Linksys AE6000 USB Install

[dellaril]

Hello and thank you for your fantastic info you've compiled on various USB's! I am trying to install the Linksys AE6000 USB on a older Dell Precision T3500 running RHEL5. I am not an expert in linux systems, just someone who uses one and occasionally installs drivers here and there using lots of googling (and github) to get me there. My computer does NOT have any internet connection (hence the need for the USB). I do not have the option of plugging in an ethernet cable to the system to get internet (again, the need to purchase the USB). I have to stick with RHEL5 due to some software I'm running.

How did you install this USB? My experience is not plug and play as the CD included drivers cannot be installed because I'm not running on Windows.

I tried installing the MT7610U driver from MediaTek's website, and ran into errors compiling.

https://www.mediatek.com/products/broadband-wifi/mt7610u

More info about my system: uname -r yields 2.6.18-128-el5

Any advice on how you installed would be greatly appreciated.

P.S. If this is really not a good choice for a USB given the above info, I'd be interested in hearing what other options you think might be better.

Thank you!

[bd4]

That RHEL5 is very very old - given your kernel version, that is from 2009, so 13 years old. Getting the driver to build on such an old kernel would be no small task.

My advice is to install a modern Linux distro, something like Fedora 36 XFCE spin or Ubuntu MATE (could for old hardware), and run RHEL5 in a VM, with something like Gnome boxes, virtualbox, or in a podman/docker container, e.g. with distrobox.

[morrownr]

Hi @dellaril

I'm going to give you basically the same answer that @bd4 did but maybe with a wrinkle here and there.

2.6.18-128-el5

This kernel pre-dates WWII and the mods that Red Hat makes to their kernels would make backporting the current in-kernel driver something that none of us have the time or desire to do.

I tried to figure out what hardware we are looking at but the information on the Dell Precision T3500 made it look more modern that the version of RHEL that is installed so if you could clear that up, it would help.

My suggestion:

• computers can have more than one operating system installed. You can leave the RHEL installed and install a modern distro such as Xubuntu 22.04 LTS in a dual boot configuration. The usb adapter you bought would work in Xubuntu in a plug and play manner as the driver is in-kernel. If you need to boot back to RHEL, simply do so. It would not have internet but you don't want that very old unsupported version of RHEL anywhere near the internet.

If you need help with Xubuntu, we can do that. In fact, you could burn a copy of Xubuntu onto a flash driver and boot your Dell and try it out...the adapter will even work booted from the flash driver.

Give us more details about the hardware and what you are trying to do and we might come up with more ideas.