Downgrading kernel in LMDE

[jahid]

I haven't used LMDE before. I am going to give it a try now. But the kernel version i need is 3.0.13.

So, will there be a problem if i downgrade the kernel in LMDE 201403 like video driver problems which people generally face?

[eanfrid]

Not a good idea. The 3.0 branch is not maintained at all: https://www.kernel.org/ You should use instead any suitable longterm branch that does not end in a few months, i.e. 3.2, 3.10 or 3.12.

[Crewp]

Jahid, What kind of hardware are you using?

[jahid]

My Hp ProBook 440 G1 laptop came with SLED 11 service pack 2 which had kernel 3.0.13 and the bluetooth and wifi driver only supports this version of kernel (and maybe the previous kernels). I deleted that suse desktop but now i can't even just get that because it is an enterprise edition which requires to be bought by spending some dollar.
It's about a mediatek wifi driver, model: MT7630E

[Monsta]

Do you mean some proprietary driver that supports only the kernels up to some version?

[jahid]

Do you mean some proprietary driver that supports only the kernels up to some version?

Yes, that's the case.

I have checked another unofficial driver from a github page which supposedly work for kernel 3.5 or lower, but it doesn't seem to work right. I tried to install this driver in kernel 3.4 which i got by downgrading from kernel 3.13 in ubuntu gnome 14.04 lts.

[eanfrid]

Did you install the package named "firmware-ralink" ?

Edit: however it seems that 1/ the OEM really provides no further Linux support (no driver beyond an unsupported outdated kernel as you said) for this chipset 2/ the Windows driver cannot be used through ndiswrapper... FUBAR.

[Monsta]

Yes, looks like this particular chipset is a real PITA.

[Crewp]

https://www.suse.com/partners/ihv/pdf/S ... licies.pdf

All I can say is WOW ! I never saw anything like this.

[jahid]

I installed the kernel 3.0.13 without any error but still couldn't get that driver installed. It seems this driver is exclusive for SUSE, it needs some key id and some other kernel modules.

Anyway, the driver i mentioned that found on the github, developer of this driver says that it works on kernel 3.5.0-24. So i am gonna install LM 13 and then update the kernel to 3.5.0-24 and see if this really works. Any suggestions?

[jahid]

for this chipset 2/ the Windows driver cannot be used through ndiswrapper... FUBAR.

Is this because ndiswrapper only supports windows xp drivers?

[eanfrid]

Anyway, the driver i mentioned that found on the github, developer of this driver says that it works on kernel 3.5.0-24. So i am gonna install LM 13 and then update the kernel to 3.5.0-24 and see if this really works. Any suggestions?

It is worth a try because only LM/Ubuntu still offer support for the 3.5 branch. The latest is 3.5.0-48.

Is this because ndiswrapper only supports windows xp drivers?

This is what I said after a quick search: it looks like XP drivers for this chipset do not work once loaded with ndiswrapper.

[jahid]

I have installed LM 13 and upgraded the kernel to 3.5.0-24 and the wifi driver is working now.............

But bluetooth isn't working yet. I think i have to just be satisfied with the working wifi for now...

For people who need that driver, go to this github page:
https://github.com/anthonywong/mt7630

[jahid]

LM 13 cinnamon ran in fallback mode from the starting, and i wasn't happy with that. So i took a breath and installed LMDE cinnamon and installed kernel 3.5.0-24 on it. I was impressed.....
vedio driver is working well as well as the wifi dirver and cinnamon isn't in fallback mode either. I think choosing LMDE for this heinous task from the begining wasn't a bad choice at all.

And about the bluetooth, i see that it says "bluetooth disabled" instead of "there is no adapter for this device". So is there something additional that i need to do to enable bluetooth?