[SOLVED] looking for wlan setup manual for debian

compul · 10-20-2009, 06:47 PM

hey,
if been penetrating google for hours now and nearly sleeping. does anyone know a good howto or sth. that gives me hints how to setup my wlan on my debian testing notebook? its a dell xpsm1330, so the card is supported for sure.

i am a 120% newbie concerning linux and wlan. so you really gotta start from the beginning with me :P

btw: if possible, i dont want to use ndiswrapper. the idea of using (possibly buggy) windows drivers wont please me :P.

thanks in advance,
compul

mf93 · 10-20-2009, 09:17 PM

give me the output of lsmod in your terminal...
and what version of debian are you using? if your a newbie its probably etch(oldstable) lenny(stable) or squeeze(testing)-sorry nevermind your runnign testing
run apt-get install make binutils build-essential gcc g++
run apt-cache search linux-headers and install using apt-get install command the package that says something along the lines of linux-headers-2.6.26-2-i686 or something along those lines

hurry_hui · 10-21-2009, 01:55 AM

The sentence is confusing but I think you want to setup your wlan.

Please provide us with 'lspci -vn' output.

Having found your wlan chipset and PCI ID you can check it via google (to see whether it is supported) or go directly to chipset or manufacturer websites.

Btw, what does dmesg say about your wlan?

hurry_hui · 10-21-2009, 01:56 AM

The sentence is confusing but I think you want to setup your wlan.

Please provide us with 'lspci -vn' output.

Having found your wlan chipset and PCI ID you can check it via google (to see whether it is supported) or go directly to chipset or manufacturer websites.

Btw, what does dmesg say about your wlan?

compul · 10-21-2009, 07:53 AM

thanks for your replies

here the outputs:

Code:

compul@notebook-debian:~$ lsmod
Module                  Size  Used by
nls_utf8                1488  1 
nls_cp437               5320  1 
vfat                    8628  1 
fat                    41452  1 vfat
nls_base                6416  4 nls_utf8,nls_cp437,vfat,fat
fuse                   47752  2 
nvidia               9576556  30 
ppdev                   6348  0 
lp                      8012  0 
parport                31144  2 ppdev,lp
acpi_cpufreq            7640  0 
cpufreq_stats           3520  0 
cpufreq_conservative     6256  0 
cpufreq_powersave       1292  0 
cpufreq_userspace       2768  0 
truecrypt             150564  1 
loop                   13324  2 
firewire_sbp2          12700  0 
snd_hda_codec_idt      49836  1 
snd_hda_intel          22192  8 
snd_hda_codec          63580  2 snd_hda_codec_idt,snd_hda_intel
arc4                    1560  2 
ecb                     2368  2 
snd_hwdep               6120  1 snd_hda_codec
snd_pcm_oss            32228  0 
snd_mixer_oss          12368  2 snd_pcm_oss
snd_pcm                62396  5 snd_hda_intel,snd_hda_codec,snd_pcm_oss
snd_seq_midi            5688  0 
snd_rawmidi            18596  1 snd_seq_midi
snd_seq_midi_event      6212  1 snd_seq_midi
iwl3945                60860  0 
uvcvideo               49308  0 
snd_seq                42436  2 snd_seq_midi,snd_seq_midi_event
iwlcore                92372  1 iwl3945
btusb                  10276  0 
videodev               31040  1 uvcvideo
snd_timer              17436  4 snd_pcm,snd_seq
snd_seq_device          6136  3 snd_seq_midi,snd_rawmidi,snd_seq
v4l1_compat            11416  2 uvcvideo,videodev
mac80211              142984  2 iwl3945,iwlcore
bluetooth              47028  1 btusb
i2c_i801                8580  0 
snd                    49060  21 snd_hda_codec_idt,snd_hda_intel,snd_hda_codec,snd_hwdep,snd_pcm_oss,snd_mixer_oss,snd_pcm,snd_rawmidi,snd_seq,snd_timer,snd_seq_device
joydev                  8676  0 
soundcore               6184  2 snd
dell_laptop             3164  0 
snd_page_alloc          8180  2 snd_hda_intel,snd_pcm
i2c_core               20844  2 nvidia,i2c_i801
rfkill                  9668  5 iwlcore,dell_laptop
cfg80211               55572  3 iwl3945,iwlcore,mac80211
dcdbas                  6736  1 dell_laptop
pcspkr                  2104  0 
serio_raw               4560  0 
wmi                     6172  0 
processor              34560  3 acpi_cpufreq
button                  5060  0 
ac                      2960  0 
battery                 6012  0 
evdev                   8028  29 
psmouse                37528  0 
ext3                  107172  3 
jbd                    41036  1 ext3
mbcache                 6924  1 ext3
sha256_generic         11216  0 
aes_i586                8092  2 
aes_generic            27436  1 aes_i586
cbc                     3012  1 
dm_crypt               11092  1 
dm_mod                 49992  15 truecrypt,dm_crypt
ide_cd_mod             24484  0 
cdrom                  30316  1 ide_cd_mod
sd_mod                 28740  5 
crc_t10dif              1632  1 sd_mod
ata_generic             4340  0 
usb_storage            48564  1 
hid_cherry              1828  0 
ide_pci_generic         3632  0 
usbhid                 31568  0 
hid                    34528  2 hid_cherry,usbhid
sdhci_pci               6540  0 
uhci_hcd               19136  0 
sdhci                  14868  1 sdhci_pci
mmc_core               46380  1 sdhci
firewire_ohci          18952  0 
led_class               3852  3 iwl3945,iwlcore,sdhci
firewire_core          37736  2 firewire_sbp2,firewire_ohci
crc_itu_t               2148  1 firewire_core
ata_piix               20848  2 
piix                    5680  0 
libata                151044  2 ata_generic,ata_piix
ide_core               87940  3 ide_cd_mod,ide_pci_generic,piix
tg3                    91244  0 
libphy                 19552  1 tg3
video                  18044  0 
output                  2604  1 video
intel_agp              23052  0 
agpgart                30836  2 nvidia,intel_agp
scsi_mod              131800  4 firewire_sbp2,sd_mod,usb_storage,libata
ehci_hcd               29812  0 
usbcore               126052  7 uvcvideo,btusb,usb_storage,usbhid,uhci_hcd,ehci_hcd
thermal                12580  0 
fan                     4044  0 
thermal_sys            13140  4 processor,video,thermal,fan
compul@notebook-debian:~$ lspci -vn
00:00.0 0600: 8086:2a00 (rev 0c)
	Subsystem: 1028:0209
	Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0
	Capabilities: <access denied>

00:01.0 0604: 8086:2a01 (rev 0c) (prog-if 00 [Normal decode])
	Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0
	Bus: primary=00, secondary=01, subordinate=01, sec-latency=0
	I/O behind bridge: 0000d000-0000dfff
	Memory behind bridge: f2000000-f6efffff
	Prefetchable memory behind bridge: 00000000e0000000-00000000efffffff
	Capabilities: <access denied>
	Kernel driver in use: pcieport-driver

00:1a.0 0c03: 8086:2834 (rev 02) (prog-if 00 [UHCI])
	Subsystem: 1028:0209
	Flags: bus master, medium devsel, latency 0, IRQ 20
	I/O ports at 6f20 [size=32]
	Kernel driver in use: uhci_hcd

00:1a.1 0c03: 8086:2835 (rev 02) (prog-if 00 [UHCI])
	Subsystem: 1028:0209
	Flags: bus master, medium devsel, latency 0, IRQ 21
	I/O ports at 6f00 [size=32]
	Kernel driver in use: uhci_hcd

00:1a.7 0c03: 8086:283a (rev 02) (prog-if 20 [EHCI])
	Subsystem: 1028:0209
	Flags: bus master, medium devsel, latency 0, IRQ 22
	Memory at fed1c400 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=1K]
	Capabilities: <access denied>
	Kernel driver in use: ehci_hcd

00:1b.0 0403: 8086:284b (rev 02)
	Subsystem: 1028:0209
	Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 21
	Memory at f6ffc000 (64-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=16K]
	Capabilities: <access denied>
	Kernel driver in use: HDA Intel

00:1c.0 0604: 8086:283f (rev 02) (prog-if 00 [Normal decode])
	Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0
	Bus: primary=00, secondary=0b, subordinate=0b, sec-latency=0
	Capabilities: <access denied>
	Kernel driver in use: pcieport-driver

00:1c.1 0604: 8086:2841 (rev 02) (prog-if 00 [Normal decode])
	Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0
	Bus: primary=00, secondary=0c, subordinate=0c, sec-latency=0
	Memory behind bridge: f1f00000-f1ffffff
	Capabilities: <access denied>
	Kernel driver in use: pcieport-driver

00:1c.3 0604: 8086:2845 (rev 02) (prog-if 00 [Normal decode])
	Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0
	Bus: primary=00, secondary=0d, subordinate=0e, sec-latency=0
	I/O behind bridge: 0000c000-0000cfff
	Memory behind bridge: f1c00000-f1efffff
	Prefetchable memory behind bridge: 00000000f0000000-00000000f01fffff
	Capabilities: <access denied>
	Kernel driver in use: pcieport-driver

00:1c.5 0604: 8086:2849 (rev 02) (prog-if 00 [Normal decode])
	Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0
	Bus: primary=00, secondary=09, subordinate=09, sec-latency=0
	Memory behind bridge: f1b00000-f1bfffff
	Capabilities: <access denied>
	Kernel driver in use: pcieport-driver

00:1d.0 0c03: 8086:2830 (rev 02) (prog-if 00 [UHCI])
	Subsystem: 1028:0209
	Flags: bus master, medium devsel, latency 0, IRQ 20
	I/O ports at 6f80 [size=32]
	Kernel driver in use: uhci_hcd

00:1d.1 0c03: 8086:2831 (rev 02) (prog-if 00 [UHCI])
	Subsystem: 1028:0209
	Flags: bus master, medium devsel, latency 0, IRQ 21
	I/O ports at 6f60 [size=32]
	Kernel driver in use: uhci_hcd

00:1d.2 0c03: 8086:2832 (rev 02) (prog-if 00 [UHCI])
	Subsystem: 1028:0209
	Flags: bus master, medium devsel, latency 0, IRQ 22
	I/O ports at 6f40 [size=32]
	Kernel driver in use: uhci_hcd

00:1d.7 0c03: 8086:2836 (rev 02) (prog-if 20 [EHCI])
	Subsystem: 1028:0209
	Flags: bus master, medium devsel, latency 0, IRQ 20
	Memory at fed1c000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=1K]
	Capabilities: <access denied>
	Kernel driver in use: ehci_hcd

00:1e.0 0604: 8086:2448 (rev f2) (prog-if 01 [Subtractive decode])
	Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0
	Bus: primary=00, secondary=03, subordinate=03, sec-latency=32
	Memory behind bridge: f1a00000-f1afffff
	Capabilities: <access denied>

00:1f.0 0601: 8086:2815 (rev 02)
	Subsystem: 1028:0209
	Flags: bus master, medium devsel, latency 0
	Capabilities: <access denied>

00:1f.1 0101: 8086:2850 (rev 02) (prog-if 8a [Master SecP PriP])
	Subsystem: 1028:0209
	Flags: bus master, medium devsel, latency 0, IRQ 16
	I/O ports at 01f0 [size=8]
	I/O ports at 03f4 [size=1]
	I/O ports at 0170 [size=8]
	I/O ports at 0374 [size=1]
	I/O ports at 6fa0 [size=16]
	Kernel driver in use: PIIX_IDE

00:1f.2 0101: 8086:2828 (rev 02) (prog-if 8f [Master SecP SecO PriP PriO])
	Subsystem: 1028:0209
	Flags: bus master, 66MHz, medium devsel, latency 0, IRQ 17
	I/O ports at 6eb0 [size=8]
	I/O ports at 6eb8 [size=4]
	I/O ports at 6ec0 [size=8]
	I/O ports at 6ec8 [size=4]
	I/O ports at 6ee0 [size=16]
	I/O ports at eff0 [size=16]
	Capabilities: <access denied>
	Kernel driver in use: ata_piix

00:1f.3 0c05: 8086:283e (rev 02)
	Subsystem: 1028:0209
	Flags: medium devsel, IRQ 17
	Memory at f6ffbf00 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=256]
	I/O ports at 10c0 [size=32]
	Kernel driver in use: i801_smbus

01:00.0 0300: 10de:0427 (rev a1) (prog-if 00 [VGA controller])
	Subsystem: 1028:0209
	Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 16
	Memory at f5000000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=16M]
	Memory at e0000000 (64-bit, prefetchable) [size=256M]
	Memory at f2000000 (64-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=32M]
	I/O ports at df00 [size=128]
	[virtual] Expansion ROM at f4000000 [disabled] [size=128K]
	Capabilities: <access denied>
	Kernel driver in use: nvidia

03:01.0 0c00: 1180:0832 (rev 05) (prog-if 10 [OHCI])
	Subsystem: 1028:0209
	Flags: bus master, medium devsel, latency 64, IRQ 19
	Memory at f1aff800 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=2K]
	Capabilities: <access denied>
	Kernel driver in use: firewire_ohci

03:01.1 0805: 1180:0822 (rev 22) (prog-if 01)
	Subsystem: 1028:0209
	Flags: bus master, medium devsel, latency 64, IRQ 18
	Memory at f1aff500 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=256]
	Capabilities: <access denied>
	Kernel driver in use: sdhci-pci

03:01.2 0880: 1180:0592 (rev 12)
	Subsystem: 1028:0209
	Flags: bus master, medium devsel, latency 64, IRQ 4
	Memory at f1aff600 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=256]
	Capabilities: <access denied>

03:01.3 0880: 1180:0852 (rev 12)
	Subsystem: 1028:0209
	Flags: bus master, medium devsel, latency 64, IRQ 4
	Memory at f1aff700 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=256]
	Capabilities: <access denied>

09:00.0 0200: 14e4:1713 (rev 02)
	Subsystem: 1028:0209
	Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 30
	Memory at f1bf0000 (64-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=64K]
	Expansion ROM at <ignored> [disabled]
	Capabilities: <access denied>
	Kernel driver in use: tg3

0c:00.0 0280: 8086:4222 (rev 02)
	Subsystem: 8086:1021
	Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 29
	Memory at f1fff000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=4K]
	Capabilities: <access denied>
	Kernel driver in use: iwl3945

compul@notebook-debian:~$ dmesg | grep wlan0
compul@notebook-debian:~$

the packages are all installed (and have been before)
i dont know anymore how, but i saw that obviously my wlan card is 'DISABLED'. i dont know why. the switch on my notebook is on, and under windoze it works..

lg

hurry_hui · 10-21-2009, 11:20 AM

From this

Code:

0c:00.0 0280: 8086:4222 (rev 02)
	Subsystem: 8086:1021
	Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 29
	Memory at f1fff000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=4K]
	Capabilities: <access denied>
	Kernel driver in use: iwl3945

You are using IWLWIFI or IWL3945. It is also shown from 'lsmod'

on your terminal type 'ifconfig wlan0 up' to activate your wless.

Please post also your 'ifconfig' output

Anyway, is there any complaint from dmesg regarding firmware or ucode...?

compul · 10-21-2009, 12:02 PM

hey,
here are the outputs. now my card is enabled and the dmesg and ifconfig are shouting sth. about it

Code:

compul@notebook-debian:~$ sudo ifconfig wlan0 up
compul@notebook-debian:~$ sudo ifconfig
eth0      Link encap:Ethernet  HWaddr 00:21:9b:cf:f4:75  
          inet addr:192.168.1.106  Bcast:192.168.1.255  Mask:255.255.255.0
          inet6 addr: fe80::221:9bff:fecf:f475/64 Scope:Link
          UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST  MTU:1500  Metric:1
          RX packets:126835 errors:1 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:1
          TX packets:84608 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000 
          RX bytes:167644089 (159.8 MiB)  TX bytes:9196664 (8.7 MiB)
          Interrupt:17 

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:11335 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:11335 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:0 
          RX bytes:4182496 (3.9 MiB)  TX bytes:4182496 (3.9 MiB)

wlan0     Link encap:Ethernet  HWaddr 00:1f:3c:a8:79:0e  
          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)

wmaster0  Link encap:UNSPEC  HWaddr 00-1F-3C-A8-79-0E-65-74-00-00-00-00-00-00-00-00  
          UP RUNNING  MTU:0  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)

compul@notebook-debian:~$ dmesg | grep ucode
[16524.883908] iwl3945 0000:0c:00.0: firmware: requesting iwlwifi-3945-2.ucode
compul@notebook-debian:~$ dmesg | grep firmware
[16524.883908] iwl3945 0000:0c:00.0: firmware: requesting iwlwifi-3945-2.ucode
[16524.991651] iwl3945 0000:0c:00.0: loaded firmware version 15.32.2.9
compul@notebook-debian:~$

dmesg looks fine so far i think...

but how do i finally get it working? or should it be now?

lg

hurry_hui · 10-21-2009, 12:08 PM

It is working

Code:

wlan0     Link encap:Ethernet  HWaddr 00:1f:3c:a8:79:0e  
          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)

wmaster0  Link encap:UNSPEC  HWaddr 00-1F-3C-A8-79-0E-65-74-00-00-00-00-00-00-00-00  
          UP RUNNING  MTU:0  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)

you can check also via 'iwconfig'. 'man iwconfig' for further options.

compul · 10-21-2009, 12:16 PM

what about wpa authentication and psk and sth.? is all that already supported?

lg

repo · 10-21-2009, 12:20 PM

Install network manager or wicd, and setup your connection.

compul · 10-21-2009, 12:52 PM

okay, i got it running now and wicd finds my network (im using xfce). but when i try to connect it takes very long for "'ESSID': Obtaining IP address" and then it shouts "Connecteion Failed: Unable to Get IP Address"...

what am i doing wrong?

lg

compul · 10-21-2009, 12:57 PM

ah ok i got it. i had to change the WPA Supplicant Driver in the Advanced Settings to something except wext or hostap or atmel. using madwifi now

thanks very much guys ! you really helped me with this.

lg,
compul

bricedebrignaisplage · 10-27-2009, 08:54 PM

Could you please clarify your solution a bit? Your one liner above is confusing.

compul · 10-28-2009, 06:54 AM

hey,
sorry. actually, it was pretty confusing for me, too.
i was always playing around with this "WPA-supplicant" driver. They sometimes worked, sometimes not. Now, "wext" works fine for me (if i changed anything in the system for that, i dont remember

but i dont think so).

for the whole thing, just type ifconfig *devicename* up if it is disabled (wlan0 in my case). Then it should be enabled and some LED or sth. probably be on, indicating your wireless device is ready.
as already said, for further info, check # ifconfig and # iwconfig. output should look similar to the one posted above. (btw: I didnt get the driver patched to work with injection until now, but thats another thing)

then just start wicd-client and set properties (probably wext - "Wireless extensions for linux" - will do the job as wpa-supplicant driver) and in case your wireless network has a wep or wpa encryption specify the type and the passphrase in the "properties" dialog of the network.

if there are any questions left, just ask. i hope i or else someone else can help.

lg,
compul