I have both 14.1 and 14.0 with generic kernel built for both releases, ie. 3.10.17 and 3.2.45 respectively, in my LILO selections. When I fall back under LILO to my 14.0 installation the NetworkManager starts my wireless connection without intervention on my part. When I start up 14.1 the NetworkManager starts but shuts down the wireless connection. Then I have to either su and enter the essid and key for the wireless interface to start, or alternatively enter a DE/WM and run the nm-applet and then start the interface.

I've searched for an answer and looked in both /var/log/messages and /var/log/dmesg, but as a newbie I'm struggling to find what is different and where to look for clues. Can anyone help me understand where to look for clues or point me to a solution? Is the clue that NetworkManager should only work at login time and in fact isn't working correctly under 14.0? Or should I go back to rc.inet1.conf, enter the wireless parameters, disable rc.networkmanager, and use some other applet(suggestion) to check connection status? Appreciated the help.

These are the actions I've attempted to resolve the issue.
Under 14.1 I have run pkgtools and selected NetworkManager to manage my connections. I've checked that /etc/rc.d/rc.inet1.conf has default null arguments to all parameters. I have chmod +x /etc/rc.d/rc.networkmanager and chmod -x /etc/rc.d/rc.wireless per the SlackBook recommendations when using NetworkManager. Under 14.0 I haven't had to do any of this, it simply worked. /etc/rc.d/rc.inet is executable. /etc/rc.d/rc.inet2 is executable. /etc/rc.d/rc.M has the correct commands to start rc.inet1, rc.inet2 and rc.networkmanager. I've started KDE and checked wlan0 under system settings/network is set to automatically connect and even allowed it to have BSSID established for the AP I'm trying to connect with.
I've read AlienBob's article about networking and it addresses using the older networking parameters, before NetworkManager introductions, so I've ignored the "exactly one parameter" requirement in rc.inet1.conf wlan section to get the wireless interface to start at boot-up, I believe this instruction to be outdated when using NetworkManager. The rest of AlienBob's article is helpful in understanding all the files that come in to play at boot-up.

Other information about my setup: HP zv5410us, 512Mb memory, broadcom b43 wireless driver, wireless connection is essid hidden, and I can only use a WEP key due to an older piece of hardware on my network that is limited to WEP. But again these settings don't seem to affect the 14.0/3.2.45 settings.

Hi:

When it comes to wireless I'm not the best at it but this might help.
I'm guessing that maybe your missing a kernel driver.

For what it's worth I had the same trouble with Network Manager. It would connect and than drop my wireless connection.
Strangely so; until I gave 'KWallet' a password and typed in my wireless key Network Manager wouldn't work for me.

When I did have a WEP key I had to install the realtek driver for my motherboard's chipset in order for my wireless to work.
Not sure if that will help you but it wouldn't hurt to find out what chipset you have.
That would show up in the output of lspci

Once you've gathered the above information, and assuming you've used modprobe to load the appropriate kernel driver, you can edit rc.wireless.conf and add your settings. The rc.wireless.conf file is a bit untidy.
http://www.slackbook.org/html/networ...-wireless.html

http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...roblem-856259/
http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...er-4175484431/

Unless I misunderstood this solved thread you should be able to manage wireless with wicd-
http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...es-4175491180/

Maybe a more experienced member running Slackware will know more and chime in soon.-
Sorry I don't know more.

Thanks for the suggestions. This is not a kernel driver issue, the interface does come-up when I use nm-applet under 14.1 and log-in. The issue is that it doesn't automatically connect under 14.1, as is selected in the network interface details. First I'm trying to find out if it works "as designed" under 14.0 or 14.1? Then if as designed in 14.0 why it isn't working under 14.1? If as designed under 14.1 then what is causing it to connect under 14.0? My configurations are the same and the only thing which is different is the kernel. I'm using the same kernel driver for the broadcom wireless in both configs.

Your Welcome--

Just an idea; run lsmod and read throught the device mod's and drivers for your 14.0 install.
Than compare the output of "lsmod" on your 14.1 installation and see if lacks what what 14.0 has.

That way will rule out any missing modules/drivers with certainty--

So... your running kernel 3.10.17 on your 14.0 installation and 3.2.45 for your 14.1 installation?

Sometimes the changelogs are helpful. I could only find the change log for kernel 3.2.58. I didn't see 3.2.45--
https://www.kernel.org/

The only other thing I can think of is maybe installing the driver for your chipset-
In the past my wireless would not work at all until I installed the realtek driver for my chipset.

Also sometimes but not always falling back to another kernel or installing the most current stable version of the kernel helps if there is a performance issue
or if you suspect a issue with hardware. I'm out of idea's but I will ask around. If I find good information you will be the first to know:-

Sorry, I think you misread the original post, 3.2.45 is running on 14.0 and 3.10.17 on 14.1. I'll take your suggestion and see if I can find any differences. Thanks for the clues. Brian

Your Welcome-