Jump to content

Wireless in Slackware


V.T. Eric Layton

Recommended Posts

securitybreach

Well the link I gave above talks about that specific card having issues with eth0 and wifi interfering with each other. Mainly post #9 on that link http://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/sl...85/#post3794057

I just tried, that was even simpler:1) Add this line at the end of /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf:
b44

2) Add this line at the end of /etc/rc.d/rc.local:

/sbin/modprobe b44

3) Make sure this file be executable:

chmod +x /etc/rc.d/rc.local

No need to restart rc.inet1.And you shouldn't undergo any boot delay, so no need for my stupid scriptSlackware network scripts are really well designed after all

Link to comment
Share on other sites

securitybreach
Before I do anything, I'm going to follow Eric Hameleer's setup on his wiki and see if I can get it to work that way.This may take awhile. I'll be back on here later with the results.Thanks...
Sounds good. I just got another drive(2tb) so I will be formating partitions, moving data and reinstalling today. Fun fun fun.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

V.T. Eric Layton

Well, I did everything in Hameleer's tutorial. I configured rc.inet1.conf. I configured wpa_supplicant. No joy. The system doesn't see any wireless anything. :(What now? Suggestions?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Post #32 by Josh?Thinking out loud here... two separate issues – hardware configuration and connection configuration. And, as per Josh' discovery, you have a possible wired/wireless "collision snafu" that needs to be addressed before the wireless card can see anything.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

In a console try: modprobe (your wireless card name); sudo ip link set wlan(#) upsudo iwconfig wlan(#) essid any (name of your network) dhclient wlan(your wireless card #)Then either set IP manually, or get it via DHCPPing gw (router) to see if it is working.See if you get any response with this. I've used it on the OS's that won't cooperate using any GUI driver version.My card is an Atheros version (ath5k)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

V.T. Eric Layton
Post #32 by Josh?Thinking out loud here... two separate issues – hardware configuration and connection configuration. And, as per Josh' discovery, you have a possible wired/wireless "collision snafu" that needs to be addressed before the wireless card can see anything.
I missed that post somehow. Trying that now.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

V.T. Eric Layton

Holy Moley Rockin' Rolly! :bounce:Everything is so easy once you know how to do it. I'm sitting here with my lappy in my lap and communicating with the world wirelessly in my SLACKWARE installation. 'Bout darn time, too. SHEEEESH! Here's how I finally got it working this evening: While I was running some errands earlier this evening, I thought to myself that I ought to read the dmesg output and see if there was anything interesting in there. There was...

b43 ssb0:0: firmware: requesting b43-open/ucode5.fwb43-phy0 ERROR: Firmware file "b43/ucode5.fw" not foundb43-phy0 ERROR: Firmware file "b43-open/ucode5.fw" not foundb43-phy0 ERROR: You must go to http://wireless.kernel.org/en/users/Driver...#devicefirmware and download the correct firmware for this driver version. Please carefully read all instructions on this website.
Well, I went to that website mentioned there and learned what a pain in the rectal area Broadcom wireless cards can be when using Linux. A mention of something on that site (b43-fwcutter) reminded me of something I'd read at LQ.org, or somewhere this past couple days, about needing that app to use the proprietary drivers from Broadcom (and you thought Nvidia's install script was a pain, huh?). I did a search for "b43-fwcutter Slackware" and the first hits were the SlackBuilds for this app and for the Broadcom driver. I downloaded both and compiled/installed. While I was following the directions at the wireless.kernel.org site for using fwcutter, I happened to notice the wireless light was already on on my lappy. Hmm... don't know for sure at what stage it started working, but it did. I rebooted... still JOY! MUCH JOY!I want to thank Josh, Urmas, Fran (on IRC), Bob, and everyone else who helped with this fiasco. I'm tired now. I still love Slackware. It can be a challenge sometimes. In this case, I think the problem should be credited to Broadcom, though. Slack would have been relatively easy to set up with any other card. :yes:Off I go...I'm going to power down now. Maybe I'll go sit in my recliner in the bedroom and see how the range is on this thing. :hysterical:
Link to comment
Share on other sites

V.T. Eric Layton

I knew I'd get it eventually. It can be frustrating at times, though. 99.9% of what I did was command line, too. That usually turns off most newer Linux adventurers. This latest crop of fresh penguin faces definitely prefers the GUI. There aren't many old command line dogs like me left around these days. :hysterical:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I knew I'd get it eventually. It can be frustrating at times, though. 99.9% of what I did was command line, too. That usually turns off most newer Linux adventurers. This latest crop of fresh penguin faces definitely prefers the GUI. There aren't many old command line dogs like me left around these days. :hysterical:
Liking it is one thing. I like it. Of course I'm also an OldFart. But knowing it well enough to actually USE it is quite another. I think I'm still several weeks away from that point.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

V.T. Eric Layton

There's command line stuff that I learn every day... and Slackware has been my primary operating system for four years now. Heck, who'm I fooling? I use the command line for most things in all the distros I have installed on my system, not just Slack. I'm a glutton for pain. :hysterical:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Broadcom has always been a total pain in the yard gnome butt.Hopefully their recent decision to join the rest of the world with an Open Source Linux driver in the kernel will soon benefit us all.Heck, if we're really dreaming, maybe the OEM's will stop using hardware that makes cross platform use of their stuff so painful.How 'bout interoperability standards for each peice of hardware so that they all just work. Windows, Linux, or Mac. Wouldn't that be a kick in the yard gnome....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 5 years later...
V.T. Eric Layton

@Raymac....

 

Here you go, Ray... all the pain and suffering I endured and the ultimate happiness once I figured out Slackware wireless using that gawdawful Broadcom hardware in Dells.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks Eric. There is an additional complication in my Dell netbook in that the Broadcom adapter is an LP-PHY (low power) setup and even if you get the b43 stuff installed it isn't always seen by the wireless manager. The Broadcom wl driver does work on the netbook with most Debian distros.

I think there are basically 2 ways to run the Broadcom stuff - either install the wl driver or use the b43 driver with the firmware as you did.

What really ticks me off is that Dell sold this extremely Linux unfriendly machine with Linux pre-installed. They had their own kluged version of Ubuntu 8.04 but after they stopped selling the Mini 12 they left no upgrade path. I have got it working with Debian proper, and Debian derivatives like Linux Mint but it was never going to run an enthusiast's distro like Slack without a lot of headaches. This is more a hardware criticism than it is of Slack itself.

I'm not going to try Salix or any Slackware distro until I get the Acer upgraded as it has an Atheros chipset I know works out of the box. I had Salix running perfectly on the Acer first time.

Edited by raymac46
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The ironic thing is I knock myself out with these two ugly old 32 bit netbooks when I have a THIRD netbook that is a Linux hacker's dream - 64 bit, all friendly hardware and 2 GB of RAM.

However the Toshiba is my useful traveler's netbook and my wife likes to use it so I keep the very friendly Linux Mint Xfce running there.

I guess I have a degree of masochism appropriate to an Arch or Slack user after all.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...