# WLAN device is not recognized [Solved!]

## Trotskey

I finally got through the gentoo installation and was able to boot gentoo only to find that I couldn't connect to the internet.

I have an Atheros AR5B91 wireless network adapter that worked nearly perfectly during installation.  I just had put in

```
#net-setup wlan0
```

and then I could get DHCP to connect to the network and I was good. 

But now that I am off the InstallCD, it won't even recognize that wlan0 exists.  ifconfig only gives me lo. 

```
#iwconfig 

lo : no wireless extensions

eth0 : no wireless extensions
```

```
#iwconfig wlan0

No such device
```

```
#lspci

09:00.0 Network controllers Atheros Communications Inc Device 002a (rev 01)

```

I think that what I need to run my wireless is the module Ath5k, which genkernel didn't compile with my system.  Is there anyway to add modules to genkernel or at least start where gerkernel left me?  I tried compiling manually, but what I ended up with was a kernel with a bunch of depreciated parts that set itself up for a kernel panic. (I'd like to know how to delete it)

----------

## erik258

Trotskey, 

hello!  I don't have much experience with genkernel,  but I do believe that you can build more modules after the fact if you want.  

go to /usr/src/linux, and run 

```
make menuconfig
```

you may need to compile a new kernel (anything included with a '*' is in the kernel.  anything with a 'M' is a module and doesn't require a kernel rebuild to be installed).  If you don't need to turn anything on with a * you can just build the modules as described further on.  

turn on the module(s) you think you need in the Networking=>Wireless section. 

```

<M>   Improved wireless configuration API

[*]     nl80211 new netlink interface support (NEW

<M>   Generic IEEE 802.11 Networking Stack (mac80211)

[*]     Enable LED triggers (NEW)
```

Now go to  Device Drivers=>Generic Driver Options.  I think you may need firmware for this card.  

```

[ ] Select only drivers that don't need compile-time external firmware 

[ ] Prevent firmware from being built

[*] Userspace firmware loading support

[*]   Include in-kernel firmware blobs in kernel binary

```

Finally go to Device Drivers=>Network device support=> Wireless LAN and select the following.  

You may not need 802.11n support, depends on your card.  If you're sure you just need ath5k just turn that on.  

```

[*] Wireless LAN (IEEE 802.11)

<M>   Atheros 5xxx wireless cards support

<M>   Atheros 802.11n wireless cards support

```

Now you must rebuild the drivers:

```
make modules

make modules_install
```

Now just insert the drivers:

```
 modprobe ath5k
```

and you should have your very own ath0 network device!  Let us know if i missed anything.

----------

## Trotskey

Seemed to be working right up until the last command.

```
#modprobe ath5k

WARNING: Error inserting cfg80211 (/lib/modules/2.6.29-gentoo-r5/kernel/net/wireless/cfg80211.ko) Invalid module format

WARNING: Error inserting led-class (/lib/modules/2.6.29-gentoo-r5/kernel/drivers/leds/led-class.ko) Invalid module format

WARNING: Error inserting mac80211 (/lib/modules/2.6.29-gentoo-r5/kernel/net/mac80211/mac80211.ko) Invalid module format

WARNING: Error inserting ath5k (/lib/modules/2.6.29-gentoo-r5/kernel/net/wireless/ath5k/ath5k.ko) Invalid module format

```

However, there seems to be some progress, because the error message that tells me ath5k doesn't exist during startup has gone away.  I still only get lo when I enter ifconfig, but maybe that is because wireless-tools doesn't boot during start-up.  Is wireless tools the right one to use with a linksys router?  

I used wlan0 throughout the setup process, why ath0?

----------

## cach0rr0

would it be possible to do a:

```

make clean

```

then go forth with your usual kernel wizardry?

----------

## Trotskey

um...

I entered 

```
make clean
```

 and then used menuconfig to pick out all the settings that erik suggested, which were already selected.  (making me really wonder what you meant by wizardry)  There were a few things in the menuconfig that were selected that I was somewhat confident I didn't need, but I didn't dare remove any of them for fear of accidently removing something that I did need.  I saved this as a new kernel.

I booted the new kernel and got this error message:

```
VFS: Cannot open root device "sda7" or unknown-block(0,0)

Please append a correct "root=" boot option; here are the available partitions:

Kernel panic- not syncing: VFS : Unable to mount root fs on unknown block(0,0)
```

BTW: my /boot partition is /dev/sda5 and my root partition(/mnt/gentoo) is /dev/sda7

I also tried this with my existing kernel made from genkernel, but I still got the same error message as last time:

```
#modprobe ath5k 

WARNING: Error inserting cfg80211 (/lib/modules/2.6.29-gentoo-r5/kernel/net/wireless/cfg80211.ko) Invalid module format 

WARNING: Error inserting led-class (/lib/modules/2.6.29-gentoo-r5/kernel/drivers/leds/led-class.ko) Invalid module format 

WARNING: Error inserting mac80211 (/lib/modules/2.6.29-gentoo-r5/kernel/net/mac80211/mac80211.ko) Invalid module format 

WARNING: Error inserting ath5k (/lib/modules/2.6.29-gentoo-r5/kernel/net/wireless/ath5k/ath5k.ko) Invalid module format 

```

I forgot to run

```
modprobe ath5k
```

 on the new kernel, but I don't think this was the cause of the kernel panic.

I've noticed that the GRUB entries are quite different between genkernel and normal kernels.

(taken from the x86 handbook)

title Gentoo Linux 2.6.24-r5

root (hd0,0)

kernel /boot/kernel-genkernel-x86-2.6.24-gentoo-r5 root=/dev/ram0 init=/linuxrc ramdisk=8192 real_root=/dev/sda3

initrd /boot/initramfs-genkernel-x86-2.6.24-gentoo-r5

VS

title Gentoo Linux 2.6.24-r5

root (hd0,0)

kernel /boot/kernel-2.6.24-gentoo-r5 root=/dev/sda3

----------

## cach0rr0

When booted into a livecd/liveusb, after mounting root (/mnt/gentoo) could you please post the output from the following:

```

lspci -n

cat /proc/cpuinfo

cat /proc/mounts

cat /etc/fstab

```

Ideally, dump the output into http://pastebin.ca and share the links, as we can download it directly to massage on our own systems.

----------

## cach0rr0

the 'unknown block (0,0)' basically means the drivers for your SATA controller couldn't be loaded

so it couldn't even get so far as to scan and *SEE* what partitions are available

the info requested above should help us identify just what it is you need and/or have left out.

----------

## bobspencer123

I also am not very versed in genkernel as I always have built my own kernel -- which btw sounds harder then it is. If you want to build your own kernel you can add the module as identified in a previous post then follow these steps.

make && make modules_install

[make sure /boot is mounted]

cp arch/i386/boot/bzImage /boot/any-name-for-a-kernel-you-want

[edit /boot/grub.conf]

title Gentoo

root (hd0,5)

kernel /boot/any-name-for-a-kernel-you-want root=/dev/sda7

[reboot]

[if wlan0 doesn't show up]

modprobe ath5k

----------

## Trotskey

I definately like pastebin, it lets me upload this stuff using links.  I had a little trouble with the fstab, because it originally found the installation CD's one, so I had to change directories a bit.  It is so nice not to have to chroot though.

here are the files

lspci -n : http://pastebin.ca/1512359

cpuinfo : http://pastebin.ca/1512361

mounts : http://pastebin.ca/1512363

fstab    : http://pastebin.ca/1512366

and for the lazy its:

lspci -n 

```
00:00.0 0600: 1022:9600

00:01.0 0604: 1025:9602

00:04.0 0604: 1022:9604

00:06.0 0604: 1022:9606

00:07.0 0604: 1022:9607

00:11.0 0106: 1002:4391

00:12.0 0c03: 1002:4397

00:12.1 0c03: 1002:4398

00:12.2 0c03: 1002:4396

00:13.0 0c03: 1002:4397

00:13.2 0c03: 1002:4396

00:14.0 0c05: 1002:4385 (rev 3a)

00:14.2 0403: 1002:4383

00:14.3 0601: 1002:439d

00:14.4 0604: 1002:4384

00:18.0 0600: 1022:1300 (rev 40)

00:18.1 0600: 1022:1301

00:18.2 0600: 1022:1302

00:18.3 0600: 1022:1303

00:18.4 0600: 1022:1304

01:05.0 0300: 1002:9612

01:05.1 0403: 1002:960f

03:00.0 0200: 14e4:1698 (rev 10)

09:00.0 0280: 168c:002a (rev 01)
```

cat /proc/cpuinfo

```
processor       : 0

vendor_id       : AuthenticAMD

cpu family      : 17

model      : 3

model name      : AMD Athlon(tm) X2 Dual-Core QL-64

stepping        : 1

cpu MHz  : 2100.331

cache size      : 512 KB

physical id     : 0

siblings        : 2

core id  : 0

cpu cores       : 2

apicid    : 0

initial apicid  : 0

fdiv_bug        : no

hlt_bug  : no

f00f_bug        : no

coma_bug        : no

fpu          : yes

fpu_exception   : yes

cpuid level     : 1

wp            : yes

flags      : fpu vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic sep mtrr pge mca cmov pat pse36 clflush mmx fxsr sse sse2 ht syscall nx mmxext fxsr_opt rdtscp lm 3dnowext 3dnow constant_tsc nonstop_tsc pni cx16 lahf_lm cmp_legacy svm extapic cr8_legacy 3dnowprefetch osvw skinit

bogomips        : 4200.66

clflush size    : 64

power management: ts ttp tm stc 100mhzsteps hwpstate

 

processor       : 1

vendor_id       : AuthenticAMD

cpu family      : 17

model      : 3

model name      : AMD Athlon(tm) X2 Dual-Core QL-64

stepping        : 1

cpu MHz  : 2100.331

cache size      : 512 KB

physical id     : 0

siblings        : 2

core id  : 1

cpu cores       : 2

apicid    : 1

initial apicid  : 1

fdiv_bug        : no

hlt_bug  : no

f00f_bug        : no

coma_bug        : no

fpu          : yes

fpu_exception   : yes

cpuid level     : 1

wp            : yes

flags      : fpu vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic sep mtrr pge mca cmov pat pse36 clflush mmx fxsr sse sse2 ht syscall nx mmxext fxsr_opt rdtscp lm 3dnowext 3dnow constant_tsc nonstop_tsc pni cx16 lahf_lm cmp_legacy svm extapic cr8_legacy 3dnowprefetch osvw skinit

bogomips        : 4200.38

clflush size    : 64

power management: ts ttp tm stc 100mhzsteps hwpstate
```

cat /proc/mounts

```
rootfs / rootfs rw 0 0

tmpfs / tmpfs rw 0 0

/dev/sr0 /mnt/cdrom iso9660 ro 0 0

/dev/loop0 /mnt/livecd squashfs ro 0 0

proc /proc proc rw,nosuid,nodev,noexec 0 0

sysfs /sys sysfs rw,nosuid,nodev,noexec 0 0

udev /dev tmpfs rw,nosuid,size=10240k,mode=755 0 0

devpts /dev/pts devpts rw,nosuid,noexec,gid=5,mode=620 0 0

tmpfs /mnt/livecd/lib/firmware tmpfs rw 0 0

tmpfs /mnt/livecd/usr/portage tmpfs rw 0 0

usbfs /proc/bus/usb usbfs rw,nosuid,noexec,devgid=85,devmode=664 0 0

/dev/sda7 /mnt/gentoo ext3 rw,errors=continue,data=ordered 0 0

```

cat /etc/fstab

```
# /etc/fstab: static file system information.

#

# noatime turns off atimes for increased performance (atimes normally aren't 

# needed; notail increases performance of ReiserFS (at the expense of storage 

# efficiency).  It's safe to drop the noatime options if you want and to 

# switch between notail / tail freely.

#

# The root filesystem should have a pass number of either 0 or 1.

# All other filesystems should have a pass number of 0 or greater than 1.

#

# See the manpage fstab(5) for more information.

#

 

# <fs>      <mountpoint>      <type>                <opts>    <dump/pass>

 

# NOTE: If your BOOT partition is ReiserFS, add the notail option to opts.

/dev/sda5              /boot    ext2            defaults,noatime      1 2

/dev/sda7              /            ext3    noatime         0 1

/dev/sda6              none      swap              sw               0 0

/dev/cdrom            /mnt/cdrom    auto                noauto,user          0 0

#/dev/fd0              /mnt/floppy    auto                noauto      0 0

 

# glibc 2.2 and above expects tmpfs to be mounted at /dev/shm for 

# POSIX shared memory (shm_open, shm_unlink).

# (tmpfs is a dynamically expandable/shrinkable ramdisk, and will

#  use almost no memory if not populated with files)

shm               /dev/shm     tmpfs                nodev,nosuid,noexec     0 0

```

----------

## cach0rr0

mmmk, I'm gonna try and do my best pappy impression here

Your new config is here - http://whitehathouston.com/topic-784637-config

I've done this for gentoo-sources, 2.6.30-r4

to access it you'll need to

```

emerge --sync

echo "sys-kernel/gentoo-sources ~amd64" >> /etc/portage/package.keywords

USE="symlink" emerge gentoo-sources

```

verify your sylink points at the right spot

```

gentoob0x ~ # ls -l /usr/src/linux

lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 24 Apr 15 01:14 /usr/src/linux -> linux-2.6.30-gentoo-r4

```

if not, fix it

(note no slash on the end of this first command)

```

rm /usr/src/linux

ln -s /usr/src/linux-2.6.30-gentoo-r4 /usr/src/linux

```

```

cd /usr/src/linux

make mrproper

wget http://whitehathouston.com/topic-784637-config

mv ./topic-784637-config /usr/src/linux/.config

cd /usr/src/linux

```

NOTE: copy the aforementioned config to /usr/src/linux/.config only *after* having done make mrproper

```

make && make modules_install

```

copy the bzImage to where it should go, do the usual handbook steps with regards to the modules, configure grub accordingly, and fire 'er off

note: your wireless module, according to the site I checked, should have been ath9k, not ath5k

at any rate, try the aforementioned config and see how you go.

----------

## cach0rr0

ignore the topic number in the file name, i can assure you it's the intended config =/

Seed .config and HOWTO info provided courtesy of pappy

http://62.3.120.141/~pappy/

BUT, if this doesn't work, it's my screw up, not his, since it'd be me who built from his seed incorrectly  :Smile: 

----------

## Trotskey

ath9k you say?  hmm, must of been the fourth to last number being five that threw me off.  (B is a number, right?) The number of questions the wizard asked me worried me a little, but I did find the "?" info to be helpful.  After a little trouble involving having GRUB find the kernel, I got gentoo to boot once again!  

I even made a little progress, in that now it looks like something's working.

```
#iwconfig

wlan0     IEEE 802.11bgn  ESSID:"Veenstra"  

          Mode:Managed  Frequency:2.437 GHz  Access Point: Not-Associated   

          Tx-Power=20 dBm   

          Retry min limit:7   RTS thr:off   Fragment thr:off

          Encryption key:off

          Power Management:off

          Link Quality:0  Signal level:0  Noise level:0

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

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

Still only lo in ifconfig and can't ping google, but the startup messages tell me that wlan0 was found.  I also tried modprobing ath9k, but still couldn't ping google.  

 This is what my iwconfig looks like on the liveCD.

```
wlan0     IEEE 802.11bgn  ESSID:"Veenstra"  

          Mode:Managed  Frequency:2.437 GHz  Access Point: 00:1D:7E:F7:76:07   

          Bit Rate=1 Mb/s   Tx-Power=27 dBm   

          Retry min limit:7   RTS thr:off   Fragment thr=2352 B   

          Encryption key:off

          Power Management:off

          Link Quality=75/100  Signal level:-86 dBm  

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

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

```

ifconfig

```
lo        Link encap:Local Loopback  

          inet addr:127.0.0.1  Mask:255.0.0.0

          UP LOOPBACK RUNNING  MTU:16436  Metric:1

          RX packets:3 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0

          TX packets:3 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0

          collisions:0 txqueuelen:0 

          RX bytes:54 (54.0 B)  TX bytes:54 (54.0 B)

 

wlan0     Link encap:Ethernet  HWaddr 00:22:5f:8c:c1:12  

          inet addr:192.168.1.2  Bcast:192.168.1.7  Mask:255.255.255.248

          UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST  MTU:1500  Metric:1

          RX packets:14 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0

          TX packets:9 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0

          collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000 

          RX bytes:4825 (4.7 KiB)  TX bytes:1120 (1.0 KiB)

 

wmaster0  Link encap:UNSPEC  HWaddr 00-22-5F-8C-C1-12-00-00-00-00-00-00-00-00-00-00  

          UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST  MTU:1500  Metric:1

          RX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0

          TX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0

          collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000 

          RX bytes:0 (0.0 B)  TX bytes:0 (0.0 B)

 
```

finally here is a link to my dmesg

----------

## erik258

It looks like you've gotten your device up in ifconfig - that's a good start.  From what I can tell, it seems as though you are in fact using ath9k and not ath5k.   I can't exactly explain why my ath5k is called 'ath0' while your ath9k is called 'wlan0', but it's irrelevant.   wlan0, then, is your wifi device.  You should be able to see it from ifconfig if you run

```
ifconfig -a
```

I would guess that the reason your 'new' wifi device isn't completely configured is that you haven't specified how it should be set up.  You'll probably want to use a dhcp client like dhcpcd; you'll also want to associate with the wireless network.  So something like this should help quite a bit:

```

iwconfig wlan0 essid "Veenstra"

ifconfig wlan0 up

dhcpcd wlan0
```

if you don't have dhcpcd, dhclient, or another dhcp client program,  you might be able to get networking up and running by configuring your network manually, setting your ip address to 192.168.1.2 and guessing at your default route and nameserver.  I'm a little confused by why your AP is using a subnet of 255.255.255.248 - but I might guess that both your nameserver and your default route are 192.168.1.1, or maybe 192.168.1.6.  Such a process would look something like (in place of the dhcpcd line above):

```

ifconfig wlan0 192.168.1.1 netmask 255.255.255.248

route add default gw 192.168.1.1

echo "nameserver 192.168.1.1"  > /etc/resolv.conf
```

Of course, you can remove the guesswork from the above procedure by booting - yet again :grimace: - from the livecd and recording the nameserver in /etc/resolv.conf, and the default route in the output of `route -n`, for later use in the above commands.

----------

## Trotskey

I tried what you suggested and the dhcpcd timed out and I didn't have any more luck setting it up manually.  I did however find a few interesting things related.

my /etc/resolv.conf (from the liveCD) which I also tried after trying your setup.

```
search Torchlake

nameserver 216.245.224.4

nameserver 216.245.225.142
```

route -n (for both the LiveCD and harddrive)

```
Kernel IP routing table

Destination     Gateway     Genmask            Flags   Metric   Ref  Use  Iface

192.168.1.0    0.0.0.0    255.255.255.248        U         0     0    0   wlan0

127.0.0.0      0.0.0.0       255.0.0.0           U         0     0    0     lo

0.0.0.0        192.168.1.1   0.0.0.0             UG        0     0    0   wlan0
```

and finally from the part that comes after the dmesg

```

*Starting syslong-ng

*Starting wlan0

*   Configuring wireless network for wlan0

*   "Veenstra" is not WEP enabled-ignoring setting

*      wlan0 connected to ESSID "Veenstra" at 00:1D:7E:F7:76:07

*      in managed mode in channel 6 (WEP disabled)

*   bringing up wlan0

*      iwconfig

*      no loaded modules provide "iwconfig" (iwconfig_start)

*ERROR: cannot start netmount as net.wlan0 could not start
```

BTW: where is this last one stored?

----------

## erik258

usually in /etc/wpa_supplicant/wpa_supplicant.conf.  

If you post that, obscuring the passwords, maybe we can help more.

EDIT: 

also, can you show your /etc/conf.d.net?  I don't understand that message about iwconfig.  Mine just has

modules_wlan0=(wpa_supplicant) 

i'm typing that from memory, so the syntax might not be perfect, but you get the idea.

fiinally, I would like you to run a few commands once you boot and don't have networking.  can I see the output of 

ifconfig wlan0

iwconfig wlan0

thanks and good luck

----------

## cach0rr0

ok, so...I bought a laptop yesterday that utilizes ath9k

not on your account, i just wanted to check out the driver since supposedly with 2.6.30 and onwards it supports packet injection without patching  :Smile: 

these are my specs

```

04:00.0 Network controller: Atheros Communications Inc. AR928X Wireless Network Adapter (PCI-Express) (rev 01)

   Subsystem: Device 1a32:0303

   Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 17

   Memory at d6700000 (64-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=64K]

   Capabilities: [40] Power Management version 2

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

   Capabilities: [60] Express Legacy Endpoint, MSI 00

   Capabilities: [90] MSI-X: Enable- Mask- TabSize=1

   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: 14, GenCap+ CGenEn- ChkCap+ ChkEn-

   Capabilities: [140] Virtual Channel <?>

   Capabilities: [160] Device Serial Number 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-00

   Kernel driver in use: ath9k

   Kernel modules: ath9k

```

-I have ath9k built as a module, rather than an in-kernel driver

-i have dbus, hal, and networkmanager in my USE flagss

-right now I am connecting using networkmanager, though I was connecting using wpa_supplicant prior to getting X built/tweaked

for wpa_supplicant, ensure you don't have this interface's init script set to autostart (if you have one at all - would be net.wlan0 i believe; dont use it, rc-update del net.wlan0)

no need to modprobe

```

emerge wpa_supplicant

emerge net-misc/dhcp

screen wpa_supplicant -Dwext -iwlan0 -c /etc/wpa_supplicant/wpa_supplicant.conf

(ctrl+ad to exit that screen)

dhclient

```

my wpa_supplicant.conf on a Linksys WRT54GS, running standard WPA+TKIP

```

meat@laptop02 ~ $ sudo cat /etc/wpa_supplicant/wpa_supplicant.conf 

network={

               ssid="ukmeat"

               scan_ssid=1

               key_mgmt=WPA-PSK

               psk="mysuperawesomepsk"

}

```

now, this works for wpa_supplicant

Once you have that working, getting NetworkManager working is as simple as following the wiki docs

getting wicd working is comparably simple, i believe there's doc on that as well (though it tells you how to fast boot it - ignore that, just look at the config section)

I'll scroll up in a minute and compare yours to mine, but this is my lspci -n

```

00:00.0 0600: 8086:2a40 (rev 09)

00:02.0 0300: 8086:2a42 (rev 09)

00:02.1 0380: 8086:2a43 (rev 09)

00:1a.0 0c03: 8086:2937 (rev 03)

00:1a.1 0c03: 8086:2938 (rev 03)

00:1a.7 0c03: 8086:293c (rev 03)

00:1b.0 0403: 8086:293e (rev 03)

00:1c.0 0604: 8086:2940 (rev 03)

00:1c.1 0604: 8086:2942 (rev 03)

00:1c.2 0604: 8086:2944 (rev 03)

00:1c.4 0604: 8086:2948 (rev 03)

00:1d.0 0c03: 8086:2934 (rev 03)

00:1d.1 0c03: 8086:2935 (rev 03)

00:1d.2 0c03: 8086:2936 (rev 03)

00:1d.7 0c03: 8086:293a (rev 03)

00:1e.0 0604: 8086:2448 (rev 93)

00:1f.0 0601: 8086:2919 (rev 03)

00:1f.2 0106: 8086:2929 (rev 03)

00:1f.3 0c05: 8086:2930 (rev 03)

00:1f.6 1180: 8086:2932 (rev 03)

04:00.0 0280: 168c:002a (rev 01)

05:00.0 0200: 1969:1026 (rev b0)

07:00.0 0880: 197b:2382

07:00.2 0805: 197b:2381

07:00.3 0880: 197b:2383

07:00.4 0880: 197b:2384

```

I'm happy to share my kernel config as well if it looks like my hardware is similar enough to yours.

----------

## cach0rr0

heh...yeah, we have the same wireless card, just confirmed

we will get this working. long-term yes, you may want to fiddle with  /etc/conf.d/net

though more user-friendly would be wicd or networkmanager

for the time being though, as said above, let us just get wpa_supplicant connecting, and dhclient pulling an IP for you

the stuff i posted above should work for getting wpa_supplicant working

wpa_supplicant will handle the associating with the AP, as well the 'crypt portion of it

you then need dhclient (or similar) for actually snagging an IP, routing info, DNS, etc

I override the dns given to me via dhcp with my own - my router pushes out OpenDNS addresses, as I want all other users on my net behind some manner of content filtering. 

For me, I need my porn, so this is not an option. 

```

meat@laptop02 ~ $ sudo cat /etc/dhcp/dhclient.conf

send host-name "laptop02.whitehathouston.com";

supersede host-name "laptop02.whitehathouston.com";

prepend domain-name-servers 4.2.2.2;

```

the first two lines,   you need not worry about

only the last one, and that's ONLY if you want to add another DNS server to the mix, preferred above the ones pushed out via dhcp

no need just yet to do anything with modprobe, nor ifconfig, nor iwconfig, nor /etc/conf.d/net. Maybe at some point, but just to get this working  to confirm everything else is kosher, do the bits i suggested in my post above to get the basics working. We can work on adding some user-friendliness to this later.

----------

## Trotskey

The internet is still not working.  Bash doesn't recognize the 'screen' command. So when I take it out, 

```
wpa_supplicant -Dwext -iwlan0 -c /etc/wpa_supplicant/wpa_supplicant.conf 
```

  I get two errors that alternate telling me that my device is temporarily unavailible or busy.  I'm not sure what you mean by control+ad, but when I enter control+windows, the screen changes and I get different errors, most of them though are "unrecognized key entry" or something like that.  

dhclient has no clue where my wireless is, so it looks to 255.255.255.255 . I tried directing it a bit closer, but just knowing the IP doesn't seem to be enough.

I found out later reading your post that I had forgot to set my use flags before emerging wpa_supplicant and net-misc/dhcp.  Should I re-emerge them after changing this?

my wpa_supplicant.conf looks as such: [code]ctrl_interface_group=0

ap_scan=1

network={

  ssid="Veenstra"

  psk="idontthinkihaveone"

  scan_ssid=1

  key_mgmt=WPA-PSK

}

I am not really sure what to do here because my network doesn't have a password of any kind. At least, I think it doesn't because anyone who comes over can use our internet just by clicking the connect to network button.

----------

## erik258

Hi again.  I'm not content to just throw commands at you, but would have you understand what's going on here, so I'm going to go into considerable detail.  

 *Quote:*   

> Bash doesn't recognize the 'screen' command.

 

screen is a program that essentially allows you to switch command line interfaces between terminals.  you can run a program in a screen session, detach from it, and then reattach from elsewhere and resume that same session.  it's not part of the gentoo stage3 tarball, and so you won't have it installed unless you emerge it.  You don't need it; its not a part of the process to get wireless working.  

 *Quote:*   

> control+ad

 

A control sequence to detach from screen session.  Ignore.  

 *Quote:*   

> dhclient has no clue where my wireless is, so it looks to 255.255.255.255 . I tried directing it a bit closer, but just knowing the IP doesn't seem to be enough.

 

Wireless configuration happens before IP-level configuration with dhcp, so if your wireless connection isn't being established, your dhcp request will surely fail as well.  Think of wireless association with an AP as the wireless equivalent of plugging your wired network interface into a cable that connects you to a switch.  If you left the cable unplugged, your computer can't communicate with the dhcp server and therefore cannot be leased an IP address.  

It doesn't really make sense, therefore,  to say 

 *Quote:*   

> just knowing the IP doesn't seem to be enough

 

If your wired connection wasn't plugged into a cable, no IP address can overcome that problem.  Furthermore, DHCP is a protocol for automatically assigning IP addresses; so 'directing it' to a particular IP doesn't really make sense.  

dhclient doesn't know or care anything about wireless; it simply broadcasts for a DHCP lease and, if given one, assigns the leased address to the network device.  DHCP doesn't really care whether it's a wired device or wireless.  I assume the reference to 255.255.255.255 is because DHCP broadcasts for a lease, and that should be the broadcast address on just about any IP subnet.  But again, without wireless being up, there's nobody to receive the broadcast.   there's no wireless 'cable'.  

I hope that overview helps you understand the process of connecting to a wireless network as one with 2 steps - first associate with an access point, next configure the interface for IP networking.  

The problem here is in the first step:  you're not associating with your access point.  Until you can successfully associate, DHCP won't work, and neither will your wireless network connection.  Once you can get wpa_supplicant to work, dhclient should do a lot better.  

 *Quote:*   

> I get two errors that alternate telling me that my device is temporarily unavailible or busy.

 

Can we see those errors?  They may be useless, indicative of a problem 'below' wpa_supplicant, but they may be helpful in finding just where that problem is hiding.  

 *Quote:*   

> 
> 
> I found out later reading your post that I had forgot to set my use flags before emerging wpa_supplicant and net-misc/dhcp. Should I re-emerge them after changing this?
> 
> 

 

Not unless your wireless configuration requires support that, by omitting a USE flag, has been left out of dhclient and wpa_supplicant.  I don't think anything extra will be required; as for re-emerging, you may do as you wish, but I don't think it will affect this process.  

 *Quote:*   

> 
> 
> ```
> 
> [...]
> ...

 

Ah ha!  You can see here that your'e telling wpa_supplicant to associate with "Veenstra" using WPA-PSK.  However, you're not using WPA if you don't have a password. I think your connection point should probably be configured more like this: 

```
network={

   ssid="Veenstra"

   scan_ssid=1

   key_mgmt=NONE # don't manage keys at all!  

   priority=100  # nice high priority for your home network

}
```

additionally, you should have a network declaration like this too:

```
network={

        key_mgmt=NONE

        priority=-9999999

}

```

This will allow you to connect to any open Access Point (AP) if a higher priority AP is not available.  If you left out your network declaration, this generic declaration would be enough to connect to it, but by adding your ssid allows you to set it's priority higher than the generic network; wpa_supplicant will, for this reason, connect to your network before it connects to some other nearby network, say your neighbors.  

I think that will help quite a bit.  However, I'm not sure, because I don't know what errors wpa_supplicant is spitting out.  So if that doesn't get you online, I'd also like you to post the output of 

```
ifconfig -a

iwlist scan
```

the first will show all network cards (verifying that the wlan0 device exists and is so named); the second will scan the airwaves for broadcasting APs, which should help verify that the wireless card is doing something and that it can see your AP.  And remember, if it gives you errors instead, please post those too!  They may be very helpful in diagnosing your problem further.

----------

## Trotskey

Wow, that was simple.  Sadly I don't think I would have figured that one out for a while, so thank you thank you thank you erik!  I'm glad to be doing this from my Gentoo installation via Firefox.  Now on to getting my desktop to look presentable....  Thanks again to cach0rr0 for getting me into a working kernel!

----------

## cach0rr0

glad to hear it!

At some point i would recommend having a look at wicd. makes the whole process much easier than having to manage a config on you own

----------

