Arch Linux

ap_

Member

From: Finland

Registered: 2008-10-14

Posts: 48

[SOLVED] Wireless headache

Hi, I just installed and (somewhat) configured Arch x64 after getting fed up with Ubuntu. However, I am now completely clueless with the madwifi-driver and Atheros 242x-chipset. I downloaded the driver (http://snapshots.madwifi.org/madwifi-ha … ent.tar.gz) and it compiles and installs just fine. The same driver worked with Ubuntu 8.04 and 8.10 beta. I can load the modules and the 'ath0' interface is visible in iwconfig and ifconfig.

When I try to search for wireless networks with iwlist, I just get 'ath0 No scan results'. I also can't see any wireless networks with Wicd.

Is there something I've missed or is this something to do with Arch's kernel or something? I have even tried ndiswrapper with 'net5211.inf"-driver, and also installed the i686-version of Arch to see if it's x64-issue. Same results each time, the driver loads, the interface is there, can't see any networks though. Wired connection works perfectly.

lspci:

08:00.0 Ethernet controller: Atheros Communications Inc. AR242x 802.11abg Wireless PCI Express Adapter (rev 01)

lsmod:

ipv6                  308872  8 
joydev                 14208  0 
uvcvideo               60680  0 
compat_ioctl32         11392  1 uvcvideo
videodev               34816  2 uvcvideo,compat_ioctl32
v4l1_compat            17924  2 uvcvideo,videodev
serio_raw               8324  0 
pcspkr                  4992  0 
psmouse                44828  0 
i2c_piix4              11408  0 
i2c_core               24352  1 i2c_piix4
ehci_hcd               40076  0 
ohci_hcd               25732  0 
sg                     34400  0 
jmb38x_ms              12292  0 
usbcore               154520  4 uvcvideo,ehci_hcd,ohci_hcd
sdhci                  18692  0 
ohci1394               33332  0 
memstick               12720  1 jmb38x_ms
mmc_core               50272  1 sdhci
ieee1394               92408  1 ohci1394
evdev                  13568  1 
snd_seq_oss            35712  0 
snd_seq_midi_event      9472  1 snd_seq_oss
snd_seq                58464  4 snd_seq_oss,snd_seq_midi_event
snd_seq_device          9492  2 snd_seq_oss,snd_seq
snd_hda_intel         459064  0 
snd_hwdep              10760  1 snd_hda_intel
snd_pcm_oss            45696  0 
snd_pcm                82440  2 snd_hda_intel,snd_pcm_oss

MODULES part of rc.conf:

MODULES=(r8169 !ath5k ath_hal ath_pci wlan snd-mixer-oss snd-pcm-oss snd-hwdep snd-page-alloc snd-pcm snd-timer snd snd-hda-intel soundcore)

So, pretty much any ideas are appreciated at this point :)

Last edited by ap_ (2008-10-16 03:58:11)

flowheat

Member

From: Pittsburgh, PA

Registered: 2008-09-23

Posts: 94

Re: [SOLVED] Wireless headache

I had a similar problem before and the solution was that I forgot to add my user to the network group.

Check /etc/groups just to be sure.

If that's not it here's a few other quick things to check...

Are you sure you brought the interface up before scanning?

ifconfig ath0 up

Are you sure your router has broadcast set to on?

If all of this fails you might also want to post the rest of the networking section of your /etc/rc.conf because everything else looks good to me.

---

Imperian - The Sundered Heavens

ap_

Member

From: Finland

Registered: 2008-10-14

Posts: 48

Re: [SOLVED] Wireless headache

Hi, thanks for the answer!

I adder my user to the network group with useradd -G network ap. No difference, I've done iwlist ath0 scan as root anyway. I've brougth ath0 up before the scan. There should be several unencrypted networks and my WPA-protected WLAN visible in wicd and iwlist. I do have broadcast set to on.

So, here's my complete 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"
# USEDIRECTISA: use direct I/O requests instead of /dev/rtc for hwclock
# 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.utf8"
HARDWARECLOCK="UTC"
USEDIRECTISA="no"
TIMEZONE="Helsinki/Europe"
KEYMAP="fi"
CONSOLEFONT=
CONSOLEMAP=
USECOLOR="yes"

# -----------------------------------------------------------------------
# HARDWARE
# -----------------------------------------------------------------------
#
# MOD_AUTOLOAD: Allow autoloading of modules at boot and when needed
# MOD_BLACKLIST: Prevent udev from loading these modules
# MODULES: Modules to load at boot-up. Prefix with a ! to blacklist.
#
# NOTE: Use of 'MOD_BLACKLIST' is deprecated. Please use ! in the MODULES array.
#
MOD_AUTOLOAD="yes"
#MOD_BLACKLIST=() #deprecated
MODULES=(r8169 !ath5k ath_hal ath_pci wlan snd-mixer-oss snd-pcm-oss snd-hwdep snd-page-alloc snd-pcm snd-timer snd snd-hda-intel soundcore)

# Scan for LVM volume groups at startup, required if you use LVM
USELVM="no"

# -----------------------------------------------------------------------
# NETWORKING
# -----------------------------------------------------------------------
#
# HOSTNAME: Hostname of machine. Should also be put in /etc/h# 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
# 
# DHCP:     Set your interface to "dhcp" (eth0="dhcp")
# Wireless: See network profiles below
# 
ath0="dhcp"
eth0="dhcp"
INTERFACES=(eth0 ath0)

# 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 192.168.0.1"
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.d
# 
# This now requires the netcfg package
# 
NETWORKS=(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 dbus @netfs @crond @wicd)

ap_

Member

From: Finland

Registered: 2008-10-14

Posts: 48

Re: [SOLVED] Wireless headache

SOLVED! I forgot to tell you I booted the kernel with "noapic acpi=off", because it hanged otherwise. I removed the "acpi=off" part and it works now like it never did .