Cannot Get Wireless Working (Desktop/Laptop)

To whom it may concern,

I've been working with Linux now for quite a few months , but I'm having a problem getting wireless to work on my desktops and laptops.  I've looked at other forums and it seems to be the norm.  Are there plans on how to fix this or am I missing something.  Please advise how to get my wireless cards in my desktop to work in Linux and my wireless adapter in my laptop.  Thanks in advance.

P.S.  Laptop is a Sony Viao with a Atheros wireless adapter and my desktop wireless cards Netgear's WG311.  Again thanks.

Ok, can you tell us which distribution you are running?

If you're on Ubuntu then I wouldn't expect you to have any problems .. we generally use NEC laptops here and have both Wireless and 3G working quite happily ...

What method are you trying to use to make your connection ... ?

Previously Gareth Bult wrote:

Ok, can you tell us which distribution you are running?

If you're on Ubuntu then I wouldn't expect you to have any problems .. we generally use NEC laptops here and have both Wireless and 3G working quite happily ...

What method are you trying to use to make your connection ... ?

Ok Gareth,

I'm running Fedora 8 and will upgrade this weekend to 9.  I've been trying to load "Madwifi" and got the instructions off another site, but getting an error about the "KERNELPATH".  I looked into the file and it says that there is a broken file.  I don't know how that happened or is that normal but I hope the upgrade fixes that.  If you could give me step by step instructions on how to install Madwifi that would be great.  Once I get that on the system I hope my wireless works with all the other things I'm going to do.  Thanks in advance for your help.

P.S.  By the way, I'm a windows sysadmin, but preparing for the Linux + exam and get some more experience and a possible Linux Sysadmin job in the future.  Any help you can give on that subject would be appreciated also.  Peace for now.

Hi,

Fedora "should" be supporting the "NetworkManager" system which is actually a Redhat development, this is also the system currently employed by Ubuntu - so you should be using the same GUI stuff as we are.

Unfortunately Sony aren't "great" when it comes to Linux compatibility and getting Atheros hardware to work has historically been .. interesting. Do you know which chipset (specifically) you have in the box?

IF it's a 9821 based interface;

Apparently Atheros as released their own Linux driver for the 9821 card, but it's relatively new so I'm not sure whether it's available in the stock Fedora kernel just yet. If/when it is, NetworkManager should just pick up the card and manage it for you.

So (!) if you try the most recent version of Fedora and get no joy, then I would recommend holding out until Fedora bring out a kernel with the driver built in .. alternatively you can try downloading the most recent kernel source and compiling it up yourself, if you're feeling adventourous ... ;-)

hth

Previously Michael J. Campbell wrote:

Previously Gareth Bult wrote:

Ok, can you tell us which distribution you are running?

If you're on Ubuntu then I wouldn't expect you to have any problems .. we generally use NEC laptops here and have both Wireless and 3G working quite happily ...

What method are you trying to use to make your connection ... ?

Ok Gareth,

I'm running Fedora 8 and will upgrade this weekend to 9.  I've been trying to load "Madwifi" and got the instructions off another site, but getting an error about the "KERNELPATH".  I looked into the file and it says that there is a broken file.  I don't know how that happened or is that normal but I hope the upgrade fixes that.  If you could give me step by step instructions on how to install Madwifi that would be great.  Once I get that on the system I hope my wireless works with all the other things I'm going to do.  Thanks in advance for your help.

P.S.  By the way, I'm a windows sysadmin, but preparing for the Linux + exam and get some more experience and a possible Linux Sysadmin job in the future.  Any help you can give on that subject would be appreciated also.  Peace for now.

 

Thanks for the help Gareth.  I've put on Ubuntu and still got no joy; so the comment that you said about Sony is probably correct.  Now I'll have to search for a laptop that will let me use wireless.  Any suggestions?  I'm not that savvy yet to try and build my own kernel or develope it as you said.  Maybe with more time and work with Linux I will.  How did you get so knowledgeable about Linux and how long have you been at this?  Would love any help you can give me to get where you are.  Reading one Linux book now, but it'll take a few to get out of the novice stage.  I really want to get deep into this as I see it taking over Microsoft and being the O/S of choice in the near future.  Again, thanks and hope to hear from you soon.  Peace for now. 

Mike

Mmm, I started in 1991 and have been running my business on it since 1994 .. :)

My first version of Linux didn't have hard disk support and ran only off floppy disk. The hard disk driver was a huge boost .. and when Linus added TCP/IP .. well, I was sold .. :) In those days (!) the only option was to compile the kernel from source, so it was get your hands dirty, pay a four figure sum for SCO, or use Windows. No such thing as a distribution at that time, I think my first real installation CD came from Yggdrasil .. anyone remember "Yggdrasil Linux"?

The most common (?) laptop wireless chipset(s) are the Intel ones (or at least these are the ones I come across most frequently). These seem to work fine "out of the box" on Linux and have for many years. If in doubt, wander into PC world with an Ubuntu CD and ask them if you can boot up the laptop you fancy off an Ubuntu Live CD prior to purchasing it .. and see if it recognises the WiFi.

I used to love Sony laptops and pre-2003 had one myself although I used to use Windows on it. However (!) unlike many other vendors (IBM, Dell, NEC to name a few) Sony don't seem to have made too much of an effort with regards to Linux .. although the recent Atheros driver does look like a positive development.

I'm hearing lots of good things about the Asus Eee PC (is that the right number of E's?) , models vary between £199 and £350 and come with WiFi supporting Linux pre-installed. I'm tempted as my NEC is now 5 years old .. however it still runs Ubuntu quite nicely, supports Compiz graphical effects and gives me 3.5 hours usage off the battery, so I don't really have a good excuse to replace it .. :(

Previously Gareth Bult wrote:

Mmm, I started in 1991 and have been running my business on it since 1994 .. :)

My first version of Linux didn't have hard disk support and ran only off floppy disk. The hard disk driver was a huge boost .. and when Linus added TCP/IP .. well, I was sold .. :) In those days (!) the only option was to compile the kernel from source, so it was get your hands dirty, pay a four figure sum for SCO, or use Windows. No such thing as a distribution at that time, I think my first real installation CD came from Yggdrasil .. anyone remember "Yggdrasil Linux"?

The most common (?) laptop wireless chipset(s) are the Intel ones (or at least these are the ones I come across most frequently). These seem to work fine "out of the box" on Linux and have for many years. If in doubt, wander into PC world with an Ubuntu CD and ask them if you can boot up the laptop you fancy off an Ubuntu Live CD prior to purchasing it .. and see if it recognises the WiFi.

I used to love Sony laptops and pre-2003 had one myself although I used to use Windows on it. However (!) unlike many other vendors (IBM, Dell, NEC to name a few) Sony don't seem to have made too much of an effort with regards to Linux .. although the recent Atheros driver does look like a positive development.

I'm hearing lots of good things about the Asus Eee PC (is that the right number of E's?) , models vary between £199 and £350 and come with WiFi supporting Linux pre-installed. I'm tempted as my NEC is now 5 years old .. however it still runs Ubuntu quite nicely, supports Compiz graphical effects and gives me 3.5 hours usage off the battery, so I don't really have a good excuse to replace it .. :(

Gareth,

I've looked at a Lenovo Thinkpad R61e/R61i and they both use intel wireless adapters.  Thinking of getting one of these so that I can use it on my wireless network and able to move around the house and study with it when I'm out.  I appreciate the help and all the advise you've given me and I'd like to know if you can give me your personal email address and I'll give you mine.  I know you are a busy person, but like I said before I want to get to where you are as far as knowledge and experience with Linux.  My email address is knomike@gmail.com.  Finally, I've loaded Ubuntu on one of my desktops and it recognizes my wireless adapter (Belkin), but it doesnt allow me to connect to my router.  Everything looks good the driver has loaded I presume, but when I get to the screen to connect to my wireless network, the connect box is  grayed out but all the other info is there.  Whats the problem with this oh great master.  Hope to hear from you soon.  Peace for now.

Ok, connecting up wireless networks simply isn't fun. You need to get a number of ducks in a row before it's going to play ball .. for example;

• Which frequency slot are you using on the router? (typically 1-10 or 1-12)
  
• Which specific wireless protocol are you using? (8011g etc ?)
• What sort of encryption are you using, 64 hex, 128 hex, 64 string etc .. ?

If it's not letting you connect, then there's a very high probability that there is a mismatch between your router settings and your Linux settings .. this is all basic wifi, not Linux specific. To get started, turn off everything encryption-wise on your router, pick a 64 bit hex key and work from there.

You will find on the NetworkManager preferences this information can be entered.

 I would however strongly recommend for the solution in question you do not use WiFi. Generally WiFi is subject to interference, poor speeds, doors, walls etc etc. Unless you live in a cardboard box there's always the potential for problems. (and of course it's yet another source of microwave radiation in your home, something one can generally do without!)

 Instead (!) I use ethernet-over-power. My setup runs at 85Mb/sec although you can get faster, typically £100 buys you three adapters .. plug one adapter into the wall by the router, then plug an ethernet cable into the adapter, and the other end into your ADSL router or switch.

Then take another adapter, plug in into the wall next to your laptop, plug an ethernet cable from the adapter to your laptop .. power up the laptop and run.

ZERO configuration.

There are a number of brands, personally I buy from a firm called "HomePlug". I won't quote the URL but google should turn it up fairly easily of you're interested.

(I would *never* recommend WiFi to anyone who needs to ask, there are too many easier alternatives)

Anyone who tells you it's slow, laggy, or unreliable, feel free to get them to meet me on "Gears of War" or "Tour of Duty 4" and I'll kick their arse. (this is how I connect my Xbox 360 to the net)

Unless you want to pay for commercial support, I recommend you post here rather than emailing me ..

 :)

 Just as a matter of interest, I've not had cause to use WiFi for a while .. I have a 3G broadband connection with "3" which costs me £5 a month for 1G of traffic .. generally means you can sit anywhere instead of having to find a starbucks .. (!)

Previously Michael J. Campbell wrote:

Previously Gareth Bult wrote:

Mmm, I started in 1991 and have been running my business on it since 1994 .. :)

My first version of Linux didn't have hard disk support and ran only off floppy disk. The hard disk driver was a huge boost .. and when Linus added TCP/IP .. well, I was sold .. :) In those days (!) the only option was to compile the kernel from source, so it was get your hands dirty, pay a four figure sum for SCO, or use Windows. No such thing as a distribution at that time, I think my first real installation CD came from Yggdrasil .. anyone remember "Yggdrasil Linux"?

The most common (?) laptop wireless chipset(s) are the Intel ones (or at least these are the ones I come across most frequently). These seem to work fine "out of the box" on Linux and have for many years. If in doubt, wander into PC world with an Ubuntu CD and ask them if you can boot up the laptop you fancy off an Ubuntu Live CD prior to purchasing it .. and see if it recognises the WiFi.

I used to love Sony laptops and pre-2003 had one myself although I used to use Windows on it. However (!) unlike many other vendors (IBM, Dell, NEC to name a few) Sony don't seem to have made too much of an effort with regards to Linux .. although the recent Atheros driver does look like a positive development.

I'm hearing lots of good things about the Asus Eee PC (is that the right number of E's?) , models vary between £199 and £350 and come with WiFi supporting Linux pre-installed. I'm tempted as my NEC is now 5 years old .. however it still runs Ubuntu quite nicely, supports Compiz graphical effects and gives me 3.5 hours usage off the battery, so I don't really have a good excuse to replace it .. :(

Gareth,

I've looked at a Lenovo Thinkpad R61e/R61i and they both use intel wireless adapters.  Thinking of getting one of these so that I can use it on my wireless network and able to move around the house and study with it when I'm out.  I appreciate the help and all the advise you've given me and I'd like to know if you can give me your personal email address and I'll give you mine.  I know you are a busy person, but like I said before I want to get to where you are as far as knowledge and experience with Linux.  My email address is knomike@gmail.com.  Finally, I've loaded Ubuntu on one of my desktops and it recognizes my wireless adapter (Belkin), but it doesnt allow me to connect to my router.  Everything looks good the driver has loaded I presume, but when I get to the screen to connect to my wireless network, the connect box is  grayed out but all the other info is there.  Whats the problem with this oh great master.  Hope to hear from you soon.  Peace for now.