first off i'm new to slackware but really am trying to learn linux/computers so i thought i'd dive right in with slackware.
not a complete noob have used other distros as my main os for a cpl years and am familiar with the command line but have relied to heavily
on gui, auto-config and scripts in those os's hence the switch to learn more. that said i have RTFM but am still not getting the big picture
for setting up my wireless connection. i am using slackware 13.37 and don't see any gui tools like wicd and the wpa_gui does nothing out of
the box for me. besides i wan to learn the guts via command-line. following are the results of some commands for your info on what i may need
to do. any insight or instruction welcome. pardon me for such a basic but neccessary question.

also once i do get this set up via command line, editing init1, rc.wireless.conf or whatever then how can i use the gui tools to scan
and connect when away from home ect...

bash-4.1# lsmod
Module Size Used by
snd_seq_dummy 1119 0
snd_seq_oss 25900 0
snd_seq_midi_event 4696 1 snd_seq_oss
snd_seq 42680 5 snd_seq_dummy,snd_seq_oss,snd_seq_midi_event
snd_seq_device 4505 3 snd_seq_dummy,snd_seq_oss,snd_seq
snd_pcm_oss 34554 0
snd_mixer_oss 14726 1 snd_pcm_oss
ipv6 236629 14
cpufreq_ondemand 7672 2
speedstep_lib 2663 0
acpi_cpufreq 5195 0
freq_table 2039 2 cpufreq_ondemand,acpi_cpufreq
mperf 923 1 acpi_cpufreq
lp 7105 0
ppdev 4901 0
parport_pc 18218 0
parport 25627 3 lp,ppdev,parport_pc
fuse 58136 1
joydev 7695 0
snd_hda_codec_realtek 222970 1
snd_hda_intel 18443 0
snd_hda_codec 61720 2 snd_hda_codec_realtek,snd_hda_intel
snd_hwdep 4772 1 snd_hda_codec
snd_pcm 59843 3 snd_pcm_oss,snd_hda_intel,snd_hda_codec
snd_timer 15717 2 snd_seq,snd_pcm
i915 360914 2
iwl3945 65969 0
iwlcore 48433 1 iwl3945
drm_kms_helper 23927 1 i915
mac80211 181473 2 iwl3945,iwlcore
cfg80211 122542 3 iwl3945,iwlcore,mac80211
drm 143170 3 i915,drm_kms_helper
snd 43891 11 snd_seq_oss,snd_seq,snd_seq_device,snd_pcm_oss,snd_mixer_oss,snd_hda_codec_realtek,snd_hda_intel,snd _hda_codec,snd_hwdep,snd_pcm,snd_timer
i2c_algo_bit 4287 1 i915
i2c_i801 7018 0
rtc_cmos 7970 0
r8169 32377 0
intel_agp 9000 1 i915
psmouse 40986 0
soundcore 4641 1 snd
intel_gtt 11414 3 i915,intel_agp
rtc_core 11871 1 rtc_cmos
fan 1926 0
sparse_keymap 2436 0
video 10482 1 i915
processor 23158 3 acpi_cpufreq
thermal 6718 0
thermal_sys 11426 4 fan,video,processor,thermal
snd_page_alloc 5925 2 snd_hda_intel,snd_pcm
mii 3334 1 r8169
shpchp 23205 0
output 1456 1 video
agpgart 23062 3 drm,intel_agp,intel_gtt
hwmon 1065 1 thermal_sys
i2c_core 16421 5 i915,drm_kms_helper,drm,i2c_algo_bit,i2c_i801
ac 2465 0
battery 8431 0
rtc_lib 1502 1 rtc_core
button 4005 1 i915
sg 21511 0
evdev 7303 13
rfkill 13278 2 cfg80211
serio_raw 3542 0


bash-4.1# /etc/rc.d/rc.inet1 wlan0__start
/etc/rc.d/rc.inet1: wlan0 information: 'Any ESSID'
Error for wireless request "Set Nickname" (8B1C) :
SET failed on device wlan0 ; Operation not supported.

bash-4.1# ifconfig
eth0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr **************(hidden for post)
inet addr:192.168.1.116 Bcast:192.168.1.255 Mask:255.255.255.0
inet6 addr: fe80::21e:33ff:fe35:27c1/64 Scope:Link
UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1
RX packets:3013 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:2280 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
RX bytes:3936457 (3.7 Mb) TX bytes:224770 (219.5 Kb)
Interrupt:41

lo Link encap:Local Loopback
inet addr:127.0.0.1 Mask:255.0.0.0
inet6 addr: ::1/128 Scope:Host
UP LOOPBACK RUNNING MTU:16436 Metric:1
RX packets:4 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:4 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:0
RX bytes:240 (240.0 b) TX bytes:240 (240.0 b)

wlan0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr *************(hidden for post)
UP BROADCAST MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1
RX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
RX bytes:0 (0.0 b) TX bytes:0 (0.0 b)


bash-4.1# iwlist wlan0 scan
wlan0 Scan completed :
Cell 01 - Address: ***********(hidden for post)
Channel:6
Frequency:2.437 GHz (Channel 6)
Quality=24/70 Signal level=-86 dBm
Encryption keyn
ESSID:"WAP56"
Bit Rates:1 Mb/s; 2 Mb/s; 5.5 Mb/s; 11 Mb/s; 6 Mb/s
9 Mb/s; 12 Mb/s; 18 Mb/s
Bit Rates:24 Mb/s; 36 Mb/s; 48 Mb/s; 54 Mb/s
Mode:Master
Extra:tsf=000000aa733c5181
Extra: Last beacon: 1560ms ago
IE: Unknown: 00055741503536
IE: Unknown: 010882848B960C121824
IE: Unknown: 030106
IE: Unknown: 050400010000
IE: Unknown: 0706555320010B1B
IE: Unknown: 200100
IE: Unknown: 2A0100
IE: Unknown: 32043048606C
IE: Unknown: DD0900037F010100200000

***note***
the above is a scan for ap's but my ap is not broadcasting ssid it is hidden but it should still show the other info with a blank ssid right?
i have seen other ap's in the past including mine minus the ssid. also others are visible on my mint OS currently so why just this one now
i'm not sure but this is what i'm showing currently when i scan.

*****?****
this is where i'm at do i need to manually change the init1, wireless.conf and wpa_suplicant files or is there a way to do this on a per
session basis i.e just connect to an AP by typing a command then the ssid followed by being prompted for wpa2 key or something. keep in mind
my ssid is hidden/not broadcasting.
if i do edit all those files does it effect connecting to other networks via a gui tool(which one) when i want
to connect to a different access point but don't want to permanently change those files.

P.S- my wireless driver iwl3945 is fully supported by kernal and works in other distros even unpatched with aircrack-ng

I can not tell you why you does not see your network on scan but if you want to control your wireless connections from the command line you can check /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf and . The first one is the configuration file for wpa_supplicant and wpa_cli is a text-based frontend program for interacting with wpa_supplicant.

If you want to use a graphical wireless tool in 13.37, a package for WICD is available in the /extra directory of the install DVD which you can install with the installpkg command.

If you want to stick it out using the command line scripts, alienBob has a lot of documentation here on which files you need to edit to set up your wireless.

thanx i actually already bookmarked alienbob's page before you said that. his instructions on what and how to edit those files is what i was going to follow depending on how this thread goes. i just installed the OS today. i will tinker tomorrow.

ok i thought it was weird the scan shows only the one AP when i know there are others and mine in range. any one else take a stab at that one.
do you think that it will effect connecting even after i edit all those files. i'd hate to edit them and think i did something wrong because i can't connect if there is a separate issue with discovery.

I think that the core issue is failed scanning. It won't help to fiddle with config file s long as this issue is not sorted out.

And when it will be, you can just install wicd in /extra as stated by D1ver.

AFAIK networks whose SSID is hidden should still show in "iwlist wlan0 scan" output.

Are you absolutely sure that the your wifi transmitter is working?

As I think you're running WPA, to debug try running as root
It will give you some output. Press CTRL-C to stop it. Post it here (your key wont be shown).

OFC, you'll need a conf file. Here is a simple example of a /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf file you could use
Only replace NAME_OF_YOUR_AP and YOUR_PASSPHRASE_HERE (but leave the quotes). This is inspired from the example 5 in the man of wpa_supplicant.conf to catch almost all "usual/home" configs.

In /etc/rc.d/rc.inet1.conf, check that you have WLAN_WPA[x]="wpa_supplicant" (replace x to correspond to your ethX, not the wlan alias).

Are you using the rc.wireless.conf file ? If yes, are you using the generic case (at the top of the file), or one of the card-specific ones ?

I saw a typo in your post: /etc/rc.d/rc.inet1 wlan0__start should read /etc/rc.d/rc.inet1 wlan0_start
But dunno if it's relevant.

zithro, i am using wpa2 not plain wpa on that hidden network so does that change your answer any.

every one i apreciate your info:
update - i didn't fiddle with suplicant or config files yet but have successfully installed wicd and have connected wirelessly that way. while connected obviously the iwlist wlan0scan now shows my network, actually twice, once broadcasting without the ssid and again - since i'm connected - with ssid showing. yes it was always transmitting before when it didn't show because my mint cpu could see it while i used iwlist wlan0 scan on my slackware cpu.
as i said before i want to learn to config the start up and config files manually and i have enough info to give it a go now. one last question before i do that -- first the wicd readme says to have those files not "customized" prior to using wicd so i guess i'll just back up the originals, but after i config all these files WHAT COMMAND ACTUALLY CONNECTS TO THE NEWLY CONFIGURED WIRELESS NETWORK or do i just reboot and it will do it on start up or can i just restart a certain service after the config instead of rebooting. ok that wasn't one question but thanx again in advanced this forum will definitly be helpful going forward -- thumbs up to the community.

I can't tell which command is responsible for that as I'm not using the wicd prog.

Believe it or not, it's one month I'm really using Slack and the only work for me was to edit those 3 files:
- /etc/rc.d/rc.inet1.conf (only by adding WLAN_WPA[1]="wpa_supplicant")
- /etc/rc.d/rc.wireless.conf (disabling it by renaming it to rc.wireless.conf.old)
- /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf (by creating it the way I quoted in my following post)

If you want to know HOW the wicd program modifies those files, you can:
1. store the original files in a temporary directory (let's say ~/wicd-edits)
2. run wicd
3. run the 'diff' program on the orig files and the modified files in the /etc/rc.d directory

You'll have to tailor the diff arguments to show only what you want because this command will show too much files that you don't care about (but you already know how to man diff to custom it to your needs ).

Yes

See my wpa_suplicant.conf file (I'm also using WPA2):
EDIT: sorry for my first post, this was an old wpa_supplicant.conf file in fact. My actual file is this one.

Sorry, forgot your SSID was hidden.
Replace scan_ssid=0 by scan_ssid=1 to scan for hidden SSIDs

i didn't mean which command for wicd i know them (wicd-client for gui) and (wicd-curses for terminal).
what i meant was after changing those files to reflect my connection do i need to run a command to actually connect or do i just reboot or restart a service to connect. for example does running /etc/rc.d/rc.inet1 wlan0_start connect me after i change those three files or do i do something else. thanx for the quick respons and your right every thing else seems to just work and it's so much faster than mint13 even firefox is faster. why i chose this distro to learn is it uses sysv and not the newer upstart that mint uses or sysd that other distros are moving towards nor is it making the change to putting everything in the /usr directory to get rid of sim links. this matters to me because most of my books are a little older and the linux+ exam covers sysv as its main start up system. i'm also about to use this as my host OS for "linux from scratch" because i heard ubuntu based distros(like my mint) need more tweaking and pkges added to use as a host for LFS.

Yes, but I thought you would like to know which FILES those commands edit. That's why I talked about the diff program.

A nice way to check if you edited the files correctly is yes, to reboot. If you have the connection UP and RUNNING after a reboot, this means you did everything well, and that will last !
If you don't want to reboot, you can try what you wrote earlier, /etc/rc.d/rc.inet1 wlan0_restart. But I dunno if this will ensure that the changes will pertain a reboot.
BTW, what solution did you pick ? Using wicd or editing manually ? My opinion, if you really want to know how things work, edit manually

You're welcome Yes waaaaaaay faster, I switched from WinXP to Slack on my old laptop, the difference is like the speed of light. Slack boots in like 20secs even counting the LILO stuff (not lying). The X system (I use fluxbox) boots in like 5 secs. What a change !

But hmmm, SysV. You are not exactly correct on this. Even if SysV is supported on slackware (through the /etc/init.d/ directory), the way programs are booted on Slackware are more of a BSD-style, so using rc.* files in the /etc/rc.d directory. You can check on this wikipedia page, at the end of the 2nd paragraph : "The usage on most Linux distributions is compatible with System V, but some distributions, such as Arch, use a BSD-style". Replace Arch by Slackware in this sentence.

And honestly, BSD-style ROCKS. rc.* files are so easy to understand and edit ! Plus Patrick Volkerding takes a pleasure commenting them, so you don't even need to check on the web to understand what's happening !
Comment all the things you dont need, and you have a faster-than-light system.
That's why I love Slack, among other things of course

as i said i did connect with wicd just to get the easy way outta the way and verify i could connect which i did. i am going to manually try tonight but i was doing a couple of other things right now i.e troubleshooting my aunts windows issue so i'll wait till tonight i'll keep you posted if i'm successfull. ok i knew arch used the bsd style i was choosing between slackware and arch and opted for slackware. from what i understand its still sysv just set up like bsd, aka bsd style. is that correct? the difference being not all the links for run levels just one or two files for simplicity. at least that is the case with arch. is slackware the same? it doesn't matter to me but i thought it was still technically sysv just configured to act like bsd.

-------------------------------------------------

i hate to do this but i am getting no where with my aunts windows issue if you can happen to offer any input on that i'll be appreciative sorry if this is inapropriate to ask here but i'm stumped. here is my post from another forum that i got no replies on.

--------------------------------------------------

first i don't even own windows except for vm's that were "free" lets just say. i am trying to help my aunt over the phone from out of state on a windows issue she is having and i'm stumped and hope someone can help. please refrain from saying tell her to switch to linux ect.. its not going to happen she is older and a complete novice and only uses email ect... that said i know windows sucks so no need to go down that road either thats why i only run in vm for multi OS networking practice, school and general knowledge of various OS's.
here is the issue she has a netgear wireless router and two laptops(one is husbands). he can connect via their wpa2 wireless connection no problems. she can connect but it say's no internet access and she can't access the web but it is connected to the same router ect... so the laptop is connecting to the router but is not getting to the same internet that husbands laptop is accessing . here is what i thought and did so far. dhcp is not assingning duplicate ip's and i've reset both "cable modem" and the router walking her through making a ssid and password ect.. still same problem and it doesn't matter who logs in first her's is the laptop that never works. her driver always worked before this just happened suddenly so don't think its a driver issue. also i reset tcp/ip stack, reset winsock, flushed dns and renewed ip address. also turned off macafee network agent and core firewall services to see if that was interfering but that wasn't it.
confused
any other ideas-------i told her to see if she can access the internet at the library to see if it is isolated to her router but she hasn't gone yet. i am interested to see that answer but i still don't know what to do either way now. especially if she can connect at library wirelessly. i'll be baffled. oh yea i also checked to see if a virus checked or is using proxy settings under internet options and all is fine there also.
sorry for the windows question but i'd really like to help my aunt she has done alot for me and i feel bad being stumped.

P.S default settings are used on netgear router except wpa2 and i changed the default ssid. in other words no filtering ect...
We all pay for life with death so everything in between should be free. - Bill Hicks

As i said, i only know the manual way so cant help you much with the wicd thing !

Honestly, I didn't go as far as that to be able to anwer to you From what i've read and known by experience (installed once a FreeBSD server with zfs for myself at home, but hadn't time to play with it at the time which i now regret), you may be right, but i would read documentation on that. docs.slackware.com will have that information in the future Meanwhile, try the Slackbook or googl-ing. I dont wanna talk about stuff i dunno.

This is not really the place to help Winusers, but we slackers are nice to everyone And I'll try to keep this guide not so related to windows but rather general.
I have a lot of experience with Windows (though it stops at XP64 SP3), but with any OS regarding networking, you have to proceed step-by-step. From the closer to the further problem.
So
1. check the connection between the computer and the router
THEN ONLY
2. check the connection between the computer and internet

Here are some things to think about (it's late here, so it'll be messy, sorry, I write almost as it comes out of my mind):
- the wireless card (the hardware) may not be working: have her connect an Ethernet cable between her laptop and the router. If it works, it's a wireless problem. If that doesn't work, it may be a network stack problem.
- make her type "ipconfig /all" (while having only wireless, then only cable, then both), to check if she gets an IP address. Compare results. Try also using a manual IP (it prevents DHCP problems). If a manual IP works, there is a problem with DHCP and/or DNS.
- try pinging the router (it uses another protocol than TCP).
- sometimes the problem comes with a faulty DNS setting or an ISP's saturated DNS server. If it's the case, you can ping a server with its public IP address, not with its name (so instead of pinging linuxquestions.org, you would ping 75.126.162.205)
- association: some routers have an "association" button on them. You have to press it to tell the router "i'm gonna try to associate a device, accept the request".
- do you have access to the router config ? Often you can check what comps are connected to it. Also check the config of the router. It may only allow one connection to it. Do your aunt's husband's comp have a private or public IP address ?
- you can ask your aunt to download and launch Teamviewer (this portable version is nice) on her husband laptop. You can check from there settings of his laptop AND the router, and try to ping her laptop, even maybe take control over it (try psexec+VNC or even maybe the remote control desktop thing integrated to Win, you may have to activate it though).

Complicated solution:
- send her a customized version of a Linux Live CD, to check if the problem is from the hardware or from Windows itself. Slax (the unofficial live version of Slackware) may be used for that. You could even burn a copy where the actual settings of the router are already in place.

Paranoid (so rather unlikely) solutions:
- if associated, are you sure she's associated with the correct router ? She may be connected to a neighbour's network without any encryption. Or worse, a neighbour's honeypot ^^
- a (custom) rootkit may be present in your aunt's comp. Very hard to remove. And if it's a really custom one, very hard to detect also.
- the router has been patched with something nasty. Same diagnosis as before, hard to detect/remove

Sorry, without much detailed informations it's hard to guess where the problem may come from. Especially when you try to think about that @6 in the morning
Come back with more infos ! Good luck.

Nice one ^^

Check also some networking services (services.msc):
- DNS
- DHCP
- wireless zero config thing (sumthing like that, cant remember and no access to a win box right now)
- maybe others, check the list ...

BTW is it XP, Vista, Seven ? Can't help much for Vista/Seven as I don't know all the new services they imagined would be good to add, so you'll have to ask in specific Windows forums.