[SOLVED] Multiple boot, 2 OS wireless one defies access

texas.chef94 · 09-16-2011, 07:18 AM

My only interest is getting on line with that one OS that does not recognize my network.
Please I want to connect my Ethernet cable to a wireless router that will get dreamlinux on line and still be able to go wireless with win 7 and Ubuntu 10.04.
To clarify my reason DL forums moderators have tried everything to no avail.
Note when I plug in the Ethernet cable I get immediate recognition in Ubuntu, but zilch in DL
Please advise and thanks

PatrickDickey · 09-16-2011, 07:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by texas.chef94

My only interest is getting on line with that one OS that does not recognize my network.
Please I want to connect my Ethernet cable to a wireless router that will get dreamlinux on line and still be able to go wireless with win 7 and Ubuntu 10.04.
To clarify my reason DL forums moderators have tried everything to no avail.
Note when I plug in the Ethernet cable I get immediate recognition in Ubuntu, but zilch in DL
Please advise and thanks

Hi there texas.chef94,

I have a few questions (some of which may not make sense, but trust me when I say there's a method to my madness).

1. How many computers are you working with (if it's more than one, please refer to them as PC1 and PC2 etc)?
2. What Operating Systems are on each computer (if you have more than one, I mean)?
Does the computer that's running Dreamlinux have both wired and wireless networking?
3. Am I understanding correctly, that you can get online with Windows 7 and Ubuntu, but not Dreamlinux?
4. What version of Dreamlinux are you using?
5. Do you have an external drive at all that you can move between the three operating systems(thumb drive or anything)? (this is a method to my madness question. ;-) )

If you have a thumb drive, or if you can save a file to a location that all three operating systems can access, then here's what will help out a lot.

Open a command prompt on the computer/operating system that doesn't get networking, and type the following commands:

Code:

sudo lshw >> ~/hardware.txt

Code:

dmesg >> ~/dmesg.txt

Code:

ifconfig >> ~/ifconfig.txt

Code:

sudo lspci -v >> ~/lspci.txt

What these commands will do is copy the output to the .txt file in your home/username directory. So, you probably won't see anything for a second, and then you'll just get a new prompt. You can view the files using any text editor that you have available.

Copy those to a location that you can access from whichever operating system you're using now, and then paste them in a reply. Please put them inside CODE/CODE tags (the # button in your editor or [CODE ] and [/CODE ] without spaces before the ]).

Have a great day

Patrick.

texas.chef94 · 09-16-2011, 08:23 AM

Hi there texas.chef94,
And hello to you as well and am blown away at both quick response and detail. Because I am 80 and no longer sharpest
knife in drawer I will answer your questions and ask a few as well.

I have a few questions (some of which may not make sense, but trust me when I say there's a method to my madness).

1. How many computers are you working with (if it's more than one, please refer to them as PC1 and PC2 etc)?
PC1 is mine close to router (wireless 2 wire ATT) and Spouse is PC2 75 feet away from router
2. What Operating Systems are on each computer (if you have more than one, I mean)?
PC1 has win 7, Ubuntu 10.04 and DL 3.5. PC2 has win 7 only
Does the computer that's running Dreamlinux have both wired and wireless networking?
PC1 in win 7 and Ubuntu connect wirelessly, no problem. dreamlinux 3.5 does not get on line at all and does not recognize Ethernet cable at all, but
Ubuntu does recognize auto ethO
3. Am I understanding correctly, that you can get online with Windows 7 and Ubuntu, but not Dreamlinux? YES
4. What version of Dreamlinux are you using? 3.5
5. Do you have an external drive at all that you can move between the three operating systems(thumb drive or anything)? (this is a method to my madness question. ;-) ) I have a 1GB USB yes

If you have a thumb drive, or if you can save a file to a location that all three operating systems can access, then here's what will help out a lot.

Open a command prompt on the computer/operating system that doesn't get networking, and type the following commands:
Pardon my dumb a-- but I thought an OX needed to be on line to operate terminal, but I will do except I await the explanation on the {code] and /code, you lost me there

Code:

sudo lshw >> ~/hardware.txt

Code:

dmesg >> ~/dmesg.txt

Code:

ifconfig >> ~/ifconfig.txt

Code:

sudo lspci -v >> ~/lspci.txt

What these commands will do is copy the output to the .txt file in your home/username directory. So, you probably won't see anything for a second, and then you'll just get a new prompt. You can view the files using any text editor that you have available.

Copy those to a location that you can access from whichever operating system you're using now, and then paste them in a reply. Please put them inside CODE/CODE tags (the # button in your editor or [CODE ] and [/CODE ] without spaces before the ]).

Have a great day
Patrick.

texas.chef94 · 09-16-2011, 08:36 AM

You might elaborate as well on those txt arguments following code. I assume has to do with text editor which mean I need to install same in DL before continuing

PatrickDickey · 09-16-2011, 09:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by texas.chef94

Hi there texas.chef94,
And hello to you as well and am blown away at both quick response and detail. Because I am 80 and no longer sharpest
knife in drawer I will answer your questions and ask a few as well.

I have a few questions (some of which may not make sense, but trust me when I say there's a method to my madness).

Open a command prompt on the computer/operating system that doesn't get networking, and type the following commands:
Pardon my dumb a-- but I thought an OX needed to be on line to operate terminal, but I will do except I await the explanation on the {code] and /code, you lost me there

Code:

sudo lshw >> ~/hardware.txt

Code:

dmesg >> ~/dmesg.txt

Code:

ifconfig >> ~/ifconfig.txt

Code:

sudo lspci -v >> ~/lspci.txt

Have a great day
Patrick.

Be warned, I'm going to throw a lot at you in this reply. Just take it piece by piece, and if you have questions PLEASE ask before you try anything. If I don't answer quickly, it's because I went to bed (I work third shift, so it's "late night" for me at 9:00 am)... Don't worry about asking, because I'd rather you ask something than try it and mess things up completely.

So, here we go...

Ok, the quick explanation is this. If you noticed the codes that I wanted you to type were in boxes (you can copy and paste them from the boxes to a .txt file and save that to your thumb drive, then copy and paste from it to the terminal window). To do that, you either click on the button in your editor that looks like a #, or you can type {CODE} and {/CODE} (replace my {} with [] though. I couldn't type the correct commands without it making a code box) around the text from the files.

The reason for this is because if you copy and paste the results into your reply, they're hard to read (and it will make your reply extremely long).. Using the code tags puts the text into a box, which makes it easier to read.

As an aside, in doing a search for "Configuring Networking in Dreamlinux 3.5", I found one of your other posts (http://nixcraft.com/networking-firew...nux-3-5-a.html. To answer the last part of your question, no. It shouldn't mess up the wireless. In fact, the laptop that I'm using right now has both a wired and wireless connection running to the same router. I use one for my regular network, and the other for a virtual machine.

Here is a tutorial on DreamLinux (I chose Page 2, because he activates a wired ethernet connection on this page). You could try following his steps, with the exception of not choosing to manually configure the network (you should have the option of "Activate Automatic Network -- enable wired (Default)".

If you want to manually configure your network, here's what you do:

Assuming you're on your Ubuntu operating system, you open a Terminal and type ifconfig and press Enter. Look for the eth0 output. It should look something like this:

Code:

eth0      Link encap:Ethernet  HWaddr 00:a0:d1:5c:bb:cd  
          inet addr:192.168.2.8  Bcast:192.168.2.255  Mask:255.255.255.0
          inet6 addr: 2001:470:1f11:830:2a0:d1ff:fe5c:bbcd/64 Scope:Global
          inet6 addr: fe80::2a0:d1ff:fe5c:bbcd/64 Scope:Link
          UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST  MTU:1500  Metric:1
          RX packets:718454 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:448628 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000 
          RX bytes:813697907 (813.6 MB)  TX bytes:44782779 (44.7 MB)
          Interrupt:20 Base address:0xa000

The number (with .'s) in inet addr: goes into the "Address" box on Dreamlinux (So for me, it would be 192.168.2.8).

The number in Mask: goes in Netmask (for me, it's 255.255.255.0)

The number that goes in "Gateway" will be the same as your inet addr: EXCEPT that it will end in .1 or .254 (try one then the other). So, if your inet addr: is 192.168.1.3 the Gateway will be either 192.168.1.1 or 192.168.1.254 (It's the IP Address of your router).

For "Nameserver", you can put either the IP Address of your gateway, or I would recommend 208.67.222.222 (from http://www.opendns.com)

---------------------------------------

If, however, you're on your Windows 7 operating system, then you need to click on the Start Orb and type Command into the Search box. When it shows "Command Prompt" in the results, right click on that and choose "Run as Administrator". In the window that opens, type

Code:

ipconfig

and hit Enter. This should give you the IP Address, Subnet Mask, and Default Gateway. Those are the "Address" "Netmask" and "Gateway" on DreamLinux.

Hopefully this answered your questions, and have a great day

Patrick.

PatrickDickey · 09-16-2011, 09:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by texas.chef94

You might elaborate as well on those txt arguments following code. I assume has to do with text editor which mean I need to install same in DL before continuing

You're almost 100% right on that. They are actually text files that will be created in your home directory. When you open your file manager (I think it's "Thunar" on DreamLinux, but don't quote me on that), you'll see lshw.txt, ifconfig.txt, and dmesg.txt. And you can open them inside of a text editor to view them (or to copy and paste the text out of them).

I'll take the lshw command and break it down into its parts for you (and anyone else reading this).

Code:

sudo lshw >> ~/lshw.txt
^     ^   ^  ^   ^   ^
1.    2.  3. 4.  5.  6.

1. sudo is pretty much saying "Run this as an Administrator" (or "Run this as Root").
2. lshw is the command that you want to run.
3. >> is shorthand for send the output of the command to whatever is next to me.
4. ~/ is shorthand for /home/username
5. lshw is the filename
6. .txt is the filetype (text file in this case).

Hope that clears things up for you, and have a great day

Patrick.

PatrickDickey · 09-16-2011, 10:07 AM

Also, I wanted to add that based off of reading that tutorial I linked to, I have to say that if you installed DreamLinux (especially if it's like the experience in the Tutorial), my hat goes off to you. Even if they improved the installation somewhat, it still seems like a complicated task that would definitely touch your "inner geek".

Have a great day

Patrick.

texas.chef94 · 09-16-2011, 04:10 PM

Ok I am in deep ca ca and have not a clue how I got there. Was in DL, did the manual configuration on tutorial you sent, see attachment. Still not on line. Then tried to restart to go to Ubuntu and kept bringing me back to DL. Like partition problems. No error msg. So put in super grub and was able to get back to windows, where I am now. So will try to reboot to Ubuntu. Dang hope I do not have to repartition. Yes you are right about DL install being geeky. Ok going to restart and see what happens
Ok restarted and can only get to windows. Short of your telling me how to recapture my boot sequence I can only repartition and reinstall. Will wait to hear from you. Sorry

Allen

PatrickDickey · 09-16-2011, 07:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by texas.chef94

Ok I am in deep ca ca and have not a clue how I got there. Was in DL, did the manual configuration on tutorial you sent, see attachment. Still not on line. Then tried to restart to go to Ubuntu and kept bringing me back to DL. Like partition problems. No error msg. So put in super grub and was able to get back to windows, where I am now. So will try to reboot to Ubuntu. Dang hope I do not have to repartition. Yes you are right about DL install being geeky. Ok going to restart and see what happens
Ok restarted and can only get to windows. Short of your telling me how to recapture my boot sequence I can only repartition and reinstall. Will wait to hear from you. Sorry

Allen

Hi Allen,

OK first things first. To fix your boot problems, if you have a Live CD (Ubuntu's would probably be best, although the Dreamlinux one should work also) handy, boot to it and choose the "Try without making changes to my computer" option (or whatever it's respective option is in Dreamlinux).

I'm copying and pasting the directions that I found (paraphrased from my blog) for repairing GRUB.

Quote:

The instructions

The instructions come from Tutorial on Repairing GRUB. Here they are step by step.

1. Boot to the SystemRescueCD or any liveCD for Linux (SystemRescueCD is preferred as it automatically sets you as root). If you booted another Live CD, open a Terminal and either use “sudo” or su to get to the root prompt. The rest of the instructions are assuming that you have a root prompt or will use “sudo grub” to get into the grub program.

2. type grub or sudo grub at the prompt (enter your password if necessary)

3. At the grub> prompt, type find /boot/grub/stage1
It should return a value such as (hd0,1) or whatever your grub location is (Mine was hd0,3)

4. At the grub> prompt, type root (hd0,1) or whatever value was returned previously (mine was “root (hd0,3)”)

5. It should return a value such as filesystem type is ext2fs, partition type 0x83.

6. At the grub> prompt, type setup (hd0) or whatever the first number in the value you used earlier is.

You should see grub running through some tests then installing itself and your menu.lst file with “Yes” or “Succeeded” depending on the action—then “Done.”.

If you see that it was successful, you can type “Quit” at the grub> prompt.

Something to note. Linux, like most Operating Systems and programs, begins everything from 0—not 1, as you would normally think. So, seeing “hd0,3” would mean the fourth partition on the first physical drive. If you have Grub installed on a second hard drive, it will most likely show up as hd1,x where x is the partition that Grub is installed on.

Typically, your hard drive will have Windows on hd0,0 and then whatever other operating system on hd0,1 or whichever partition it is placed on. In my case, my swap file (Linux’s version of the pagefile on Windows) is on hd0,2, so my actual Linux installation is on hd0,3.

So essentially your commands should look like this:

Code:

something@liveCDPrompt$ sudo grub
grub> find /boot/grub/stage1
hd(0,2) <--this value is just a sample to show you the results
grub> root (hd0,1) <--replace the (hd0,1) with whatever value is above this line
filesystem type is ext2fs, partition type 0x83
grub> setup (hd0)
Checking if "/boot/grub/stage1" exists...yes
Checking if "/boot/grub/stage2" exists...yes
Checking if "/boot/grub/e2fs_stage1_5" exists...yes
Running "embed /boot/grub/e2fs_stage1_5 (hd0)"... 15 sectors are embedded.
succeeded
Running "install /boot/grub/stage1 (hd0) (hd0)1+15 p (hd0,1)/boot/grub/stage2
/boot/grub/menu.lst"...succeeded
Done.
grub> quit

As for the networking, try changing the nameserver to 192.168.1.1 or the 208.67.222.222 value that I mentioned earlier. Unless you're running a DNS server on your network, it should either be one of three addresses (1 is your router, 2 is your ISP's DNS Server, or 3 is a public DNS like OpenDNS or GoogleDNS).

Since you're in Windows, you could try opening the command prompt, and typing ipconfig /all in. It will give you a LOT of information about every connection that it knows about. The important thing is that in the wireless connection (and wired, if it's connected) it will show DNS (with an IP Address). That value is what you want in "nameserver".

Hope this helps, and have a great day

Patrick.

texas.chef94 · 09-16-2011, 10:13 PM

Patrick:
You are indeed a wonder. I got back my partitioning and saved that process to my Data drive should I ever need it again.
I redid the manual configuration as you suggested and lo and behold DL is on line.
You gave me a huge dose of confidence and I had enough unalloted space on HD so I said what the heck. Installed SUSE 11.3
as I had a commercially made live CD and it installed to a multiple boot with no problem. So folled around a bit trying to
get it to recognize my network, but failed. So plugged in Ethernet cable from wireless router and up pops auth ethO. So I
clicked on Firefox and I was on line.I am going to rest on my laurels, but you have got to know I could not have done it
any of it without your expertise. I been on a lot of forums, learned a lot from folks, but I have never been offered the
specifics you choose. I have a huge Word text file on one of my Data drives with every single comment and code. I saved it
as Patrick_101. I am a retired chef and if it were possible I would cook you some kind meal, but God bless you for being
there for this old man. I will never forget it
Allen

PatrickDickey · 09-17-2011, 03:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by texas.chef94

Patrick:
You are indeed a wonder. I got back my partitioning and saved that process to my Data drive should I ever need it again.
I redid the manual configuration as you suggested and lo and behold DL is on line.
You gave me a huge dose of confidence and I had enough unalloted space on HD so I said what the heck. Installed SUSE 11.3
as I had a commercially made live CD and it installed to a multiple boot with no problem. So folled around a bit trying to
get it to recognize my network, but failed. So plugged in Ethernet cable from wireless router and up pops auth ethO. So I
clicked on Firefox and I was on line.I am going to rest on my laurels, but you have got to know I could not have done it
any of it without your expertise. I been on a lot of forums, learned a lot from folks, but I have never been offered the
specifics you choose. I have a huge Word text file on one of my Data drives with every single comment and code. I saved it
as Patrick_101. I am a retired chef and if it were possible I would cook you some kind meal, but God bless you for being
there for this old man. I will never forget it
Allen

You're very welcome. I'm happy to help out. And most of what I told you was from my own personal experience. I've 'borked' my GRUB way more times than I care to admit (mainly from beta testing for Microsoft), and have configured all of my computers with the manual IP addresses.

Likewise, you've inspired me. I wiped out one of my virtual machines, and am installing DreamLinux on it. And I'll probably install a few other distros as well.

Also, could you do me a favor (well everyone, actually)? At the top of your first post, there should be a clickable link that says "Thread Tools". Could you click on that, and select the Mark as solved option, please? That way others know that the issue is resolved, and they also know that they can use the steps to troubleshoot their own issues. Thank you.

Have a great weekend.

Patrick.