[UN-SOLVED] wireless problem

Scott271 · 01-08-2010, 02:52 PM

Howdy all,

I recently installed SW64-13 on a Toshiba Satellite, that multi-boots with Ubuntu & Vista. Everything has been going fine and I even got the ATI catalyst running smoothly.

Until today. I logged out of Slack and into Ubuntu to check something, and when I came back to Slack I had no wireless. Before anyone says to read Alien Bob's page - I've already been there and half way through the rest of the internet.

What it boils down to is I lost all the ath and wlan modules. Don't ask me how, and I doubt I could do it again if I tried. I was able to load ath5k, but that was it. Trying to modprobe ath_pci, ath_hal ath_rate_sample, wlan, wlan_tkip, and wlan_xauth gives me fatal errors - modules not found. I'm still using the 2.6.29.3 kernel.

How do I go about getting these modules back on my computer and back in my kernel?

TIA,
Scott

gegechris99 · 01-08-2010, 03:10 PM

Hello,

How about trying to reinstall kernel packages, especially package kernel-modules-2.6.29.6-x86_64-2.txz?

Scott271 · 01-08-2010, 03:56 PM

I just did the kernel-modules package and I'm still getting the errors. I'll try again with all the packages.

gegechris99 · 01-08-2010, 04:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scott271

Trying to modprobe ath_pci, ath_hal ath_rate_sample, wlan, wlan_tkip, and wlan_xauth gives me fatal errors - modules not found. I'm still using the 2.6.29.3 kernel.

I'm not sure but I couldn't find those modules in my own machine. It seems that these are FREEBSD modules (I made a quick search on google).

Scott271 · 01-08-2010, 05:09 PM

Not quite sure myself. I'm relatively new to Slackware itself, but have some years using Zenwalk and Vector, but have never run into this type of issue before.

Just some googling led me to something (I believe an Ubuntu forum) concerning Mad-Wifi, and in order to use the ath5k module (and not Mad-Wifi) - one needed to make sure those other modules were loaded. It just seems funny I had wireless running fine on minute, except for the wicd <hidden> issue, then after a reboot it was all shot to hell.

I'm real tempted to save some settings and just reformat.

Scott

Scott271 · 01-08-2010, 11:43 PM

Ok, I've reformatted this partition eight ways from Sunday. Keep the /home partition & reinstall Slack; reformat both / & /home; reformat with Zenwalk & /home - same thing - no wireless. I'm on the Ubuntu partition now with perfectly running wireless, so I just don't know. And it's getting late and I have no more booze.

I'll try some other distros in the morning, but right now I'm real tempted to wipe the whole laptop and start over.

Any/all ideas are appreciated.
Scott

onebuck · 01-09-2010, 08:02 AM

Hi,

Since you have a Linux up then run 'lsmod' to see the loaded modules. Plus get the kernel version. Get a 'lspci' while your at it.

Boot your Slackware and see what shows and compare these.

The 'ath5k' module is available for the 'huge-2.6.29.6' kernel & the 'generic-2.6.29.6' kernel.

Scott271 · 01-09-2010, 10:00 AM

Here's the info:

Code:

bash-3.1# lsmod
Module                  Size  Used by
radeon                152384  0 
drm                   168128  1 radeon
snd_seq_dummy           3172  0 
snd_seq_oss            33536  0 
snd_seq_midi_event      7264  1 snd_seq_oss
snd_seq                56320  5 snd_seq_dummy,snd_seq_oss,snd_seq_midi_event
snd_seq_device          7188  3 snd_seq_dummy,snd_seq_oss,snd_seq
snd_pcm_oss            42976  0 
snd_mixer_oss          16768  1 snd_pcm_oss
ipv6                  288704  18 
pcmcia                 36824  0 
pcmcia_core            36804  1 pcmcia
cpufreq_ondemand        8016  2 
powernow_k8            13764  0 
freq_table              4160  2 cpufreq_ondemand,powernow_k8
ppdev                   8488  0 
lp                     11972  0 
parport_pc             28200  0 
parport                36752  3 ppdev,lp,parport_pc
fuse                   60096  3 
joydev                 11968  0 
snd_hda_codec_realtek   253956  1 
snd_hda_intel          27176  0 
fan                     5256  0 
snd_hda_codec          60192  2 snd_hda_codec_realtek,snd_hda_intel
thermal                18880  0 
snd_hwdep               8456  1 snd_hda_codec
video                  20148  0 
snd_pcm                80872  3 snd_pcm_oss,snd_hda_intel,snd_hda_codec
uvcvideo               63436  0 
processor              43960  2 powernow_k8,thermal
ath5k                 117252  0 
r8169                  37860  0 
snd_timer              22256  2 snd_seq,snd_pcm
i2c_piix4              10448  0 
snd                    65000  11 snd_seq_oss,snd_seq,snd_seq_device,snd_pcm_oss,snd_mixer_oss,snd_hda_codec_realtek,snd_hda_intel,snd_hda_codec,snd_hwdep,snd_pcm,snd_timer
mac80211              171288  1 ath5k
videodev               43168  1 uvcvideo
rtc_cmos               11928  0 
led_class               4360  1 ath5k
rfkill                 11316  0 
output                  3136  1 video
mii                     5216  1 r8169
psmouse                46748  0 
soundcore               7168  1 snd
v4l1_compat            15364  2 uvcvideo,videodev
thermal_sys            13088  4 fan,thermal,video,processor
hwmon                   2728  1 thermal_sys
rtc_core               19652  1 rtc_cmos
shpchp                 36124  0 
sg                     29920  0 
rtc_lib                 2880  1 rtc_core
v4l2_compat_ioctl32    10912  1 videodev
battery                12488  0 
serio_raw               6116  0 
input_polldev           3952  0 
snd_page_alloc          9616  2 snd_hda_intel,snd_pcm
cfg80211               42064  2 ath5k,mac80211
button                  7328  0 
evdev                  11392  10 
ac                      5000  0 
bash-3.1# uname -rv
2.6.29.6 #2 SMP Mon Aug 17 11:58:18 CDT 2009
bash-3.1# lspci
00:00.0 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] RS780 Host Bridge
00:01.0 PCI bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] RS780 PCI to PCI bridge (int gfx)
00:04.0 PCI bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] RS780 PCI to PCI bridge (PCIE port 0)
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)
00:07.0 PCI bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] RS780 PCI to PCI bridge (PCIE port 3)
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
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 3a)
00:14.1 IDE interface: ATI Technologies Inc SB700/SB800 IDE Controller
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] Mobile K10 [Turion X2, Athlon X2, Sempron] HyperTransport Configuration (rev 40)
00:18.1 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] Family 11h [Turion X2, Athlon X2, Sempron] Address Map
00:18.2 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] Mobile K10 [Turion X2, Athlon X2, Sempron] DRAM Controller
00:18.3 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] Mobile K10 [Turion X2, Athlon X2, Sempron] Miscellaneous Control
00:18.4 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] Mobile K10 [Turion X2, Athlon X2, Sempron] Link Control
01:05.0 VGA compatible controller: ATI Technologies Inc RS780MC [Radeon HD 3100 Graphics]
04:00.0 Ethernet controller: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL8101E/RTL8102E PCI Express Fast Ethernet controller (rev 02)
05:00.0 Ethernet controller: Atheros Communications Inc. AR5001 Wireless Network Adapter (rev 01)
bash-3.1# iwconfig
lo        no wireless extensions.

eth0      no wireless extensions.

wmaster0  no wireless extensions.

wlan0     IEEE 802.11bg  ESSID:"dd-wrt"  
          Mode:Managed  Frequency:2.412 GHz  Access Point: Not-Associated   
          Tx-Power=27 dBm   
          Retry min limit:7   RTS thr:off   Fragment thr=2352 B   
          Encryption key:off
          Power Management:off
          Link Quality:0  Signal level:0  Noise level:0
          Rx invalid nwid:0  Rx invalid crypt:0  Rx invalid frag:0
          Tx excessive retries:0  Invalid misc:0   Missed beacon:0

bash-3.1# ifconfig
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:100 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:100 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:0 
          RX bytes:8624 (8.4 KiB)  TX bytes:8624 (8.4 KiB)

wlan0     Link encap:Ethernet  HWaddr 00:24:d2:0e:ba:d1  
          inet addr:192.168.1.115  Bcast:192.168.1.255  Mask:255.255.255.0
          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 00-24-D2-0E-BA-D1-00-00-00-00-00-00-00-00-00-00  
          UP BROADCAST RUNNING 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)

The partition I have Slackware on formerly had Zenwalk - with working wireless. When I originally installed Slack, I had wireless running fine except for the wicd-1.6.2 hidden essid problem. The thing that gets me is, that even when I reinstall Zenwalk completely fresh/new user I had no wireless. I have rc.inet1.conf set up properly for a static ip according to Alien Bob's wiki. In all the reinstalls, I tried each version of wicd - even going back to 1.5.6 off of a 12.2 /extras disc - no luck.

Like I've said, I'm real tempted to just wipe the whole machine and start from scratch. I can backup my /home and settings from Ubuntu on an external hdd, and get rid of Vista altogether. I really just don't have the time, unless I set aside a weekend to do it.

Any help at this point would be appreciated. Thanks,
Scott

gegechris99 · 01-09-2010, 02:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scott271

I have rc.inet1.conf set up properly for a static ip according to Alien Bob's wiki. In all the reinstalls, I tried each version of wicd - even going back to 1.5.6 off of a 12.2 /extras disc - no luck.

Why did you use a static IP address for wireless? I would suggest that you rather use the configuration with DHCP (refer to Alien Bob's wiki).

onebuck · 01-09-2010, 06:33 PM

Hi,

Quote:

Originally Posted by gegechris99

Why did you use a static IP address for wireless? I would suggest that you rather use the configuration with DHCP (refer to Alien Bob's wiki).

Why do you think a static IP is a problem? The wiki you refer to also describes the use of static IP & dhcp.

Scott271 · 01-09-2010, 09:46 PM

I had tried both ways, and seeing how I'd like to eventually set up a home file server I decided on sticking with the static ip - which I have set on my Ubuntu partition on the same machine with no problems - and had set on the Zenwalk install.

I'm currently backing everything up now, and will be reformatting the whole machine in the morning (I hope). The thing that really gets me about it all is, the previous Zenwalk install ran wireless fine. After this whole issue, I install it and it craps right out.

I'm figuring Slack and Ubuntu, and running anything else in VM. So, unless there are any other ideas about this, I'll see what reformatting the whole machine brings me.

Cheers,
Scott

gegechris99 · 01-10-2010, 02:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by onebuck

Hi,
Why do you think a static IP is a problem? The wiki you refer to also describes the use of static IP & dhcp.

I was only trying to provide some other options to try (with static IP address, there is only the risk of incorrectly entering the data).

For my part, I'm accustomed to dhcp both at home and at work. So the wording in my previous post might be confusing.

Anyway, that's not the problem according to Scott271's latest post.

onebuck · 01-10-2010, 08:04 AM

Hi,

I agree that 'dhcp' can sometimes be the easiest setup because of transparency. But for a small SOHO network Static IP is a lot easier for me.

Scott271 · 01-11-2010, 02:57 PM

After spending the weekend wiping the machine clean, reinstalling Slack & Ubuntu (skipped putting Vista back on

), installed wicd-1.6.2.2 - no problems at all. Just wish I knew what happened.

Thanks for the ideas and support,
Scott

Scott271 · 01-13-2010, 07:20 PM

Ok, had everything working great after the fresh re-install. Went and booted into Ubuntu partition, checked a few things, booted back into Slackware - no wireless. Back to square one. I really don't feel like reformatting again, so any/all ideas are appreciated.

Thanks,
Scott