Problems with wicd
 

I am using Linux Slackware 14.2. I have 2 locations:

1. Home - using cable connection, static IP:
PC address: 192.168.1.4/24
Default gateway: 192.168.1.1

2. External location - wi-fi with DHCP. I installed wicd package, and it's working fine.

Problem 1

After installing wicd at home when I unplug the cable, the IP address and the default gateway disappear. And don't reappear when I plug it back. So every time I have to switch to root and run these commands:

# ifconfig eth0 192.168.1.4/24
# route add default gw 192.168.1.1

Sometimes /etc/resolv.conf is being cleared, so I have to manually write nameservers at home.

How can I make it use my static address at home, so it won't destroy the configs? What about the name servers? I should rewrite them in external location and then back when I am at home.

Problem 2

wicd-client is being launched automatically when I start KDE. How to make it run on demand?

Even if close the laptop lid, the eth0 network connection is being destroyed.

From the note on wicd that I keep:
To run wicd choose DHCP or anything else other than "NetworkManager" when configuring the network.
#
Install wicd from the extra directory
#
After installing this package, make sure the /etc/rc.d/rc.wicd
script is executable; if necessary, do:
chmod +x /etc/rc.d/rc.wicd

Results have varied, but you will probably need/want to remove
any references to interfaces from /etc/rc.d/rc.inet1.conf - in
other words, make that file look as if netconfig has never been
run.
(I have found that in every case where I have used NetworkManager and then changed to wicd there was no need to make any changes to /etc/rc.d/rc.inet1.conf
#
Use the Window Manager settings to autostart "wicd-client" upon startup.
#
When you start X, you should see a wicd icon in the system tray;
click on it to open the gui interface and configure as desired.
Your user account will need to be a member of the 'netdev' group
in order to use wicd.
#
Note that urwid will need to be installed if you want to use the
curses client. Also, if you don't have kde installed, you won't
have a graphical sudo client available.

Now the situation is better. But still 2 problems exist:

1. When I close the laptop lid and reopen it, eth0 connection disappears. And every time I have to run:

# ifconfig eth0 192.168.1.4/24
# route add default gw 192.168.1.1

2. I removed wicd-client link from /usr/share/autostart, but it still autostarts together with computer.

Your desktop session is probably what's bringing wicd back up.

wicd runs on boot up
use DHCP on our home net work
configure eth0 to use DHCP in wicd
or
configure eth0 in wicd (highlight eth0 hit the right arrow in wicd-curses) you will need to check the always show wired connection box in wicd preferences ("P" in wicd-curses)

How to turn it off, so it won't run and spoil my connection?

Settings / Session and Startup

Sorry, can't find it in KDE. I have even turned off /etc/rc.d/rc.wicd, but it still runs somehow on lid open.

Oh, KDE. I just know it is in the settings but I don't run KDE but run XFCE. I have Plasma5. KDE is on my desktop but is Slackware-current there. You really can't find it?

Plasma5 - Settings / System Settings / Startup and Shutdown / Desktop Session / Desktop Session and Logout

KDE - System Settings / System Administration / Startup And Shutdown / Session Management

Most likely you're referring to KDE's Network Management icon, which is not part of wicd or Network Manager (but I believe it can work with both). The way to disable it is not very easy to find. You have to right click on the System Tray (not on any of the icons within the system tray as you'll get a context menu for that application) where you get the System Tray Settings option. Open that and you can uncheck "Network Management", which is under "Extra Items" on the "Display" tab/group/whatever (should be the default when the window comes up).

This is thanks to phenixia2003 on this post.

No. After disabling /etc/rc.d/rc.wicd and rebooting it stopped breaking the network. But wicd-client still runs on startup.

Maybe I should setup it so that it will manage both eth0 and wlan0?

Attachment 29481

You have to clear your saved sessions and don't save any new ones

wicd is a daemon it starts at boot and runs in the back ground
it's not being brought back up it was never shut down

if the OP would just configure his eth0 connection in wicd his problem would solved

this is linux not windoze there is no wizard to do this for hem HE must plug the numbers in to wicd himself the same numbers he is using in the ifconfig command lines

man wicd-wired-settings.conf
man wicd-manager-settings.conf

may be OP will tack the word of the man pages it looks like my advice is being dismissed out of hand

YES!! YES !! yes !!
this is exactly what you should do let wicd manage both eth0 and wlan0

wicd-client is being launched from the OP's session.

I agree with you (as you've mentioned in other posts) that you really should choose one way to manage your networks instead of a mix. Personally, I'll use /etc/rc.d/rc.inet1.conf to manage my networks on my desktops and /etc/rc.d/rc.networkmanager to manage my networks on my laptops.

I have used /etc/rc.d/rc.wireless.conf to manage wireless networks on laptops that I don't take out of my house, but that's a rare use-case for almost anyone.

If it's a laptop that needs to connect to god-knows-what-network, I'd advise the OP to use networkmanager instead of wicd, anyways.

Why ?
and
How ?

Well, you get networkmanager with no effort. It's part of the standard installation, versus going into /extras for wicd. There hasn't been much development on wicd lately (see https://code.launchpad.net/wicd), but that isn't necessarily a bad thing.

As for how, make /etc/rc.d/rc.networkmanager (IIRC since I'm not on one of my machines right now) executable and then run it via /etc/rc.d/rc.networkmanager start. It comes with applets for XFCE and KDE, so you can use a GUI to configure your network. There's a couple of not-graphical interfaces as well; nmcli (which is a command line tool) and nmtui (a curses based tool).

I used to use wicd myself and didn't find the switch to networkmanager to be difficult. If you've already done the work to get wicd up and running, you may as well continue to use it.

every time I try to run network manager
"/etc/rc.d/rc.wicd stop;/etc/rc.d/sh rc.networkmanager start"
then click on the icon in the panel
it bitches there is no network connection
WTF is just good for hard wired connections ?
do I have to configure it to use wlan0 or wlan1 ? (HOW ??)


this is how I ended up using wicd IT JUST WORKS !!
hard wired connections are easy all of the ethernet routers I have access to use dhcp so I just edit /etc/rc.d/rc.inet1.conf
in the eth0 section I enter "yes " to the question use dhcp
do an /etc/rc.d/rc.inet1 restart then download wicd pkg

You know I have used wicd and liked it. I also have used NetworkManager and liked it just as well. On this laptop, because of this thread I changed easily from wicd to NetworkManager and that is what I am using today. I wanted to see if it could be done as easily as I had assumed. NEVER have I had to edit , not once. This is for wifi and it was so easy to change and it is just as easy to change back.

My other computer is an old desktop with an ethernet connection and wicd. Why wicd? Just so I have an icon in the tray to hover over and see if I have a connection (rural living, many service problems). Wicd can be set for a default connection which it will satisfy first before going elsewhere. Example ethernet is default and if I had a wifi adapter on that machine then wifi would be miss congeniality. I made no edits to , none. It looks just like it does after a bare metal install.

Choose one method and make it work for you. Do one thing and do it well.
The truth is out there google it.
"site:linuxquestions.org wicd"
"site:linuxquestions.org networkmanager"
"site:linuxquestions.org rc.inet1.conf"

https://mirrors.slackware.com/slackw...ADME.SLACKWARE

I have one desktop wired and when setting up a new system on an SBC I will first set it up as wired. In both cases running slackware's netconfig I that's needed set up a connection. I've configure a netbook and two SBC's to connect wireless on the same network via wicd with fixed IPs

If you want to use wicd for a wired fixed IP make sure you have rc.d/networkmanager disabled and rc.d/rc.wicd enabled. You also should not have any entries in rc.inet.conf. Once you have wicd installed you can run wicd-client or in a terminal wicd-curses.

You only assign a single address in wicd to a machine with netconfig or wicd. Attached is an example configuration using wicd-curses.

So, the laptop that I'm using to write this normally uses networkmanager to connect via a wireless interface. I just took an Ethernet cable and plugged into a switch that is connected to my slackware64 gateway (which runs a DHCP server, among other things).

As far as I can tell, the machine saw the wired connection and started to use it with no effort on my part.

You're going to have to provide more detail for anyone to help you. OTOH, as I mentioned, if wicd is installed and working on your system, then I see no pressing reason to switch to networkmanager.

Sorry for not replying for a while. Will read the man pages and try to configure wicd. Thank you for your time.