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I am having a problem with my Sony Vaio VGN-NR110FH laptop. It is a very old computer but it works very well, for my taste, with the configuration that I did in Arch Linux.
guybrush@arch
OS: Arch Linux x86_64
Host: VGN-NR110FH C3LQBZTW
Kernel: 5.13.10-arch1-1
Uptime: 5 mins
Packages: 512 (pacman)
Shell: bash 5.1.8
Resolution: 1280x800
WM: i3
Theme: Adwaita [GTK3]
Icons: Adwaita [GTK3]
Terminal: xfce4-terminal
Terminal Font: Source Code Variable 9
CPU: Intel Celeron 530 (1) @ 1.728GHz
GPU: Intel Mobile GM965/GL960
Memory: 538MiB / 1971MiB
As you can see, it really is a very old computer, but I am really very happy with how it works, and more recently that I just formatted it, except for the problem that I brought you today.
The problem is the following: for some reason that I do not know, and that has happened to me using other distributions (ubuntu, debian and devuan), it is that the Wi-Fi device is randomly blocked. That is, when I use the rfkill command, it shows up as HARD blocked.
lspci -nn:
00:00.0 Host bridge [0600]: Intel Corporation Mobile PM965/GM965/GL960 Memory Controller Hub [8086:2a00] (rev 0c)
00:02.0 VGA compatible controller [0300]: Intel Corporation Mobile GM965/GL960 Integrated Graphics Controller (primary) [8086:2a02] (rev 0c)
00:02.1 Display controller [0380]: Intel Corporation Mobile GM965/GL960 Integrated Graphics Controller (secondary) [8086:2a03] (rev 0c)
00:1a.0 USB controller [0c03]: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) USB UHCI Controller #4 [8086:2834] (rev 03)
00:1a.1 USB controller [0c03]: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) USB UHCI Controller #5 [8086:2835] (rev 03)
00:1a.7 USB controller [0c03]: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) USB2 EHCI Controller #2 [8086:283a] (rev 03)
00:1b.0 Audio device [0403]: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) HD Audio Controller [8086:284b] (rev 03)
00:1c.0 PCI bridge [0604]: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) PCI Express Port 1 [8086:283f] (rev 03)
00:1c.1 PCI bridge [0604]: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) PCI Express Port 2 [8086:2841] (rev 03)
00:1c.2 PCI bridge [0604]: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) PCI Express Port 3 [8086:2843] (rev 03)
00:1d.0 USB controller [0c03]: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) USB UHCI Controller #1 [8086:2830] (rev 03)
00:1d.1 USB controller [0c03]: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) USB UHCI Controller #2 [8086:2831] (rev 03)
00:1d.2 USB controller [0c03]: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) USB UHCI Controller #3 [8086:2832] (rev 03)
00:1d.7 USB controller [0c03]: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) USB2 EHCI Controller #1 [8086:2836] (rev 03)
00:1e.0 PCI bridge [0604]: Intel Corporation 82801 Mobile PCI Bridge [8086:2448] (rev f3)
00:1f.0 ISA bridge [0601]: Intel Corporation 82801HM (ICH8M) LPC Interface Controller [8086:2815] (rev 03)
00:1f.1 IDE interface [0101]: Intel Corporation 82801HM/HEM (ICH8M/ICH8M-E) IDE Controller [8086:2850] (rev 03)
00:1f.2 SATA controller [0106]: Intel Corporation 82801HM/HEM (ICH8M/ICH8M-E) SATA Controller [AHCI mode] [8086:2829] (rev 03)
00:1f.3 SMBus [0c05]: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) SMBus Controller [8086:283e] (rev 03)
02:00.0 Ethernet controller [0200]: Marvell Technology Group Ltd. 88E8039 PCI-E Fast Ethernet Controller [11ab:4353] (rev 14)
06:00.0 Ethernet controller [0200]: Qualcomm Atheros AR242x / AR542x Wireless Network Adapter (PCI-Express) [168c:001c] (rev 01)
08:03.0 CardBus bridge [0607]: Texas Instruments PCIxx12 Cardbus Controller [104c:8039]
08:03.1 FireWire (IEEE 1394) [0c00]: Texas Instruments PCIxx12 OHCI Compliant IEEE 1394 Host Controller [104c:803a]
08:03.2 Mass storage controller [0180]: Texas Instruments PCIxx12 Flash Media Controller [104c:803b]
The driver for the wifi card is ath5k. While I understand that it is an indication that the crash is due to hardware (via the switch), I am more than sure that it is a software problem, because I found a post from a linux-mint user who has a similar problem , with a similar card. This one, is in a spanish forum: https://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?t=239379. This guy says that he fixed the problem using the following commands:
sudo rmmod -f ath5k
sudo rfkill unblock all
sudo modprobe ath5kAnd it's true, it works! sometimes...
Using this command sometimes unlocks the HARD, but again, it's very random: Sometimes it works on the first try, sometimes on the third, and sometimes it doesn't even. And once I somehow managed to keep it unblocked, it also stays that way randomly: there are times when I use the internet all the time without problems, and others when it cuts out again every 5 minutes.
Using the network cable always works fine, but I need to connect via wifi because I am not always working at home.
I thank you in advance and I apologize if I miss giving you any other useful information. If this is the case, I will immediately add the info.
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I also use an old Sony VAIO for my workshop.
That device uses Manjaro but following OS updates, the Wi-Fi failed to connect to my Wireless Network.
Interestingly, the Wi-Fi indicator-LED fails to illuminate. However, this may have always been the case. It does illuminate under Windows 10. The Linux driver now becomes suspect.
Executing the three commands (as per OTP's post) via the command-line, immediately enabled connecting to the available SSID, Namely applying
sudo rmmod -f ath5k
sudo rfkill unblock all
sudo modprobe ath5kThe indicator-LED remains unlit, off, suggesting the LED is controlled by an IO-port and not directly by internal-power via the switch. This further suggests the software-driver is not doing the job of controlling that LED. LED indication is not to be relied upon.
Following the above action, the OS was checked for updates and from cold, re-booted. The Wi-Fi connected without problem. The LED remains 'off'
Many thanks for the solution (work-around?)
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