I changed one little line in rc.inet1.conf and this is what I get;

/etc/rc.d/rc.inet1 wlan0 restart
Polling for DHCP server on interface eth0:
dhcpcd[2486]: version 6.0.5 starting
dhcpcd[2486]: eth0: waiting for carrier
dhcpcd[2486]: timed out
dhcpcd[2486]: allowing 8 seconds for IPv4LL timeout
dhcpcd[2486]: timed out
dhcpcd[2486]: exited
/etc/rc.d/rc.inet1: wlan0 information" 'Any ESSID'
Error for wireless request "Set Nickname" (8B1C) :
SET failed on device wlan0 ; Operation not supported.
Polling for DHCP server on device wlan0:
dhcpcd[2875]: version 6.0.5 starting
dhcpcd[2875]: wlan0: waiting for carrier
dhcpcd[2875]: timed out
dhcpcd[2875]: allowing 8 seconds for IPv4LL timeout
dhcpcd[2875]: timed out
dhcpcd[2875]: exited

As far as the DHCP Server on the Router goes; My Wireless extender picks it up as well as my Windows PC an iPhone so I know it is giving out IP's correctly.

So close!

What's the command you ran to get that output? Also, can you post your /etc/rc.d/rc.inet1.conf and /etc/wpa_supplicant files? Feel free to edit the PSK if you're worried about that. And you said you modified the rc.inetd.conf file, but I assume you mean the rc.inet1.conf file, since the other doesn't exist. What happens when you try running the wpa_supplicant command I provided earlier?

Also, have you verified your wireless card is at wlan0? You can do this via iwconfig

I ran "/etc/rc.d/rc.inet1 wlan0 restart" which gave me that output.
As far as my PSK I have no problem using the one linux generated..It keeps it simple.
I am writing this on Windows and have no easy way to post either of those files... I can only say that both are exactly as Slack 14.1 has them by default but with the mods I did which I can post;

rc.inet1.conf
IFNAME[4]="wlan0"
IPADDR[4]=""
NETMASK[4]=""
USE_DHCP[4]="yes"
DHCP_HOSTNAME[4]="HoM" (which is my routers Hostname)
WLAN_WPA[4]="wpa_supplicant"
WLAN_WPADRIVER[4]="wext"

wpa_supplicant.conf
ctrl_interface=/var/run/wpa_supplicant
ctrl_interface_group=0
eapol_version=1
ap_scan=1
fast_reauth=1

network={
ssid="linux"
psk="this is so long but there are no spaces just #'s and I am using "" at both ends"
}

That is it.. Also, my iwconfig does indeed show wlan0 but mentions this along with it;

eth0 no wireless extensions

lo no wireless extensions

wlan0 IEEE 801.11bgn ESSID: off/any
Mode: Managed Access Point: Not-Associated Tx-Power=16 dBm
Retry long limit:7 RTS thr: off Fragment thr: off
Encryption Key: off
Power Management: off

It's normal to show all your network devices with iwconfig. As you can see, if they aren't wireless, it'll let you know.

At this point, the thing we don't know about is if the wpa_supplicant.conf file is working for your setup. Once you have access, run the wpa_supplicant command above and paste the output here. My guess is that will be the clue to help figure this out.

Also, there isn't a need to have DHCP_HOSTNAME filled out. You can if you want, but I generally leave things blank unless they need to have something in it. And, if, for some reason, that DHCP_HOSTNAME doesn't match what's on the router, it could prevent a successful connection. It's usually easier to leave it blank.

bash-4.2# wpa_supplicant -dd -c/etc/wpa_supplicant.conf -Dwext -iwlan0
wpa_supplicant v2.0
random: Trying to read entropy from /dev/random
Successfully initialized wpa_supplicant
Initializing interface 'wlan0' conf '/etc/wpa_supplicant.conf' driver 'wext' ctrl_interface 'N/A' bridge 'N/A'
Configuration file '/etc/wpa_supplicant.conf' -> '/etc/wpa_supplicant.conf'
Reading configuration file '/etc/wpa_supplicant.conf'
ctrl_interface='/var/run/wpa_supplicant'
ctrl_interface_group='0'
eapol_version=1
ap_scan=1
fast_reauth=1
Line: 8 - start of a new network block
ssid - hexdump_ascii(len=5):
6c 69 6e 75 78 linux
PSK - hexdump(len=32): [REMOVED]
Priority group 0
id=0 ssid='linux'
WEXT: cfg80211-based driver detected
wext: interface wlan0 phy: phy0
rfkill: initial event: idx=0 type=1 op=0 soft=0 hard=0
rfkill: initial event: idx=1 type=2 op=0 soft=0 hard=0
SIOCGIWRANGE: WE(compiled)=22 WE(source)=21 enc_capa=0xf
capabilities: key_mgmt 0xf enc 0x1f flags 0x0
netlink: Operstate: linkmode=1, operstate=5
wlan0: Own MAC address: 1c:3e:84:b0:5f:05
wpa_driver_wext_set_key: alg=0 key_idx=0 set_tx=0 seq_len=0 key_len=0
wpa_driver_wext_set_key: alg=0 key_idx=1 set_tx=0 seq_len=0 key_len=0
wpa_driver_wext_set_key: alg=0 key_idx=2 set_tx=0 seq_len=0 key_len=0
wpa_driver_wext_set_key: alg=0 key_idx=3 set_tx=0 seq_len=0 key_len=0
wpa_driver_wext_set_countermeasures
wlan0: RSN: flushing PMKID list in the driver
wlan0: Setting scan request: 0 sec 100000 usec
WPS: Set UUID for interface wlan0
WPS: UUID based on MAC address - hexdump(len=16): cc b4 64 44 be 6b 59 08 8a 34 76 eb e9 a8 5a ff
EAPOL: SUPP_PAE entering state DISCONNECTED
EAPOL: Supplicant port status: Unauthorized
EAPOL: KEY_RX entering state NO_KEY_RECEIVE
EAPOL: SUPP_BE entering state INITIALIZE
EAP: EAP entering state DISABLED
EAPOL: Supplicant port status: Unauthorized
EAPOL: Supplicant port status: Unauthorized
Using existing control interface directory.
ctrl_interface_group=0
ctrl_iface bind(PF_UNIX) failed: Address already in use
ctrl_iface exists and seems to be in use - cannot override it
Delete '/var/run/wpa_supplicant/wlan0' manually if it is not used anymore
Failed to initialize control interface '/var/run/wpa_supplicant'.
You may have another wpa_supplicant process already running or the file was
left by an unclean termination of wpa_supplicant in which case you will need
to manually remove this file before starting wpa_supplicant again.

Failed to add interface wlan0
wlan0: Request to deauthenticate - bssid=00:00:00:00:00:00 pending_bssid=00:00:00:00:00:00 reason=3 state=DISCONNECTED
wlan0: No keys have been configured - skip key clearing
wlan0: State: DISCONNECTED -> DISCONNECTED
wpa_driver_wext_set_operstate: operstate 0->0 (DORMANT)
netlink: Operstate: linkmode=-1, operstate=5
EAPOL: External notification - portEnabled=0
EAPOL: Supplicant port status: Unauthorized
EAPOL: External notification - portValid=0
EAPOL: Supplicant port status: Unauthorized
wpa_driver_wext_set_countermeasures
wlan0: No keys have been configured - skip key clearing
wlan0: Cancelling scan request
wlan0: Cancelling authentication timeout
netlink: Operstate: linkmode=0, operstate=6

That is what the output looks like.

Try shutting down the wlan0 interface through rc.inet1 (/etc/rc.d/rc.inet1 wlan0_stop), and make sure that there are no other wpa_supplicants are running (ps -ef | grep wpa). If nothing else is running and you still get the same output, try removing /var/run/wpa_supplicant/wlan0.

Note that you forgot an underscore there. The (single) argument is "wlan0_restart" and will only restart the wlan0 interface. Your command restarts all interfaces.

You should not use the hostname of your router here. The string would be used by a Dynamic DNS to set the hostname of your client computer.

Note that there are two types of PSK strings. The first type is a string between 8 and 63 ascii characters long is enclosed by double quotes "" and contains a passphrase (a readable text string such as "my super secret passphrase"). THe second type is a 64-character HEX-character string, which must not be enclosed by double quotes (such as 525a706536c7c1bf9a26c7ab5df8eeea5aa6a9c64f3065dd43804f580e90d870).
Check whether you are using the right string!
You can check the difference easily when you run the wpa_passphrase tool. As an example:
This should start working with the correct PSK string.

Eric

1 members found this post helpful.

Oops, guess I was doing that wrong a few years ago. I must've restarted all the interfaces. I guess it was good that I was only using one connection. Thanks for the info

When I get home I will look into that, thank you.

I will try to answer these best I can w/out being home;
In regards to missing the underscore as you said on top, does that not become irrelevant when I reboot anyway? I am asking in sincerity.. Even if I did that wrong (which clearly I did) would that not have been an issue the numerous times I did reboot?

I agree about the Hostname part. As a matter of fact after I made that post I did remove that line and left it as ""

With the PSK settings what I did was (i may be misquoting) "wpa_passphrase linux passphrase" and it gave me an extremely long number. As far as the Box goes all I did was add the PSK string it gave me into the wpa_supplicant.conf file and then on my ROUTER I made SSID "linux" w/ WPA2 using PSK that Linux generated with the "wpa_passphrase linux passphrase". Is that correct? I was assuming the PSK that Linux generated was what I was supposed to put in my router.

I think where I am having a lot of confusion is with "passphrase" "psk" and all that stuff.

The missing underscore will not have had any influence on your issue. I mentioned it more for reference and completeness.

Yep. Check very carefully that you used ASCII passphrase or HEX string the right way, and consistently across router and client. I am pretty sure that your issue lies there.

Eric

No, leave your passphrase on the router as is... There are two types of Pre-Shared Keys (PSK). One is a passphrase, which is the equivalent of the "wifi password" and the other is a 64bit hex key that is generated using your passphrase and your SSID. If you want to have the passphrase in plain-text in /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf, you just put that in quotes and restart wlan0. Otherwise, you would put in the hex string without quotes. I am not sure if one has a benefit over the other (I tried searching, but my google-fu skills were weak). So, either have:

or

Note: the commented line in each can be left out... and obviously change the information to match your configuration.

Off-topic: Can anyone explain the reasons for using either the passphrase or the hex key over the other? I've always done the hex key, because that's what was in the guides I read, but I can't seem to find any reason why one should be used over the other. The only possibility I see is that maybe the hex key is needed on connection, so if you don't have it there, some miniscule computer power would need to be used to generate that key when attempting to connect. Is that the only reason (is that even right)?

I thank you for correcting me on the underscore issue.. It does indeed cause me to be more specific and proofread what I type.

Again, ASCII and HEX is so beyond me... As I said using the "wpa_passphrase linux passphrase" gave me a PSK of "23456789123456789123456781234567233455" (example) and so all I did was put that in the PSK section of my Router.. I recall seeing no ASCII/HEX option.
Can't I just use WPA2 with a SSID of "linux" and Password of "slackwarerules" like every other NON-Linux device in my house?

I just need to get home and look at my Wireless Router settings... A lot to absorb especially when I am going on memory about something I know little about as is.

In your case, set your router's SSID to linux and the password to slackwarerules and then use the following entry in your wpa_supplicant.conf file. Then run /etc/rc.d/rc.inet1 restart_wlan0. This should connect. If it doesn't, try that wpa_supplicant command again and post the output.