can't get wireless to work
 

I can't get wireless to work
If you need anymore info please let me know. I've been working on this for several days trying to troubleshoot.

Hi:

You're not alone.
I read all of the Arch Linux Documentation on how to get the wifi working and it's not the easiest to understand. If I understand it correctly you need to set up the wifi one of the three ways. Wicd, iw, or wpa_supplicant.

https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php..._configuration

If I find a way to get the wireless working I'll certainly post it for you.

Good Luck-:)

try

it certainly looks like everything is working.
so what isn't working exactly?
how are you connecting (try what the previous poster suggested)?

No offense but those commands don't work in arch. It uses iw, I'm trying to use wpa_supplicant because according to the wiki if you use wpa you have to. I can get this far the problem is the portion that starts with a n. That's suppposed to be the accesspoint discovery but when I run the commands to find it I can't, even though it's picking up all my networks. I've been reading a lot about it and I have found some posts where they solved it but they don't give the solution. Others were just too old. I'm using a wired connection. Thanks

I'd tell you to just install then package but that is silly, you got no wifi. So, then why not try what arch has to say about it then?


Wireless network configuration ArchLinux

I've tried all that trust me.

rfkill - but chances are the package that deals with that called, rfkill is not installed as that is more common place then not in every Linux Distro I've tried.
as root or sudo.

I had to install rfkill. this is what I got

I googled "arch linux Intel Corporation Wireless 3160 arch linux driver" because that is what it is looking like it is boiling down to? Their were a few hits for this Intel 3160 and archLinux issues. you'd probably be better off looking into that yourself, because that is all I can do is google for you.

https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=193570

Thanks I appreciate. I'll keep googling.

I do not know dick about ArchLinux - but if it has NetworkManager - that is what I always use, it always deals with wifi rather well. it does whatever s needed to connect other then selecting the provider.

It's not that easy in arch. It has network manager also. The problem is you still need wpa_supplicant. I tried googling some more but the posts I found were old. Arch now (supposedly) has built in support. I've been messing with this for too long. Any suggestions about other distros that would be challenging but not impossible?

anyone you want to download give a try and see what happens. The choice is yours really.
I'd suggest straight Debian, Slackware, VOID before going with the "knockoffs."

no, that's supposed to be the driver you use, and from your post #1 i see that your wireless uses a different driver.
in fact it seems you simply copied over text from "man wpa_supplicant".
i also suspect that you don't necessarily need to specify the driver at all.

i also don't think your interface is called "wlan0".
from rfkill output, i'd say "phy0", but make sure with the command "ip link".

ifconfig to get your interphase name. The psy0 is just a psychical connection 0 - I'd say a zero based numbering system.

As I stated in an earlier post the problem starts with the n and the numbers after it. I don't know what to put. and as I discovered it is not wan0. it has a different name but at the moment I can't tell you because I was in a chroot enviroment.

wlan0 for most -- I have a distro that names my wifi card bsd style -- I do not know how Arch names its devices.

again sudo ifconfig gets you the device name
this gives detailed step by step on how to it is ArchLinux how to
https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/WPA_supplicant

I have followed the wpa_supplicant and everything else I could find until I think I am losing my mind. Literally for two days I got up at 5 a.m. skipped breakfast and lunch so I could keep working on what to do. And once gain arch uses iw.

that ArchLinux webpage is for archlinux by archlinux you show you're using wpa_supplicant not iw if they are not the same. I do not use wpa_supplicant I stop doing that a long long time ago. Opted for something easier to setup.

I meant it does not use ifcong it uses iw. I'm through with arch. Onto something else.

are you sure you spelt it right wlan0 not wan0
google what arch uses for name wifi device.

in my /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf is this

I tried what you said but it must be different in arch. Accordung to the arch wiki everything worked fine until I got to wpa_cli. After that I'm supposed to get > instead I get

double post

use sudo -- (root) see if that works. it is a root thing --

you did all of this right right?
where in their instructions it states to create a .conf file with this
are you using sudo or root user to issue your commands?

Enabling and disabling network interfaces

You can activate or deactivate network interfaces using:
where your wifi should then be this
as root or using sudo

I'm running this as root

arch also states you can use iw to do all of this.

this then changes to this as root
get your provider essid and key
notice the difference? arch does this too.

Thank you so much for all your help. You've given above and beyond, But unfortunately laptop is going back to dell, I'd been having problems with my laptop and had been going round and round and round with dell.

They said they could only troubleshoot windows. Well it crashed on me so now they are taking it back, whether I get a new one or not it's going to have windows 10 on it so I have to start again. I think this time I'll install debian and just enjoy my computer instead of fighting it. Thanks for being so great and I'm sorry for your troubles.

oh dell -- I only have horror stories about dell.

I've got two other laptops that are dell and I never had a problem. Now it's too late but next time i'll know better. I've also used HP's and liked them. What do you recommend? I think I'm going to have to buy an extended warranty on this dell. I hate to see how much that will cost.

Toshibia laptops work well with Linux. Acer's do ok and Asus as well.
Certain HP's overheat:-

Zareason makes desktops and laptop specifically for "Linux only".
https://zareason.com/

-:::-Read the fine print on the extended warranty.......it may not cover what you think.-:::-
Return that Dell if it's not too late.

http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/...ask-an-expert/

https://www.google.com/search?q=443-...ties+laptops&*

I have HP Elitebook 8460p been very very good to me

I want to return it but I don't think that I can. I'm going to read the fine print on the warranty. thanks

Has it been more than 30 days?

You're Welcome.

Yes it has. I already checked. I can't get my money back. And the hard drive is fried on my backup computer. it's old so I'm not spending money on it. I will probably get a refurbished notebook because I spent so much on that dell. I already have an optical drive I can use. There's no telling when I'll get my laptop back. I have a chromebook that's great but I want debian and a touch screen. Yes I am spoiled. :)

Sorry to hear that.

Maybe try another distro that's lightweight on that Dell. Lubuntu or Anti-x:-
You might just have success.

Debian and a touch screen sounds great!

Best of Luck to you.

I believe Arch Linux uses systemd... so referring to their documentation is your best option.

NetworkManager should be easiest rather than attempting manual configuration.

https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/NetworkManager

I tried kubuntu and everything worked out of the box. But I found it too easy. I want to be challenged or i'll never learn to be a pro. i bought a book with all the command line uses. One of these days (years :) ) I'd like to try linux from scratch just for the experience. I also intend to give arch another try with a notebook. I get bored easily as you can probably tell.

I was following the documentation. Maybe it'll be easier with a different computer.

not sure if you're still on archlinux, but this post should have been helpful:

Yes but I tried iwlwifi which is the name of the driver. Not sure if that's what it was looking for. And I know it wasn't wlan0. I had a weird name that started with a w. I'm not going sure what I'm going to do a this point. I am going to get something very soon and go from there. I checked and I can get an external hd for less than $30, Anybody have any advice?

Arch Linux is a slightly more advanced Linux distribution for more experienced users. I suggest just going with something Debian based until you're more confident.

I was planning on installing debian and then getting an external hd to play with other distros. The notebook I'm looking at only has a 32 gb hd. Would it be big enough to create two 15 gb partitions with 2 gb swap?

Linux distributions can all share the same swap so that shouldn't be an issue, but how big the install gets, really depends on you. 3G2B does seem a little on the small side however - I take it this is not a new PC?

It's a new notebook. My hd fried on my old laptop but I have a new dell that is going back because it is having problems. I always like a backup but after spending that much money on a laptop I couldn't justify spending a lot of money on another laptop. There is a way to install linux on a thumb drive on my chromebook but from what I read it's a little tricky. I use parted live for partitioning and I know about swap. As far as space I try and run my distros as lean as possible. I only install terminator and chromium.