No network interface with RT2870 [SOLVED]

Strider · 2010-04-08 21:57:26

I just purchased a D-link dwa 140 dongle that uses the RT2870 chipset.
Like some others on this forum, I can't get it to work. But unlike the others, I get stuck very early in the sense that I do not get a network interface created, nor wlan0 nor ra0 (iwconfig just states eth0 and lo0 with no wireless extensions).

I did the following :

1) use the rt2x00 drivers : ran into a know bug (http://bugs.archlinux.org/task/18729) and got no interface
2) blacklisted the rt2x00 drivers and downloaded the rt2870 package from AUR. This installed a rt2870sta module. Since this module is also installed with the standard Arch kernel (2.6.32.10-1) I did a backup of this module before removing it. I edited the config file RT2870STA.dat as stated in the Arch Wiki but again no interface.

What did I do wrong ?

Thanks in advance for the help !

Last edited by Strider (2010-04-09 21:59:47)

Strider · 2010-04-09 22:07:09

I just received the updated kernel 2.6.33.2 via core repository today. It came with
1) a new rt2xx00 driver that did not contain the bug anymore
2) a new rt2870sta module.

I noticed that the rt2870sta module now created a wlan0 interface. Yes !

Since both modules rt2870sta and rt2800usb/rt2800lib were loaded upon insertion of my dongle I blacklisted the latter.
The only thing I had to was restart netcfg with my existing profile (that worked with my old wireless g dongle) and I was back in business.

Note that I do not have a configuration file RT2870STA.dat on my system and I configure my network interface completely via my netcfg profile that in turn lets wpa_supplicant do my WPA2 stuff.

Strider · 2010-04-11 18:00:15

Hm, I was a bit too enthusiastic ...

1) the new rt2x00 driver has still the same bug
2) the rt2870sta module puts my kernel.log full of the same messages : '===>rt_ioctl_giwscan. 2(2) BSS returned, data->length = 373' which is apparently a debug message that ralink forgot to suppress when releasing the code. Besides of that my wireless N dongle connect to my wireless N router in 802.11g mode ...

Looks like I'll have to do some hacking ...

Arch Linux

#1 2010-04-08 21:57:26

No network interface with RT2870 [SOLVED]

#2 2010-04-09 22:07:09

Re: No network interface with RT2870 [SOLVED]

#3 2010-04-11 18:00:15

Re: No network interface with RT2870 [SOLVED]

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