Re: newbie trying to install usb modem
Stephen Puttick a écrit le 28/09/04 15:30 :
I have just installed sarge using CDs (jigdo download of 1st 3) on my
old win98 PC. I have 2 hard disks so Debian is on a separate disk - so
no real problems if I need to start again.
I have an Alcatel speedtouch 330 USB (broadband/ADSL) modem, which works
on both the win98 PC and my win xp laptop. I'm not quite ready to
[...]
I also have a speedtouch usb. I don't think it is the same as yours :
mine is the green/blue manta. I don't know much about the differences
between your modem and mine so keep in mind that I cannot certify that
my reply is relevant to you.
2) I found the following site which talks about recompiling the kernel
http://linux-usb.sourceforge.net/SpeedTouch/docs/sargehowto.html
http://linux-usb.sourceforge.net/SpeedTouch/download/index.html
this all sounded a bit more involved than i was planning as a newbie
installation.
I have sarge installed with the 2.4 kernel. (jigdo template 19 Sept 2004)
3)Am I right in thinking that a newer kernel might support the speedtouch.
I think the 2.6 kernel uses a module to support the speedtouch.
I'm using sarge with kernel 2.6.7 and I need a "modprobe speedtch" to
get my modem to work.
Just 2 notes :
1/ I didn't need to compile my own kernel to achieve that, I just used
the one provided by sarge and booted from cd1 typing linux26. (My cd was
created in late July using jigdo, I don't know if a newer one would
still install kernel 2.6.7 or a newer one.)
2/ I had once installed woody with a 2.4 kernel and my modem was working
very well with the speedtouch package without any kernel module. I
suppose you could do it with sarge too therefore I don't think a newer
kernel is a necessity.
4) I haven't yet got an ethernet card - I thought I'd wait until I could
get a net connection up and running. Am I wrong? should I go and get
one now?
Frankly I regret ever buying my usb modem.
Oh it works quite well... once it is installed.
The advantage of a good ethernet modem is that it is recognised from the
beginning of the install process and doesn't need any proprietary
(micro)code to work. You just download a minimal boot cd and install
from it, downloading packages as you need them.
It can't be done so easily with the speedtouch usb.
Since I didn't want to download several debian cd's, I created the first
one with jigdo and booted from it. I did a minimal install then dpkg'ed
the speedtouch package I had previously downloaded, configured my modem
and connection and finally modified my sources list and restarted the
installation with an apt-get update (I think). Not that intuitive.
Another problem : just because you find out how to get your modem
working now doesn't mean it'll work in the future as I found out when I
tried to install with the 2.6 kernel using the recipes I had previously
gathered from my 2.4 experiences.
So if like me you want to punish yourself for ever buying that material,
keep using it. If you plan to buy an ethernet card anyway, don't waste
your time and buy a new modem right now.
So any advice on how to get this modem working would be greatly
appreciated - or should I abandon it for another model (it was provided
with the ADSL).
If you want, I can post the notes I took when I installed woody with a
2.4 kernel or sarge with a 2.6. Just ask in reply to this message and
give me a little time to find and translate them. Keep in mind that as a
relative newbie, I can tell you what I did but I might not be able to
help further if it doesn't work for you :(
--
Eddy
"La notion de passoire est indépendante de la notion de trou."
Les Shadoks
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