# BCM94311MCG wlan fails to be up

## queen

I have a Network controller: Broadcom Corporation BCM94311MCG wlan mini-PCI (rev 01)

I tried to install all the possible modules, firmware and none of them seem to work. The card is detected by iwconfig. 

```
eth0      IEEE 802.11b/g  ESSID:""  Nickname:"Broadcom 4311"

          Mode:Managed  Access Point: Invalid

          RTS thr:off   Fragment thr:off

          Encryption key:off

          Link Quality=0/100  Signal level=0 dBm  Noise level=0 dBm

          Rx invalid nwid:0  Rx invalid crypt:0  Rx invalid frag:0

          Tx excessive retries:0  Invalid misc:0   Missed beacon:0

```

```
lsmod

ndiswrapper           123776  0

b44                    19468  0

```

```
dmesg 

bcm43xx: PHY connected

bcm43xx: Detected PHY: Analog: 4, Type 2, Revision 8

bcm43xx: Detected Radio: ID: 2205017f (Manuf: 17f Ver: 2050 Rev: 2)

bcm43xx: Radio turned off

bcm43xx: Radio turned off

b44.c:v1.01 (Jun 16, 2006)

ACPI: PCI Interrupt 0000:03:00.0[A] -> Link [LNKB] -> GSI 7 (level, low) -> IRQ 7

eth1: Broadcom 4400 10/100BaseT Ethernet 00:19:b9:6d:66:9e

ndiswrapper version 1.51 loaded (smp=yes, preempt=no)

kjournald starting.  Commit interval 5 seconds

EXT3 FS on sda1, internal journal

EXT3-fs: mounted filesystem with ordered data mode.

Adding 1004052k swap on /dev/sda2.  Priority:-1 extents:1 across:1004052k

bcm43xx: PHY connected

bcm43xx: Error: Microcode "bcm43xx_microcode5.fw" not available or load failed.

bcm43xx: core_up for active 802.11 core failed (-2)

bcm43xx: Error: Microcode "bcm43xx_microcode5.fw" not available or load failed.

bcm43xx: core_up for active 802.11 core failed (-2)

bcm43xx: Error: Microcode "bcm43xx_microcode5.fw" not available or load failed.

bcm43xx: core_up for active 802.11 core failed (-2)

SoftMAC: Associate: Scanning for networks first.

SoftMAC: Associate: failed to initiate scan. Is device up?

SoftMAC: Getting essid from associate_essid

bcm43xx: Error: Microcode "bcm43xx_microcode5.fw" not available or load failed.

bcm43xx: core_up for active 802.11 core failed (-2)

SoftMAC: Associate: Scanning for networks first.

SoftMAC: Associate: failed to initiate scan. Is device up?

SoftMAC: Associate: Scanning for networks first.

SoftMAC: Associate: failed to initiate scan. Is device up?

ADDRCONF(NETDEV_UP): eth1: link is not ready

b44: eth1: Link is up at 100 Mbps, full duplex.

b44: eth1: Flow control is off for TX and off for RX.

ADDRCONF(NETDEV_CHANGE): eth1: link becomes ready

b44: eth1: Link is down.

bcm43xx: Error: Microcode "bcm43xx_microcode5.fw" not available or load failed.

bcm43xx: core_up for active 802.11 core failed (-2)

bcm43xx: Error: Microcode "bcm43xx_microcode5.fw" not available or load failed.

bcm43xx: core_up for active 802.11 core failed (-2)

bcm43xx: Error: Microcode "bcm43xx_microcode5.fw" not available or load failed.

bcm43xx: core_up for active 802.11 core failed (-2)

SoftMAC: Getting essid from associate_essid

SoftMAC: Unable to find matching network after scan!

bcm43xx: Error: Microcode "bcm43xx_microcode5.fw" not available or load failed.

bcm43xx: core_up for active 802.11 core failed (-2)

SoftMAC: Associate: Scanning for networks first.

SoftMAC: Associate: failed to initiate scan. Is device up?

b44: eth1: Link is up at 100 Mbps, full duplex.

b44: eth1: Flow control is off for TX and off for RX.

eth1: no IPv6 routers present

SoftMAC: Associate: Scanning for networks first.

SoftMAC: Associate: failed to initiate scan. Is device up?

uhci_hcd 0000:00:1d.2: reserve dev 2 ep81-INT, period 8, phase 4, 93 us

uhci_hcd 0000:00:1d.2: release dev 2 ep81-INT, period 8, phase 4, 93 us

uhci_hcd 0000:00:1d.2: reserve dev 2 ep81-INT, period 8, phase 4, 93 us

SoftMAC: Getting essid from associate_essid

```

I tried to open the radio by pressing F2 and it doesn't turn on. 

I have all the firmware possible. Maybe I should have clean some of them but I don't know anymore which one to remove. 

```

ls /lib/firmware/

b43  b43legacy  broadcom-wl-4.80.53.0  wl_apsta-3.130.20.0.o
```

```
/etc/conf.d/net (this file :]!).

config_eth1=("dhcp")

#dhcp_eth1="nontp nonis nodns"

dhcp_eth1="nontp nonis"

#dns_servers_eth1="127.0.0.1 208.67.222.222 208.67.220.220"

config_eth0=("dhcp")

modules_eth0=("iwconfig")

#modules_eth0=("wpa_supplicant")        #To you the wpa_supplicant program

#wpa_supplicant_eth0="-Dndiswrapper"      #To use ndiswrapper

wpa_supplicant_eth0=("-Dwext")

 mode_eth0="auto"                        #You can change the following settings, r$

 channel_eth0="6"                        #them in /etc/conf.d/wireless.example

# key_ESSID="1234-1234-1234-1234-1234-1234-56"

# sleep_scan_eth0="1"

essid_eth0="any"

dhcp_eth0="nontp nonis"

```

```
/etc/modules.autoload.d/kernel-2.6

ehci_hcd

uhci_hcd

b43

b44

ndiswrapper

drm

i810
```

```

grep -i bcm /usr/src/linux/.config

CONFIG_BT_HCIBCM203X=m

CONFIG_BCM43XX=m

CONFIG_BCM43XX_DEBUG=y

CONFIG_BCM43XX_DMA=y

CONFIG_BCM43XX_PIO=y

CONFIG_BCM43XX_DMA_AND_PIO_MODE=y

# CONFIG_BCM43XX_DMA_MODE is not set

# CONFIG_BCM43XX_PIO_MODE is not set
```

Any help wil be appreciated to get out of this mess. 

I followed the instructions on the web page. [url]

http://linuxwireless.org/en/users/Drivers/b43#devicefirmware[/url]

I have installed both b43-fwcutter and bcm43xx-fwcutter and tried ndiswrapper as well. 

If I try 

```
 /etc/init.d/net.eth0 restart

 * Starting eth0

SIOCSIFFLAGS: No such file or directory

SIOCSIFFLAGS: No such file or directory

SIOCSIFFLAGS: No such file or directory

 *   Configuring wireless network for eth0

SIOCSIFFLAGS: No such file or directory

 *   Failed to configure wireless for eth0
```

```
ifconfig eth0 up

SIOCSIFFLAGS: No such file or directory
```

```
ls -l /etc/init.d/net*

lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root     6 Jan 25 22:07 /etc/init.d/net.eth0 -> net.lo

lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root     6 Jan 19 17:06 /etc/init.d/net.eth1 -> net.lo

-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 30696 Jan 25 02:28 /etc/init.d/net.lo

```

----------

## pappy_mcfae

Have you gotten it to work yet?

Blessed be!

Pappy

----------

## queen

 *pappy_mcfae wrote:*   

> Have you gotten it to work yet?
> 
> Blessed be!
> 
> Pappy

 

Not yet. ;-(

You have any idea how to solve it?

----------

## pappy_mcfae

 *queen wrote:*   

>  *pappy_mcfae wrote:*   Have you gotten it to work yet?
> 
> Blessed be!
> 
> Pappy 
> ...

 

Ok, first things first...which kernel are you using? If you are using 2.6.24.x, use b43. There is a bug that prevents the ndiswrapper+broadcom w/l adapters+wpa_supplicant combination from working under that particular kernel. From my experience, ndiswrapper+wpa_supplicant only works with <= 2.6.22.x version kernels. 2.6.23.x kernels don't support that combination well, either, at least from my experience. 

Also, if you are using b43+2.6.24.x, and your net script involves renaming the interface, you will have to emerge iproute2 in order for it to rename properly. AND if you do upgrade to iproute2 (which is a good idea, actually), you also need to change your /etc/conf.d/net file to include your broadcast and netmask settings, like the example below:

```
config_eth0=( "192.168.0.100 netmask 255.255.255.0 broadcast 192.168.0.255" )
```

This is from my net setup. You will have to fill in the proper interface name, IP address, netmask, and broadcast numbers in order for iproute2 to work properly. 

For now, I'd worry about getting your wireless up and running first, and that really means going the ndiswrapper route.

When you load b43 AND ndiswrapper, as your /etc/modules.autoload.d/kernel-2.6 indicates, you might as well take a hammer to your wireless adapter. That combination completely blows the mind of the chip set. The fact you haven't experienced lockup is amazing to me. But that's really neither here nor there. Suffice it to say, you need to make a choice, and stick with it. Personally, I recommend going the 2.6.22.x+ndiswrapper+wpa_supplicant route. I just finished some experimentation that proves that ndiswrapper is a minimum of twenty-five, to a maximum seventy-five percent faster than b43.

Here are the results of that test:

```

ndiswrapper & 2.6.22.18:

Filesize=164.8 MB Time = 55 sec throughput = 3.1 MB/sec

Filesize=90.9  MB Time = 34 sec throughput = 2.7 MB/sec

Filesize=62.4  MB Time = 23 sec throughput = 2.7 MB/sec

ndiswrapper & 2.6.22-gentoo-r10

Filesize=164.8 MB Time = 59 sec throughput = 2.8 MB/sec

Filesize=90.9  MB Time = 34 sec throughput = 2.7 MB/sec

Filesize=62.4  MB Time = 23 sec throughput = 2.7 MB/sec

b43 & 2.6.24.2:

Filesize=164.8 MB Time = 209 sec throughput = 0.8 MB/sec *

Filesize=90.9  MB Time = 50 sec  throughput = 1.8 MB/sec

Filesize=62.4  MB Time = 32 sec  throughput = 2.0 MB/sec

```

If you do go for the 2.6.24.x + b43 option, be prepared for errors when wpa_supplicant is invoked. On my machine, the errors mess up the beauty of the boot screen, but the adapter operates.

If you decide to go with ndiswrapper, use the latest version in portage (1.52), and wpa_supplicant 0.5.8. You will have to declare them in your /etc/portage/package.keywords thusly:

```
=net-wireless/ndiswrapper-1.52 ~x86

=net-wireless/wpa_supplicant-0.5.8 ~x86
```

While both packages are technically masked for certain hardware options (like x86), my experience is that both are rock solid. I haven't had one problem using that particular setup. I don't even want to talk about the hell that was debugging b43 to work when the interface is renamed.   :Evil or Very Mad: 

I have a bug report concerning ndiswrapper and 2.6.24.x kernels. There hasn't been that much action on that particular bug report. However, I am about to do some testing to see if perhaps I can find the fly in the ointment...or the moth in the relay, on my own. Fingers are crossed!

I am more than willing to help you as much as possible. I know how it sucks to have your wireless network only work under Windoze. It took me a while to research how best to make my wireless work when I was using Slackware. That way wound up being ndiswrapper and wpa_supplicant. I'm glad of it. While it might not be the purist's idea of proper use of Linux (ie thou shalt not mix Windoze and Linux), as my tagline says, "Whatever works is right."

If you do decide to go the ndiswrapper route, please, send me the .config for your kernel so I can set up the proper support for you, unless you feel confident you can make it go yourself.

The latest 2.6.22.x kernels are 2.6.22.18 and 2.6.22-gentoo-r10. I am sure there are other kernel flavors with 2.6.22.x functionality; however, I use vanilla-sources and gentoo-sources pretty much exclusively...although I am planning on trying hardened sources when I get my apache2 setup on line.

Anyway, your problem is solvable. I am willing to assist you. The computer I am using to type this note has the BCM4311 chip set, and it works perfectly.

Hope to hear from you soon.

Blessed be!

Pappy

* During this test, there was about ten megs passed, then the interface stalled for approximately forty-five seconds. While the knemo interface status page told me that there was still a data flow between 20-150KB/s, it is clear from the results that transferring big files over b43 is slower than using ndiswrapper, and in this case, significantly slower.

----------

## queen

Hello Pappy

Thank you very much for your explanation. I believe you saved me tons of frustation. The kernel I am using is 2.6. 23-gentoo-r3. I use the gentoo-sources kernel. From your explanation, I think I will go the 2.6.22 kernel path + ndiswrapper.  There is no point to send you now the .config file until I will downgrade the kernel. Or maybe on a 2nd thought, maybe can you send me the configuration needed for the wifi in the kernel. 

ndiswrapper I took in the begining from dell web site. Followed some instructions in gentoo-wiki.  When it didn't work, I tried b43. So now there is a mess. I will clean b43. 

As for other things, I just want to make it work as fast as possible and don't care about the way. Previously there was ubuntu on that laptop and the wifi card didn't work. 

And good luck with your debugging.

----------

## pappy_mcfae

 *queen wrote:*   

> Hello Pappy
> 
> Thank you very much for your explanation. I believe you saved me tons of frustation. The kernel I am using is 2.6. 23-gentoo-r3. I use the gentoo-sources kernel. From your explanation, I think I will go the 2.6.22 kernel path + ndiswrapper.  There is no point to send you now the .config file until I will downgrade the kernel. Or maybe on a 2nd thought, maybe can you send me the configuration needed for the wifi in the kernel. 

 

You're right. Here are the snippets from my .config file for wireless. Supposedly, you don't need all the options checked, but I am all for better safe than sorry. Besides, that particular kernel configuration has been working for me since I first got wireless working under Slackware 11. If it works, don't fix it.

```
#

# Wireless

#

CONFIG_CFG80211=y

CONFIG_WIRELESS_EXT=y

CONFIG_MAC80211=y

# CONFIG_MAC80211_DEBUGFS is not set

# CONFIG_MAC80211_DEBUG is not set

CONFIG_IEEE80211=y

# CONFIG_IEEE80211_DEBUG is not set

# CONFIG_IEEE80211_CRYPT_WEP is not set

# CONFIG_IEEE80211_CRYPT_CCMP is not set

# CONFIG_IEEE80211_CRYPT_TKIP is not set

# CONFIG_IEEE80211_SOFTMAC is not set

# CONFIG_RFKILL is not set

#

# Wireless LAN

#

CONFIG_WLAN_PRE80211=y

# CONFIG_STRIP is not set

CONFIG_WLAN_80211=y

# CONFIG_IPW2100 is not set

# CONFIG_IPW2200 is not set

# CONFIG_LIBERTAS is not set

# CONFIG_AIRO is not set

# CONFIG_HERMES is not set

# CONFIG_ATMEL is not set

# CONFIG_PRISM54 is not set

# CONFIG_USB_ZD1201 is not set

# CONFIG_HOSTAP is not set

```

 *queen wrote:*   

> As for the ndiswrapper, there was a link for which version. After that I saw on dell web site there are newer versions. I am not sure which one I should use. 

 

According to the ndiswrapper site, it is always best to use the latest and greatest version. With Gentoo, the latest and greatest version in portage is version 1.52. That is the version I am currently using on both of my laptops. When I say that this setup has been trouble free, I mean it. I have had no problems with ndiswrapper's support of my wireless adapters. I have had numerous other problems, but not a one with ndiswrapper wireless networking.

If you are using wpa_supplicant, use version 0.5.8; also the latest version in portage.

 *queen wrote:*   

> As for other things, I just want to make it work as fast as possible and don't care about the way. Previously there was ubuntu on that laptop and the wifi card didn't work. 
> 
> And good luck with your debugging.

 

Thanks. I dread it, not because I think that the bug is unfixable, but because I think it has to go upstream right to ndiswrapper's developers. Fortunately, I have the experience of finding the fix for the b43 problem as a guide for what to do, and what not to do. Unfortunately, I know it's going to be a time consuming experience.   :Sad: 

Ndiswrapper is, as far as I am concerned, the easiest way to set up wireless networking, period. Portage makes it even easier!  Ndiswrapper is also the fastest, according to a little experiment I just finished to answer the question (at least to myself) as to whether ndiswrapper or b43 has the best throughput. It was ndiswrapper hands down! 

Some words to the wise: 

Link the kernel version (ie /usr/src/linux-2.6.22-gentoo-r10) to /usr/src/linux before you emerge ndiswrapper. If you don't make that link, the emerge will fail. You can do that thusly:

```
ln -s -T /usr/src/linux-2.6.22-gentoo-r10 /usr/src/linux
```

The configuration files for ndiswrapper are contained in the /etc/ndiswrapper/<windows driver .inf name> directory. You can tweak the .conf file called by nidswrapper to get even better throughput. We can discuss that once you get things up and running.

Blessed be!

Pappy

----------

## queen

 *pappy_mcfae wrote:*   

>  *queen wrote:*   Hello Pappy
> 
> Thank you very much for your explanation. I believe you saved me tons of frustation. The kernel I am using is 2.6. 23-gentoo-r3. I use the gentoo-sources kernel. From your explanation, I think I will go the 2.6.22 kernel path + ndiswrapper.  There is no point to send you now the .config file until I will downgrade the kernel. Or maybe on a 2nd thought, maybe can you send me the configuration needed for the wifi in the kernel.  
> 
> You're right. Here are the snippets from my .config file for wireless. Supposedly, you don't need all the options checked, but I am all for better safe than sorry. Besides, that particular kernel configuration has been working for me since I first got wireless working under Slackware 11. If it works, don't fix it.
> ...

 

Thanks for all the tips.   :Very Happy:   Will try to do that this weekend.

----------

## pappy_mcfae

 *queen wrote:*   

> Thanks for all the tips.    Will try to do that this weekend.

 

You are most welcome...love your handle, by the way. Makes me think of Freddie and the boys! 

Blessed be!

Pappy

----------

## queen

 *pappy_mcfae wrote:*   

>  *queen wrote:*   Thanks for all the tips.    Will try to do that this weekend. 
> 
> You are most welcome...love your handle, by the way. Makes me think of Freddie and the boys! 
> 
> Blessed be!
> ...

 

Since it's the laptop of the working place and it is needed on sunday for support, I will start to arrange it on monday. I hope it won't be painful.  :Smile: 

Queen

----------

## pappy_mcfae

 *queen wrote:*   

> Since it's the laptop of the working place and it is needed on sunday for support, I will start to arrange it on monday. I hope it won't be painful. 
> 
> Queen

 

Painful? Nahh. Actually, of all the things one can do with Gentoo, setting up ndiswrapper is a breeze. All you need is a properly configured kernel. The rest is easy. 

Blessed be!

Pappy

----------

## queen

HI Pappy

I did everything as you instructed me. It seems to work so far, but I haven't rebooted. This is the output of 

```
iwconfig

lo        no wireless extensions.

dummy0    no wireless extensions.

tunl0     no wireless extensions.

gre0      no wireless extensions.

sit0      no wireless extensions.

ip6tnl0   no wireless extensions.

eth0      IEEE 802.11b/g  ESSID:""  Nickname:"Broadcom 4311"

          Mode:Managed  Access Point: Invalid

          RTS thr:off   Fragment thr:off

          Encryption key:off

          Link Quality=0/100  Signal level=0 dBm  Noise level=0 dBm

          Rx invalid nwid:0  Rx invalid crypt:0  Rx invalid frag:0

          Tx excessive retries:0  Invalid misc:0   Missed beacon:0

eth1      no wireless extensions.

```

This is the 

```
/etc/conf.d/net

config_eth0=("dhcp")

modules_eth0=("iwconfig")

#modules_eth0=("wpa_supplicant")        #To you the wpa_supplicant program

#wpa_supplicant_eth0="-Dndiswrapper"      #To use ndiswrapper

wpa_supplicant_eth0=("-Dwext")

 mode_eth0="auto"                        #You can change the following settings, read about

 channel_eth0="6"                        #them in /etc/conf.d/wireless.example

# key_ESSID="1234-1234-1234-1234-1234-1234-56"

# sleep_scan_eth0="1"

# sleep_associate_eth0="2"

essid_eth0="any"

dhcp_eth0="nontp nonis"

```

I only need to change to 

```
wpa_supplicant_eth0="-Dndiswrapper" 
```

Any other things I should do? 

I don't intend to reboot now the laptop.

----------

## pappy_mcfae

 *queen wrote:*   

> HI Pappy
> 
> I did everything as you instructed me. It seems to work so far, but I haven't rebooted. This is the output of iwconfig

 

The device list looks proper to me. I assume that you name your wireless device via udev, which should work just fine. I prefer renaming, but that's because both of my laptops have wireless and wired adapters, one built in, the other via PCMCIA port. I created scripts that automatically detect either the card installed, or whether or not the net cable is plugged in. It's a nice set-up...at last, networking that works the way I want it to work.

 *queen wrote:*   

> 
> 
> This is the 
> 
> ```
> ...

 

Unfortunately, the script above seems incorrect, at least with all I know about how Gentoo deals with networking. If I were you, I'd attack the scripting more like this:

```
modules=( "wpa_supplicant" ) 

wpa_supplicant_eth0="-Dndiswrapper" 

config_eth0=( "dhcp" )

dhcp_eth0="nontp nonis"
```

Here's my logic:

a) the flow is more logical. You have to have wpa_supplicant up before you dhcp for your IP address.

b) iwconfig is part of the default wireless-tools package, so it's redundant to declare it in the net statement.

c) control parameters, such as power level and channel are better controlled by editing the *.conf file that makes ndiswrapper work.

d) the essid and other things are better controlled with wpa_supplicant.

e) everything is done in standard Gentoo notation. I don't know if it's absolutely necessary to include the extra space, but why tempt fate? Every other /etc/conf.d/net file I have seen contains spaces between the parentheses. 

f) It's much simpler, and more aesthetically pleasing. While aesthetics is probably low on most people's ideas about their computers, it's one of the pet bees in my bonnet.

Of course, if what you have works as it sits, then neglect everything I just said...hehehehe.   :Laughing: 

Let me know what happens...and I am glad to have been of service up to now.

Blessed be!

Pappy

----------

## queen

 *pappy_mcfae wrote:*   

> 
> 
> Unfortunately, the script above seems incorrect, at least with all I know about how Gentoo deals with networking. If I were you, I'd attack the scripting more like this:
> 
> ```
> ...

 

Which file do you mean? 

 *Quote:*   

> 
> 
> d) the essid and other things are better controlled with wpa_supplicant.

 

Can you give an example how it's done? The essid will change in this case, because at work wifi is disabled. So essid will  depend on which site I will be with the laptop. Will it be something like this: 

```
iwconfig eth0 essid <essid>
```

? 

 *Quote:*   

> 
> 
> e) everything is done in standard Gentoo notation. I don't know if it's absolutely necessary to include the extra space, but why tempt fate? Every other /etc/conf.d/net file I have seen contains spaces between the parentheses. 

 

On my laptop it works without spaces as well. I have Intel ipw2200.

 *Quote:*   

> 
> 
> f) It's much simpler, and more aesthetically pleasing. While aesthetics is probably low on most people's ideas about their computers, it's one of the pet bees in my bonnet.

 

I like aesthetics as well.  :Wink: 

You helped a lot. Thanks to your knowledge. It was a total mess.

----------

## pappy_mcfae

 *queen wrote:*   

> 
> 
> c) control parameters, such as power level and channel are better controlled by editing the *.conf file that makes ndiswrapper work.
> 
> Which file do you mean? 

 

When ndiswrapper starts an interface, it produces this output when you do a dmesg: 

```

ndiswrapper: using IRQ 10

wlan0: ethernet device 00:da:78:cf:12:0e using NDIS driver: lsbcmnds, version: 0x4640f05, NDIS version: 0x501, vendor: 'NDIS Network Adapter', 14E4:4318.5.conf
```

The 14E4:4381.5.conf file is the plain text file that is created by ndiswrapper to allow you to change and tweak various settings. It resides at /etc/ndiswrapper/<your .inf filename>/<whatever>.conf. There will most likely be numerous varieties of .conf files in that particular directory, as well as the original .inf and .sys files that were parsed. 

To find out which one does the magic, just start things as usual, and once everything is up, type "dmesg". If you do it in an X session, you can scroll back and find the exact file used to start your ndiswrapper setup. 

Open that file, and you will notice several settings. Among them is the channel setting. While it doesn't seem to matter, I set mine to channel six, which is apparently the default of my router. You will also find RF power settings, power saver settings, and a few other odds and ends. Tweak that file, save it, and copy it elsewhere. If you ever reemerge ndiswrapper, it deletes and rewrites all the .conf files in said directory.

In order to find the optimal settings, start in Windoze, and check the adapter's properties. The windows settings you see can also be used in nidswrapper. You might have to run regedit in order to see what the numbers mean, and their optional and optimal settings, but it's a fairly simple thing to do if you have ever worked with regedit.

 *Quote:*   

> d) the essid and other things are better controlled with wpa_supplicant.

 

Can you give an example how it's done? The essid will change in this case, because at work wifi is disabled. So essid will  depend on which site I will be with the laptop. Will it be something like this: 

```
iwconfig eth0 essid <essid>? 
```

No, actually, wpa_supplicant creates the file /etc/wpa_supplicant/wpa_supplicant.conf. In that file, you can set up wpa settings for the individual networks to which you are connecting. Also, you can set up different net scripts when you go to different places. 

For instance, let's say that your home network is WEP encrypted, and you run dhcp, and your work network is WPA encrypted, and you have a static IP address which is routed via the router. Just setup a different net file for each network. Set up the encryption using wpa_gui. That's sort of how I do my automatic network adapter setup on my machines. 

There are all sorts of ways to make your network act the way you want it to. Using iwconfig and the rest of the wireless-tools package is fine. I use it for a script I wrote a while ago to wake up the adapter on this machine. I wrote a script that dumps five iwconfig commands followed by "commit". That really wakes up the adapter, let me tell you! 

However, it's nice to have lots of tools in the box. That is always better than too few.  Using wpa_supplicant and other tools just expands your horizons and possiblities.

If your tools and methods work, then continue to use them. Whatever works is right, as my tagline says. I would never presume to know more than the man sitting at the keyboard. 

That's part of the beauty of Gentoo, it is so much more of a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants experience than any other computer operating system with which I am experienced.

But I digress...

 *Quote:*   

>  *Quote:*   
> 
> e) everything is done in standard Gentoo notation. I don't know if it's absolutely necessary to include the extra space, but why tempt fate? Every other /etc/conf.d/net file I have seen contains spaces between the parentheses.  
> 
> On my laptop it works without spaces as well. I have Intel ipw2200.
> ...

 

If it works, don't fix it... :Smile:  As I said, I'd NEVER presume to know more about what works with your system than you. 

 *Quote:*   

> 
> 
> I like aesthetics as well. 
> 
> You helped a lot. Thanks to your knowledge. It was a total mess.

 

And thank you for asking for help. I like to help as much as I can. It's about the only altruistic thing I do...hehehe

Blessed be!

Pappy

EDIT: Also note, this page has some pretty good info about wireless networking...and good examples of wpa-supplicant.conf files.

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