64bit Wifi drivers (amd)?

Hi, there, I'm trying to buy/configure a linux laptop.

Don't know what I want yet, but I know what I want to avoid--wireless
problems!

I tried using ndiswrapper on an AMD 64 bit machine with many wifi
adaptors, only to find that ndiswrapper required 64 bit drivers (I was
working on amd). Many of the vendors for wifi adaptors had only 32 bit
drivers.

When buying a new machine, I'll probably prefer a 64 bit solution,
but not if it's impossible to find 64 bit drivers for any of the Wifi
cards!

Is the best alternative to seek a 32 bit Intel cpu?


Robert Nagle
idiotprogrammer
Houston, Texas

On 2005-12-14, idiotprogrammer <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
> Don't know what I want yet, but I know what I want to avoid--wireless
> problems!
>
> I tried using ndiswrapper on an AMD 64 bit machine with many wifi
> adaptors, only to find that ndiswrapper required 64 bit drivers (I was
> working on amd). Many of the vendors for wifi adaptors had only 32 bit
> drivers.
>
> When buying a new machine, I'll probably prefer a 64 bit solution,
> but not if it's impossible to find 64 bit drivers for any of the Wifi
> cards!
>
> Is the best alternative to seek a 32 bit Intel cpu?

I think the best alternative is to seek a wireless adapter that has
native support in the linux kernel, so that you can build your own
driver and avoid ndiswrapper altogether. There are a good many out
there--google and other sites should help you find a compatible card.

--keith

--
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(try just my userid to email me)
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idiotprogrammer wrote:
> Hi, there, I'm trying to buy/configure a linux laptop.
>
> Don't know what I want yet, but I know what I want to avoid--wireless
> problems!
>
> I tried using ndiswrapper on an AMD 64 bit machine with many wifi
> adaptors, only to find that ndiswrapper required 64 bit drivers (I was
> working on amd). Many of the vendors for wifi adaptors had only 32 bit
> drivers.
>
> When buying a new machine, I'll probably prefer a 64 bit solution,
> but not if it's impossible to find 64 bit drivers for any of the Wifi
> cards!
>
> Is the best alternative to seek a 32 bit Intel cpu?

Probably not.

There are 64-bit drivers for at least some of the Broadcom chips. Google
for bcmwl564. Your other option is to get an AMD 64-bit machine, but
load a 32-bit kernel. That should work with the 32-bit Windows drivers.

BTW, the bcm43xx project is getting very close to having a native Linux
driver for the Broadcom wireless chips. It still needs the firmware from
a Windows driver, but does not run any of the Windows code.