Troubleshooting Wireless Connectivity Issues in Linux

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around troubleshooting wireless connectivity issues in Linux, focusing on driver installation, network configuration, and user experiences with different Linux distributions. Participants share their challenges and seek solutions for connecting to wireless networks.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested
  • Homework-related

Main Points Raised

  • One participant reports successfully connecting to wireless previously but now faces issues, expressing frustration with the process and considering a system restore.
  • Another participant suggests using ndiswrapper and provides a command to ensure it loads on boot.
  • A participant mentions receiving an error about no IP address when attempting to bring up the wireless interface, despite following the same steps as before.
  • Some participants encourage persistence with Linux, recommending user-friendly distributions like Mandriva and sharing personal experiences with various distros.
  • One participant requests specific commands to diagnose the issue and emphasizes running them as root.
  • Another participant expresses doubt about signal issues, suggesting the problem may lie within the Linux configuration, noting the absence of a MAC address.
  • There is a repeated request for the output of specific diagnostic commands to further investigate the issue.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express a mix of frustration and encouragement regarding the use of Linux. There is no consensus on the root cause of the connectivity issues, with some suggesting it may be a configuration problem while others consider signal issues. The discussion remains unresolved.

Contextual Notes

Participants mention various Linux distributions and their experiences, indicating that the effectiveness of solutions may depend on specific hardware and configurations. There are references to missing outputs from diagnostic commands, which could limit troubleshooting efforts.

Who May Find This Useful

This discussion may be useful for Linux users experiencing wireless connectivity issues, particularly those seeking community support and troubleshooting advice.

physicsCU
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Linux help!

OK, I finally got my wireless working last night, but when i went to school today, I tried to connect there, no luck.

and when i got home tonight and reset all my settings to what they were when i was connected, i got nothing!

anyone know what i can do? i already uninstalled and reinstalled the drivers. I am afraid I will need to do a system restore of some type.

This is irritating me! no wonder windows is used on most of the worlds computers! it just works!
 
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Are you using the ndiswrapper? If you are did you remember to do:

modprobe ndiswrapper

If you don't want to do this every reboot you should add ndiswrapper to /etc/modules.d/kernel-<whatever version you have>
 
I did that, it says its loaded, then i try

ifup wlan0

but i get the message that there is no IP address. I mean, i did the exact same steps last night, and it worked fine.

I might have to do a system restore (?) to last night.

I might have to reinstall, i didn't realize i needed to make a backup file. Unless I can get some tips on what to do here, I am kinda screwed. this is seriously making me want to quit linux forever if its this hard to use.
 
Last edited:
Hey don't give up on Linux. It has come a long in just the past couple years. Every day it gets better and better. I would strongly urge to use the most user friendly disto of all. Try Mandriva (formerly known as Mandrake) I absolutely love Mandrake. It's so simple and easy to use. I haven't tried Kubunto. But I have had used Redhat 9, Suse 9, Slackware, Knoppix, Debian, Phlack, plus a few others and I must say that I had the easiest time with Mandrake. I know that there are a lot of Mandrake haters out there who complain about Mandrake being for noobies but I really like it and it's always been friendly for me. You can get iso from http://linuxiso.org <---- My fav site
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Here you can check your hardware :biggrin:
I love Mandriva!

http://wwwnew.mandriva.com/en/hardware
 
Last edited by a moderator:
physicsCU said:
I did that, it says its loaded, then i try

ifup wlan0

but i get the message that there is no IP address. I mean, i did the exact same steps last night, and it worked fine.

I might have to do a system restore (?) to last night.

I might have to reinstall, i didn't realize i needed to make a backup file. Unless I can get some tips on what to do here, I am kinda screwed. this is seriously making me want to quit linux forever if its this hard to use.
do the commands following and post the output:

lsmod

iwconfig

iwlist wlan0 scan

ifconfig

edit: Do them as root, not as regular user.
 
physicsCU said:
I did those commands, check here: http://forums.suselinuxsupport.de/index.php?showtopic=30931

they are in there somewhere.

and i will check on mandriva too. i looked into kubuntu, but the live cd wouldn't boot on my dual-boot machine. i checked on everything in bios too.


From a cursory glance, looks like signal issues. But I'm not sure. Thats not all the commands I asked you to run though.
 
really? which ones did i miss?

I can run those for you then.

its not a signal issue, I think its an issue within linux, I can't even see my MAC address in linux.
 
  • #10
physicsCU said:
really? which ones did i miss?

I can run those for you then.

its not a signal issue, I think its an issue within linux, I can't even see my MAC address in linux.


Well, from the output you gave me (which was not eveyrthing I asked for) that's what came to mind. To repeat the list of commands (points at previous post as well):

lsmod

iwconfig

iwlist wlan0 scan

ifconfig

Just run them all and post the output.
 

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