[Wirelessdriver-support] Getting the NETGEAR to work

[Benjamin R. <be...@ma...>]

I have a Wallstreet Powerbook running 10.2 and a brand new NETGEAR MA401 wireless card.  I installed the WirelessDriver and it seemed OK.  When I inserted the card it was recognized by the system --- the PCCard menu appeared on the menu bar --- but the WirelessConfig preference pane could not find the card.  After some tinkering I discovered that if I modified the Info.plist file inside the driver's bundle, it worked (sort of).

This is for people who are comfortable editing property list files.

The file to edit is /System/Library/Extensions/WirelessDriver.kext/Contents/Info.plist.  You will need to have root privileges to edit it.  Under the section after <key>IOPersonalities</key>, add a new entry for the NETGEAR:

    <key>NETGEAR MA401</key>
    <dict>
        <key>CFBundleIdentifier</key>
        <string>org.noncontiguous.WirelessDriver</string>
        <key>IOClass</key>
        <string>org_noncontiguous_WirelessDriver</string>
        <key>IOProbeScore</key>
        <integer>4096</integer>
        <key>IOProviderClass</key>
        <string>IOPCCard16Device</string>
        <key>VersionOneInfo</key>
        <array>
            <string>NETGEAR MA401RA Wireless PC</string>
            <string>Card</string>
            <string>ISL37300P</string>
            <string>Eval-RevA</string>
        </array>
    </dict>

All of the keys are the same as any other card except for the VersionOneInfo array.  I suspect if you have a card that is not being recognized, you can add a similar entry to your Info.plist by adding the right VersionOneInfo array.  I got the values for my card by running "ioreg -lw0" from the Terminal (watch out, that will print out a LOT of stuff).

I only *think* this works: the card is recognized, I get a signal measurement, a network interface shows up, etc.  I can't actually test it though because I'm trying to connect to a University network which requires WEP, and I think the WEP isn't working.

My questions:

1. Do the developers read this?  I think they should add the NETGEAR card info above in the next release.  If they don't, where should I send this?

2. What is the story with WEP support?  Should it *theoretically* work on all cards, assuming the driver is updated?  If it is possible, I'm willing to do some development work; if not, I need to return this card and get my money back.

-- Ben