# ralink RT2860 on msi wind

## C.Arnage

hi there,

i am sort of stuck getting my wifi to work on my msi wind u100plus.

i recon it has a ralink RT2860 card. at least the sticker at the bottom says: RT2700E.

so i followed 

http://en.gentoo-wiki.com/wiki/Ralink_RT2860

i checked that i have the proper settings in my kernel (2.6.29-gentoo-r5), installed the official drivers from the ralink page and the did a 

```
modprobe rt2860sta

```

here is what lspci -v gives:

```
02:00.0 Network controller: RaLink Device 0781

        Subsystem: Micro-Star International Co., Ltd. Device 6890

        Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 10

        Memory at dfc00000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=64K]

        Capabilities: [40] Power Management version 3

        Capabilities: [50] Message Signalled Interrupts: Mask- 64bit+ Count=1/32 Enable-

        Capabilities: [70] Express Endpoint, MSI 00

        Capabilities: [100] Advanced Error Reporting

                UESta:  DLP- SDES- TLP- FCP- CmpltTO- CmpltAbrt- UnxCmplt- RxOF- MalfTLP- ECRC- UnsupReq- ACSVoil-

                UEMsk:  DLP- SDES- TLP- FCP- CmpltTO- CmpltAbrt- UnxCmplt- RxOF- MalfTLP- ECRC- UnsupReq- ACSVoil-

                UESvrt: DLP+ SDES- TLP- FCP+ CmpltTO- CmpltAbrt- UnxCmplt- RxOF+ MalfTLP+ ECRC- UnsupReq- ACSVoil-

                CESta:  RxErr- BadTLP- BadDLLP- Rollover- Timeout- NonFatalErr-

                CESta:  RxErr- BadTLP- BadDLLP- Rollover- Timeout- NonFatalErr+

                AERCap: First Error Pointer: 00, GenCap+ CGenEn- ChkCap+ ChkEn-

        Kernel driver in use: rt2860

        Kernel modules: rt2860sta

```

i have then done 

```
ln -s /etc/init.d/net.lo /etc/init.d/net.ra0
```

and set the following in my /etc/conf.d/net (my ap essid is "beacon"):

```
modules=( "iwconfig" )

essid_ra0="beacon"

key_beacon=" [1] s:MY_WEP_KEY [1] enc open"

preferred_aps=( "beacon" )

```

now doing a /etc/init.d/net.ra0 start gives:

```
 * Service net.ra0 starting

Error for wireless request "Set Mode" (8B06) :

    SET failed on device ra0 ; Network is down.

 ra0 does not support setting the mode to "managed"

Error for wireless request "Set Mode" (8B06) :

    SET failed on device ra0 ; Network is down.

 ra0 does not support setting the mode to "managed"

Error for wireless request "Set Encode" (8B2A) :

    SET failed on device ra0 ; Network is down.

 ra0 does not support setting keys

 or the parameter "mac_key_beacon" or "key_beacon" is incorrect

 Failed to configure wireless for ra0                                         [ !! ]

 * ERROR:  net.ra0 failed to start

```

when i try to configure manually using iwconfig ra0 essid beacon, it simply gives:

```
Error for wireless request "Set ESSID" (8B1A) :

    SET failed on device ra0 ; Network is down.
```

what makes me really wonder is that when i delete the settings from /etc/conf.d/net and start up ra0 it seems to scan through the networks that are in reach (which are quite a lot as i live in a big apartment complex).

but when i try to scan using iwlist ra0 scan it just tells me:

```
ra0       Interface doesn't support scanning : Network is down
```

currently i am running into a clueless runlevel...

guess i have been overlooking and forgot something really obvious.

maybe you can help me catch the glitch?

all comments appreciated.

cheers

----------

## Joe_Sextus

Did you issue an 

```
ifconfig ra0 up
```

 before your  

```
iwlist ra0 scan 
```

These cards won't scan until they are brought up. 

Also if you are using baselayout2 you may want to check out https://bugs.gentoo.org/show_bug.cgi?id=252001 as it looks like a similar issue.

----------

## C.Arnage

alright, thanks.

ifconfig ra0 up made the trick.

as expected something really obvious. maybe i was just confused as net.eth0 start works without firing up the card before.

now is there a way i can do this in one go?

like either add ifconfig ra0 up to the init script or have the device fire up on startup?

'cuz when i now add net.ra0 to default runlevel, it also complains about the network being down...

help greatly appreciated.

----------

## Joe_Sextus

If you run ifconfig ra0 up followed by /etc/init.d/net.ra0 start, does it successfully start the interface?

----------

## C.Arnage

sorry for late.

 bit busy with real life stuff....

yes, it works when i bring the device up first. was first of all trying to figure out how to bring it all up on startup.

but then i discovered wicd and have it manage the connections. works out pretty smoothly.

so i am a happy camper now when it comes to my network connections.

thanks for your help

----------

