Wireless Networks seen but won't connect
 

I'm running the new Slackware 14.0 64 on an HPdv2945. I have installed the SlackBuild fwcutter and B43. I now can pull up WICD and see my network along with others in the neighborhood. I just can't connect to them.

I run iwlist scan and it shows wlan0 having a lot of network choices but won't connect. My network is WPA secured so I thought I might be typing the password incorrectly but there is also a neighbor network unsecured and it won't connect either. My network does the authorization thing but fails to get an IP.

Any ideas on what I missed during set up?

Thanks
Ace

The best kept secret there is wpa_passphrase. You need a chunk of the output from that in /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf. Then run 'iwlist wlan0 scan |less' and copy your wireless point's ap.
Finally this command

Should do it. Then run 'dhcpcd wlan0'

Thanks, I had a little problem. I wasn't really sure what Your_essid ap meant. Assuming Your_essid ap meant my network name but was still unclear about where to put it in the command above. Is it...
1) wpa_supplicant -c/etc/wpa_supplicant.conf -Dwext -iwlan0 && iwconfig wlan0 essid "Ace"
or
2) wpa_supplicant -c/etc/wpa_supplicant.conf -Dwext -iwlan0 && iwconfig wlan0 essid Your_essid ap "Ace"
or
3) wpa_supplicant -c/etc/wpa_supplicant.conf -Dwext -iwlan0 && iwconfig wlan0 essid Your_essid ap your_ap "Ace"

I typed in the wpa_supplicant -c/etc/wpa_supplicant.conf -Dwext -iwlan0 && iwconfig wlan0 essid "Ace" and the command started and never finished. I had to Ctrl-C to close. Then it held the file open.

Thanks
Ace

Here's some typical information from my neighbours returned by 'iwlist wlan0 scan |less
I've actually mangled a few of my neighbour's details. To get on to that fictional ap, the command would be

Got the idea? The essid argument is the network name, the ap argument is the mac address of the ap as shown in iwlist wlan0 scan |less

Thanks Business Kid. I didn't have any luck but I appreciate the attempt.

Ok here is all I've done.
1) Installed fwcutter and B43 firmware that I used on Slackware 13.37 64. Didn't work. I could see various networks but couldn't get connected.
2) ran the command above as business kid recommended. I got a lot of "Use and Option" type replies. Like you get with you type a command without a parameter. Still no luck
3) Downloaded Broadcom_sta for Slack 14. Didn't have any luck. Couldn't even see the networks any more. (I did clean out the B43)
4) Cleaned B_sta and installed a newer Slack Build of Fwcutter and B43 firmware from a Slack 14 library site. I could see networks in wicd again but couldn't connect. I even made it past the authorization stage just wouldn't try to get an IP.
5) I ran iwconfig wlan0 essid "Ace" and then dhcpcd wlan0. no errors, it just didn't change anything.
6) Oddly enough, I also clicked around on wpa_supplicant gui. It seen my network and said it got a good IP. I was able to bring up the Google page in sea monkey and then I was dropped. The whole time wicd still didn't see me being connected nor would let me connect. After that the wpa gui wouldn't see my network.

So I've been looking around and while I'm FAR from a kernel expert it appears that B43 802.11 b/g WLAN just isn't really supported with the new Slackware 14. Is this true? If so I can quit trying to fit a square peg in a round hole and go back to 13.37 64

Meanwhile until I hear back from someone that knows more than me, I'm going to run through the process again, just to see if I've over looked something.

Thanks
Ace

B43 is supported, or I wouldn't be getting through.

With b43-fwcutter, you need an exact varsion for your hardware and an command which should show piles of firmware being spat through to /lib/firmware. You should have stuff like this in /var/log/messages

There is actually a later version of the driver.


You find the exact version you need at
http://www.linuxwireless.org/en/users/Drivers/b43 and how to use it. This page is the gospel on b43. I think I compiled from source. Beware that the broadcom sta driver blacklists b43, so hack modprobe.d/blacklist and remove b43. If your b43 appears on usb, you also need b43-pci-bridge, a driver hidden ssb.ko (Sonics Silicon Backplane).

BK, Thanks,

Well I still not getting any network connections. With the latest configuration, I'm not even getting wicd to see the networks. Below is what I've done. May be you can see what I've missed.

1)grep -i b43 /var/log/messages gave me -- lsp/var/log/messages:Oct 20 11:05:28 darkstar kernel: [ 11.110808] b43-phy0: Broadcom 4312 WLAN found (core revision 15)
2) lspci -vnn -d 14e4: gave me -- Network controller [0280]: Broadcom Corporation BCM4312 802.11b/g LP-PHY [14e4:4315] (rev 01)
3) The website you gave me shows 4315 was highly supported.
4) There wasn't a Slackware section, so I used "Other 3.2+" Fwcutter and firmware.
5) Installed fwcutter b43-fwcutter-015.tar.bz2
5) Installed b43-firmware/broadcom-wl-5.100.138.tar.bz2
6) Rebooted several times, no luck.
7) I ran iwconfig wlan0 essid "Ace" and dhcpcd wlan0. I got the light on the laptop to change to blue showing a connection of some sort but it didn't change my situation.
8) I ran iwlist scan and wlan0 sees all the local networks in the neighborhood but wpa_supplicant_gui and wicd does not.
9) Checked modprobe.d/blacklist and seen where bc43xx was blacklisted. I both left it and then commented it out. No luck. There wasn't anything for B43 or ssb etc. There actually wasn't a single blacklist file, the blacklist files seem to be for each item. IE not blacklist.conf but rather bc43xx_blacklist.conf (paraphrase name) and nivdia_XXXXXX.blacklist.conf

So thats where I'm at. All of this was done on top of a brand new installation of Slackware 14 64. You stated you were getting on with Slackware 14_64 did you use the same fwcutter / firmware file as I? Did you use the section under "Other" or did you go with a different distro? Lastly, instead of using 3.2+ kernal section or should i have went with 2.X+?

Thanks for all your patience.
Ace

Up here,
https://skydrive.live.com/?cid=99361...4096FF2C07!208

I have put

1. The firmware, in a b43/ directory from /lib/firmware
2. rc.wireless.conf which is untouched. My much hacked one was swapped out during the install
3. rc.inet1.conf which has a few tweaks in the [4] section. You may want to comment out

DHCP_KEEPRESOLV=yes

Grab those in the next day or two, and try them. The rc. files go in /etc/rc.d. I have the 4312 and it works on those. You did doctor up wpa_supplicant.conf with the output of wpa_passphrase??

Hey Business Kid, I appreciate all the effort. I wasn't able to get a connection. The boot up hangs at a certain point and tries to get a carrier. It gets an 8 sec time out and continues with the boot up. Also Wicd doesn't see any networks once I'm in KDE.

I think this week I'll go back to 13.37 64. The setup was alot easier as I remember and I've been without my computer for over a week. Plus I'm worried that if 14.0 takes dating various files and running numerous commands from the prompt just to get on my network, then when I take the laptop anywhere away from the house, I'm going to have to go through updating various files for the new network. I didn't have that with the 13.37 64. Once I set up the card, I could log on to about any network by just clicking connect.

Again I do appreicate all the trouble you went through. I'll just wait until I have more time and knowledge to try 14.0 again. Right now I'm updating files because different web-sites are telling me exactly what to type and where. As a result, I don't fully understand what is going on so I don't know what is missing or correct order to do various commands.

Thanks
Ace

I never used wicd. I set up the psk with wpa_passphrase, and then the rc scripts did it and wicd or nothing else is needed. The wifi for 13.37 is the same as the wifi for 14.0. The program versions may have been bumped up but the scripts are the same.

Get specific, Ace, or you'll never get connected. Do it by hand. Get stuck. Tell us exactly where you are stuck. No need to upgrade, downgrade, or change distros. Then when we ask you to try something, try it and be precise as to the error messages. All we can go on is your description of the problem and error behaviour.
You're not telling us error behaviour.

With that 8 sec delay, you're not associating. Post the last few lines of
grep b43-phy0 /var/log/messages

Ok. You convinced me. I'm going put in a fresh copy of 14.0. Then I will run lspci then lsmod and drop it in here so you can see what we get right out of the gate. Then I'll read up on wpa passphase and psk then go where it leads.. I'll keep you posted .

Thanks
Ace

man wpa_passphrase

Ok, here is what I had last night. I started with a new installation of 14.0 the lsmod and lspci were as such
Then I installed Fwcutter and rebooted. Then installed B43firmware and rebooted. Below is what I had afterwards
Next I ran iwlist scan and iwconfig
Then I read up on and ran wpa_passphase
Lastly I ran iwconfig and dhcpcd.
So here is where I'm at. The wifi light on the computer activates but none of the gui's see any networks.

Any suggestions or do you see where I've missed something.

Thanks Again
Ace

Make sure you haven't got 'fast ethernet switching' or anything like it enabled in the kernel. What that does is switch off the wifi if you configure the lan, or vice-versa.

The connect sequence is
Each stage has to succeed before the next will work

In the cloistered days of old, an English monarch and his virgin wife got married without sufficient knowledge of each other to do what comes naturally, and people only gathered that when there was no offspring for some years :-/. You're in a similar position - you have it perfect, you just need to set it up. Stop fixing it, and try the above sequence. Losing the carrier can be a signal strength problem. What's the quality for your ap in iwlist?

If you can't associate, try

That may grab a terminal, and run 'dhcpcd wlan0' from another if it does.

B_K,

Well here are the results from last attempt.

ifconfig wlan0 up
Ran fine, no errors and back to the prompt.
iwlist wlan0 scan |less #copy your AP mac address
Ran fine, copied MAC address
iwconfig essid "Ace" ap <paste your AP mac address> #This associates you, and wpa_supplicant should be automatic
Gave me “Ace unknown command” error. I had to type iwconfig wlan0 essid "Ace" ap 00:00:00:00:00 then it ran fine and dropped to prompt again.
iwconfig wlan0 # Check you are associated
Ran Fine No errors, though it just dropped to the prompt. It didn't say anything about being associated or not
dhcpcd wlan0
Ran Fine no errors
Over all went well but no connection. I did get the blue activation light on the computer however.

wpa_supplicant -c/etc/wpa_supplicant.conf -Dwext -iwlan0 && iwconfig essid "Ace" ap 00:00:00:00:00
This didn’t give an error but it doesn’t go back to the prompt. It drops to a blank line and sits. I left it for 15 mins. Finally I had to Ctrl-Z to stop the process. I reran but I get and open file error. Went to var/wpa_supplicant (I believe) and had to delete wlan0 file . I reran again, and got the same result as the first attempt. A hang up.

I don’t have wicd installed so I don’t not if the networks are seen or not. I do know that iwlist sees all the networks close to my house including mine.

Any suggestions? I’m not trying to throw in your lap. I just don’t know where to go from here. You’ve covered what I knew to do a long while back.

Also, I’ve never worked with the kernel. I can’t say if I have fast switching activated or not. I’ll research it when I get home.

Thanks
Ace

Here's how a connected wifi looks
The access point says you're associated. Right there on line 2 it says "not associated" if you're not associated. Check the Quality also. Things can get dodgy below 40/70.

Sorry about errors. The wireless tools (iwconfig, iwlist) both always need wlan0 as the first argument.
To see how it's going, just run 'ifconfig wlan0' after the 'dhcpcd wlan0' line - see if wlan0 has an IP. 169.254.x.x is not a working IP, but the default when it fails to get one.

you should see this sort of stuff from the dhcpcd command, btw

Ethernet Fast Switching is in the BIOS. Don't worry about kernels.

Well BK, I am now speaking to you from Slackware 14.0 64 with Broadcom 4312. It was a long process. I appreciate all your help and patience.

Here is what finally got me over the hump. I ran your previous suggestions
ifconfig wlan0 up
iwlist wlan0 scan|less (I think I have my MAC address memorized at this point)
iwconfig wlan0 essid "Ace" ap 00:00:00:00:00:00

At this point I ran iwconfig wlan0 and seen that I wasn't associated

I ran wpa_supplicant -c/etc/wpa_supplicant.conf -Dwext -iwlan0 && iwconfig essid "Ace" ap 00:00:00:00:00:00

as usual it just dropped to the next line and hung up. Then I went and pulled up the wpa_supplicant.conf file and noticed it didn't have any information in it. Including my passphase. So I surfed around and learn what needed to be in the file. I updated the file by hand and reran all the previous commands. The wpa_supplicant command associated and connected. It still hung up (I may have had something entered wrong still. I'll clean it up later) then I ran iwconfig wlan0 and seen I was associated. Lastly I ran dhcpcd wlan0 and here I am.

For the moment I'm going to start populating my computer with all my files and programs. In time I'll clean up a few quirky items and then I'll dive in to what is exactly happening with the wpa_supplicant.conf file and fully understanding the process so I'll be able to duplicate next time on my own.

Again, Thanks for all your help. Scottie has nothing on you (nod to Ireland)

Ace

Great that you're going. Here's my /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf
Now I don't know if they still do it, but some Slackware config file had sections with the leading digits of the mac address of your computer, but I hacked all that out as most of it was a pure waste. Manufacturers have a code to start their mac addresses with, so you can identify the manufacturer from the mac if the mac address is original (Big If).

You should be able to configure rc.wireless.conf and maybe touch up section [4] in rc.inet1.conf which will override any settings in wireless.conf.

I am only having one issue. I lose connection pretty quickly and I have to log off and restart. My signal shows being 62/70. However when I do the wpa_supplicant command, it associates and connects but hangs after CONTROL EVENT blah blah blah. I have to Ctrl-Z to get to move on. It does t stop me from getting on but could be contributing to the dropping out. Meanwhile is there a way to add all the set up commands to a boot up script. So I don't have to type every time . Also what happens if I take the laptop some where else? Do I have to type the Essid for those networks too? Just asking.
Thanks
Ace

That wpa_supplicant.conf works on my place, and unprotecrted networks. The section between the { & } is the output of 'man wpa_passphrase. IIRC, B43 doesn't do WEP, but does all forms of wpa.

To go live at boot: The config files I offered were here
https://skydrive.live.com/#cid=99361...4096FF2C07!208
The rc.wireless.conf & rc.inet1.conf work in my place, the local College, and a few hotels at least. There is often an issue with resolv.conf if they use their own dns (and disallow yours) but you can sort that on a place by place basis. If the dns doesn't come up right, find out what it should be, set
DHCP_KEEPRESOLV="yes"
and try again.

On the dropouts, I've no idea. 62/70 is fine. What issues the CONTROL_EVENT?

Business Kid,

Well I finally got everything to work correctly. Your help was greatly appreciated. At the point I was at previously, I couldn't stay on line but for 2-3 mins before I was dropped and had to do everything over to get it back up and running. So I tried uninstalling the fwcutter and b43 and installed broadcom_sta. Still no luck. At that point I decided I was going back to 13.37_64. This ended up being a good thing. To bore you with a long story, I installed 13.37_64. I down loaded fwcutter and b43 firmware. Didn;t have any luck so I looked around and found some slack builds with older version levels for 13.37_64. I then installed Wicd 1.6.X.X I think, from my previous installation. It let me stay on line and it logged on to a local unsecured network. However when I went to enter my pass key, it wouldn't leave the set up screen. It acted like it was waiting on me to hit Ok. To cut to the chase, I realized my mistake. I had Wicd for 32 bit. I guess it worked previously before I started installing 14.0_64, because I had the multilibs installed for 32bit. Sure enough, once I got 1.7.2.1 _64 I was on strong.

Energized with new determination, I reinstalled 14.0_64. Installed fwcutter 014 and b43-firmware-5.10.56.27.3. I installed Wicd 1.7.2.4_64 (Slack Build) and I've been running strong ever since. Also as a side note, I noticed 13.37 wpa_supplicant.conf had my ESSID and passkey and also a generic "ALL" type set up as well. Upon installing 14.0_64 the wpa_supplicant.conf only had two lines, like last time. Don't remember specifically but was something about controlXXXXXXX.
So I replaced it with the one from my 13.37_64 installation. Not sure if it amounted to anything given I copied it first before installing wicd. But just as an FYI.

I hope my adventure and conclusion helped someone running 14.0_64. Now that the wireless thing is over, I really am liking the upgrade to 14.0. Again, thanks for all you help.

Ace

Thanks, Ace. I spent a Month here in the beginning installing distros & trying to get online, and another few days when I went encrypted. But once you master it, you're made up. And it's so much more intellectually satisfying than something like gnome's NetworkManager.