# [Solved] wireless card not working under 3.3.5

## triquetra

I recently upgraded to gentoo-sources-3.3.5, but when I rebooted, my wireless card (including bluetooth) did not work.  It's as if the card did not even exist.

Rebooting into the 3.3.4 kernel restored full wireless and bluetooth functionality.

I've compared the .config files for the 3.3.4 and 3.3.5 kernels in meld, and they are identical (except for the comment identifying the kernel version).  So I don't think it's a kernel config issue.

I'm not sure what to look for next to debug this issue.  Any ideas?Last edited by triquetra on Thu May 24, 2012 2:46 am; edited 1 time in total

----------

## DONAHUE

does the interface (wlan0?) exist?

if needed 

```
emerge wireless-tools pciutils
```

```
ifconfig -a

ifconfig

iwconfig

iwlist scan

lspci -k
```

wireless should be present in all, any absences should be significant

if you share lspci -k output for your card, it will be helpful

----------

## triquetra

```
00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation Mobile PM965/GM965/GL960 Memory Controller Hub (rev 0c)

   Subsystem: COMPAL Electronics Inc Device 0025

00:01.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation Mobile PM965/GM965/GL960 PCI Express Root Port (rev 0c)

   Kernel driver in use: pcieport

00:1a.0 USB controller: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) USB UHCI Controller #4 (rev 03)

   Subsystem: COMPAL Electronics Inc Device 0025

   Kernel driver in use: uhci_hcd

00:1a.1 USB controller: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) USB UHCI Controller #5 (rev 03)

   Subsystem: COMPAL Electronics Inc Device 0025

   Kernel driver in use: uhci_hcd

00:1a.7 USB controller: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) USB2 EHCI Controller #2 (rev 03)

   Subsystem: COMPAL Electronics Inc Device 0025

   Kernel driver in use: ehci_hcd

00:1b.0 Audio device: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) HD Audio Controller (rev 03)

   Subsystem: COMPAL Electronics Inc Device 0025

   Kernel driver in use: snd_hda_intel

00:1c.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) PCI Express Port 1 (rev 03)

   Kernel driver in use: pcieport

00:1c.1 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) PCI Express Port 2 (rev 03)

   Kernel driver in use: pcieport

00:1c.2 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) PCI Express Port 3 (rev 03)

   Kernel driver in use: pcieport

00:1c.3 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) PCI Express Port 4 (rev 03)

   Kernel driver in use: pcieport

00:1c.4 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) PCI Express Port 5 (rev 03)

   Kernel driver in use: pcieport

00:1c.5 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) PCI Express Port 6 (rev 03)

   Kernel driver in use: pcieport

00:1d.0 USB controller: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) USB UHCI Controller #1 (rev 03)

   Subsystem: COMPAL Electronics Inc Device 0025

   Kernel driver in use: uhci_hcd

00:1d.1 USB controller: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) USB UHCI Controller #2 (rev 03)

   Subsystem: COMPAL Electronics Inc Device 0025

   Kernel driver in use: uhci_hcd

00:1d.2 USB controller: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) USB UHCI Controller #3 (rev 03)

   Subsystem: COMPAL Electronics Inc Device 0025

   Kernel driver in use: uhci_hcd

00:1d.7 USB controller: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) USB2 EHCI Controller #1 (rev 03)

   Subsystem: COMPAL Electronics Inc Device 0025

   Kernel driver in use: ehci_hcd

00:1e.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801 Mobile PCI Bridge (rev f3)

00:1f.0 ISA bridge: Intel Corporation 82801HM (ICH8M) LPC Interface Controller (rev 03)

   Subsystem: COMPAL Electronics Inc Device 0025

00:1f.1 IDE interface: Intel Corporation 82801HM/HEM (ICH8M/ICH8M-E) IDE Controller (rev 03)

   Subsystem: COMPAL Electronics Inc Device 0025

   Kernel driver in use: ata_piix

00:1f.2 SATA controller: Intel Corporation 82801HM/HEM (ICH8M/ICH8M-E) SATA Controller [AHCI mode] (rev 03)

   Subsystem: COMPAL Electronics Inc Device 0025

   Kernel driver in use: ahci

00:1f.3 SMBus: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) SMBus Controller (rev 03)

   Subsystem: COMPAL Electronics Inc Device 0025

   Kernel driver in use: i801_smbus

01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: NVIDIA Corporation G84 [GeForce 8600M GT] (rev a1)

   Subsystem: COMPAL Electronics Inc Device 0025

   Kernel driver in use: nvidia

04:00.0 Ethernet controller: Broadcom Corporation NetLink BCM5787M Gigabit Ethernet PCI Express (rev 02)

   Subsystem: COMPAL Electronics Inc Device 0025

   Kernel driver in use: tg3

0c:00.0 Network controller: Intel Corporation PRO/Wireless 4965 AG or AGN [Kedron] Network Connection (rev 61)

   Subsystem: Intel Corporation Vaio VGN-SZ79SN_C

   Kernel driver in use: iwl4965

0e:06.0 FireWire (IEEE 1394): Ricoh Co Ltd R5C832 IEEE 1394 Controller (rev 05)

   Subsystem: COMPAL Electronics Inc Device 0025

0e:06.1 SD Host controller: Ricoh Co Ltd R5C822 SD/SDIO/MMC/MS/MSPro Host Adapter (rev 22)

   Subsystem: COMPAL Electronics Inc Device 0025

0e:06.2 System peripheral: Ricoh Co Ltd R5C843 MMC Host Controller (rev 12)

   Subsystem: COMPAL Electronics Inc Device 0025

0e:06.3 System peripheral: Ricoh Co Ltd R5C592 Memory Stick Bus Host Adapter (rev 12)

   Subsystem: COMPAL Electronics Inc Device 0025
```

Under 3.3.4, the wlan0 interface shows up in all of ifconfig -a, ifconfig, iwconfig, and iwlist scan.

```
00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation Mobile PM965/GM965/GL960 Memory Controller Hub (rev 0c)

   Subsystem: COMPAL Electronics Inc Device 0025

00:01.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation Mobile PM965/GM965/GL960 PCI Express Root Port (rev 0c)

   Kernel driver in use: pcieport

00:1a.0 USB controller: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) USB UHCI Controller #4 (rev 03)

   Subsystem: COMPAL Electronics Inc Device 0025

   Kernel driver in use: uhci_hcd

00:1a.1 USB controller: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) USB UHCI Controller #5 (rev 03)

   Subsystem: COMPAL Electronics Inc Device 0025

   Kernel driver in use: uhci_hcd

00:1a.7 USB controller: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) USB2 EHCI Controller #2 (rev 03)

   Subsystem: COMPAL Electronics Inc Device 0025

   Kernel driver in use: ehci_hcd

00:1b.0 Audio device: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) HD Audio Controller (rev 03)

   Subsystem: COMPAL Electronics Inc Device 0025

00:1c.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) PCI Express Port 1 (rev 03)

   Kernel driver in use: pcieport

00:1c.1 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) PCI Express Port 2 (rev 03)

   Kernel driver in use: pcieport

00:1c.2 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) PCI Express Port 3 (rev 03)

   Kernel driver in use: pcieport

00:1c.3 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) PCI Express Port 4 (rev 03)

   Kernel driver in use: pcieport

00:1c.4 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) PCI Express Port 5 (rev 03)

   Kernel driver in use: pcieport

00:1c.5 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) PCI Express Port 6 (rev 03)

   Kernel driver in use: pcieport

00:1d.0 USB controller: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) USB UHCI Controller #1 (rev 03)

   Subsystem: COMPAL Electronics Inc Device 0025

   Kernel driver in use: uhci_hcd

00:1d.1 USB controller: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) USB UHCI Controller #2 (rev 03)

   Subsystem: COMPAL Electronics Inc Device 0025

   Kernel driver in use: uhci_hcd

00:1d.2 USB controller: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) USB UHCI Controller #3 (rev 03)

   Subsystem: COMPAL Electronics Inc Device 0025

   Kernel driver in use: uhci_hcd

00:1d.7 USB controller: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) USB2 EHCI Controller #1 (rev 03)

   Subsystem: COMPAL Electronics Inc Device 0025

   Kernel driver in use: ehci_hcd

00:1e.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801 Mobile PCI Bridge (rev f3)

00:1f.0 ISA bridge: Intel Corporation 82801HM (ICH8M) LPC Interface Controller (rev 03)

   Subsystem: COMPAL Electronics Inc Device 0025

00:1f.1 IDE interface: Intel Corporation 82801HM/HEM (ICH8M/ICH8M-E) IDE Controller (rev 03)

   Subsystem: COMPAL Electronics Inc Device 0025

   Kernel driver in use: ata_piix

00:1f.2 SATA controller: Intel Corporation 82801HM/HEM (ICH8M/ICH8M-E) SATA Controller [AHCI mode] (rev 03)

   Subsystem: COMPAL Electronics Inc Device 0025

   Kernel driver in use: ahci

00:1f.3 SMBus: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) SMBus Controller (rev 03)

   Subsystem: COMPAL Electronics Inc Device 0025

   Kernel driver in use: i801_smbus

01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: NVIDIA Corporation G84 [GeForce 8600M GT] (rev a1)

   Subsystem: COMPAL Electronics Inc Device 0025

   Kernel driver in use: nvidia

04:00.0 Ethernet controller: Broadcom Corporation NetLink BCM5787M Gigabit Ethernet PCI Express (rev 02)

   Subsystem: COMPAL Electronics Inc Device 0025

   Kernel driver in use: tg3

0c:00.0 Network controller: Intel Corporation PRO/Wireless 4965 AG or AGN [Kedron] Network Connection (rev 61)

   Subsystem: Intel Corporation Vaio VGN-SZ79SN_C

0e:06.0 FireWire (IEEE 1394): Ricoh Co Ltd R5C832 IEEE 1394 Controller (rev 05)

   Subsystem: COMPAL Electronics Inc Device 0025

0e:06.1 SD Host controller: Ricoh Co Ltd R5C822 SD/SDIO/MMC/MS/MSPro Host Adapter (rev 22)

   Subsystem: COMPAL Electronics Inc Device 0025

0e:06.2 System peripheral: Ricoh Co Ltd R5C843 MMC Host Controller (rev 12)

   Subsystem: COMPAL Electronics Inc Device 0025

0e:06.3 System peripheral: Ricoh Co Ltd R5C592 Memory Stick Bus Host Adapter (rev 12)

   Subsystem: COMPAL Electronics Inc Device 0025
```

It would appear that the iwl4965 module is missing in the 3.3.5 kernel (as well as the snd_hda_intel module, which I hadn't noticed before).  I tried to load it with modprobe, but it gave an error that there was not such module.  I tried to rebuild the modules for the 3.3.5 kernel with "module-rebuild populate" and "module-rebuild rebuild", but still no iwl4965 module even after a reboot.

----------

## DONAHUE

lspci -k for me yields a listing including  *Quote:*   

> Kernel modules:  iwl4965
> 
> Kernel driver in use: iwl4965

  I suspect that the missing  *Quote:*   

> Kernel modules: iwl4965

  for 3.3.4 means that iwl4965 is a builtin, not a module, in 3.3.4. As 3.3.4 works, I further suspect that the appropriate microcode (uCode) image for it from http://intellinuxwireless.org/ was/is present is installed in /lib/firmware and may be a builtin in the 3.3.4 kernel.

If the 3.3.5 iwl4965agn requires a firmware version that is not installed in /lib/firmware the iwl4965 module either will not load or if it loads will likely fail.

get firmware download  and extract to /lib/firmware

check 3.3.5 menuconfig:

```
eselect kernel set linux-3.3.5-gentoo

cd /usr/src/linux;make menuconfig

[*] Networking support  --->

-*-   Wireless  --->

<*>   cfg80211 - wireless configuration API 

[*]     cfg80211 wireless extensions compatibility (NEW)

<*>   Generic IEEE 802.11 Networking Stack (mac80211)

-*-   Enable LED triggers 

Device Drivers  --->

[*] Network device support  ---> 

[*]   Wireless LAN (NEW)  --->

<M>   Intel Wireless WiFi 4965AGN (iwl4965)

make && make modules_install

```

mount /boot partition, if necessary, and copy the new kernel to it

----------

## triquetra

Thanks DONAHUE.  You pointed me in the right direction.  The uCode was already installed, and both kernels were including iwl4965 as a module, but the module wasn't loading for 3.3.5.  So I started trying to figure out why -- comparing loaded modules for each kernel, etc.

What I discovered is that I had recently built a script for upgrading the kernel and forgot to include "make modules_install"    :Embarassed: 

Everything's working now.

----------

