loadndisdriver
ndiswrapper helper that loads Windows NDIS drivers into the kernel module
TLDR
SYNOPSIS
loadndisdriver -vloadndisdriver command debug version arguments...
DESCRIPTION
loadndisdriver is a low-level helper from ndiswrapper, installed in /sbin. It is not meant to be run by hand: the ndiswrapper kernel module invokes it as a usermode helper when a matching device is found, and it reads the driver files that ndiswrapper -i installed under /etc/ndiswrapper/driver and passes them to the module through the /dev/ndiswrapper ioctl device.Drivers are installed, listed and removed with the ndiswrapper command; loadndisdriver only performs the loading step.
PARAMETERS
-v, --version
Print the utilities version and exit.load_device debug version vendor device subvendor subdevice bus
Load the configuration for a device identified by hexadecimal PCI/USB IDs.load_driver debug version driver conffile_
Load the Windows driver files (.sys, .conf) for driver from /etc/ndiswrapper.load_bin_file debug version driver file
Load an additional binary firmware file used by a driver.debug
Debug level (0 or higher); messages go to syslog.version
Utilities version expected by the kernel module; a mismatch aborts loading.
CAVEATS
The loadndisdriver version must match the loaded ndiswrapper kernel module. Windows drivers must match the kernel architecture (32-bit drivers for 32-bit kernels, 64-bit for 64-bit). ndiswrapper only supports old Windows XP-era NDIS 5 drivers, is no longer actively developed, and does not build against recent kernels without patches; native Linux drivers are strongly preferred.
HISTORY
loadndisdriver ships with ndiswrapper, started by Pontus Fuchs and Giridhar Pemmasani in 2003 to run Windows wireless drivers on Linux when no native driver existed. The last release, 1.63, dates from 2020.
SEE ALSO
ndiswrapper(8), modprobe(8), lspci(8), lsusb(8)
