====== Installing and using Ndiswrapper ======

Ndiswrapper is for network adapters that have no linux driver, or a very poor linux driver. I am using the [[http://www.norhtec.com/products/mcjrsx/index.html|Norhtec Microclient JrSx]]. It comes with a VIA vt6655 minipci wireless card and the Linux drivers from VIA are terrible. These instructions work for Voyage-0.5.2. Punky has compiled the ndiswrapper driver for the kernel, so it's very easy!

First make sure that you have this line in your /etc/apt/sources.list:
  deb http://www.voyage.hk/dists/0.5 ./

Then update your apt catalog:
  apt-get update
Install ndiswrapper:
  apt-get install ndiswrapper-modules-2.6.23-486-voyage ndiswrapper-common ndiswrapper-utils-1.9
Install some necessary utils:
  apt-get install perl-modules unzip
Get the Windows driver for the VIA vt6655 and extract it:
  cd /usr/src
  wget http://www.norhtec.com/info/download/vt6655softwarepackage1.1.zip
  unzip vt6655softwarepackage1.1.zip
Install the driver inside ndiswrapper:
  cd 1.1
  ndiswrapper -i VNWL.inf
  ndiswrapper -ma

Edit your /etc/network/interfaces file and uncomment the lines pertaining to wlan0. remountro and reboot!

====== Getting crypto to work ======

Crypto support is now nicely integrated into Debian. To use a WEP-encrypted network, edit /etc/network/interfaces to look like this:

  auto wlan0
  iface wlan0 inet dhcp
  wireless-essid [Insert your network name here]
  wireless-key [Insert your WEP key here]

To use a WPA-encrypted network it would look like this:

  auto wlan0
  iface wlan0 inet dhcp
  wpa-ssid [Insert your network name here]
  wpa-driver wext
  wpa-psk [Insert your WPA key here]
  wpa-key-mgmt WPA-PSK
  wpa-group TKIP

If the defaults on your network correspond to the defaults for wpa_supplicant, you may probably just specify network name and WPA key.

An important point on which I lost several days: the driver for wpa_supplicant should be wext and not ndiswrapper, don’t ask me why.

For additional information about how to configure /etc/network/interfaces, you may want to check out the associated Debian pages on: [[http://svn.debian.org/viewsvn/*checkout*/pkg-wpa/wpasupplicant/trunk/debian/README.Debian|README.Debian]]

These instructions were adapted from [[http://nicolas314.wordpress.com/norhtec-microclient-jr/]]. Thank you nicolas314!