Alfa usb wifi problems

Hello everyone, i am new to linux and backtrack but quite proficient with technology. I just set up my dual boot system and acquired an alfa usb wireless adapter. My internal wireless adapter has already been deemed wlan0 leaving my alfa card as wlan1. But, for some reason when I try, iwlist wlan1 scanning, it comes back with no results saying that the interface doesn't support this...

I tried googling the problem but didn't find much so i decided to come here. Any help would be appreciated, thanks.

First of all, be preparted for some serious study :) Diving headfirst into backtrack if you're new to linux is a big step. What alfa card do you have? The AWUS036H works nicely with BackTrack out-of-the-box. I'd disable your internal wireless before booting BT. Since you're new to Linux & BackTrack, this will help reduce possible problems. Rather than use iwlist, use one of the tools in the BT distro for wireless stuff...aircrack suite, kismet, etc. They will take full advantage of your card.

Hello and thank you for the reply! I also have the AWUS036H and I am ready for a lot of research, I just really want to learn this stuff and I figure there is no better way than diving into it. Right now I am posting this from my windows computer so i will try the aircrack etc. when i reboot. However, I also noticed that when I use the iwconfig command, my alfa card shows up as 0db but it shows the right mac. Could my card be defective?

I don't have my card right now, so I can't see what mine says. Start Kismet, point it to your Alfa card, and see if you can get some packets. As I mentioned earlier, be prepared to study :) How are your networking skills? Can you explain ARP, difference between a router & a switch, DHCP, DNS, etc? Having a good understanding of networking in general, and TCP/IP will help a lot.