Linux Configure Intel 4965 PRO Wireless Card

Posted by Vivek Gite [Last updated: June 18, 2008]

Q. How do I configure Intel 4965 PRO Wireless Card under Red Hat Linux Desktop Operating systems?

A. You need to install firmware package called iwl4965-firmware using RHN. You can also download the same from Red Hat FTP server. You must login as the root user to perform following tasks.

First make sure your PCI hardware database is upto date. To download new version of the PCI ID list type the following command at a shell prompt:
# update-pciids
Sample output:

  % Total    % Received % Xferd  Average Speed   Time    Time     Time  Current
                                 Dload  Upload   Total   Spent    Left  Speed
100  130k  100  130k    0     0   209k      0 --:--:-- --:--:-- --:--:--  520k
Done.

Next, confirm that the 4965 hardware is present in the system, enter:
# lspci | grep 4965
Once confirmed, type the following command to install support for Intel 4965 PRO Wireless Card, enter:
# yum install iwl4965-firmware
Open /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist file, enter:
# vi /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist
Remove or comment the blacklist iwl4965 line to enable the iwl4965 driver, at the end it should look like as follows:

# don't load iwl4965 by default, bug 245379
# blacklist iwl4965

Save and close the file. Reboot the laptop:
# reboot
After reboot the driver should get properly loaded. Linux will also create the necessary configuration file for the wireless card at this stage. Finally, turn on NetworkManager service:
# chkconfig NetworkManager on # /etc/init.d/NetworkManager start
Now, Wireless network access can be managed by left-clicking on the Network Manager icon in the upper right-hand corner of the desktop screen. You can set IP address or obtain it via dhcp. You can also set wireless password and other security settings.