PCMCIA: pre-compiled driver packages

I have been trying to get several PCMCIA cards to work in my laptop.
(pentium 166MHz, 16 M RAM, 15 G HD). I am using Slakware v8.0. (kernel 2.2.19)

#:ifconfig -a

Is not showing anything other than lo & dummy.

I have the following cards:
Netgear MA401 & FA411 (802.11b wireless & 10/100 network)
Belkin F5D6020 & F5D5020 (802.11b wireless & 10/100 network).

I am baffled as to whether I need the pcmcia-cs package.
I found this paragraph
(http://pcmcia-cs.sourceforge.net/ftp/doc/PCMCIA-HOWTO-2.html#ss2.1):

"Before starting, you should think about whether you really need to compile the PCMCIA package yourself. All common Linux distributions come with pre-compiled driver packages. Generally, you only need to install the drivers from scratch if you need a new feature of the current drivers, or if you've updated and/or reconfigured your kernel in a way that is incompatible with the drivers included with your Linux distribution. While compiling the package is not technically difficult, it does require some general Linux familiarity."

How do I tell if I have these packages? If yes, How do I configure my system to use them?

Do I simply need to insmod/modprobe existing modules? If yes, which modules go with which card?

Regards, Chuck
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kernel 2.2.19 is at least two years old. To the best of my knowledge it did not and does not provide drivers for any of your pcmcia cards. I have never heard any of them being tested for on boot up at any rate. I also do not know if any of the more recent kernel releases offer these drivers either. Probably your best bet would be to set up a freshmeat.net account and subscribe to the newsletters and check them out. It's like windows update for linux but far less intrusive.

Jude <dashielljt(at)gmpexpress-dot-net>

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Hi, Jude: Thanks.

kernel 2.2.19 is coming up on 1 year 9 months. ;-)
I'm compiling kernel 2.4.20 now.
I have found that PCMCIA requires a pcmcia-cs package;
if not the userspace modules, at least the tools. Here is an excerpt from
http://pcmcia-cs.sourceforge.net/ftp/doc/PCMCIA-HOWTO-2.html#ss2.1

"The kernel PCMCIA code has the same functionality as the driver side of the pcmcia-cs package. It does not eliminate the need to install the pcmcia-cs package, since it requires the same user tools (cardmgr, cardctl, /etc/pcmcia/* files). The drivers in pcmcia-cs can still be built for 2.4 kernels, so you have a choice of using either the in-kernel PCMCIA drivers, or the drivers included in pcmcia-cs. With 2.5 and later kernels, the standalone drivers cannot be used."

I'll try to use the kernel drivers so as to be compatible with
kernel-2.6.x, when it is released.

Later, Chuck

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