SlackwareThis Forum is for the discussion of Slackware Linux.
Notices
Welcome to LinuxQuestions.org, a friendly and active Linux Community.
You are currently viewing LQ as a guest. By joining our community you will have the ability to post topics, receive our newsletter, use the advanced search, subscribe to threads and access many other special features. Registration is quick, simple and absolutely free. Join our community today!
Note that registered members see fewer ads, and ContentLink is completely disabled once you log in.
If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us. If you need to reset your password, click here.
Having a problem logging in? Please visit this page to clear all LQ-related cookies.
Get a virtual cloud desktop with the Linux distro that you want in less than five minutes with Shells! With over 10 pre-installed distros to choose from, the worry-free installation life is here! Whether you are a digital nomad or just looking for flexibility, Shells can put your Linux machine on the device that you want to use.
Exclusive for LQ members, get up to 45% off per month. Click here for more info.
Ok after some time of trying to make my wireless work in Slackware, (here is the thread I requested help in LQ Click me) I am now completely sure that it is a driver problem. So I decided to install madwifi.
I followed the instructions mentioned here and installed madwifi without any problems.
Then, I tried to edit /etc/rc.d/rc.inet1.conf and change the value:
Code:
WLAN_WPADRIVER[4]="wext"
into
Code:
WLAN_WPADRIVER[4]="madwifi"
Which I assume would fix the problem. But it didn't...instead:
Code:
root@cb:/tmp# /etc/rc.d/rc.inet1 wlan0_restart
info, wlan0: sending signal 1 to pid 7110
info, wlan0: exiting
SIOCSIFHWADDR: Device or resource busy - you may need to down the interface
/etc/rc.d/rc.inet1: wlan0 information: 'Fill with your own settings...'
Error for wireless request "Set Nickname" (8B1C) :
SET failed on device wlan0 ; Operation not supported.
Unsupported driver 'madwifi'.
Failed to connect to wpa_supplicant - wpa_ctrl_open: No such file or directory
Failed to connect to wpa_supplicant - wpa_ctrl_open: No such file or directory
Failed to connect to wpa_supplicant - wpa_ctrl_open: No such file or directory
Failed to connect to wpa_supplicant - wpa_ctrl_open: No such file or directory
Failed to connect to wpa_supplicant - wpa_ctrl_open: No such file or directory
Failed to connect to wpa_supplicant - wpa_ctrl_open: No such file or directory
Failed to connect to wpa_supplicant - wpa_ctrl_open: No such file or directory
Failed to connect to wpa_supplicant - wpa_ctrl_open: No such file or directory
Failed to connect to wpa_supplicant - wpa_ctrl_open: No such file or directory
Failed to connect to wpa_supplicant - wpa_ctrl_open: No such file or directory
And of course this is the outcome of the wpa_supplicant command..
None of the ath_pci, ath_hal, ath_rate_sample, wlan, wlan_tkip, wlan_xauth are loaded...
And I have followed the instruction mentioned in the alien slackbook webpage which states that I must add a line like
Code:
/sbin/modprobe ath_pci
into the /etc/rc.d/rc.modules file. I have done this and still, the ath_pci is not listed in the output of lsmod...
So it seems that the modules that were supposed to be loaded are not loaded after all, and the wpa_supplicant can't recognize the madwifi as a driver..
So how do I implement madwifi as a driver in wpa_supplicant?
Nope, that doesn't help either...you see, I have followed the exact same instructions mentioned in the alien.slackbook (I even give you the link to my first post) and madwifi is not properly installed. (I assume it is not properly installed, as the modules that were supposed to get activated after the installation are not activated at all..) And during the installations I get absolutely no errors.
You should have read my article a bit better then. There is a section that deals with WPA and this says:
Code:
Starting with the linux kernel 2.6.14, madwifi and wpa_supplicant can communicate using
wpa_supplicant's ”wext” driver using the kernel's “wireless extensions”.
For older kernel versions, you will need wpa_supplicant's ”madwifi” driver
... for which you would need to recompile Slackware's wpa_supplicant package btw... but it is not needed.
Hey Eric. Thanks for replying to my thread. (it is a great help to have the original author here :P)
Here is the output of the command:
Code:
root@cb:/tmp/SBo/madwifi-0.9.4# wpa_supplicant -d -c /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf -iwlan0 -Dwext
Initializing interface 'wlan0' conf '/etc/wpa_supplicant.conf' driver 'wext' ctrl_interface 'N/A' bridge 'N/A'
Configuration file '/etc/wpa_supplicant.conf' -> '/etc/wpa_supplicant.conf'
Reading configuration file '/etc/wpa_supplicant.conf'
ctrl_interface='/var/run/wpa_supplicant'
ctrl_interface_group='wheel'
eapol_version=1
ap_scan=1
fast_reauth=1
Priority group 10
id=0 ssid='ThompsonB27795'
Priority group 0
id=1 ssid=''
Initializing interface (2) 'wlan0'
ioctl[SIOCGIFFLAGS]: No such device
Could not get interface 'wlan0' flags
ioctl[SIOCSIWPMKSA]: No such device
ioctl[SIOCSIWMODE]: No such device
Could not configure driver to use managed mode
ioctl[SIOCGIWRANGE]: No such device
WEXT: Operstate: linkmode=1, operstate=5
ioctl[SIOCGIFINDEX]: No such device
Failed to add interface wlan0
State: DISCONNECTED -> DISCONNECTED
wpa_driver_wext_set_operstate: operstate 0->0 (DORMANT)
WEXT: Operstate: linkmode=-1, operstate=5
wpa_driver_wext_set_key: alg=0 key_idx=0 set_tx=0 seq_len=0 key_len=0
ioctl[SIOCSIWENCODEEXT]: No such device
Driver did not support SIOCSIWENCODEEXT, trying SIOCSIWENCODE
ioctl[SIOCSIWENCODE]: No such device
wpa_driver_wext_set_key: alg=0 key_idx=1 set_tx=0 seq_len=0 key_len=0
ioctl[SIOCSIWENCODEEXT]: No such device
Driver did not support SIOCSIWENCODEEXT, trying SIOCSIWENCODE
ioctl[SIOCSIWENCODE]: No such device
wpa_driver_wext_set_key: alg=0 key_idx=2 set_tx=0 seq_len=0 key_len=0
ioctl[SIOCSIWENCODEEXT]: No such device
Driver did not support SIOCSIWENCODEEXT, trying SIOCSIWENCODE
ioctl[SIOCSIWENCODE]: No such device
wpa_driver_wext_set_key: alg=0 key_idx=3 set_tx=0 seq_len=0 key_len=0
ioctl[SIOCSIWENCODEEXT]: No such device
Driver did not support SIOCSIWENCODEEXT, trying SIOCSIWENCODE
ioctl[SIOCSIWENCODE]: No such device
wpa_driver_wext_set_wpa
WEXT: SIOCSIWAUTH(param 7 value 0x0) failed: No such device)
Failed to disable WPA in the driver.
wpa_driver_wext_set_drop_unencrypted
WEXT: SIOCSIWAUTH(param 5 value 0x0) failed: No such device)
wpa_driver_wext_set_countermeasures
WEXT: SIOCSIWAUTH(param 4 value 0x0) failed: No such device)
No keys have been configured - skip key clearing
Cancelling scan request
Cancelling authentication timeout
ioctl[SIOCSIWAP]: No such device
WEXT: Operstate: linkmode=0, operstate=6
ioctl[SIOCGIFFLAGS]: No such device
I really think I should recompile wpa_supplicant, point it to my madwifi driver and get on with it at last... or maybe I can get away with it in a less harmful way?
root@cb:/var/log/packages# iwconfig
lo no wireless extensions.
eth0 no wireless extensions.
Code:
root@cb:/var/log/packages# wpa_supplicant -d -c /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf -iath0 -Dwext
Initializing interface 'ath0' conf '/etc/wpa_supplicant.conf' driver 'wext' ctrl_interface 'N/A' bridge 'N/A'
Configuration file '/etc/wpa_supplicant.conf' -> '/etc/wpa_supplicant.conf'
Reading configuration file '/etc/wpa_supplicant.conf'
ctrl_interface='/var/run/wpa_supplicant'
ctrl_interface_group='wheel'
eapol_version=1
ap_scan=1
fast_reauth=1
Priority group 10
id=0 ssid='ThompsonB27795'
Priority group 0
id=1 ssid=''
Initializing interface (2) 'ath0'
ioctl[SIOCGIFFLAGS]: No such device
Could not get interface 'ath0' flags
ioctl[SIOCSIWPMKSA]: No such device
ioctl[SIOCSIWMODE]: No such device
Could not configure driver to use managed mode
ioctl[SIOCGIWRANGE]: No such device
WEXT: Operstate: linkmode=1, operstate=5
ioctl[SIOCGIFINDEX]: No such device
Failed to add interface ath0
State: DISCONNECTED -> DISCONNECTED
wpa_driver_wext_set_operstate: operstate 0->0 (DORMANT)
WEXT: Operstate: linkmode=-1, operstate=5
wpa_driver_wext_set_key: alg=0 key_idx=0 set_tx=0 seq_len=0 key_len=0
ioctl[SIOCSIWENCODEEXT]: No such device
Driver did not support SIOCSIWENCODEEXT, trying SIOCSIWENCODE
ioctl[SIOCSIWENCODE]: No such device
wpa_driver_wext_set_key: alg=0 key_idx=1 set_tx=0 seq_len=0 key_len=0
ioctl[SIOCSIWENCODEEXT]: No such device
Driver did not support SIOCSIWENCODEEXT, trying SIOCSIWENCODE
ioctl[SIOCSIWENCODE]: No such device
wpa_driver_wext_set_key: alg=0 key_idx=2 set_tx=0 seq_len=0 key_len=0
ioctl[SIOCSIWENCODEEXT]: No such device
Driver did not support SIOCSIWENCODEEXT, trying SIOCSIWENCODE
ioctl[SIOCSIWENCODE]: No such device
wpa_driver_wext_set_key: alg=0 key_idx=3 set_tx=0 seq_len=0 key_len=0
ioctl[SIOCSIWENCODEEXT]: No such device
Driver did not support SIOCSIWENCODEEXT, trying SIOCSIWENCODE
ioctl[SIOCSIWENCODE]: No such device
wpa_driver_wext_set_wpa
WEXT: SIOCSIWAUTH(param 7 value 0x0) failed: No such device)
Failed to disable WPA in the driver.
wpa_driver_wext_set_drop_unencrypted
WEXT: SIOCSIWAUTH(param 5 value 0x0) failed: No such device)
wpa_driver_wext_set_countermeasures
WEXT: SIOCSIWAUTH(param 4 value 0x0) failed: No such device)
No keys have been configured - skip key clearing
Cancelling scan request
Cancelling authentication timeout
ioctl[SIOCSIWAP]: No such device
WEXT: Operstate: linkmode=0, operstate=6
ioctl[SIOCGIFFLAGS]: No such device
suChris, looking at the loaded modules list, your computer is loading both the kernel's "ath5k" driver and the "ath_pci" (aka madwifi) driver. They are conflicting drivers, which may be the reason that you do not have a wireless interface now (as shown by the "iwconfig" command).
The kernel thinks it should load the "ath5k" driver for your wireless card... which does not mean that this driver really supports your card (some hardware will not work with it, and then you have to use madwifi).
In your case you must blacklist "ath5k" so that it will no longer load. This will give the ath_pci driver a chance to initialize the hardware properly.
Add a line with just "ath5k" to the file /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf and reboot the computer. That will prevent this module from loading next time the computer boots.
After reboot, check the output of the "dmesg" command to see what the kernel, and more specific the madwifi driver, thinks about your hardware. the kernel log that you see with "dmesg" should show whether the hardware is initialized correctly
Use "iwconfig" to check if there is a wireless network interface present on your system.
I added "blacklist ath5k" to /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf
That is good.
[QUOTE]Look at
Code:
Kernel modules: ath_pci, ath5k
I don't think that ath5k should be here...
This is perfectly OK. The kernel finds that it has two drivers that support your card, and therefore it would have loaded both, but since you blacklisted one, only the other will be loaded.
Quote:
Code:
# iwconfig
lo no wireless extensions.
eth0 no wireless extensions.
And in your "dmesg" output I see why:
Code:
wifi%d: unable to attach hardware: 'Hardware revision not supported' (HAL status 13)
The madwifi driver does not support this particular type of card. Your only option would be to remove "ath5k" from the blacklist file, and then either remove the madwifi driver completely from your system, or add "ath_pci" and "ath_hal" to the /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf file. Then reboot and look if "iwconfig" shows a wireless interface. Your first posts do not make it 100% clear if the "ath5k" driver works for your card, because your issues with wpa_supplicant were masking this. Worth a try.
I blacklisted ath_pci and ath_hal and un-blacklisted ath5k.
Code:
# iwconfig
lo no wireless extensions.
eth0 no wireless extensions.
wmaster0 no wireless extensions.
wlan0 IEEE 802.11bg ESSID:""
Mode:Managed Frequency:2.412 GHz Access Point: Not-Associated
Tx-Power=0 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
Well...it is visible now. But this kinda leads me back to my old problem of trying to configure wpa_supplicant with no luck.
Here is /etc/rc.d/rc.inet1.conf:
Code:
# Config information for wlan0
IFNAME[4]="wlan0"
IPADDR[4]=""
NETMASK[4]=""
USE_DHCP[4]="yes"
DHCP_HOSTNAME[4]="ThomsonB27795"
WLAN_WPA[4]="wpa_supplicant"
WLAN_WPADRIVER[4]="wext"
wpa_supplicant.conf:
Code:
# WPA protected network, supply your own ESSID and WPAPSK here:
network={
scan_ssid=0
ssid="ThomsonB27795"
proto=WPA RSN
key_mgmt=NONE
pairwise=CCMP TKIP
group=CCMP TKIP WEP104 WEP40
#psk=your_64_char_psk_here
priority=10
}
And here is the configuration of my home network WAP.
Code:
Wireless Access Point - ThomsonB27795
Configuration
Interface Enabled: Yes
Physical Address: xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx
Network Name (SSID): ThomsonB27795
Interface Type: 802.11b/g
Actual Speed: 36 Mbps
Band: 2.4G Hz
Channel Selection: Auto
Region: Europe
Channel: 1
Allow multicast from Broadband Network: Yes
Security
Broadcast Network Name: Yes
Allow New Devices: New stations are allowed (automatically)
Security Mode: none
And here is the output of the wlan0_restart command: (an output I have been seeing for the past week)
Code:
# /etc/rc.d/rc.inet1 wlan0_restart
info, wlan0: sending signal 1 to pid 4924
info, wlan0: exiting
/etc/rc.d/rc.inet1: wlan0 information: 'Any ESSID'
Error for wireless request "Set Nickname" (8B1C) :
SET failed on device wlan0 ; Operation not supported.
Polling for DHCP server on interface wlan0:
err, wlan0: timed out
warn, wlan0: using IPV4LL address 169.254.162.167
And I have used other drivers at wpa_supplicant (wext, ndiswrapper etc. etc.) and wicd. Wicd doesn't see any wireless networks.
You might be trading one driver problem for another.
I'm not a wireless network guru but I can share what I experienced recently. I had problems with an Atheros wireless driver on an Acer netbook. It used the ath9k driver instead of the ath5k driver. Instead of installing MadWiFi I built and installed the most recent compat-wireless available here: http://linuxwireless.org/en/users/Download
There a numerous updates for the ath5k in each of the stable downloads. I suggest using the latest version available titled compat-wireless-2.6.32-rc7.tar.bz2 to get all the changes for the ath5k.
YMMV
Last edited by Chuck56; 12-07-2009 at 09:50 AM.
Reason: spelling
LinuxQuestions.org is looking for people interested in writing
Editorials, Articles, Reviews, and more. If you'd like to contribute
content, let us know.
