To set the scene... my old tosh lappie is starting to fall apart - the DVD reader now only reads CDs being the biggest problem. When I started having problems with the graphics as well ( nVidia users beware: there's now 2 drivers available, and I need the 'legacy' version on this lappie otherwise it locks up solid ), I decided to reformat to add in a small XP partition so I could update to the latest firmware/bios just to see if it would help. I really don't want to get rid of it as the sound quality is quite astonishing considering the size of the speakers, it's good for watching films on when I'm on the bike trainer, and it does keep my knees warm on long, cold nights (:
Said lappie was delivered without wireless, but had the usual mini-pci slot and aerial ready. I installed a generic Atheros ( AR5212 chipset based ) card, and it's been running fine using madwifi drivers under debian for years. Installation of XP was the usual tedious process, and with the help of the Tosh site, I got all their bespoke hardware set up. However, Microsoft just plain did not recognise this bog standard wifi card! No way, no how. Googling led me to a solution, rather bizarre! Use the driver for their AWLC 4030 pci card. THis can be found at http://www.airlink101.com/support/index.php?cmd=files&_a=download&id=78&prosupport_client=4ecaab8752e89d40d0453080fb0d0c5f, but XP told me it was a corrupt zip file... I had to unzip it under linux to get the drivers. So, for all those who spend a lot of effort bashing linux installs, let it be known that Microsoft is not immune! Cheers, Steve Did it improve the DVD? No. But at least I know I need a new one now!
