Thanks for the follow-up.
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Some Q's: 1] A quick search on that card shows up: "Intel WiFi Link 5100 - Network adapter - PCI Express Mini Card - 802.11b, 802.11a, 802.11g, 802.11n (draft 2.0) - only compatible with an Intel® Centrino® 2 processor technology-based laptop. Is that your CPU? 2] Are there any settings in the BIOS referring to the slot? 3] What, exactly, happens when you boot with the new card plugged in? 4] What is the exact model number of your HP PC? (Or, even better, can you provide a link to its PDF manual?) |
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1) No, I have an AMD CPU, but this card is known to work with more modern HP laptops. If I had known, I wouldn't have purchased it, but would have gotten another one. On the other hand, what would you expect Intel to say about an Intel card working with a non-Intel CPU? 2) No 3) It gives a 104 error and halts the system forcing a reboot. You are required to remove the card before the boot process will continue. Having found the error and researched it, I find that it is the "infamous" HP 104 blacklist. Continuing my research, I find that HP programmed a few (not sure how many, 2 to 4 I think) acceptable cards in the BIOS. I found hackers documentation on how to edit the BIOS, but I'm not going that route. I probably could manage it, but the risk is making your laptop into a brick, and I'm not willing to risk that. 4) DV7-1541nr, can't find a manual, but here is a link to the support page: http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/m...oduct=3979512& Incidentally, I also have an HP DV-8140us which has the Broadcom PCI card and had the same problem. I also bought it an Intel wifi card and received the same 104 error. Damn HP for deliberately preventing you from doing as you wish with your own hardware. I'm continuing the search for a solution and have ordered a Dlink DWA-643 wifi ExpressCard/34. I don't know that it will work, but Dlink has a good rep and it was only $27. I removed the internal wifi card to avoid conflicts. |
Thanks for the additional info.
I have done some reading and that looks like one nasty BIOS. You might do better with a USB connected wireless dongle. Do some research on linux compatability before you decide which one to purchase. |
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I'm getting that boxed-in feeling after hitting too many walls!
Your situation: You want to stay with 10.04 ath5k is broken with the current kernel for 10.04 You have an AMD CPU and a 64-bit installation (which is maybe why the DWL-G132 does not work). You cannot fit another PCIE wireless card without hacking your BIOS, which you do not wish to do. The only way out I see is to refit your original PCIE wireless card, and install a newer kernel, where ath5k works properly. This seems "scary" but is really very straightforward. I had to install a specially hacked kernel (it's here) to get a sony VPC-Z11 laptop to boot ubuntu 10.10. It was easy and has worked well for months now. From the link I gave you earlier, the steps are really very simple: Code:
sudo -i See if the wireless works (check that ath5k is being loaded, it should be). No harm is done, and if you want to go back to your original configuration, just boot to your old kernel (from the grub menu) and remove the new one like this: Code:
sudo -i |
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I wish I knew whether you knew the ExpressCard wasn't going to work, or if that's just an opinion based on the trouble I've had so far. In any case, it shouldn't be the BIOS stopping me this time. Have I mentioned how much I HATE HP? Meanwhile there are only so many hours in a day and I have to travel next month, so I need a quick and non-experimental solution. Plus frankly, my time is worth far more than $27. The Expresscard shipped yesterday. I will try the new kernel solution you mentioned. I've been meaning to edit out the unused previous kernels anyway - I just alway have to look up grub commands because I don't use them that often. I will post the results for both the machines I have. This thread, at least, is going to end with a solution. Thanks again for all your help, Toad |
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Also, the other machine I have (HP DV-8140us) has the Broadcom wifi card. It shouldn't be being affected by the ath5k driver. I'll try the .33 kernel there as well, but if you have other suggestions, I'd be glad to try them. Regards, Toad |
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I always keep a couple of older kernels in case of trouble. |
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Finally, you didn't say what you thought about possibly downgrading to 10.04 32-bit. I don't mind, if you think there's a reasonable chance it would fix things. I guess I'll have no other choice if nothing else works. Thanks, Toad |
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Code:
dpkg --get-selections > packagelist Code:
dpkg --set-selections < packagelist |
TobiSGD has answered your Q about reinstalling packages. I just make a backup of everything when I have configured my system to a usable state. Thereafter, I just backup my ~
As for 32-bit, it's what I still use as I have no need for a 64-bit system ( eg a massive database, huge amounts of RAM etc.), and more things (eg flash) seem to be happy with 32-bit, although 64-bit is getting better. |
Thanks for the answers. One more, please. If I choose to drop back to 32-bit, does it change the kernel loading commands you gave me? (I assume yes.) Could you give me the new set?
Meanwhile, I did the kernel upgrade and it did load the wireless. Haven't tested it, but it does detect the networks I know to be in the area. On the other hand, it hosed my video playback. SMPlayer only does the audio and Mplayer is jerky. So, I'm figuring that trying 32-bit is the next step, but I'm fairly sure the commands you gave me are for the 64-bit only. Finally, I'm thinking that if no other solution presents itself, I might use the 2.6.33 kernel when using wireless, and the 2.6.32 when I have a wired connection and want the video to work. I'm sure there is a way to make grub give me a few seconds to choose between the available kernels. Could you tell me what it is? Thanks, Toad |
Assuming you have a 32-bit install of 10.04.
Apply the updates. Reinstall your favourite packages as suggested by TobiSGD To install the updated 32-bit kernel: Code:
sudo -i Code:
gksudo gedit /etc/default/grub Code:
GRUB_HIDDEN_TIMEOUT=0 I have a 2-second timeout to use the down arrow and select a different kernel. The moment you hit the down arrow, the timer stops. Select the kernel at your leisure. Press return to boot it. Now Code:
sudo update-grub |
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Question: The list that the --get command produces ... Will it work regardless of which kernel I have installed? I mean, if I swap between 64 and 32 bit, or between kernels or distributions, will it choke on things? I wouldn't expect the 32-bit kernel to be able to load a 64-bit package, but I would hope it would give a reasonable error message, load the correct version, or at least not HCF (Halt-and-Catch-Fire, a famous early assembly language operation.) I produced the list using the method you gave, and it has about 1100 packages. Copied it to a 16 Gig flash drive, along with my home directory. If 95% of them would reload correctly and I got reasonable message for the rest, it would be a snap to reload when I need to. Thanks, Toad |
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A better idea might be just to keep a list of the additional packages you install after the base install, and then just install that list again, should you need to reinstall. Finally, there's always the "take a backup" and "restore the backup" method. |
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