Wireless

adrian2009 · 10-01-2010, 06:29 PM

I installed the new Slackware 13.1 64 on my laptop and I am trying to connect to the internet via a wireless network but i don't what is wrong with my configurations it just doesn't work.

I tried doing the following:
iwconfig wlan0 essid "ESSID"
iwconfig wlan0 key "Password"
iwconfig wlan0 channel NUMBER

Then i do dhcpcd -d but then no success after - i try to ping some sites, no reply, i put new dns servers in resolv.conf, still no results, i tried to ping some ips and it says network unreachable, it just doesn't work at all.
I did iwlist wlan0 scanning and it found all the wireless networks, so the adapter is not the problem, the problem here is the procedure. How to do it properly so it will work ? I can connect via ethernet by easy configuring eth0 but i have no success for wireless networks. I read everything there was on google, i searched a lot of sites, i tried a lot of different methods but NONE of it worked.
What I am really asking for is: Someone who has MADE succesful connections via wireless on slackware 13.1 to write here how exactly he does it, because i am stuck with this problem for 4 weeks. Please help me, i would really appreciate that, thank you in advance.

markush · 10-01-2010, 06:53 PM

Hello adrian2009,

with Slackware I use wpa_supplicant. One has to edit the "/etc/wpa_supplicant.conf" file and as well the "/etc/rc.d/rc.inet1.conf" file.
For the wpa_supplicant.conf you will find an example in the /usr/share/wpa_supplicant directory.

Markus

hitest · 10-01-2010, 07:05 PM

I've connected to wireless networks using wicd which you can find in /extra. Very simple to install/use.

clw54 · 10-01-2010, 07:16 PM

Adrian,

This is a post from way back that shows how I do it, and I used it again recently to connect after installing 13.1. It assumes the necessary driver is installed. If it isn't, more steps will be necessary. Eric Hameleers (Alien Bob) has more detailed instructions on his Wiki.

How I did it.

Timothy Miller · 10-01-2010, 07:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hitest

I've connected to wireless networks using wicd which you can find in /extra. Very simple to install/use.

That's what I use also. EXTREMELY easy, works with most WM/DE without issue, just a thoroughly nice little program.

easuter · 10-02-2010, 04:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Timothy Miller

That's what I use also. EXTREMELY easy, works with most WM/DE without issue, just a thoroughly nice little program.

Better yet, you can even use it without X11 with the wicd-curses interface

janhe · 10-02-2010, 04:26 AM

Now I do it with wpa_supplicant. I used to do it with a shell script:

Code:

iwconfig eth1 essid my_essid key my_wep_key
dhcpcd -d eth1

Yes, that script dates from before the kernel had standarized wifi modules, so it is quite old, and YMMV.

Also note that this only works if you use WEP encryption on your wireless connection, and that you have to enter the actual key, not a passphrase.

Do you get an error when you run iwconfig? What is the output from "iwconfig wlan0" after you run the script? Please post the output from iwconfig wlan0 (feel free to replace the encryption key if it is visible)

veeall · 10-02-2010, 08:37 PM

You'll be better off if you leave rc.inet1.conf unedited and set both wireless and wired connections through wicd instead. I also edited wpa_supplicant.conf file.

I was quite confused with multiple wireless configuration files - wpa_supplicant.conf, rc.inet1.conf and rc.wireless. Wicd manages connections just fine.

trxdraxon · 10-02-2010, 10:05 PM

Another vote for WICD. I have used it on a wide array of wireless cards and never had a problem with it working. Just install it out of /extra on the Slackware DVD reboot and go.