Question

3

How do I install drivers for the Atheros AR8161 Ethernet controller on 64-bit 12.10 using an Internet-connected 32-bit 12.04 PC and a USB flash drive?

rated 0 times [ 3] [ 0] / answers: 1 / hits: 18954 / 3 Years ago, sun, june 6, 2021, 11:11:19

How do I install drivers for the Atheros AR8161 Ethernet controller on 64-bit 12.10 using an Internet-connected 32-bit 12.04 PC and a USB flash drive?

Having bought a new HP Elite desktop PC and installed 64-bit Ubuntu 12.10 I've found it unable to connect to network thanks to its Atheros AR8161 Ethernet controller.

There are no PCI slots in the PC to use an old PCI NIC. I have got no USB NICs or smartphones to use for temporary Internet connection.

All I can use is a laptop with working Internet connection running 32-bit XUbuntu 12.04 and a USB flash drive to copy files between the PCs.

As far as I understand I will have to build a 64-bit 3.5.0-17 version of the alx module on a 32-bit 3.2.0-32 system and install it on the target machine, but I hardly have any idea on how to do that :-(

Here is a closely related question.

Answers

Only authorized users can answer the question. Please sign in first, or register a free account.

leadprogres

Add To Favorites

Follow

Total Points: 298

Total Questions: 114

Total Answers: 139

Location: Samoa

Member since Mon, Nov 8, 2021

3 Years ago

answered 3 Years ago iedncommon · Accepted Answer

No need to compile anything or upgrade via a USB wireless card; you can download an updated kernel plus the required driver from quantal-backports on packages.ubuntu.com, copy them to your 12.10 machine with a usb key, install them from the command line (dpkg -i *.deb), then reboot. The files you need are:

linux-headers-3.5.0-18_3.5.0-18.29_all.deb

linux-image-3.5.0-18-generic_3.5.0-18.29_amd64.deb

linux-image-extra-3.5.0-18-generic_3.5.0-18.29_amd64.deb

linux-image-generic_3.5.0.18.21_amd64.deb

linux-libc-dev_3.5.0-18.29_amd64.deb

linux-backports-modules-cw-3.6-3.5.0-18-generic_3.5.0-18.2_amd64.deb

linux-backports-modules-cw-3.6-quantal-generic_3.5.0.18.2_amd64.deb

Check the actual version numbers available at packages.ubuntu.com, as the package names and filenames will change with each new kernel version. The second last package in that list contains the actual kernel modules, in this case for 3.5.0-18. The last one is a meta package, linux-backports-modules-cw-3.6-quantal-generic, that will always depend on the latest version of the compat-wireless linux kernel modules. You'll need this one installed so that the next time you upgrade your kernel, you'll also get the new version of the kernel modules you need.