Atheros 5007EG with madwifi on i386 platform

For those, who have an Atheros 5007EG chipset and can't get it working with ndiswrapper, I have this guide from polish ubuntuforum. This is the only solution that worked on my computer (Toshiba SAT-A210-128), and my brothers computer.

This guide only works on i386 platforms, so if you're running an x64 linux, then you've to try again with ndiswrapper or wait for a new solution from atheros and madwifi.

1. Open you terminal

2. Get this version of madwifi:

wget -c http://snapshots.madwifi.org/special/madwifi-ng-r2756+ar5007.tar.gz

3. Untar the downloaded package:

tar xvf madwifi-ng-r2756+ar5007.tar.gz

4. Get inside the unpacked directory:

cd madwifi-ng-r2756+ar5007

5. If you haven't compiled anything from source before on your linux then you propably need the build essential package:

sudo apt-get update && sudo aptitude install build-essential

6. Now you can build your madwifi and install the modules:
make

sudo make install
sudo modprobe ath_pci
sudo modprobe wlan_scan_sta

The last 2 commands can cause some complications on some systems. If they do check your System >> Administration >> Restricted Drivers Manager and disable atheros here. Then try again.

7. Now restart your computer and you should be able to see any aviable networks in your Network Manager.

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13 Responses

  1. will says:

    worked like magic. I’m using Acer Aspire 5050, Dual Booting Windows Vista and Ubuntu 7.10.

  2. Andrew says:

    Worked wonderfully for me too. Tried out dozens of other solutions, before this advice finally helped. Thank you!

  3. Also, I had two iterations with this procedure. One failed, second worked. Since linux is all about feedback, here is how it worked for me.

    When I first tried to install madwifi drivers for 5007eg on acer 5520g laptop, it failed because my ath_pci modules were stil up. So, on my second try, i’ve, before everything else mentioned here,
    – disabled restricted drivers (I use xubuntu with xfce so it’s Applicatons (menu)->system->restricted drivers)
    – rebooted my computer
    – opened restricted drivers again, they were turned on, but the green light on the right indicated that the drivers were still in use, so I
    – sudo modprobe -r ath_pci -> removed modules
    – folowed the procedure mentioned here, that is compiled drivers from source.
    – rebooted my computer

    – when i ifconfig -a, I see ath0 and wifi0
    – also, when I iwlist ath0 scann , i see hotspots around me. I’m guessing thing’s work.

    So I’ve decided to share this, b-kz i’ve wasted a day or two on this. World would be more eficient if i were the olny one, and the others fixed this in a couple of easy steps.

    Tihomir, Croatia
    🙂

  4. Jeff says:

    So no error occured when I followed this guide, but after I rebooted I still cannot see any networks! These last two commands, are they suppose to out put anything after I enter them? They just skipped down to the next line for me, they did not give any error messages…

    I am running Kubuntu 7.10 and using Knetworkmanager.

    ~J3ff

  5. alexv says:

    I knew i shouldn`t have gone for the x64 flavor when i installed the OS (sidux 2007.4.5) on my notebook . The same pesky driver support over and over again . Just about everything works neatly , no wireless though . Anyway , if anyone outhere knows of some wacky workaround to get wifi up and running on a 64bit linux with 5007 , i`m bound to be forever grateful . Heck , i`d be equally grateful if i knew just how long would it take before a solution emerged for that matter . Sigh…

  6. KwisatzHadarach says:

    Thank you so much! Worked without a hitch! I have searched for days trying to get my acer 5570z online wirelessly. Now I can finally enjoy my Ubuntu laptop the way it was ment to be- from the easy chair!

  7. Rogelio says:

    Hi, My I have an Acer 4520 and everythin wroks perfect, but the Wireless doesn work, I dont know why :S im so confused, I’ve seeked in every foro, but anyone know what happen…. SO I have an athereos 5007EG, and I’ve installed the driver from windows whith the ndiswrapper and anything has passed, im so confused. please help….

    I have Ubuntu for 64 bits

  8. Viktor Inferno says:

    Thank you SO much! I have read other guides advising me to cop out and use ndiswrapper, (which i still couldn’t get to work) This link is the only madwifi code I’ve found a link to that would work on this card (By the way this card is the Atheros ar5007 abg)

    I should note that I am using PCLinuxOS 2007, not Ubuntu, but this guide worked perfect. I had to remove the madwifi-kernel and madwifi-dkms package as well as manually deleting the kernel modules generated by dkms


    sudo updatedb
    locate madwifi

  9. Visor says:

    My laptop: LG E500 S.AP52B
    Atheros AR5007EG
    I was searching for a solution of this problem since 2 months. It works perfectly.
    Thank you very much.

  10. r4ul says:

    This guide is great but i have a problem how do i set my card in monitor mode???
    when i try to do it using iwconfig ath0 mode monitor i get an error message, do u have a solution for this?
    And thanks at least i can use my wifi now!

  11. Popeye says:

    Thanks, worked perfectly 😀

  12. S7effen says:

    Great! Thx.

  13. OsBoNe says:

    Will this work with an AR5006EG?, i suppose it’ll work but i don’t want to mess up my whole system trying, so if anyone has already tried….

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