Can't insert rt2800usb module: Invalid argument

Question

I just got an ASUS N13 USB wireless dongle, and unfortunately it's not detected and I can't load it with modprobe:

$ sudo modprobe rt2800usb
WARNING: All config files need .conf: /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist, it will be ignored in a future release.
WARNING: Error inserting rt2x00usb (/lib/modules/3.0.0-14-generic/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/rt2x00/rt2x00usb.ko): Invalid argument
WARNING: Error inserting crc_ccitt (/lib/modules/3.0.0-14-generic/kernel/lib/crc-ccitt.ko): Invalid argument
WARNING: Error inserting rt2800lib (/lib/modules/3.0.0-14-generic/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/rt2x00/rt2800lib.ko): Invalid argument
FATAL: Error inserting rt2800usb (/lib/modules/3.0.0-14-generic/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/rt2x00/rt2800usb.ko): Invalid argument

What's the problem here? I read that this works usually out of the box with Ubuntu 11.10? What can I do to fix this? Is there a package I can reinstall to try and fix things?

Answer 1

There's very little bandwidth for communication between the kernel and insmod or modprobe: the kernel can only choose from a small set of error codes. You'll find more information on what went wrong in the kernel logs; try the dmesg command or look in /var/log/kern.log.

The most common issue is a kernel module that is incompatible with the current kernel, because it's for a different version or used different compilation options. Occasionally you'll run into drivers that try to hook into the same place and prevent each other from loading. Or it could be a bug in the initialization code of the driver you're trying to load.

Answer 2

As it turns out, the experimental b43 driver conflicts with it. I had to unload the driver, blacklist it, then compile the rt2x00 driver from compat-wireless, then install it, and there you go, it worked. Not ideal for switching between the two, but it works, and it's FAST.