Greetings. I am presently experiencing a problen in not being able to use my new Compaq CQ61 laptop's wireless communications circuitry. I found a posting from a year ago at http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=7717667 that describes the problem with another model of the CQ61 and gives a solution, which involves installing a package called "linux-backports-modules-jaunty," which I can't find, and probably doesn't apply to newer versions of Ubuntu Linux anyway. I can't get wireless to work under Ubuntu 1.04, Mint9 and Debian 5.04 (all 64 bit versions), but it works fine under Knoppix and Win7, so I know it's not a simple hardware issue.

I'm wondering whether finding a more recent version of this package could be expected to fix the problem also, or if "all bets are off" at this point. I did find something called "linux-backports-modules-wireless-2.6.32-24-generic," but it fails to install, apparently due dpkg not liking the downloaded module (see http://pastebin.ca/1943245 for the details of what happens when I try doing that installation).

Has anyone heard of this problem, and/or does someone maybe have any suggestions for approaching it?

Thanks much in advance!

[ Thanks to TobiSGD for alerting me to the fact that I had the wireless device turned off when I ran a few commands to produce an earlier version of what's shown below. I have now turned it on, re-run those commands and edited my original posting accordingly. It took me a few tries to get things right, so apologies if you saw an earlier incomplete rendition. ]

Further to my original posting, I have just found a thread in the "Linux - Newbie" forum at http://tinyurl.com/3yq4cwg in which senior member schneidz says (07-23-10, 10:01 AM) that it's useful to provide information obtained from looking at a few files and running several commands. Here are my answers to those questions...

"iwconfig" produces:

| lo no wireless extensions.
|
| eth0 no wireless extensions.
|
| wlan0 IEEE 802.11bgn ESSIDff/any
| Mode:Managed Access Point: Not-Associated Tx-Power=off
| Retry long limit:7 RTS thrff Fragment thrff
| Power Managementff

"lspci" says:

| 00:00.0 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] RS780 Host Bridge Alternate
| 00:01.0 PCI bridge: Hewlett-Packard Company Device 9602
| 00:05.0 PCI bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] RS780 PCI to PCI bridge (PCIE port 1)
| 00:06.0 PCI bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] RS780 PCI to PCI bridge (PCIE port 2)
| 00:11.0 SATA controller: ATI Technologies Inc SB700/SB800 SATA Controller [AHCI mode]
| 00:12.0 USB Controller: ATI Technologies Inc SB700/SB800 USB OHCI0 Controller
| 00:12.1 USB Controller: ATI Technologies Inc SB700 USB OHCI1 Controller
| | wlan0 IEEE 802.11bgn ESSIDff/any
| 00:12.2 USB Controller: ATI Technologies Inc SB700/SB800 USB EHCI Controller
| 00:13.0 USB Controller: ATI Technologies Inc SB700/SB800 USB OHCI0 Controller
| 00:13.1 USB Controller: ATI Technologies Inc SB700 USB OHCI1 Controller
| 00:13.2 USB Controller: ATI Technologies Inc SB700/SB800 USB EHCI Controller
| 00:14.0 SMBus: ATI Technologies Inc SBx00 SMBus Controller (rev 3c)
| 00:14.2 Audio device: ATI Technologies Inc SBx00 Azalia (Intel HDA)
| 00:14.3 ISA bridge: ATI Technologies Inc SB700/SB800 LPC host controller
| 00:14.4 PCI bridge: ATI Technologies Inc SBx00 PCI to PCI Bridge
| 00:18.0 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] K10 [Opteron, Athlon64, Sempron] HyperTransport Configuration
| 00:18.1 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] K10 [Opteron, Athlon64, Sempron] Address Map
| 00:18.2 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] K10 [Opteron, Athlon64, Sempron] DRAM Controller
| 00:18.3 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] K10 [Opteron, Athlon64, Sempron] Miscellaneous Control
| 00:18.4 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] K10 [Opteron, Athlon64, Sempron] Link Control
| 01:05.0 VGA compatible controller: ATI Technologies Inc M880G [Mobility Radeon HD 4200]
| 02:00.0 Network controller: Atheros Communications Inc. AR9285 Wireless Network Adapter (PCI-Express) (rev 01)
| 03:00.0 Ethernet controller: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL8101E/RTL8102E PCI Express Fast Ethernet controller (rev 02)


lsusb:

| Bus 006 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
| Bus 005 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
| Bus 004 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
| Bus 003 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
| Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
| Bus 001 Device 003: ID 046d:c517 Logitech, Inc. LX710 Cordless Desktop Laser
| Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub

ifconfig:

| eth0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:26:9e:bf:c1:1d
| inet addr:192.168.2.12 Bcast:192.168.2.255 Mask:255.255.255.0
| inet6 addr: fe80::226:9eff:febf:c11d/64 Scope:Link
| UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1
| RX packets:8918904 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
| TX packets:7194461 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
| collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
| RX bytes:10896896641 (10.8 GB) TX bytes:1614876717 (1.6 GB)
| Interrupt:27 Base address:0x2000
|
| lo Link encap:Local Loopback
| inet addr:127.0.0.1 Mask:255.0.0.0
| inet6 addr: ::1/128 Scope:Host
| UP LOOPBACK RUNNING MTU:16436 Metric:1
| RX packets:929734 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
| TX packets:929734 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
| collisions:0 txqueuelen:0
| RX bytes:11629535731 (11.6 GB) TX bytes:11629535731 (11.6 GB)
|
| wlan0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 90:4c:e5:37:e2:c5
| UP BROADCAST MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1
| RX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
| TX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
| collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
| RX bytes:0 (0.0 B) TX bytes:0 (0.0 B)
|
| wlan0:avahi Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 90:4c:e5:37:e2:c5
| inet addr:169.254.11.29 Bcast:169.254.255.255 Mask:255.255.0.0
| UP BROADCAST MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1

ifconfig -a:

| eth0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:26:9e:bf:c1:1d
| inet addr:192.168.2.12 Bcast:192.168.2.255 Mask:255.255.255.0
| inet6 addr: fe80::226:9eff:febf:c11d/64 Scope:Link
| UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1
| RX packets:8920635 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
| TX packets:7196588 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
| collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
| RX bytes:10897146449 (10.8 GB) TX bytes:1616088591 (1.6 GB)
| Interrupt:27 Base address:0x2000
|
| lo Link encap:Local Loopback
| inet addr:127.0.0.1 Mask:255.0.0.0
| inet6 addr: ::1/128 Scope:Host
| UP LOOPBACK RUNNING MTU:16436 Metric:1
| RX packets:930486 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
| TX packets:930486 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
| collisions:0 txqueuelen:0
| RX bytes:11638366706 (11.6 GB) TX bytes:11638366706 (11.6 GB)
|
| wlan0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 90:4c:e5:37:e2:c5
| UP BROADCAST MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1
| RX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
| TX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
| collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
| RX bytes:0 (0.0 B) TX bytes:0 (0.0 B)
|
| wlan0:avahi Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 90:4c:e5:37:e2:c5
| inet addr:169.254.11.29 Bcast:169.254.255.255 Mask:255.255.0.0
| UP BROADCAST MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1

the output of "iwlist wlan0 scan" is fairly long, so it's at http://pastebin.ca/1945985 .

"dhclient" (with the appropriate SSID) says:

| Internet Systems Consortium DHCP Client V3.1.3
| Copyright 2004-2009 Internet Systems Consortium.
| All rights reserved.
| For info, please visit https://www.isc.org/software/dhcp/
|
| Listening on LPF/wlan0/90:4c:e5:37:e2:c5
| Sending on LPF/wlan0/90:4c:e5:37:e2:c5
| Listening on LPF/eth0/00:26:9e:bf:c1:1d
| Sending on LPF/eth0/00:26:9e:bf:c1:1d
| Sending on Socket/fallback
| DHCPDISCOVER on wlan0 to 255.255.255.255 port 67 interval 8
| DHCPDISCOVER on eth0 to 255.255.255.255 port 67 interval 5
| DHCPOFFER of 192.168.2.12 from 192.168.2.1
| DHCPREQUEST of 192.168.2.12 on eth0 to 255.255.255.255 port 67
| DHCPACK of 192.168.2.12 from 192.168.2.1
| bound to 192.168.2.12 -- renewal in 2147483648 seconds.

/etc/network/interfaces contains:

| # The loopback network interface
| auto lo
| iface lo inet loopback
|
| # The primary network interface
| allow-hotplug eth0
| iface eth0 inet dhcp

/etc/resolv.conf:

| nameserver 192.168.2.1

"lsmod" gives a bunch of output. But since I don't know which bit is relevant for our purposes, I'll omit it for now.

I hope this info helps. Please let me know if there is anything else I can do to provide more details and/or point me to sources of what might be useful in the way of background reading.

Thanks much!

There is no wireless device found in the output of lspci and lsusb. Is there a switch to turn wireless off?

Ah - silly me! Indeed there is. I've just turned on the device and the wireless feature of my router and re-run the commands above. I amended my posting accordingly.

BTW, I have mixed feelings about wireless routers and mobile phones and have collected a fair bit of information about the dangers of both. The latest discovery I've made comes in the form of an interesting short news documentary (about ten minutes) played recently on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's "The National" nightly TV news program. It talks about children being especially vulnerable to the radiation emitted by wireless routers and looks at a couple of cases of children becoming ill at school (headaches, nausea and other symptoms).

The video report is at http://cbc.ca/thenational/blog/2010/...e-worried.html .

Hello again. I just discovered a Linux Mint forum (I'm running Mint9) and have posted a slightly amended version of what I posted here yesterday to http://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopi...320724#p320724 . I added some info to the post, based on a rule there that something called "mintwifi," which probes the device and provides more info, must be run before posting. I'm supplying that info below, in case anyone here would find it helpful.

If I get an answer in that forum, I'll post it here, and vice-versa.

Thanks again!

"mintwifi" produces (run with wifi enabled, but with an Ethernet
cable plugged into my router and wifi turned off on the router,
though it was enabled):

lo no wireless extensions.

eth0 no wireless extensions.

wlan0 IEEE 802.11bgn ESSIDff/any
Mode:Managed Access Point: Not-Associated Tx-Power=20 dBm
Retry long limit:7 RTS thrff Fragment thrff
Encryption keyff
Power Managementff

eth0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:26:9e:bf:c1:1d
inet6 addr: fe80::226:9eff:febf:c11d/64 Scope:Link
UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1
RX packets:198573 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:304369 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
RX bytes:106730371 (106.7 MB) TX bytes:292321135 (292.3 MB)
Interrupt:27

lo Link encap:Local Loopback
inet addr:127.0.0.1 Mask:255.0.0.0
inet6 addr: ::1/128 Scope:Host
UP LOOPBACK RUNNING MTU:16436 Metric:1
RX packets:3845 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:3845 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:0
RX bytes:284096 (284.0 KB) TX bytes:284096 (284.0 KB)

wlan0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 90:4c:e5:37:e2:c5
UP BROADCAST MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1
RX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
RX bytes:0 (0.0 B) TX bytes:0 (0.0 B)

Internet Systems Consortium DHCP Client V3.1.3
Copyright 2004-2009 Internet Systems Consortium.
All rights reserved.
For info, please visit https://www.isc.org/software/dhcp/

Listening on LPF/wlan0/90:4c:e5:37:e2:c5
Sending on LPF/wlan0/90:4c:e5:37:e2:c5
Listening on LPF/eth0/00:26:9e:bf:c1:1d
Sending on LPF/eth0/00:26:9e:bf:c1:1d
Sending on Socket/fallback
DHCPREQUEST of 192.168.2.12 on eth0 to 255.255.255.255 port 67
DHCPDISCOVER on wlan0 to 255.255.255.255 port 67 interval 6
DHCPACK of 192.168.2.12 from 192.168.2.1
bound to 192.168.2.12 -- renewal in 2147483648 seconds.
Server: 192.168.2.1
Address: 192.168.2.1#53

Non-authoritative answer:
Name: google.com
Address: 173.194.34.104

-------------------------
* I. scanning WIFI PCI devices...
-- Atheros Communications Inc. AR9285 Wireless Network Adapter (PCI-Express) (rev 01)
==> PCI ID = 168c:002b (rev 01)
-------------------------
* II. querying ndiswrapper...
-------------------------
* III. querying iwconfig...
-------------------------
* IV. querying ifconfig...
-------------------------
* V. querying DHCP...
-------------------------
* VI. querying nslookup google.com...

The problem is now solved, thanks to the assistance of Marco Braida, who replied to a copy of this posting I placed in an Ubuntu forum:

https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+question/126770/

Please see that forum for a description of the procedure I followed, which Marco suggested. Just after the problem was solved, another mostly-unrelated one emerged, which is described toward the end of the thread. However that issue was ancillary to my main problem, though it was quite vexing while it lasted.