Wireless adapter?

[vonedaddy]

I have a laptop on which I just installed Fedora 8. For some reason I can not get the wireless lan activated. The light (LED for wireless) does not go on. When I try to activate it from the network dialog box I get the following message:

Error for wireless request "Set Mode" (8B06) :
SET failed on device wlan0 ; Invalid argument.
SIOCSIFFLAGS: No such file or directory

Determining IP information for wlan0... failed.

IN the hardware part of that box it shows I have two (which I only have one) wireless adapters:

Broadcom Corporation BCM94311MCG wlan mini PCI

and

b43

When I first installed the light did stay on but it refused to accept my WAP key. I update the OS with all the available updated via yum and now it looks like it wont even power up (the wireless adapter that is).

Any help would be GREATLY appreciated.

[bbfuller]

Hello vonedaddy

Firstly, you should not be trying to control your wireless card in Network Configuration (Gnome System Menu - Administration - Network) if you have NetworkManager running on the top Gnome Panel in the notification area to the right.

Usual advice if you do have NM running is to "Edit" the properties of the card where you see it in Network Configuration and set it to NOT "Activate device when computer starts". If the option is there then set the device to be "Controlled by NetworkManager".

Second, you don't say if you have cut the required firmware for the b43 driver. That also varies depending on which version of the b43-fwcutter you have installed. When you post back include the output of:

rpm -q b43-fwcutter

[vonedaddy]

b43-fwcutter-008-1.fc8
[root@localhost ~]#


Thats what I get when I run the command you suggested. I am fairly new to wireless on linux so...

I set the wlan0 t no activate on boot in the (Gnome System Menu - Administration - Network). But I do not see an option to have network manager to handle it.

Should I shut off the network manager? I plan on using KDE by the way, so gnome is of no use to me.

Thanks so much in advance for your help.

[vonedaddy]

OK I got most of the errors to go away by changing to managed connection. Now I get this when trying to activate wlan0



SIOCSIFFLAGS: No such file or directory

Determining IP information for wlan0... failed.

[bbfuller]

Hello vonedaddy

Personally, I use KDE but Fedora is generally based around Gnome and so I answer questions based around that desktop until I learn otherwise.

You didn't say just what steps you took to install the firmware for the b43 driver. Have you actually done that? Nothing will work unless you have.

If you are using KDE. The K Menu - Administration - Network is not the way to try and control your card once you hae set it not to activate at startup. That application is Network Configuration and will not work if the NetworkManager service is running.

The NetworkManager service is the preferred way of controlling wireless cards. You can see if it is running from the Services application off the same menu.

In KDE, the NetworkManager gui is not always started initially but will restart with the machine after you have started it manually.

It is located on the K Menu - System - KNetworkManager. On my system I found it necessary to restart the machine to get it to appear in the notification area of the K Panel.

I note you have the 008 version of b43-fwcutter. I managed to get my 4318 card working with that but I couldn't bet my 4306 working until I had done a full system update which included the 011 version of b43-fwcutter along with updated NetworkManager and b43 kernel drivers.

Your card of course lies somewhere between the two.

So my questions are, can you get a wired internet connection to get your machine up to date and give you the best chance of success. You'll have several hundred megabytes of data to download?

Have you used the b43-fwcutter program to cut firmware for your card and if so which firmware did you cut?

[vonedaddy]

OK, first let me say I REALLY appreciate your time here.

I got a wired connection last night and did a full update (232 packages I believe).

I have not used the b43-fwcutter program to cut firmware yet, I didnt even know it existed. If you can point me somewhere or give me some direction it would be MUCH appreciated.

[koolbuddy4u]

HI, i am also having similar kind of problem and i am not able to use wireless in my T61 after installing Fedora 8 ... Plz help

Thanks in advance

[icantux]

Hmmm... same here on my T61 with the "Thinkpad" a/b/g (atheros AR5212). I finally managed to get the system to recognize the card as "ath0" by doing a clean install of the original (stock) DVD, update the kernel, then using Livna, install madwifi and Nvidia.

Kernel used: 2.6.24.3-50.fc8.i686
Appropriate kmod-madwifi from livna
wpa_supplicant from Fedora updates


Here's what I'd normally do to get a connection:

# ifconfig -a
my wireless shows up: ath0 ... then there's wifi0, eth0 and l0 ... fine.

then

# ifconfig ath0 up
Everything ok.

then:
# iwlist ath0 scan
There are a number of Access points available and shown

I try my own AP:
# iwconfig ath0 essid apname key 234lksdfsdf9saf

Result is the same as OP:
Error for wireless request "Set Mode" (8B06) :
SET failed on device ath0 ; Invalid argument.

Weird..... very weird

I have Network Manager started, with options:
- do not start ath0 automatically (I like to start it manually when needed - not on boot-up)
- let NM manage device
- any user has control
- Set to "Managed"

Any suggestions? Could this be a wpa_supplicant issue? A kernel boo-boo?

Perhaps I'll try to remove the ath5k module (although it doesn't show up in lsmod)...

I'm stumped.

Perhaps I just try Fedora 9 alpha and forego Fedora 8 altogether. I've been experiencing network problems from the first install.

[bbfuller]

Hello icantux

You say that you have set options in NetworkManager, but you will see in my post #5 that you need to make changes in Network Configuration as well which is a totally different program.

If that doesn't work may I suggest that you start a new thread, this one is dealing with a specific type of Broadcom card and I have no experience of your Atheros.

[bbfuller]

Hello koolbuddy4u

You will need to specify your wireless equipment to get help. Run the command:

/sbin/lspci

from a terminal window to see output about your pci devices.

If yours is Broadcom I might be able to help, otherwise you are better off searching the forum or starting your own thread.

[bbfuller]

Hello vonedaddy

If you are fully up to date then the rpm -q command should now mention 011 in its output.

In that case you need to download the file:

http://mirror2.openwrt.org/sources/broadcom-wl-4.150.10.5.tar.bz2

cd into the directory you downloaded the compressed file into and extract it with:

tar xjf broadcom-wl-4.150.10.5.tar.bz2

Acquire full root rights over your machine with the command:

su -

That's a space and a minus sign after the su. It gives you full root rights over the whole machine rather than root rights over your own environment which is what you get from "su".

cd into the "driver" directory within the newly extracted "broadcom-wl-4.150.10.5" directory and issue the command:

b43-fwcutter -w /lib/firmware wl_apsta_mimo.o

That extracts the firmware from the specified file and places it in a directory within /lib/firmware.

Then if you follow the steps in posts #2 and #5 and restart your machine you should be in the best position to get your card going from NetworkManager.

As always, post back with any questions.

[vonedaddy]

Thanks a million, I will attempt this soon as I get home and let you know the outcome. This is VERY much appreciated!

[vonedaddy]

Worked like a charm, I cut the firmware (even though I dont know exactly what I did) and rebooted. Soon as the system came up it showed the signal strength of the surrounding wireless networks. Then it popped up and asked me for my WEP key. I entered the key and poffo, online. Thanks a million, there is no way I can express how much I appreciate your time and effort.

This thread will be very useful to others as well, so YOU DA MAN!


One problem I could find so far, the wireless adapter actually seems to have better range and connection status (report 99%). BUT, for some reason the connection speed doesnt seem to be higher than 11MB. Considering it was 54 on windows, I was just wondering if you knew what was up with that?

[koolbuddy4u]

Hello koolbuddy4u

You will need to specify your wireless equipment to get help. Run the command:

/sbin/lspci

from a terminal window to see output about your pci devices.

If yours is Broadcom I might be able to help, otherwise you are better off searching the forum or starting your own thread.

Hello bbfuller,

[root@wireless ~]# /sbin/lspci
00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation Mobile PM965/GM965/GL960 Memory Controller Hub (rev 0c)
00:01.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation Mobile PM965/GM965/GL960 PCI Express Root Port (rev 0c)
00:19.0 Ethernet controller: Intel Corporation 82566MM Gigabit Network Connection (rev 03)
00:1a.0 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) USB UHCI Contoller #4 (rev 03)
00:1a.1 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) USB UHCI Controller #5 (rev 03)
00:1a.7 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) USB2 EHCI Controller #2 (rev 03)
00:1b.0 Audio device: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) HD Audio Controller (rev 03)
00:1c.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) PCI Express Port 1 (rev 03)
00:1c.1 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) PCI Express Port 2 (rev 03)
00:1c.2 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) PCI Express Port 3 (rev 03)
00:1c.3 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) PCI Express Port 4 (rev 03)
00:1c.4 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) PCI Express Port 5 (rev 03)
00:1d.0 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) USB UHCI Controller #1 (rev 03)
00:1d.1 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) USB UHCI Controller #2 (rev 03)
00:1d.2 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) USB UHCI Controller #3 (rev 03)
00:1d.7 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) USB2 EHCI Controller #1 (rev 03)
00:1e.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801 Mobile PCI Bridge (rev f3)
00:1f.0 ISA bridge: Intel Corporation 82801HBM (ICH8M-E) LPC Interface Controller (rev 03)
00:1f.2 IDE interface: Intel Corporation 82801HBM/HEM (ICH8M/ICH8M-E) SATA IDE Controller (rev 03)
00:1f.3 SMBus: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) SMBus Controller (rev 03)
01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: nVidia Corporation Unknown device 0429 (rev a1)
02:00.0 Memory controller: Intel Corporation Turbo Memory Controller (rev 01)
03:00.0 Ethernet controller: Atheros Communications, Inc. AR5212 802.11abg NIC (rev 01)
15:00.0 CardBus bridge: Ricoh Co Ltd RL5c476 II (rev ba)
15:00.1 FireWire (IEEE 1394): Ricoh Co Ltd R5C832 IEEE 1394 Controller (rev 04)



And its not from Broadcom. Any help for me will be highly appriciated

[bbfuller]

Hello vonedaddy

Thanks for the pm.

In answer to your questions there and here (as far as my knowledge goes at least).

For wireless cards they need something called firmware loaded into them to tell them how to work and that is what the kernel driver works with.

If you look in the /lib/firmware directory you will find entries there on a standard machine for rt2561, iwlwifi-3945 and atmel among others. This is firmware that is freely distributed by the manufacturers without any legal encumbrances that would prevent Fedora including it in the distribution.

Broadcom like some other manufacturers makes their firmware available but with strings attached. So it's not included by Fedora and we have to obtain it as part of a package and then use b43-fwcutter to extract what we want from it. If you've looked in the /lib/firmware directory you'll see that there is a new sub-directory named b43. That was created by b43-fwcutter and contains the extracted firmware that gets uploaded to the card each time NetworkManager - or some other control program - initialises it.

As to range and connection speed, they are to an extent interlinked. It's normally the case that as signal strength decreases with range that wireless cards/driver/firmware are set to reduce the throughput in order to maintain signal integrity on both Windows and Linux.

The break points where that happens are software controlled and traditionally the Linux kernel drivers have often been restricted to 11Mb/s, in an effort to keep the signal good I assume. That has changed recently and many will work at 54Mb/s but I believe they are still set to be cautious, reducing the speed earlier than Windows would do with the side effect that they may hang on to a weaker signal longer.

My broadcoms have no trouble telling me they are connected at 54Mb/s, but then they don't work far from the access point.

That said, 54Mb/s is only a headline figure. It's specified in bits per second where we usually work in bytes.

Just to give some comparative figures, A 100Mb/s wired network will rarely work much above 10MB/s ( note the different B's) so that's 10 megabytes second. There's overhead in the network signal that means it's no a straight divide by eight.

A wireless card even connecting at headline rate could only be expected to transmit 5.4 Megabytes/second but in my experience won't quite achieve half that.

For me, wireless is always faster than my internet connection, but if I want to transfer large music or picture files I take the laptop to a network cable.

[bbfuller]

Hello koolbuddy4u

03:00.0 Ethernet controller: Atheros Communications, Inc. AR5212 802.11abg NIC (rev 01)

That's the report of your wireless card.

As I said previously, I have no knowledge of atheros cards, but some of them should work with the built in ath5k driver.

We can try and see if your card is being recognised by the drivers though

From a terminal use the command:

su -

That gives you full root rights over your machine. The space and minus sign after the su are critical for that.

Then use the command:

iwconfig

Hopefully after the lines that say "no wireless extensions" there will be some information about a wireless interface with an interface designation at the beginning. Possibly ath0.

Then use:

iwlist ath0 scan

Obviously if it's not ath0 in the output of the first command, substitute what you do find in the second command.

Copy and paste back the results.

[koolbuddy4u]

Hello koolbuddy4u



That's the report of your wireless card.

As I said previously, I have no knowledge of atheros cards, but some of them should work with the built in ath5k driver.

We can try and see if your card is being recognised by the drivers though

From a terminal use the command:

su -

That gives you full root rights over your machine. The space and minus sign after the su are critical for that.

Then use the command:

iwconfig

Hopefully after the lines that say "no wireless extensions" there will be some information about a wireless interface with an interface designation at the beginning. Possibly ath0.

Then use:

iwlist ath0 scan

Obviously if it's not ath0 in the output of the first command, substitute what you do find in the second command.

Copy and paste back the results.

Hello, Thank you very much for the suggestions.

when i run the command:

iwconfig

l0 no wireless extensions
eth0 no wireless extensions

1st thing is there is no ath0.
2nd is it says Interface doesnt support scanning even if i use etho i.e. iwlist eth0 scan.

[bbfuller]

Hello koolbuddy4u

No, you won't get any response using eth0 in that command, eth0 is your wired network card and those don't scan or use wireless tools.

I'm sorry, as I said, I have no experience of Atheros cards. If the card is not being detected then you probably need different drivers and I can't help you with that. I suggest that you do a forum search on AR5212 or even just 5212.

If that doesn't turn up any useful information then probably start your own thread.

[koolbuddy4u]

ok ill try, thankyou for the suggestion.

Best Regards