Wireless card: how to know which it is and how to get it to work
Linux - Wireless NetworkingThis forum is for the discussion of wireless networking in Linux.
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As usual, you were right: I also had the b43-fwcutter already installed. So I just downloaded firmware wl_apsta.o and cut it with the b43-fwcutter.
In the 'Network Configuration' gui the 'activate device when computer starts' was not ticked off, but the 'allow all users to enable and disable the device' is ticked off. So I guess that would not be interfering with the service configuration settings?
It gets a bit more hairy with the service configuration gui: I can only find 'Edit Runlevel', and still don't know whether the service starts at boot or not.
And then there is the question I feel most stupid about: You said I might have to remove the firmware I cut yesterday. The computer told me yesterday, it was extracting 'bcm43xx'-this and that. So I checked (with yum) what to remove, but yum only found the bcm43xx cutter. Where is the stuff I extracted yesterday?
The reason I said "may" need to remove what you had extracted with the bcm43xx-fwcutter is that I didn't have access to my broadcom machine at the time.
I've just checked now and find that b43-fwcutter extracts its firmware into /lib/firmware/b43. That seems to be a unique location and I'm now going to assume that you don't need to worry about what you extracted previously. It should be in a location where the b43 module won't look for it.
For me at least, I was now nearly home. I'll tell you what I did and then tell you my worries about your situation afterwards.
In Gnome, I went to "System menu - Administration - Services" and made sure that NetworkManager and NetworkManager Dispatcher were started and set to start on boot (by putting a mark against them and clicking the Start button) and that the changes were saved. It's also important that wpa_supplicant is not set to start in the same configuration dialogue.
You say:
Quote:
In the 'Network Configuration' gui the 'activate device when computer starts' was not ticked off, but the 'allow all users to enable and disable the device' is ticked off.
and that is good.
NetworkManager should now have an icon in the notification area, top right taskbar on the Gnome desktop, and if you left click on it, it should list all wireless access points in your vicinity. Left click on one to be prompted for your wireless key - if you use one. You should also be asked for a password for storing your wireless key so that you only need the password in future not the key.
Where my doubts begin is with any previous configuration you have done using wifi radar for example. When Fedora 8 wireless works straight away it seems to be very reliable. When it doesn't you can go round and round in circles trying to make it work and I wonder if it is something left over from one of the previous attempts that blocks later ones.
Still, I got three out of my four wireless cards working this way so we'll see just what happens with yours now before we agonise too deeply.
Thank you, bbfuller, and sorry it took me so long to get back, my weeks are crazy.
In my services gui, the wpa-supplicant was set to start, which I un-clicked and saved, together with Network Manager and ~Dispatcher being started.
While I still see no Network manager in my taskbar, my WiFi Radar asked for a set up of a network, only I first have to get to one I have access to.
So I just did not want you to think I am not responding, next week I should be getting to the network.
For now just many thanks, and please keep your fingers crossed!
I remember from an earlier post that you are probably using KDE and the NetworkManager icon on the taskbar doesn't always turn up automatically in that environment.
Should you want to use it then I found it at Main Menu - System.
However, if you have WiFi Radar going this far then you may well want to give that a try.
I do believe that for WiFi Radar though you should not have NetworkManager running.
I'll be keeping a watch out for further developments.
This does not look so good right now:
I am using Gnome, and I still can not find the 'network manager' window.
As from previous sessions, I found these two windows: system->administration->network (opens a window called 'network configuration')
system->administration->network device control
In both windows I tried to click the wireless line (which is listed as inactive). Each of them tells me the same thing:
'activating network device wlan0, please wait...
Error for wireless request "Set Mode" (8B06) :
SET failed on device wlan0 ; Invalid argument.
Determining IP information for wlan0...
Error: Can not activate network device wlan0!
Error for wireless request "Set Mode" (8B06) :
SET failed on device wlan0 ; Invalid argument.
Determining IP information for wlan0... failed.'
Also, my wifi radar sees the network I am looking for, but all bars are grey, and I believe they should be blue or green. I hope the problem s that the network is down, I'll get some info and get back to you.
Well, it gets gloomier:
I put a different computer at the table right next to the Fedora machine, and the other computer detects 80% signal from the wireless net. I guess that means this computer does not detect the net even though it is there.
Since you mentioned before, that there is a possibility that previous attempts to get the wireless going might interfere with the latest set up attempt, I was wondering what it took to start with a clean slate, wireless wise? (I am crossing my fingers that you don't say something involving re-formating the hard drive or re-installing the OS.)
Well, it gets gloomier:
I put a different computer at the table right next to the Fedora machine, and the other computer detects 80% signal from the wireless net. I guess that means this computer does not detect the net even though it is there.
Since you mentioned before, that there is a possibility that previous attempts to get the wireless going might interfere with the latest set up attempt, I was wondering what it took to start with a clean slate, wireless wise? (I am crossing my fingers that you don't say something involving re-formating the hard drive or re-installing the OS.)
Thanks for any help!
I think that the next step should be to find out how much of your wireless is actually detected. Try these commands to see what is going on:
If the last command you pasted in your last post is exactly as you typed it at the command line then you have a spelling mistake and it won't work. You appear to have missed out the "f". It should be:
Thank you, and sorry for the mistake. (Guess I need to find my zen, not so easy, just took the other computer and the rescue usb stick out of commission by deleting the wrong files :-)
Anyhow, back to this wireless problem:
As you see, you were right about the typo, here is what I got after copying the correct commands rather than typing myself:
tells us there is a wireless interface waiting to be configured.
To convince us all, try running the command:
Code:
iwlist wlan0 scan
That should show you wireless networks in your area.
If you are running Gnome, then at this stage you should have an icon top right of your screen on the task bar representing networking. Left clicking on it should then give you a graphical output similar to that shown by the last command.
If there is no network icon, go to the "System menu - Administration - Services" and in the services applet make sure that NetworkManager and NetworkManagerDispatcher are marked for running, are actually started and that the configuration is saved.
Again, I am afraid I am not getting quite the right answer here from my computer: I managed to bring the other system at least to a rudimentary start, and it detects all sorts of networks (even though they are locked, and I can not try them since I am not in range of the one I have access to).
Here is what my system in question has to say:
'iwlist wlan0 scan
wlan0 Interface doesn't support scanning : Network is down'
NetworkManager and NetworkManagerDispatcher are marked for running, are started and this configuration is saved.
In the top right corner I have an icon that looks like two screens. When I left-click it, I get a window which is called 'connection properties: eth0'.
There is in the 'general' tab 'Connection'->'name', and I can select 'eth0' or 'lo'. If I select 'eth0' it tells me under support->type: 'ethernet' and the 'configure' button is active. If I select 'lo' it tells me under support->type: 'Local Loopback' and the 'configure' button is greyed out.
The only thing I can think of a hopeful excuse, is that the wifi radar has still the list of the networks I get at work, which are of course out of reach here. Could it be that I somehow told it to search for those networks, instead of anything on the air?
I'm surprised about the output from iwlist. It's been my experience that it usually produces output. I'm even more surprised that it says the network is down.
If it is down then no wonder we are not seeing anything but you would expect it to be up after all you have done without any further intervention.
I have no certainties now, only some questions and thoughts for you to ponder on.
You really should only have one way of controlling your wireless connections in action at one time.
I've just installed wifi-radar on one of my machines and it doesn't actually show any wireless networks even though the machine is connected wirelessly. My assumption is that NetworkManager is controlling the card and wifi-radar isn't getting a look in.
I would suggest that if you are going to use NetworkManager you dispense with wifi-radar, or if you like the latter stop the NetworkManager services. You may have to delete any connection information in wifi-radar for NetworkManager to take control of the card.
Similarly, we looked at:
system-config-network
earlier, but there have been some changes to that in the last week and if you have done any fedora updates you may be falling foul of those.
One user has reported that the "activate on startup" line was ticked again and another that they couldn't control their wireless card unless a new entry, "Controlled by NetworkManager" was ticked.
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C:FE 
ff Fragment thr=2352 B 
