This part is just bragging but I do need some advice :
http://reasonablefallibility.com/img/slacking1.jpg
http://reasonablefallibility.com/img/slacking3.jpg
http://reasonablefallibility.com/img/slacking4.jpg
http://reasonablefallibility.com/img/slacking5.jpg

And some more just bragging:
CPU : Intel i7 3770 3.4GHz
RAM : 16GBs Corsair Vengeance
MOBO : ASUS P88V77-V Pro
HDD : Just a WD 320GBs
CDROM : Plextor. Not really a bad CDROM. Complete Slackware install took about 5min
FAN CONTROLLER : Sentry 2 NZXT. Haven't had time to play w/it. But seems good.

Alright, done bragging, but if you just got finished building that Vegas Hoe you'd brag too. Now I need some advice!

I'm new to Slackware(1-2mths), not Linux (10+yrs). Me and OpenSUSE have been having problems for awhile now and her bags are packed along with KDE(10+yrs) for XFCE(1-2mths).

I don't have broadband where I live so I use T-mobile wifi as only connection to net. I need net to update with slackpkg(know how to do that), as well as to survive. I've been using wicd on my laptop w/Slackware and KDE. Is wpa-gui worth using or should I install wicd? Any suggestions on configuring wpa-gui?

You can't imagine how much of a noob I feel like, but any pointers in the right direction would be helpful as networking is not one of my strong points. I'm really missing Yast right about now.

Any other suggestions on configuring would be cool too as the tower is only a couple of hours old. And please excuse me, I'm not always such an annoying noob. I Promise.

TTFN
JohnP

For using slackpkg, mirror first the slackware tree then point your slackpkg/mirrors to the local directory. This is what I do since I'm having slow broadband connection.

As far as I know, wpa_gui/wpa_supplicant is simply what allows you to access protected networks (but does not do the accessing for you). wicd uses it for sure.

Also, just for ghits and shiggles why not:

1. Add software/hardware RAID (preferrably software)
2. LVM
3. LUKS encryption to protect your hard drive(s)

Wicd works fine, but I like using wpa_supplicant more because it was a pain to figure out, and it's installed by default. I don't really use the wpa_gui, but if you need some quick tips on wpa_supplicant I'd be glad to get into that.

Hum. this ASUS board has the Wi-Fi GO card. From what I'm understanding this is broadcom but lspci shows the only network adapter being a Atheros Communication INC. AR9485 Wireless Network Adapter. Of which is not working with wicd. Am I looking this up right?

dxtrpn: yes I'd love to see your wpa_suppicant.conf. It would be a big help

NetworkManager is probably a more comprehensive tool for connectivity with the internet than Wicd is. You'll probably need the ModemManager tools as well to get your T-Mobile connection working. Both are available from SlackBuilds.org if you are running 13.37 but are going to be included by default with Slackware 14.0 in the final release.

I use wicd here with encryption (WPA2), so I see no reason why it shouldn't work. What make you think that wicd would not handle your card?

This is a card that comes with the asus p8z77-vpro board from asus called "wi-fi go!".

Installed wicd from my slack dvd with pkgtool. wicd is working but not showing *any* connections. lspci show my adapter as a atheros ar9485. So card is there. lsmob dosn't show any atheros modules loaded. gonna try that and see what happens.

TTFN
JohnP

There might be some firmware for that card (sometimes shipped with kernel-firmware, sometimes not). In addition to that, you're going to want to double check that it is using the drivers for that chip (I believe the module is called ath9k, but you can double check with "lspci -k" and look for the wireless card itself and the module being used).

First I would check *why* wicd shows not network.

To begin with, let's check your wireless interface.

For that, please post outputs of following commands, typed as root:
If a wireless interface shows in "ifconfig -a" but not in "ifconfig", bring it up with "ifconfig <interface_name> up" before typing the third command.

PS And please post output of

lspci -k shows
07:00.0 Network controller : Ahteros Communications INC. AR9485 Wireless Network Adapter (rev 01)
Subsystem: ASUSTeK Computer INC. Device 850d

i.e. No kernel driver.

Didier Spaier:
I'll get back to you with that ouput in a sec. As I'm using KVM switch to bounce back an forth between Towers. I do know that iwconfig only showed and lo and eth0 but no wlan0. Could there be something there?

This is how I go online with my laptop after a fresh install:

mv /etc/rc.d/rc.wireless.conf /etc/rc.d/rc.wireless.conf.off
# Not sure if this is req'd, but I don't use the file anyway.

wpa_passphrase YOUR_ESSID YOUR_WPA_PASSWORD >> /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf

Open wpa_supplicant.conf. Replace the line specifying the ESSID with the
corresponding line output from wpa_passphrase, and do the same for the PSK.
Remove or comment out what you appended to the document before opening it.

Open /etc/rc.d/rc.inet1.conf. Uncomment just a few lines- most importantly, the lines
use that specify you want to use wpa_supplicant and dhcpcd. You may also specify your hostname and essid.

/etc/rc.d/rc.inet1 start (or restart, whatever your case may be)

ping -c 3 www. A Web Site .com

Success!

If everything's properly configured, the scripts will run during as your box boots up.
I can't access the files on my computer right now, but they are simply the defaults modified
as I've described.

1 members found this post helpful.

@ogbi-web_kenobi: If you have no driver for your card this could be the cause of your problems. In that case it's not wicd fault. Still, please give asked for outputs.

@dxtrpn: thanks for yours suggestions, but they don't address OP's problem, furthermore this is not the recommended way to set up a connection in Slackware

ifconfig:
eth0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr c8:60:00:8a:73:5a
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)
Interrupt:20 Memory:f7c00000-f7c20000

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:8 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:8 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:0
RX bytes:480 (480.0 B) TX bytes:480 (480.0 B)



ifconfig -a
eth0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr c8:60:00:8a:73:5a
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)
Interrupt:20 Memory:f7c00000-f7c20000

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:8 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:8 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:0
RX bytes:480 (480.0 B) TX bytes:480 (480.0 B)


lspci -k | grep -A3 etwork
00:19.0 Ethernet controller: Intel Corporation 82579V Gigabit Network Connection (rev 04)
Subsystem: ASUSTeK Computer Inc. P8P67 Deluxe Motherboard
Kernel driver in use: e1000e
Kernel modules: e1000e
--
07:00.0 Network controller: Atheros Communications Inc. AR9485 Wireless Network Adapter (rev 01)
Subsystem: ASUSTeK Computer Inc. Device 850d
08:00.0 USB Controller: Device 1b21:1042
Subsystem: ASUSTeK Computer Inc. Device 8488

and a I stated iwconfig only show an lo and eth0

It would appear i have no driver!

thanks for the help here guys. thanks bunches!

Wait, how are you connecting your network?

Are you trying to connect to a T-Mobile Hotspot, or are you connecting to a router/modem by an RJ-45 LAN network cable?