[ale] Linspire 5.0

[Geoffrey]

Chris Ricker wrote:
> 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)

Yeah, as I figured.  Well, I've traded a number of emails with HP 
support.  They are very quick to respond, but I had to dig to get them 
to admit that the slot should work with any mini-pci card.  Last go 
round, they suggested reseating the card, or using a usb card. I told 
them I want to take advantage of the mini-pci slot.  We'll see if they 
come clean on the bios issue.

> 
> 
>>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
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-- 
Until later, Geoffrey