and i want to turn moniter mode on...

im sorry if the way im saying things is leading you to the wrong idea... i do have internet... the thing that i want is when going to wicd network manager to be able to see wireless networks...

Mason,
First of all, to answer your question, my physical computer is running windows... and you said something about ndiswrapper.
I dont know what that is. Can you tell me what i have to do?....

Ok, i just installed backtrack 5r1 gnome on vmware. I bought a netgear wg111v3 usb adapter to use with backtrack. Throughout the 16 hours ive wasted on this topic ive noticed you have to be able to see wlan0 in "ifconfig" and "iwconfig"
to be able to see wireless networks around you... how do i do this... PLEASE PROVIDE SIMPLE!!! STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS... I am very new to the linux envoironment...AS MUCH DETAIL AS POSSIBLE... PLEASE AND THANK YOU