Hi.
I posted this on another thread, but thought that someone else might benefit from my experience.
If you are able to follow the process step by step, you'll likely never experience kernel panics due to AirPort issues again. In fact, the net result of this process is that System Profiler no longer recognizes AirPort.
. . .
I have a 1.33 GHz G4 iBook running OS 10.5.8.
This post is a bit involved, so please try to be patient.
As with many G4 iBooks, mine reports kernel panics whenever AirPort Extreme is turned on. In order to fix this, I ordered a Realtek USB Wirless-N LAN Adapter, RTL8188CU. It cost $6.97 (free shipping), came in two days, and works flawlessly. Installation was quick, simple and intuitive.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/290703638623...#ht_3182wt_936
(To make a very long story a bit shorter, I lost irretrievable hours from my life searching for a downloadable driver for this adapter. Realtek inexplicably does not have a specific driver for this part, nor does their web site support Safari for downloading. I was forced to figure out on my own which driver to use.)
A mini CD driver installer came with the part. Rather than purchase an external drive or CD adapter for the disk (I wouldn't attempt inserting the mini CD in my disk drive), I went to Realtek's web site on my iPhone and typed the link into my word processor on my iBook for the driver I deduced would work with my adapter. The working driver is listed under part number RTL8192CU. (Since I didn't use the disk, I cannot vouch for its contents.)
http://www.realtek.com.tw/downloads/...rue#RTL8188CUS
I made sure that AirPort was off. I copied the link above from my word processor. I then opened Firefox and made the above link Firefox's home page by copying and pasting the link. With Firefox still open, and the home page showing as the URL, I opened AirPort. I quickly navigated to the download page. I scrolled about halfway down to part number RTL8192CU. I then scrolled down to "Other" (OS) until I reached "Mac OS 10.5 Install Package". I turned off AirPort as soon as the download was complete in order to avoid a kernel panic and installed the driver. I did not need to be connected to WiFi during configuration.
(The entire process took less than 10 seconds after turning off AirPort, not including installation.)
As above, installation was simple, though it does require a restart. Following restart, the adapter's WiFi Utility appears and guides you through setup and connection.
I then made some changes in the System>Library folder to ensure that AirPort would cause no further problems. I can easily undo these changes in the event that I need a quick get-in/get-out on the Internet using AirPort in the future. (I'd be happy to post these changes for anyone who thinks they may be useful.)
I've seen problems with AirPort for iBooks, and problems with finding drivers for this particular adapter on so many forums that I thought this may be helpful for someone.
PS: As if Realtek doesn't make things difficult enough the part is also listed around the web as GS-27USB-70.