Arch Linux

jfinkels

Member

From: New York

Registered: 2007-06-19

Posts: 7

Website

Installing ipw2200-fw

Arch 200705 on Dell Inspiron 9300, Intel 2915ABG (ipw2200 driver). Made double sure that the ipw2200 driver was installed using modprobe and lsmod, but wireless is still not working.

I have found by searching around that installing the package ipw2200-fw may allow me to get my wireless connection working. Question one: how do I go about getting and installing that package? I don't think I have any packages in my cache from the extra repository.

Question two: if installing ipw2200-fw doesn't work, could someone maybe point me in the right direction?

This is my output from 'ifconfig eth1':

eth1      Link encap:UNSPEC  HWaddr 34-4F-C0-00-2F-4C-F5-01-00-00-00-00-00-00-00-00  
          UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST  MTU:1500  Metric:1
          RX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:10 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000 
          RX bytes:0 (0.0 b)  TX bytes:3320 (3.2 Kb)

This is my output from 'iwconfig eth1':

eth1     no wireless extensions.

This is my output from 'lsmod | grep ipw':

ipw2200               140744  0 
ieee80211              30024  1 ipw2200

This is my output from 'lspci -v':

03:03.0 Network controller: Intel Corporation PRO/Wireless 2915ABG Network Connection (rev 05)
        Subsystem: Intel Corporation Unknown device 1020
        Flags: medium devsel, IRQ 18
        Memory at dfcfd000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=4K]
        Capabilities: [dc] Power Management version 2

brain0

Developer

From: Aachen - Germany

Registered: 2005-01-03

Posts: 1,382

Re: Installing ipw2200-fw

Get to a wired connection and run pacman -S ipw2200-fw. As an alternative, get the package manually with another operating system or another computer:

$ pacman -Spd ipw2200-fw
ftp://ftp.belnet.be/packages/archlinux/extra/os/i686/ipw2200-fw-3.0-1.pkg.tar.gz

Then install it with pacman -U.

jfinkels

Member

From: New York

Registered: 2007-06-19

Posts: 7

Website

Re: Installing ipw2200-fw

Get to a wired connection and run pacman -S ipw2200-fw. As an alternative, get the package manually with another operating system or another computer:

$ pacman -Spd ipw2200-fw
ftp://ftp.belnet.be/packages/archlinux/extra/os/i686/ipw2200-fw-3.0-1.pkg.tar.gz

Then install it with pacman -U.

I was hoping I could do this without requiring a wired connection.

I downloaded the package you suggested from ftp.belnet.be and tried to install it using 'pacman -Uv ipw2200-fw-3.0-1.pkg.tar.gz', and I got this output:

Root     : /
DBPath   : var/lib/pacman/
CacheDir : var/cache/pacman/pkg/
Targets  : ipw2200-fw-3.0-1.pkg.tar.gz  
loading package data... done.
checking dependencies... done.
cleaning up... done.
checking for file conflicts... done.
upgrading ipw2200-fw... 
IMPORTANT
==> In order to use the firmware you have to agree to Intel's license located in
==> /lib/firmware/LICENSE.ipw2200-fw else please remove this package.
done.

I don't know how to check if the package is installed using pacman (it's all very new to me).

Unfortunately, I still got the "no wireless extension" status method from 'iwconfig'. Do you have another suggestion on how to get ipw2200 working?

brain0

Developer

From: Aachen - Germany

Registered: 2005-01-03

Posts: 1,382

Re: Installing ipw2200-fw

Looks like the package was installed already anyway. Can you check dmesg (or /var/log/kernel.log) for any messages about the ipw or firmware?

karsten

Member

Registered: 2006-07-14

Posts: 261

Re: Installing ipw2200-fw

whats your rc.conf

jfinkels

Member

From: New York

Registered: 2007-06-19

Posts: 7

Website

Re: Installing ipw2200-fw

whats your rc.conf

bash-3.2$ cat rc.conf 
#
# /etc/rc.conf - Main Configuration for Arch Linux
#

#
# -----------------------------------------------------------------------
# LOCALIZATION
# -----------------------------------------------------------------------
#
# LOCALE: available languages can be listed with the 'locale -a' command
# HARDWARECLOCK: set to "UTC" or "localtime"
# TIMEZONE: timezones are found in /usr/share/zoneinfo
# KEYMAP: keymaps are found in /usr/share/kbd/keymaps
# CONSOLEFONT: found in /usr/share/kbd/consolefonts (only needed for non-US)
# CONSOLEMAP: found in /usr/share/kbd/consoletrans
# USECOLOR: use ANSI color sequences in startup messages
#
LOCALE="en_US.UTF-8"
HARDWARECLOCK="localtime"
TIMEZONE="Canada/Pacific"
KEYMAP="us"
CONSOLEFONT=
CONSOLEMAP=
USECOLOR="yes"

#
# -----------------------------------------------------------------------
# HARDWARE
# -----------------------------------------------------------------------
#
# Scan hardware and load required modules at bootup
MOD_AUTOLOAD="yes"
# Module Blacklist - modules in this list will never be loaded by udev
MOD_BLACKLIST=()
#
# Modules to load at boot-up (in this order)
#   - prefix a module with a ! to blacklist it
#
MODULES=(b44 mii ipw2200 ac97_bus snd-mixer-oss snd-pcm-oss snd-page-alloc snd-pcm snd-timer snd snd-ac97-codec snd-intel8x0 snd-intel8x0m soundcore)
# Scan for LVM volume groups at startup, required if you use LVM
USELVM="no"

#
# -----------------------------------------------------------------------
# NETWORKING
# -----------------------------------------------------------------------
#
HOSTNAME="venus"
#
# Use 'ifconfig -a' or 'ls /sys/class/net/' to see all available
# interfaces.
#
# Interfaces to start at boot-up (in this order)
# Declare each interface then list in INTERFACES
#   - prefix an entry in INTERFACES with a ! to disable it
#   - no hyphens in your interface names - Bash doesn't like it
#
# Note: to use DHCP, set your interface to be "dhcp" (eth0="dhcp")
#
lo="lo 127.0.0.1"
#eth0="eth0 192.168.1.103 netmask 255.255.255.0 broadcast 192.168.1.255"
eth0="dhcp"
eth1="dhcp"
INTERFACES=(lo eth1 eth0)
#
# Routes to start at boot-up (in this order)
# Declare each route then list in ROUTES
#   - prefix an entry in ROUTES with a ! to disable it
#
gateway="default gw 192.168.1.1"
ROUTES=(!gateway)
#
# Enable these network profiles at boot-up.  These are only useful
# if you happen to need multiple network configurations (ie, laptop users)
#   - set to 'menu' to present a menu during boot-up (dialog package required)
#   - prefix an entry with a ! to disable it
#
# Network profiles are found in /etc/network-profiles
#
#NET_PROFILES=(main)

#
# -----------------------------------------------------------------------
# DAEMONS
# -----------------------------------------------------------------------
#
# Daemons to start at boot-up (in this order)
#   - prefix a daemon with a ! to disable it
#   - prefix a daemon with a @ to start it up in the background
#
DAEMONS=(syslog-ng network netfs crond)


# End of file

Here's /var/log/kernel.log:

Jun 20 18:27:02 venus ipw2200: Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 2200/2915 Network Driver, 1.2.0kmprq
Jun 20 18:27:02 venus ipw2200: Copyright(c) 2003-2006 Intel Corporation
Jun 20 18:27:02 venus ipw2200: Detected Intel PRO/Wireless 2915ABG Network Connection
Jun 20 18:27:02 venus ipw2200: ipw2200-bss.fw request_firmware failed: Reason -2
Jun 20 18:27:02 venus ipw2200: Unable to load firmware: -2
Jun 20 18:27:02 venus ipw2200: failed to register network device
Jun 20 18:27:02 venus ipw2200: probe of 0000:03:03.0 failed with error -5

That series of error messages is repeated for every time I have booted into Arch.

brain0

Developer

From: Aachen - Germany

Registered: 2005-01-03

Posts: 1,382

Re: Installing ipw2200-fw

Here's /var/log/kernel.log:

Jun 20 18:27:02 venus ipw2200: Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 2200/2915 Network Driver, 1.2.0kmprq
Jun 20 18:27:02 venus ipw2200: Copyright(c) 2003-2006 Intel Corporation
Jun 20 18:27:02 venus ipw2200: Detected Intel PRO/Wireless 2915ABG Network Connection
Jun 20 18:27:02 venus ipw2200: ipw2200-bss.fw request_firmware failed: Reason -2
Jun 20 18:27:02 venus ipw2200: Unable to load firmware: -2
Jun 20 18:27:02 venus ipw2200: failed to register network device
Jun 20 18:27:02 venus ipw2200: probe of 0000:03:03.0 failed with error -5

That series of error messages is repeated for every time I have booted into Arch.

There we have our problem. Does the file /lib/firmware/ipw2200-bss.fw exist? I'm afraid I do not know what "Reason: -2" means, but you may be able to goole that.

jfinkels

Member

From: New York

Registered: 2007-06-19

Posts: 7

Website

Re: Installing ipw2200-fw

Yes, here's /lib/firmware:

bash-3.2$ ls -l /lib/firmware/
total 1992
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 209190 2004-09-27 11:26 ipw2100-1.3.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 201138 2004-09-27 11:26 ipw2100-1.3-i.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 196458 2004-09-27 11:26 ipw2100-1.3-p.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 191142 2006-03-07 14:49 ipw2200-bss.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 185660 2006-03-07 14:49 ipw2200-ibss.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 187836 2006-03-07 14:49 ipw2200-sniffer.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root   6472 2005-08-11 09:06 ipw-2.4-boot.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 168344 2005-08-11 09:06 ipw-2.4-bss.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root  16334 2005-08-11 09:06 ipw-2.4-bss_ucode.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 162884 2005-08-11 09:06 ipw-2.4-ibss.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root  16312 2005-08-11 09:06 ipw-2.4-ibss_ucode.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 168344 2005-08-11 09:06 ipw-2.4-sniffer.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root  16344 2005-08-11 09:06 ipw-2.4-sniffer_ucode.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 148476 2007-04-20 11:05 iwlwifi-3945.ucode
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root  11880 2004-03-03 14:13 LICENSE.ipw2100
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root  12007 2005-08-11 08:33 LICENSE.ipw2200
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root   4096 2007-06-17 22:45 zd1211

I'll search around using Google. Thanks for your help.

ralph

Member

Registered: 2007-07-05

Posts: 4

Website

Re: Installing ipw2200-fw

jfinkels: Any luck with the problem ?

---

I know that fewer people are won over by the written word than by the spoken word and that every great movement on this earth owes its growth to great speakers and not to great writers. - Adolf Hitler

schmmd

Member

From: Seattle

Registered: 2006-03-25

Posts: 55

Website

Re: Installing ipw2200-fw

I know for a fact that the ArchLinux base used to work out of the box with ipw2200, but now with 0.8 I am having the same problem.

.:B:.

Forum Fellow

Registered: 2006-11-26

Posts: 5,819

Website

Re: Installing ipw2200-fw

It fails to load the firmware. It's that easy.

Either try the latest firmware from the sourceforge project site (which you should have if you are running current), or add "irqpoll" to your bootup sequence in /boot/grub/menu.lst:

kernel /boot/vmlinuz26ck noapic irqpoll root=/dev/sda5 ro vga=792

I had similar problems, that fixed it for me.

---

Got Leenucks? :: Arch: Power in simplicity :: Get Counted! Registered Linux User #392717 :: Blog thingy

jfinkels

Member

From: New York

Registered: 2007-06-19

Posts: 7

Website

Re: Installing ipw2200-fw

I'm afraid I couldn't fix the problem.

I tried to use information from this website, but no luck. http://www.openthought.org/blosxom.cgi/2006/02/13

I already deleted my installation, but I will try reinstalling at next opportunity (will have to wait until next week) and adding irqpoll to the menu.lst as B suggests.

I truly appreciate all of your interest in helping me solve this problem. I will report back next week.

ralph

Member

Registered: 2007-07-05

Posts: 4

Website

Re: Installing ipw2200-fw

Aren't you meant to modify your /etc/conf.d/wireless?

---

I know that fewer people are won over by the written word than by the spoken word and that every great movement on this earth owes its growth to great speakers and not to great writers. - Adolf Hitler

schmmd

Member

From: Seattle

Registered: 2006-03-25

Posts: 55

Website

Re: Installing ipw2200-fw

Yeah, I just pacman-ed ipw2200-fw and it worked.  It seems odd to me that they package the drivers but not the firmware.  I'm pretty sure that Arch had both with previous versions.