I've got a generic Ralink wireless usb dongle, and a fresh install of Linux Mint 17 (cinnamon). I'd like to be able to use the dongle to connect to my wifi, so that i can free up some cat5 cables i have strewn about.
Unfortunately, it doesn't work by default, and I can't compile from source (it has errors). I apologize for the long post, but this is a condensed version of what I've tried in the last couple weeks.
To save some time, I'm going to paste the relevant system info below. First, uname -a
Linux stutter 3.13.0-24-generic #46-Ubuntu SMP Thu Apr 10 19:11:08 UTC 2014 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux
Here's the output from lsusb; to show the device is recognized. Device 5.
Bus 001 Device 005: ID 148f:7601 Ralink Technology, Corp.
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 002 Device 003: ID 413c:2005 Dell Computer Corp. RT7D50 Keyboard
Bus 002 Device 002: ID 046d:c016 Logitech, Inc. Optical Wheel Mouse
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
The output from iwconfig; to show that it isn't being used as a wifi device. I understand there should be an "ra0" in this list. eth0 and eth1 are both wired ports on my motherboard - it has two.
eth0 no wireless extensions.
eth1 no wireless extensions.
lo no wireless extensions.
Next, a lsmod, to show that the correct kernel modules are loaded. It's trimmed for brevity.
rt2800usb 27034 0
rt2x00usb 20742 1 rt2800usb
rt2800lib 89076 1 rt2800usb
rt2x00lib 55307 3 rt2x00usb,rt2800lib,rt2800usb
mac80211 626489 3 rt2x00lib,rt2x00usb,rt2800lib
cfg80211 484040 2 mac80211,rt2x00lib
crc_ccitt 12707 1 rt2800lib
bnep 19624 2
rfcomm 69160 0
bluetooth 395423 10 bnep,rfcomm
....
So it ought to work out of the box, but it doesn't. My next thought was to compile from source. I go to the 2870 download page (http://www.mediatek.com/en/downloads/rt2870usbrt2870rt2770/), which i believe is the exact version this chipset was built for - although I don't have the manual for this device, so I'm not really sure. Anyway, I download the package, inflate it, modify the following lines in os/linux/config.mk:
HAS_WPA_SUPPLICANT=y
HAS_NATIVE_WPA_SUPPLICANT_SUPPORT=y
Next I ensure that I've got all the right packages
sudo apt-get install build-essential linux-headers-$(uname -r) linux-firmware
And go back to the top level, trying out a "make". It doesn't take long before i hit the first errors:
/home/knetic/Downloads/DPO_RT5572_LinuxSTA_2.6.1.3_20121022/os/linux/../../os/linux/rt_linux.c:1141:20: error: incompatible types when assigning to type ‘int’ from type ‘kuid_t’
pOSFSInfo->fsuid = current_fsuid();
^
/home/knetic/Downloads/DPO_RT5572_LinuxSTA_2.6.1.3_20121022/os/linux/../../os/linux/rt_linux.c:1142:20: error: incompatible types when assigning to type ‘int’ from type ‘kgid_t’
pOSFSInfo->fsgid = current_fsgid();
^
make[2]: *** [/home/knetic/Downloads/DPO_RT5572_LinuxSTA_2.6.1.3_20121022/os/linux/../../os/linux/rt_linux.o] Error 1
make[1]: *** [_module_/home/knetic/Downloads/DPO_RT5572_LinuxSTA_2.6.1.3_20121022/os/linux] Error 2
make[1]: Leaving directory `/usr/src/linux-headers-3.13.0-24-generic'
make: *** [LINUX] Error 2
These errors are present in every version of the source on their site, not a single one of them builds for me. I'll admit that I could probably try to patch them myself, but I'd rather just buy a new device that has drivers which actually work, rather than trying to duct tape this one together.
So now I'm stuck - My stock drivers don't seem to believe that my device is for them, compiling from source seems to require a ton of patches, and nobody else seems to encounter these problems (every search seems to draw up an ocean of people who were able to compile from source).
I appreciate any help, I know this is sorta a niche question with a lot of info in it.