WiFi on Porteus -v1.1-x86_64

[logick]

Hi All,

I used Porteus-v1.0-x86_64 on my laptop (Asus N53J) and on a netbook (Acer Aspire 722)
freely changing between wired and wireless network connections but after updating to
Porteus-v1.1-x86_64 I realized that wireless does not work any more on both comps.

I tried to run dmesg, lspci and lsmod but I strongly feel that my linux sophistication
is far too small to use their output in a sensible way. I enlose the relevant information

concerning Asus: http://pastebin.com/FrTxTkry
and concerning Acer: http://pastebin.com/ZJxk5RFX

and I hope for some help.

[nickh]

I noticed that WiCd does not automatically populate the wireless interface name with wlan0 (or anything). From memory it is somewhere in the WiCd preferences.

[edit]
But in your case it looks like it is not recognising the interface at all.
[/edit]

[brokenman]

Reading your dmesg log here is what i see:

[ 10.488100] iwlagn 0000:03:00.0: request for firmware file 'iwlwifi-1000-5.ucode' failed.
[ 10.489311] iwlagn 0000:03:00.0: request for firmware file 'iwlwifi-1000-4.ucode' failed.
[ 10.516941] iwlagn 0000:03:00.0: Firmware has old API version. Expected v5, got v3. New firmware can be obtained from http://www.intellinuxwireless.org.
[ 10.516946] iwlagn 0000:03:00.0: loaded firmware version 128.50.3.1 build 13488

Hmmm ... he really wants iwlwifi-1000-5.ucode but could not find it!

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guest@porteus:~$ find /lib/ -name iwlwifi-1000-*
/lib/firmware/iwlwifi-1000-3.ucode

He decided to load the 1000 3-series firmware version 128.50.3.1 anyway. It's like drinking lite beer ... not good enough to do the job.

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guest@porteus:~$ ls /var/log/packages/iwlwifi-*
iwlwifi-1000-ucode-128.50.3.1-fw-1   iwlwifi-5000-ucode-8.83.5.1-fw-1
iwlwifi-3945-ucode-15.32.2.9-fw-1    iwlwifi-5150-ucode-8.24.2.2-fw-1
iwlwifi-4965-ucode-228.61.2.24-fw-1  iwlwifi-6xxx-ucode-41.28.5.1-fw-1

Well that won't do ..... you should download the latest firmware that he is asking for:

wget http://www.intellinuxwireless.org/iwlwi ... 31.5.1.tgz -P /tmp
cd /tmp
tar zxvf iwlwifi-1000-ucode-39.31.5.1.tgz
iwlwifi-1000-ucode-39.31.5.1/
iwlwifi-1000-ucode-39.31.5.1/README.iwlwifi-1000-ucode
iwlwifi-1000-ucode-39.31.5.1/iwlwifi-1000-5.ucode
iwlwifi-1000-ucode-39.31.5.1/LICENSE.iwlwifi-1000-ucode

yaaay. This looks like the file he was looking for in the first place. Lets recreate your firmware module with the updated firmware.

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mkdir /tmpp/001
cp -Rdp/mnt/live/memory/images/001-core.xzm/* /tmp/001
cp /tmp/iwlwifi-1000-ucode-39.31.5.1/iwl* /tmp/001/lib/firmware/
dir2xzm /tmp/001 /tmp/001-core.xzm

Now you have a new module called 001-core.xzm in your /tmp folder. You should overwrite the existing module in porteus/base/001-core.xzm and reboot. Hopefully now your wireless is detected. Let us know how it goes.

Note to self: update 1000 series firmware

[fanthom]

@logick

you could also get the firmware directly from porteus repo:
http://ponce.cc/porteus/x86_64/modules/ ... arch-1.xzm
take iwlwifi-1000-5.ucode from it and bcm43xx-0.fw for second wifi card.
if brcm still wont work then you can try broadcom-sta module compiled for porteus-1.1
http://ponce.cc/porteus/x86_64/modules/ ... -1_SBo.xzm

if you are booting porteus on many different PC's then it's probably a good idea to have kernel-firmware-20110814git-noarch-1.xzm in /porteus/modules folder. (firmware is 'noarch' so will work also for 32bits)
we can't include all the firmware in Porteus ISO due to it's huge size but definitely will update iwlwifi ucode for next release.

Thanks

[logick]

Despite all the help I got I could not solve the problem.

Putting kernel-firmware-20110814git-noarch-1.xzm into modules
caused some difference but running pns-tool ended with failure.
I enclose logs: for Asus: http://pastebin.com/awQxqevu
and for Acer: http://pastebin.com/PMuWP4W8

On Acer, I tried also broadcom-sta-5.100.82.112_3.1.8_porteus-x86_64-1_SBo.xzm
but it did not work at all - ifconfig and iwconfig did not even mention wlan0,
just no wireless extensions.

To make matters worse, I see that the LED indicating
Acer's wireless activity is not lit.

I will be grateful for new ideas.

[brokenman]

Logs look good. Your card is discovered and ready for action.

Before we move into manually setting up your network please try the following.
If you have a 'hotkey' on your keyboard that activates/deactivates wireless make sure it is activated.

Open a konsole and see if you get anything from:
ifconfig wlan0 up
iwlist wlan0 scan

If you get some useful information here then try opening wicd and refreshing the wireless list. You should be able to connect using wicd. If you get an error or no info then report back and we can manually setup your interface which would go something like this:

iwlist wlan0 scan

Information gathered from iwlist wlan0 scan
mode=managed/master
channel= Frequency (Channel)
key=encryption key:
essid = TrafficMate
Address=00:1D:7E:F7:EA:97

/sbin/iwconfig wlan0 mode managed channel 11 key off essid TrafficMate

/sbin/iwconfig wlan0 ap 00:1D:7E:F7:EA:97

/sbin/dhcpcd -nd wlan0

[logick]

@brokenman

First, thank you for your help.

My Asus laptop booted from USB with Porteus 1.1 has its
WiFi LED lit and the commands you suggested:

ifconfig wlan0 up
iwlist wlan0 scan

listed my home network as:

Cell 03 - Address: 54:E6:FC:AB:75:D2
Channel:9
Frequency:2.452 GHz (Channel 9)
Quality=57/70 Signal level=-53 dBm
Encryption key:on
ESSID:"1999"

I tried wicd. After refreshing the wireless list I have been informed that
network requires encryption to be enabled and asked for passphrase, which
I entered without any mistake. Then I tried to connect but after watching

1999: validating authentication

for quite a while, I got the message

Connection Failed: Bad password.

I do not understand this because I am sure that the password is OK
- it works with Porteus 1.0

If you have any idea what could be the reason, please let me know.

[brokenman]

Firstly try booting Porteus in 'Always fresh mode' with no extra modules in your modules folder or rootcopy folder, and nothing in your rc.local file. If you don't know what all these are then don't worry about them, you probably havn't touched them.

Is you keyboard language and locale correct? Try typing your password in plain text somewhere and make sure it types correctly. From my years of experience with fixing peoples borked computers ... i have found that when it comes to remembering passwords .... the computers are usually right. If you say the same password works find on 1.0 then it must come down to being typed in wrong due to keyboard layout, a bad authentication protocol or perhaps something to do with your changes (hence the always fresh mode boot suggestion).

You have encryption on your router ... does it tell which type of encryption from the scan output? (wep, WPA2 etc). Wicd should also tell you which type ... probably WPA1/2.

If we can know this perhaps we can try setting up the connection manually. A good way to get more troubleshooting infformation is to close wicd from the task tray (right click on the icon and quit), then open a konsole and start wicd: wicd-client (or perhaps wicd-gtk). Then when you try to connect you should get an output in the terminal as to what is happening. This may give you more clues.

[logick]

@brokenman

First I booted porteus1.1 in Always fresh mode with only kernel-firmware-20110814git-noarch-1.xzm in modules folder
and run wicd with the same 'bad password' result as yesterday (wicd iformation claims that encription on my router is WPA2).
I gathered all information from dmesg etc. and I put it here: http://pastebin.com/tnwSdzrK

Next I booted porteus1.0 in Always fresh mode with empty modules folder and connected to my home network using wicd with the same
password which was not accepted a moment earlier. As before I gathered information and put it here: http://pastebin.com/p4PjtSb1

In both cases I used the default us-keyboard of porteus. The password for my home network is short and trivial, moreover wicd
shows it typed correcly.

Thanks for your help.

[fanthom]

@logick

can't see anything wrong in log files provided so i would suggest 3 things to do:
a) download latest firmware which i bumped today in our repo:
http://ponce.cc/porteus/x86_64/modules/ ... arch-1.xzm
b) try experimental 3.2.4 kernel posted some time ago:
http://ponce.cc/porteus/x86_64/current/ ... ftm.tar.gz
c) once you update Porteus kernel and firmware please run 'pns-tool' cli utility and follow the wizard.
in case of fail please provide it's debugging info.

good luck!

[logick]

@fanthom

Both a) and b) went smoothly but c) - after promising start - ended with failure on Asus: http://www.pastebin.com/u4c7DT5P
I did not even get a chance of trying pns-tool on Acer because all the time during and after
boot the wireless-led was dead. This led is lit from the very beginning when I boot Acer
from a stick with Porteos 1.0 - Acer has no hardware wireless-switch.

Nevertheless, I am happy with updated kernel because it makes my Asus much quicker.

[fanthom]

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This led is lit from the very beginning when I boot Acer
from a stick with Porteos 1.0

now i'm wonder if it has anything to do with power-save features in the kernel.
64bit 3.1.8 kernel is based on the same config as 2.6.38.8 - just added new drivers to it, nothing ground-shaking but who knows....

could you blacklist iwlagn driver in Porteus-1.0 and check if the led stays off?
after boot please run 'modprobe iwlagn' and check if the led gets initialized.
it wont tell us much but at least we will know that the issue is caused by iwlagn driver itself and/or iwlwifi-1000-ucode-39.31.5.1 firmware in the never kernels.

[logick]

@fanthom

I tried to do what you asked for but to be honest I do not know how
to blacklist iwlagn. I found some information on the forum but
I would be much more comfortable, if I could understand what I am
doing. First, in terminal I did the following:

mkdir /tmp/001
cp -Rdp /mnt/live/memory/images/001-core.xzm/* /tmp/001
echo "blacklist iwlagn.ko" >> /tmp/001/etc/modprobe.d/modprobe.conf
dir2xzm /tmp/001 /tmp/001-core.xzm

Next, I replaced the file 001-core.xzm on my stick with Porteus-v1.0
with the new 001-core.xzm from /tmp and booted Acer using modified stick.

I did not notice any difference in behaviour. As before, the wifi-led
was lit and I could connect to my home network (1999) directy by wicd.

I am curious what is so special in Porteus-v1.0 that it is so
succesful with wifi on my laptops.

[fanthom]

if I could understand what I am doing

blacklisting tells udev to skip loading certain driver during boot (so we can load it manually with modprobe command later on while watching wifi led behavior)

Next, I replaced the file 001-core.xzm on my stick with Porteus-v1.0
with the new 001-core.xzm from /tmp and booted Acer using modified stick.

you have taken the long way. it would be much easier to use /porteus/rootcopy folder which comes very handy for testing purpose:
more info
please restore original 001-core.xzm and run 2 commands:

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mkdir -p /mnt/sdXy/porteus/rootcopy/etc/modprobe.d
echo "blacklist iwlagn" > /mnt/sdXy/porteus/rootcopy/etc/modprobe.d/blacklist_iwlagn.conf

replace sdYX with your pendrive letter.

I did not notice any difference in behaviour. As before, the wifi-led
was lit and I could connect to my home network (1999) directy by wicd.

that's because you have blacklisted it incorrectly. you supposed to do it without '.ko' suffix as in my example above.

I am curious what is so special in Porteus-v1.0 that it is so
succesful with wifi on my laptops.

that's what we are trying to figure out right now

please blacklist iwlagn correctly on porteus-1.0 and repeat experiment with loading this driver manually (watch if led is turned on since the beginning of the boot process or only when you use modprobe command)

btw: is your Acer laptop (BCM4313) working now when you used latest kernel firmware?

[logick]

@fanthom

Thank you for helpful explanations. Following your instructions I did:

mkdir -p /mnt/sdb1/porteus/rootcopy/etc/modprobe.d
echo "blacklist iwlagn" > /mnt/sdb1/porteus/rootcopy/etc/modprobe.d/blacklist_iwlagn.conf

After reboot in always fresh mode Acer's wifi-led was still on.
I made sure that /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist_iwlagn.conf exists
and started pns-tool that behaved as follows:

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lo        no wireless extensions.

eth0      no wireless extensions.

ioctl[SIOCGIWSCAN]: Invalid argument
Trying to associate with 54:e6:fc:ab:75:d2 (SSID='1999' freq=2437 MHz)
ioctl[SIOCSIWAP]: Device or resource busy
Association request to the driver failed
Associated with 54:e6:fc:ab:75:d2
WPA: Key negotiation completed with 54:e6:fc:ab:75:d2 [PTK=CCMP GTK=CCMP]
CTRL-EVENT-CONNECTED - Connection to 54:e6:fc:ab:75:d2 completed (auth) [id=0 id_str=]
dhcpcd[3083]: version 5.2.11 starting
dhcpcd[3083]: eth1: broadcasting for a lease
dhcpcd[3083]: eth1: offered 192.168.1.101 from 192.168.1.1
dhcpcd[3083]: eth1: acknowledged 192.168.1.101 from 192.168.1.1
dhcpcd[3083]: eth1: checking for 192.168.1.101
dhcpcd[3083]: eth1: leased 192.168.1.101 for 7200 seconds
dhcpcd[3083]: forked to background, child pid 3110

and produced a zzz-module containing:

/etc/rc.d/rc3.d/S-pns
wpa_supplicant -Dwext -ieth1 -c /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf > /dev/null 2>&1 &

and

/etc/wpa_supplicant.conf
# WPA/WPA2 both TKIP and CCMP
ctrl_interface=/var/run/wpa_supplicant
network={
scan_ssid=1
ssid="1999"
key_mgmt=WPA-PSK
pairwise=CCMP TKIP
group=CCMP TKIP
psk=3e753e95c21c1a5a7caa52f94527650dcafdff3911cf740e326abbc164e7c84a
}

Finally I connected to 1999 by wicd.

In order to test the latest kernel firmware I moved kernel-firmware-20120202git-noarch-1.xzm to modules folder
of Porteus-v1.0 and tried to reboot. Afer the message: 'triggering udev events', wifi-led was off definitely.

Despite this, I started pns-tool and noted a significant difference: eth1 was not offered any more, only wlan0.
As expected, the trial ended with failure:

Trying to associate with 54:e6:fc75:d2 (SSID='1999' freq=2427 MHz)
dhcpcd[3653]: version 5.2.11 starting
dhcpcd[3653]: wlan0: waiting for carrier
Authentication with 54:e6:fc75:d2 timed out.
Trying to associate with 54:e6:fc75:d2 (SSID='1999' freq=2427 MHz)
Authentication with 54:e6:fc75:d2 timed out.
Trying to associate with 54:e6:fc75:d2 (SSID='1999' freq=2427 MHz)
Authentication with 54:e6:fc75:d2 timed out.
Trying to associate with 54:e6:fc75:d2 (SSID='1999' freq=2427 MHz)
dhcpcd[3653]: timed out
dhcpcd[3653]: allowing 8 seconds for IPv4LL timeout
Authentication with 54:e6:fc75:d2 timed out.
Trying to associate with 54:e6:fc75:d2 (SSID='1999' freq=2427 MHz)
dhcpcd[3653]: timed out
Authentication with 54:e6:fc75:d2 timed out.
Trying to associate with 54:e6:fc75:d2 (SSID='1999' freq=2427 MHz)

I think that BCM4313 does not work, but considering my poor knowledge of its functions
I run dmesg, lspci -k and lsmod : http://pastebin.com/EdFnPyF1