Can't associate access point.

obankobi · 2010-09-21 19:20:36

Hello,

I cannot seem to associate an access point on my Atheros wifi card. I did this:
ifconfig wlan0 up
iwconfig wlan0 essid "UCM-Guest"
dhcpcd wlan0
.......timeout.

I also tried using netcfg, but to no avail.
I have this in my rc.conf:

INTERFACES=(eth0 wlan0)
eth0="dhcp"
wlan0="dhcp"

I can use iwlist wlan0 scan, and see all the networks, so the card obviously works.

On a side note, maybe it doesn't. I can't connect in Puppy Linux either on the same computer.

What gives?

hidefromkgb · 2010-09-21 21:45:58

I also ran into the same problem a week ago.
I consider this to be a kernel issue.
Try to boot your system with the 2.6.32-LTS kernel (just install it and add it to the boot loader menu).
With .32-LTS installed, my laptop is able to share the Internet and connect to other WiFi access points.

Last edited by hidefromkgb (2010-09-21 21:48:34)

ewaller · 2010-09-21 22:35:55

Can you tell us more about the router? Is it unencrypted, WEP, WPA, or WPA2?
After the iwconfig command, did it associate? (run iwconfig wlan0 without any other parameters. what does it say about the AP?)
dhcpcd would time out like that if the router is encrypted WPA/WPA2, even though you can associate.
With WEP, I don't think it will associate without a key.

If the router is open, I haven't any ideas.

hidefromkgb · 2010-09-21 22:49:41

obankobi, another possibility is that you set the wrong mode for your card.
If it is "Managed", while AP is "Ad-Hoc", DHCP client also fails.

PS.
Sorry if I say something irrelevant.
This all is personal experience that I got during the process of getting WiFi to work.

Last edited by hidefromkgb (2010-09-21 22:50:38)

obankobi · 2010-09-22 00:31:40

hidefromkgb wrote:

I also ran into the same problem a week ago.
I consider this to be a kernel issue.
Try to boot your system with the 2.6.32-LTS kernel (just install it and add it to the boot loader menu).
With .32-LTS installed, my laptop is able to share the Internet and connect to other WiFi access points.

Hm, I'm not entirely sure how to install a kernel, is this version in the repo? I did reinstall using the 2008 disc, and tried to connect before updating to the current packages, to see if something went wrong in compatibility with the card. It was previously working though, just decided to not want to work. It was messing up with Windows a bit as well, though a couple days ago I was able to see networks with XP, though I didn't connect because they were all secure at an apartment complex. I'm going to try to connect using XP tomorrow, just to rule out hardware.

ewaller wrote:

Can you tell us more about the router? Is it unencrypted, WEP, WPA, or WPA2?
After the iwconfig command, did it associate? (run iwconfig wlan0 without any other parameters. what does it say about the AP?)
dhcpcd would time out like that if the router is encrypted WPA/WPA2, even though you can associate.
With WEP, I don't think it will associate without a key.
If the router is open, I haven't any ideas.

No ideas about the router, it's a school system, and the guest account I'm trying to connect to is open, no encryption. When I run iwconfig wlan0 the AP is "Not-Associated".

hidefromkgb wrote:

obankobi, another possibility is that you set the wrong mode for your card.
If it is "Managed", while AP is "Ad-Hoc", DHCP client also fails.
PS.
Sorry if I say something irrelevant.
This all is personal experience that I got during the process of getting WiFi to work.

Ah, didn't work, sounded promising too. I think ad-hoc is more for computer to computer, at least that's what it is in Windows.

PS.
Don't be sorry! Every little bit helps, if not now, some time in the future

hidefromkgb · 2010-09-22 00:48:01

obankobi wrote:

It was previously working though, just decided to not want to work.

Exactly.

In my case, it refused to work after the full system upgrade (pacman -Syu).

As for kernel, it is available from /core repository, directly accessible via pacman:
pacman -S kernel26-lts kernel26-lts-headers

After the installation, add this to /boot/grub/menu.lst:

# Arch Linux LTS kernel
title Choose_the_title_you_want

# Change this line if the corresponding line in your "main" config is different
root (hd0,0)
# If it was different, "/dev/sda1" must also be changed
kernel /boot/vmlinuz26-lts root=/dev/sda1 ro
initrd /boot/kernel26-lts.img

Then reboot and select the option containing your title line from a boot menu.

Last edited by hidefromkgb (2010-09-22 00:54:21)

obankobi · 2010-09-22 03:17:25

Ok thanks, I'll give that a try tomorrow, off to class then bed for me.

I tried XP, and can connect to the network, but I can't actually connect to the internet. Pings timeout, and I can't display any webpages. I don't think it's an Arch problem. Four OS's can't get it to work, I think it's time for me to just get a USB Wifi. Any suggestions on what works well with Arch? I would prefer a mini USB, but it's not that important.
By the way, thanks for all your suggestions

Last edited by obankobi (2010-09-22 15:53:25)

Arch Linux

#1 2010-09-21 19:20:36

Can't associate access point.

#2 2010-09-21 21:45:58

Re: Can't associate access point.

#3 2010-09-21 22:35:55

Re: Can't associate access point.

#4 2010-09-21 22:49:41

Re: Can't associate access point.

#5 2010-09-22 00:31:40

Re: Can't associate access point.

#6 2010-09-22 00:48:01

Re: Can't associate access point.

#7 2010-09-22 03:17:25

Re: Can't associate access point.

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