Possible bug in Barry's simple network setup tool...

[ardvark]

Hi all...

I'm not sure if it's a bug, but I've noticed the last few days that Barry's simple network setup tool has not been connecting to my wireless network as consistently, if at all, as it had before, which was every time I booted the system. Today, I switched over to Frisbee and haven't had a problem since. I noticed that it started getting the worst when I changed the boot order to checking the floppy drive first.

I'm using Precise 5.6.1 on an older Pentium 4 system with the following hardware...

Code: Select all

# lspci -nn
00:00.0 Host bridge [0600]: Intel Corporation 82865G/PE/P DRAM Controller/Host-Hub Interface [8086:2570] (rev 02)
00:01.0 PCI bridge [0604]: Intel Corporation 82865G/PE/P AGP Bridge [8086:2571] (rev 02)
00:03.0 PCI bridge [0604]: Intel Corporation 82865G/PE/P PCI to CSA Bridge [8086:2573] (rev 02)
00:06.0 System peripheral [0880]: Intel Corporation 82865G/PE/P Processor to I/O Memory Interface [8086:2576] (rev 02)
00:1d.0 USB controller [0c03]: Intel Corporation 82801EB/ER (ICH5/ICH5R) USB UHCI Controller #1 [8086:24d2] (rev 02)
00:1d.1 USB controller [0c03]: Intel Corporation 82801EB/ER (ICH5/ICH5R) USB UHCI Controller #2 [8086:24d4] (rev 02)
00:1d.2 USB controller [0c03]: Intel Corporation 82801EB/ER (ICH5/ICH5R) USB UHCI Controller #3 [8086:24d7] (rev 02)
00:1d.3 USB controller [0c03]: Intel Corporation 82801EB/ER (ICH5/ICH5R) USB UHCI Controller #4 [8086:24de] (rev 02)
00:1d.7 USB controller [0c03]: Intel Corporation 82801EB/ER (ICH5/ICH5R) USB2 EHCI Controller [8086:24dd] (rev 02)
00:1e.0 PCI bridge [0604]: Intel Corporation 82801 PCI Bridge [8086:244e] (rev c2)
00:1f.0 ISA bridge [0601]: Intel Corporation 82801EB/ER (ICH5/ICH5R) LPC Interface Bridge [8086:24d0] (rev 02)
00:1f.1 IDE interface [0101]: Intel Corporation 82801EB/ER (ICH5/ICH5R) IDE Controller [8086:24db] (rev 02)
00:1f.2 IDE interface [0101]: Intel Corporation 82801EB (ICH5) SATA Controller [8086:24d1] (rev 02)
00:1f.3 SMBus [0c05]: Intel Corporation 82801EB/ER (ICH5/ICH5R) SMBus Controller [8086:24d3] (rev 02)
00:1f.5 Multimedia audio controller [0401]: Intel Corporation 82801EB/ER (ICH5/ICH5R) AC'97 Audio Controller [8086:24d5] (rev 02)
01:00.0 VGA compatible controller [0300]: NVIDIA Corporation NV34 [GeForce FX 5200] [10de:0322] (rev a1)
02:01.0 Ethernet controller [0200]: Intel Corporation 82547GI Gigabit Ethernet Controller [8086:1075]
03:0c.0 CardBus bridge [0607]: Texas Instruments PCI4510 PC card Cardbus Controller [104c:ac44] (rev 02)
03:0c.1 FireWire (IEEE 1394) [0c00]: Texas Instruments PCI4510 IEEE-1394 Controller [104c:8029]
# lsusb
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 003 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 004 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 005 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 0cf3:9271 Atheros Communications, Inc. AR9271 802.11n
Bus 004 Device 002: ID 046d:c058 Logitech, Inc. M115 Mouse
Bus 004 Device 003: ID 04f2:0402 Chicony Electronics Co., Ltd Genius LuxeMate i200 Keyboard
# 

This is that adapter I'm using.

Let me know if there is any additional information you need...

Thanks!

[Smithy]

Apparently also happening with a friend using Dpup Wheezy 3.5.2.11.
He is on a MSI Wind netbook clone, Advent something, and very irritating that it takes three minutes before the failed network information comes up on Barry. Said he tried to connect eight times yesterday. No joy.

I said try Peasy Wifi, and after his figuring out what a supplicant is and entering what needed to be entered for wifi network, same problem.

He has to go back to xp to email and say he cannot connect.
It may well be a very delicate connection in a foreign rural clime, but xp seems to top puppy for getting connected more easily.

He did used to say Barry's always connects, but that was back on ye ol' 3HDog.

Any solutions would be good if the wifi network has gone a bit pear shaped in newer pups.

[rcrsn51]

I said try Peasy Wifi, and after his figuring out what a supplicant is and entering what needed to be entered for wifi network, same problem.

It's too bad he didn't ask for help here. There are some simple diagnostic tools for problem-solving this situation.

[Smithy]

True, but user doesn't do forums.
So all we got is sometimes 8 times to connect, big 3 minute wait to say connect failed in Barry, pretty bad on a Sunday. Xp sometimes bad, but not as bad as Puppy.

Sorry Ardvark, not trying to hijack your thread, just pushing for wifi as good as Barry's bulletproof eth0, and Rerwins ppp.

[ardvark]

Hi Smithy....

No problem. If your friend wants to try Frisbee, I've never had a problem with it connecting. Sometimes you have to wait a bit for the networks to show up before initially connecting (one time they didn't show up at all) but that's the only problem I've ever had with it.

Regards...

[Smithy]

Hi Ardvark, well I held off from suggesting Frisbee (I think there is an install somewhere within 3.5.2.11, can't find it tho') because it can conflict with other wifi apps?
I was hoping Peasy might be the best. (Peasy should be just that, easy peasy).
It's a pity that this isn't nailed and the crap is continued with shiny new puppies that don't even do the basics,( rant, grumble, fiddlesticks )

EDIT: It actually seems to be some sort of contention issue that happens at certain times, as user reported that Barry's wifi connected first time recently.

[ardvark]

Hi Ardvark, well I held off from suggesting Frisbee (I think there is an install somewhere within 3.5.2.11, can't find it tho') because it can conflict with other wifi apps?

Interesting, I've never heard or experienced this.

[rcrsn51]

(Peasy should be just that, easy peasy).

PWF is just a front-end for some standard Linux command-line WiFi tools. The code is completely transparent. If it doesn't work, there are only two possibilities.

1. The problem is at the hardware level.
2. Your install is messed up and something is blocking the Linux commands.

For example, PWF has the Profile>Scan button. If that operation doesn't find any access points, then no connection manager is going to work.

[Smithy]

Yes, but you are very experienced rcrsn51, if you look at Peasy from a newcomers point of view, it looks nice, but tricky. A better helpfile to the one you have built in would probably solve that.

I did run it briefly before sending the link to my friend, just to see if 3.5.2.11 would run it.
I didn't quite understand it, and I didn't have anything to scan at the time, but since he uses wifi, I thought he would be in there quickly. Apparently not.

But I do think it's a contention or wibbly wobbly signal on his end after interrogating him..

Now I know your stuff is always good, but in this case, an improved help might be good for those whose I.Q dips to that of a peanut at times.

[ThoriumBlvd]

I should also post here...
Barry's SNS is a no-go on Wifi here also, Frisbee Connects.
I would also probe the chipset certain finicky sets like Atheros in a netbook are just plain screwed up. WEP or none, WPA n/s.

My modem/router solves using WEP key, MAC whitelist, etc. Frisbee does Connect when selecting proper name. But Barry's SNS, big NOPE.

Frankly, I don;t know how its designed, or what its sniffing.

[jafadmin]

I must be a dinosaur. I always use Dougal's Network Wizard for everything.

It just always works for me. One cool feature if it is set as the default tool is that you can right-click the "Connect" icon and select "Disconnect from Ethernet/Wireless Networks", and it will clear, reset, and down all interfaces so you can start over with a clean slate.

My attempts to use the "Quick" setup tools result in sporadic results.

[Karl Godt]

I am guessing that the driver and or firmware does not load correctly anymore .

shell commands necessary :

• lsmod

to check which drivers are loaded;

• dmesg

to check for driver messages;

• iwlist scan

to check for access points.