[SOLVED] Problem loading wireless card

EnigmaticFellow · 10-16-2012, 08:44 AM

The computer I'm running CLFS on is a Toshiba Satellite A665. The kernel version of linux I'm using is 3.2.29, and it can't seem to load my wireless card.

Here's the code that I got from running lspci -vv while I was on Slackware.

Code:

06:00.0 Network controller: Intel Corporation Centrino Advanced-N + WiMAX 6250 (rev 5f)
	Subsystem: Intel Corporation Centrino Advanced-N + WiMAX 6250 2x2 AGN
	Control: I/O- Mem+ BusMaster+ SpecCycle- MemWINV- VGASnoop- ParErr- Stepping- SERR- FastB2B- DisINTx-
	Status: Cap+ 66MHz- UDF- FastB2B- ParErr- DEVSEL=fast >TAbort- <TAbort- <MAbort- >SERR- <PERR- INTx-
	Latency: 0
	Interrupt: pin A routed to IRQ 42
	Region 0: Memory at d4600000 (64-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=8K]
	Capabilities: [c8] Power Management version 3
		Flags: PMEClk- DSI+ D1- D2- AuxCurrent=0mA PME(D0+,D1-,D2-,D3hot+,D3cold+)
		Status: D0 NoSoftRst- PME-Enable- DSel=0 DScale=0 PME-
	Capabilities: [d0] MSI: Enable+ Count=1/1 Maskable- 64bit+
		Address: 00000000fee0f00c  Data: 4171
	Capabilities: [e0] Express (v1) Endpoint, MSI 00
		DevCap:	MaxPayload 128 bytes, PhantFunc 0, Latency L0s <512ns, L1 unlimited
			ExtTag- AttnBtn- AttnInd- PwrInd- RBE+ FLReset+
		DevCtl:	Report errors: Correctable- Non-Fatal- Fatal- Unsupported-
			RlxdOrd+ ExtTag- PhantFunc- AuxPwr- NoSnoop+ FLReset-
			MaxPayload 128 bytes, MaxReadReq 128 bytes
		DevSta:	CorrErr+ UncorrErr- FatalErr- UnsuppReq+ AuxPwr+ TransPend-
		LnkCap:	Port #0, Speed 2.5GT/s, Width x1, ASPM L0s L1, Latency L0 <128ns, L1 <32us
			ClockPM+ Surprise- LLActRep- BwNot-
		LnkCtl:	ASPM L1 Enabled; RCB 64 bytes Disabled- Retrain- CommClk+
			ExtSynch- ClockPM+ AutWidDis- BWInt- AutBWInt-
		LnkSta:	Speed 2.5GT/s, Width x1, TrErr- Train- SlotClk+ DLActive- BWMgmt- ABWMgmt-
	Capabilities: [100 v1] Advanced Error Reporting
		UESta:	DLP- SDES- TLP- FCP- CmpltTO- CmpltAbrt- UnxCmplt- RxOF- MalfTLP- ECRC- UnsupReq- ACSViol-
		UEMsk:	DLP- SDES- TLP- FCP- CmpltTO- CmpltAbrt- UnxCmplt- RxOF- MalfTLP- ECRC- UnsupReq- ACSViol-
		UESvrt:	DLP+ SDES- TLP- FCP+ CmpltTO- CmpltAbrt- UnxCmplt- RxOF+ MalfTLP+ ECRC- UnsupReq- ACSViol-
		CESta:	RxErr+ BadTLP+ BadDLLP+ Rollover- Timeout- NonFatalErr+
		CEMsk:	RxErr- BadTLP- BadDLLP- Rollover- Timeout- NonFatalErr+
		AERCap:	First Error Pointer: 00, GenCap- CGenEn- ChkCap- ChkEn-
	Capabilities: [140 v1] Device Serial Number 00-23-15-ff-ff-a2-3f-58
	Kernel driver in use: iwlagn
	Kernel modules: iwlagn

I tried doing a number of things with the kernel options before compiling it, but it doesn't seem to work. Would I have to load a module, or would I have to resort to ndiswrapper?

stoat · 10-17-2012, 10:52 AM

I was waiting for someone who uses that device to post. Anyway, it's using iwlagn in Slackware. That Intel driver has been part of the Linux kernel for a long time. You should only have to set the appropriate kernel config options for the kernel to discover the device and load the driver. You should not have to resort to ndiswrapper for a device that uses iwlagn.

Once the device is recognized and the driver is loaded, you still have some work to do regarding establishing a connection (e.g., wpa_supplicant for encryption, and dhclient or whatever for acquiring an IP address from the access point).

EnigmaticFellow · 10-17-2012, 01:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stoat

I was waiting for someone who uses that device to post. Anyway, it's using iwlagn in Slackware. That Intel driver has been part of the Linux kernel for a long time. You should only have to set the appropriate kernel config options for the kernel to discover the device and load the driver. You should not have to resort to ndiswrapper for a device that uses iwlagn.

Once the device is recognized and the driver is loaded, you still have some work to do regarding establishing a connection (e.g., wpa_supplicant for encryption, and dhclient or whatever for acquiring an IP address from the access point).

It's actually not because of the kernel. It turns out that my device was trying to find the 'iwlwifi-6050-5.ucode' file in order to be used, but it couldn't find it. So I went to Intel's website to download the firmware and placed it in /lib/firmware. Unfortunately, modprobe doesn't seem to be able to find the file still. What do I do now?

stoat · 10-17-2012, 03:04 PM

Ponder this idea (no promises)...

If your current kernel configuration has the iwlagn driver compiled as built-in, then the kernel may be looking for the firmware at a time when the firmware file in /lib/firmware is not yet available to it. You might need to add the firmware file to the /sources/firmware folder when building the kernel and configure the kernel to add the file as extra firmware. In other words, build in the firmware, too. Here, only as an example, is a similar thing I had to do for missing radeon video firmware...

Code:

|...Device Drivers --->
|    |
     |...Generic Driver Options --->
     |    |
          |...[*]Include in-kernel firmware blobs in kernel binary (CONFIG_FIRMWARE_IN_KERNEL=y)
          |...External firmware blobs to build into the kernel library (CONFIG_EXTRA_FIRMWARE="radeon/R600_rlc.bin")
          |    |...R600_rlc.bin
          |
          |...Firmware blobs root directory (CONFIG_EXTRA_FIRMWARE_DIR="firmware")
          |    |...firmware

That worked. But in the end, I compiled the radeon driver as a module and simply copied the firmware to /lib/firmware/radeon (kinda like you did). That also worked. One way or the other, but do it to both the driver and the additional firmware.

If the above speculation is correct and applicable to your problem, then other thing you can do is rebuild the kernel with the wireless driver compiled as a module and the firmware file in /lib/firmware. This may result in the kernel dealing with the driver later on at a time when the firmware file in /lib/firmware will be accessible. Anyway, it would be an easy thing to test.

EnigmaticFellow · 10-18-2012, 02:06 PM

Well stoat, I got the card to finally work after adding these following lines for the .config file used to compile the kernel and placing the microcode file in the firmware subdirectory.

Code:

CONFIG_FIRMWARE_IN_KERNEL=y
CONFIG_EXTRA_FIRMWARE="iwlwifi-6050-5.ucode"
CONFIG_EXTRA_FIRMWARE_DIR="firmware"