyway - I dont mean to insult anyone HERE please; I do however would like the FUNDI's out there to know that even though they are smart enough to write and compile drivers; if no one can use the stuff they write, they might not have done it in the first place.
GET ORGANISED OR GET OUT.
Thanks for a great forum; and keep the Linux Flavours to a minium lol
http://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/showthread.php?p=2677980#post2677980
______________________________________
I want to start this thready by saying this
-"Trying to compile / build drivers on Linux just sucks all the fun out of doing anything on linux"
Its starts with the fact that there are so many flavours of linux, we do it this way, they do it that way; its almost as bad as different congretions of churches everywhere creating their own flavours.
Then you find a website that specifically says that these instructions are Fedora Core 6 and you think "Wow great; now I am sorted" only to find down the line that the instructions and the execution of those instructions diverge so badly within the first 5 lines of their instructions that resolving the differences and issues especially if your not an experienced linux user becomes impossible.
I have a HP NX7400 Laptop; and I am unable to either get my Ethernet or my Wireless connections going. I've even tried the Bluetooth option to connect via my cel to the net to at least be able to have some kind of connection to the internet.
These Make with the Makefile solutions - no matter they say; those things dong work and is very undfriendly for a volatile environment such as linux which release a new flavour every month. The paths and the symbolic links and all of that are just never the same. Then you need to find this kernel because it requies that module to be compiled and the circle is just vicious.
So ok... Great we've go open source here and people need to buy into the concept of this wher people are collaborating together to create something that is free - this I really respect BUT...
If you find that really everything you try doing is a dead-end you you really start to wonder if this Opensource thing is worth it????
I really am going to keep on trying to figure this out; but here is a simple example.
I thought that these guys were supposed to be the experts in explaining how to get the Wireless Card on your HP NX7400 Laptop going.
I mean this is THE site as even so proclaimed by HP
http://ipw3945.sourceforge.net/
For installing the Intel PRO/Wireless 2915ABG Network Connection.
But when I work through their specific instructions or their INSTALL document as they call it; there is such a divergence on similaraties after the initial steps that it becomes untrackable.
If you look at the Quick Install Steps -
Everything works fine until this point - >>>
Once the ieee80211 subsystem is installed, we build the ipw3945.ko module:
% tar xzvf ipw3945-1.1.3.tgz
% cd ipw3945-1.1.3
% make
They specifically mention there that you should tar this file (with a difference in the version; which is understandable) cd into the specified folder (which is also a bit different because of the version. AND THEN your supposed to type MAKE.
Dont believe for one second that works anylonger NO....
there is no Makefile instrunctions in that folder or in any of the subfolders. There is however another readme there which basically confuses the reader into oblvion never coming back to what you were supposed to do ther in the first place.
Then another few lines down; which is normally understandable if you need to download something from the web, except we're talking NIC's here (Network Interface Cards) what kind of contingency did they put in place; what if you the only way for you to get the files to your machine is using a USB driver or having to write a CD/DVD the whole time; where in my case I cant get either the Ethernet or the Wireless or the Bluetooth connections going, so basically I am screwed here.
I know that I am complaining terribly here; but my point here is someone will need to take charge of certain areas.
I know that I might not be such an experienced Linux user; but I have been working with computers 14 years now and I am not just talking drag and drop here, and still after being busy for almost 18 hours I accomplished nothing in trying to get my Laptop to work on a LAN (connectivity in other words.)
So yeah; I am super-duper frustrated here and I just want o call out to all the LINUX FUNDIES OUT THERE, that HUMANS BEINGS DONT READ CODE OK, and you guys need to go and sit down and think of a plan on how to stablise some of this stuff; otherwise your going to strangle yourselfs in red-tape and probably never get the average windows user to move to something like this because its simple close to impossible to set-up.
Anyway - I dont mean to insult anyone HERE please; I do however would like the FUNDI's out there to know that even though they are smart enough to write and compile drivers; if no one can use the stuff they write, they might not have done it in the first place.
GET ORGANISED OR GET OUT.
Thanks for a great forum; and keep the Linux Flavours to a minium lol
