# [SOLVED] Install - Atheros 5212 WiFI - cannot get it running

## Parev00

I have an old Dell Inspiron 8200 I'm setting up as a Gentoo desktop with XFCE4.

The installation went great. I have the desktop working and the wired Ethernet is working fine. However, I cannot get the wireless running.

I have a Linksys WPC55AG PCMCIA card set up using an Atheros 5212 chip. I believe I have all the drivers installed and the correct kernel config, but I could be wrong.

I emerged wicd, but whatever I seem to try, it just says "No wireless networks detected"

I did read the wireless info pages, but one thing that seemed unclear is if I'm using wicd, do I also have to set up wpa_supplicant? Or is that handled through wicd automatically?

Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Various outputs follow...

lspci 

```

00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation 82845 845 [Brookdale] Chipset Host Bridge (rev 04)

00:01.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82845 845 [Brookdale] Chipset AGP Bridge (rev 04)

00:1d.0 USB controller: Intel Corporation 82801CA/CAM USB Controller #1 (rev 02)

00:1d.2 USB controller: Intel Corporation 82801CA/CAM USB Controller #3 (rev 02)

00:1e.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801 Mobile PCI Bridge (rev 42)

00:1f.0 ISA bridge: Intel Corporation 82801CAM ISA Bridge (LPC) (rev 02)

00:1f.1 IDE interface: Intel Corporation 82801CAM IDE U100 Controller (rev 02)

00:1f.5 Multimedia audio controller: Intel Corporation 82801CA/CAM AC'97 Audio Controller (rev 02)

00:1f.6 Modem: Intel Corporation 82801CA/CAM AC'97 Modem Controller (rev 02)

01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: NVIDIA Corporation NV17M [GeForce4 440 Go] (rev a3)

02:00.0 Ethernet controller: 3Com Corporation 3c905C-TX/TX-M [Tornado] (rev 78)

02:01.0 CardBus bridge: Texas Instruments PCI4451 PC card Cardbus Controller

02:01.1 CardBus bridge: Texas Instruments PCI4451 PC card Cardbus Controller

02:01.2 FireWire (IEEE 1394): Texas Instruments PCI4451 IEEE-1394 Controller

07:00.0 Ethernet controller: Atheros Communications Inc. AR5212/AR5213 Wireless Network Adapter (rev 01)

```

ifconfig 

```

enp2s0: flags=4163<UP,BROADCAST,RUNNING,MULTICAST>  mtu 1500

        inet 192.168.1.218  netmask 255.255.255.0  broadcast 192.168.1.255

        inet6 fe80::208:74ff:fe02:964e  prefixlen 64  scopeid 0x20<link>

        ether 00:08:74:02:96:4e  txqueuelen 1000  (Ethernet)

        RX packets 7339  bytes 6369650 (6.0 MiB)

        RX errors 1  dropped 3  overruns 1  frame 1

        TX packets 4683  bytes 485793 (474.4 KiB)

        TX errors 0  dropped 0 overruns 0  carrier 0  collisions 1

        device interrupt 11  base 0x4c00  

lo: flags=73<UP,LOOPBACK,RUNNING>  mtu 65536

        inet 127.0.0.1  netmask 255.0.0.0

        inet6 ::1  prefixlen 128  scopeid 0x10<host>

        loop  txqueuelen 0  (Local Loopback)

        RX packets 0  bytes 0 (0.0 B)

        RX errors 0  dropped 0  overruns 0  frame 0

        TX packets 0  bytes 0 (0.0 B)

        TX errors 0  dropped 0 overruns 0  carrier 0  collisions 0

wlp7s0: flags=4099<UP,BROADCAST,MULTICAST>  mtu 1500

        ether 00:0c:41:0a:27:84  txqueuelen 1000  (Ethernet)

        RX packets 0  bytes 0 (0.0 B)

        RX errors 0  dropped 0  overruns 0  frame 0

        TX packets 0  bytes 0 (0.0 B)

        TX errors 0  dropped 0 overruns 0  carrier 0  collisions 0

```

udevadm test-builtin net_id /sys/class/net/wlp7s0/ 2>/dev/null 

```

ID_NET_NAME_MAC=wlx000c410a2784

ID_OUI_FROM_DATABASE=Cisco-Linksys

ID_NET_NAME_PATH=wlp7s0

```

iwconfig wlp7s0

```

wlp7s0    no wireless extensions.

```

lsmod | grep ath5k

```

ath5k                 107406  0 

ath                    10981  1 ath5k

led_class               1903  1 ath5k

mac80211              272431  1 ath5k

cfg80211              245624  3 ath,ath5k,mac80211

```

cat /proc/net/wireless 

```

Inter-| sta-|   Quality        |   Discarded packets               | Missed | WE

 face | tus | link level noise |  nwid  crypt   frag  retry   misc | beacon | 22

```

dmesg | grep -C 3 ath5k

```

[   23.311167] snd_intel8x0m 0000:00:1f.6: setting latency timer to 64

[   23.420150] MC'97 1 converters and GPIO not ready (0xff00)

[   23.466689] cfg80211: Calling CRDA to update world regulatory domain

[   23.782236] ath5k 0000:07:00.0: enabling device (0000 -> 0002)

[   23.782432] ath5k 0000:07:00.0: registered as 'phy0'

[   24.208933] dcdbas dcdbas: Dell Systems Management Base Driver (version 5.6.0-3.2)

[   24.312448] ath: EEPROM regdomain: 0x10

[   24.312453] ath: EEPROM indicates we should expect a direct regpair map

[   24.312458] ath: Country alpha2 being used: CO

[   24.312460] ath: Regpair used: 0x10

[   24.312723] ieee80211 phy0: Selected rate control algorithm 'minstrel_ht'

[   24.313158] ath5k: phy0: Atheros AR5212 chip found (MAC: 0x56, PHY: 0x41)

[   24.313162] ath5k: phy0: RF5111 5GHz radio found (0x17)

[   24.313166] ath5k: phy0: RF2111 2GHz radio found (0x23)

[   24.327921] microcode: Microcode Update Driver: v2.00 <tigran@aivazian.fsnet.co.uk>, Peter Oruba

[   24.337854] systemd-udevd[10587]: renamed network interface wlan0 to wlp7s0

[   24.409959] ppdev: user-space parallel port driver

```

Last edited by Parev00 on Mon Sep 02, 2013 12:00 am; edited 1 time in total

----------

## DONAHUE

wicd should configure/use wpa_supplicant and dhcp and will wipe any configs you have written in favor of its own strored under /etc/wicd.

you may need *Quote:*   

>  [*] Networking support  --->
> 
> -*-   Wireless  --->
> 
> <M>   cfg80211 - wireless configuration AP
> ...

  in the kernel config. nl80211 is supposed to cover this but ... wicd should work with wext as the wpa_supplicant driver but nl80211 is better. Is one of the gui choices.

http://wiki.gentoo.org/wiki/Wicd

----------

## Logicien

You should check this page to be sure your device is supported. According to the help for ath5k in the kernel configuration, the chipset AR5212/AR5213 is not explicitly supported. No Dell vendor too in the link I give you. With the output of the command

```
lspci -nn
```

you can make a search with vendor/product and bus ID. The Debian GNU/Linux device driver check page can be an help too. The Madwifi drivers can be a replacement for ath5k. They are in the Portage tree.

Is your wireless card lock? Check with rfkill.

----------

## 666threesixes666

01:09.0 Ethernet controller: Qualcomm Atheros AR5212/AR5213 Wireless Network Adapter (rev 01)

ive been using this specific chipset daily for years, pcmcia support is probably missing is my guess......  mine is on a PCI card, no firmware, in kernel ath5k.

http://bpaste.net/show/128114/

netgear wg311t is my model.

i am very pleased with this card.  and i do use wext as you can see from the paste.

this is the most solid wifi card ive ever seen in linux.

----------

## Logicien

The Parev00 AR5212/AR5213 card appear in lspci command. So the card is on PCI bus. There's no specific option for ath5k PCMCIA support in kernel configuration 3.10.7-gentoo. If the card is really supported, than the problem come from the kernel configuration and/or module parameters. The command

```
modinfo -p ath5k
```

will give the information about the parameters if the ath5k support is in module.

----------

## Parev00

I did not have 

```
[*] cfg80211 wireless extensions compatibility 
```

 in the kernel config. Recompiling now to see what that does.

Also have these outputs...

modinfo -p ath5k

```

nohwcrypt:Disable hardware encryption. (bool)

fastchanswitch:Enable fast channel switching for AR2413/AR5413 radios. (bool)

no_hw_rfkill_switch:Ignore the GPIO RFKill switch state (bool)

```

lspci -nn

```

00:00.0 Host bridge [0600]: Intel Corporation 82845 845 [Brookdale] Chipset Host Bridge [8086:1a30] (rev 04)

00:01.0 PCI bridge [0604]: Intel Corporation 82845 845 [Brookdale] Chipset AGP Bridge [8086:1a31] (rev 04)

00:1d.0 USB controller [0c03]: Intel Corporation 82801CA/CAM USB Controller #1 [8086:2482] (rev 02)

00:1d.2 USB controller [0c03]: Intel Corporation 82801CA/CAM USB Controller #3 [8086:2487] (rev 02)

00:1e.0 PCI bridge [0604]: Intel Corporation 82801 Mobile PCI Bridge [8086:2448] (rev 42)

00:1f.0 ISA bridge [0601]: Intel Corporation 82801CAM ISA Bridge (LPC) [8086:248c] (rev 02)

00:1f.1 IDE interface [0101]: Intel Corporation 82801CAM IDE U100 Controller [8086:248a] (rev 02)

00:1f.5 Multimedia audio controller [0401]: Intel Corporation 82801CA/CAM AC'97 Audio Controller [8086:2485] (rev 02)

00:1f.6 Modem [0703]: Intel Corporation 82801CA/CAM AC'97 Modem Controller [8086:2486] (rev 02)

01:00.0 VGA compatible controller [0300]: NVIDIA Corporation NV17M [GeForce4 440 Go] [10de:0174] (rev a3)

02:00.0 Ethernet controller [0200]: 3Com Corporation 3c905C-TX/TX-M [Tornado] [10b7:9200] (rev 78)

02:01.0 CardBus bridge [0607]: Texas Instruments PCI4451 PC card Cardbus Controller [104c:ac42]

02:01.1 CardBus bridge [0607]: Texas Instruments PCI4451 PC card Cardbus Controller [104c:ac42]

02:01.2 FireWire (IEEE 1394) [0c00]: Texas Instruments PCI4451 IEEE-1394 Controller [104c:8027]

07:00.0 Ethernet controller [0200]: Atheros Communications Inc. AR5212/AR5213 Wireless Network Adapter [168c:0013] (rev 01)

```

----------

## Parev00

So I have some success to report.

Now that I compiled 

```
[*] cfg80211 wireless extensions compatibility 
```

 in the kernel, wicd came right up.

It does a scan and can see all of the networks. However, I cannot seem to attach to any access points.

Connecting to mine... (WPA2-PSK, note that I deleted my PSK passphrase from this post)

```
2013/09/01 06:56:45 :: Connecting to wireless network HomeParevAP

2013/09/01 06:56:45 :: iwconfig wlp7s0

2013/09/01 06:56:45 :: /sbin/dhcpcd -k wlp7s0

2013/09/01 06:56:45 :: ifconfig wlp7s0 0.0.0.0 

2013/09/01 06:56:45 :: /bin/route del dev wlp7s0

2013/09/01 06:56:45 :: ifconfig wlp7s0 down

2013/09/01 06:56:45 :: ifconfig wlp7s0 up

2013/09/01 06:56:45 :: wpa_cli -i wlp7s0 terminate

2013/09/01 06:56:45 :: /sbin/dhcpcd -k enp2s0

2013/09/01 06:56:45 :: ifconfig enp2s0 0.0.0.0 

2013/09/01 06:56:45 :: /bin/route del dev enp2s0

2013/09/01 06:56:45 :: ifconfig enp2s0 down

2013/09/01 06:56:46 :: ifconfig enp2s0 up

2013/09/01 06:56:46 :: wpa_cli -i enp2s0 terminate

2013/09/01 06:56:46 :: ifconfig enp2s0

2013/09/01 06:56:46 :: Putting interface down

2013/09/01 06:56:46 :: ifconfig wlp7s0 down

2013/09/01 06:56:46 :: ifconfig wlp7s0

2013/09/01 06:56:46 :: Releasing DHCP leases...

2013/09/01 06:56:46 :: /sbin/dhcpcd -k wlp7s0

2013/09/01 06:56:46 :: Setting false IP...

2013/09/01 06:56:46 :: ifconfig wlp7s0 0.0.0.0 

2013/09/01 06:56:46 :: Forced disconnect on

2013/09/01 06:56:46 :: /sbin/dhcpcd -k wlp7s0

2013/09/01 06:56:46 :: Stopping wpa_supplicant

2013/09/01 06:56:46 :: wpa_cli -i wlp7s0 terminate

2013/09/01 06:56:46 :: ifconfig wlp7s0 0.0.0.0 

2013/09/01 06:56:46 :: Flushing the routing table...

2013/09/01 06:56:46 :: /bin/route del dev wlp7s0

2013/09/01 06:56:46 :: /bin/route del dev wlp7s0

2013/09/01 06:56:46 :: iwconfig wlp7s0 mode managed

2013/09/01 06:56:46 :: ifconfig wlp7s0 down

2013/09/01 06:56:46 :: Putting interface up...

2013/09/01 06:56:46 :: ifconfig wlp7s0 up

2013/09/01 06:56:46 :: ifconfig wlp7s0 up

2013/09/01 06:56:46 :: wpa_cli -i wlp7s0 terminate

2013/09/01 06:56:46 :: /sbin/dhcpcd -k enp2s0

2013/09/01 06:56:46 :: ifconfig enp2s0 0.0.0.0 

2013/09/01 06:56:46 :: /bin/route del dev enp2s0

2013/09/01 06:56:46 :: ifconfig enp2s0 down

2013/09/01 06:56:46 :: ifconfig enp2s0 up

2013/09/01 06:56:46 :: wpa_cli -i enp2s0 terminate

2013/09/01 06:56:48 :: enctype is wpa-psk

2013/09/01 06:56:48 :: Generating psk...

2013/09/01 06:56:48 :: ['/usr/bin/wpa_passphrase', 'HomeParevAP', 'passphrasehere']

2013/09/01 06:56:48 :: Attempting to authenticate...

2013/09/01 06:56:48 :: ['wpa_supplicant', '-B', '-i', 'wlp7s0', '-c', '/var/lib/wicd/configurations/78ca3944d2db', '-Dwext']

2013/09/01 06:56:48 :: ['iwconfig', 'wlp7s0', 'essid', '--', 'HomeParevAP']

2013/09/01 06:56:48 :: iwconfig wlp7s0 channel 11

2013/09/01 06:56:48 :: iwconfig wlp7s0 ap 78:CA:39:44:D2:DB

2013/09/01 06:56:48 :: WPA_CLI RESULT IS ASSOCIATED

2013/09/01 06:56:49 :: WPA_CLI RESULT IS COMPLETED

2013/09/01 06:56:49 :: Running DHCP with hostname Sinclair

2013/09/01 06:56:49 :: /sbin/dhcpcd -h Sinclair --noipv4ll wlp7s0 

2013/09/01 06:56:49 :: dhcpcd[16375]: sending commands to master dhcpcd process

2013/09/01 06:56:49 :: 

2013/09/01 06:56:49 :: 

2013/09/01 06:56:49 :: DHCP connection successful

2013/09/01 06:56:49 :: not verifying

2013/09/01 06:56:49 :: Connecting thread exiting.

2013/09/01 06:56:49 :: ifconfig wlp7s0

2013/09/01 06:56:49 :: IP Address is: None

2013/09/01 06:56:50 :: Sending connection attempt result success

2013/09/01 06:56:50 :: ifconfig enp2s0

2013/09/01 06:56:50 :: iwconfig wlp7s0

2013/09/01 06:56:50 :: Forced disconnect on

2013/09/01 06:56:50 :: /sbin/dhcpcd -k wlp7s0

2013/09/01 06:56:50 :: ifconfig wlp7s0 0.0.0.0 

2013/09/01 06:56:50 :: /bin/route del dev wlp7s0

2013/09/01 06:56:50 :: ifconfig wlp7s0 down

2013/09/01 06:56:50 :: ifconfig wlp7s0 up

2013/09/01 06:56:50 :: wpa_cli -i wlp7s0 terminate

2013/09/01 06:56:50 :: /sbin/dhcpcd -k enp2s0

2013/09/01 06:56:50 :: ifconfig enp2s0 0.0.0.0 

2013/09/01 06:56:50 :: /bin/route del dev enp2s0

2013/09/01 06:56:50 :: ifconfig enp2s0 down

2013/09/01 06:56:50 :: ifconfig enp2s0 up

2013/09/01 06:56:50 :: wpa_cli -i enp2s0 terminate

2013/09/01 06:56:53 :: ifconfig enp2s0

2013/09/01 06:56:53 :: ifconfig wlp7s0

2013/09/01 06:56:55 :: ifconfig enp2s0

2013/09/01 06:56:55 :: ifconfig wlp7s0
```

There is also an unsecured linksys network. I tried to connect to that...

```
2013/09/01 07:00:21 :: ifconfig enp2s0

2013/09/01 07:00:25 :: ifconfig enp2s0

2013/09/01 07:00:25 :: Connecting to wireless network linksys

2013/09/01 07:00:25 :: iwconfig wlp7s0

2013/09/01 07:00:26 :: /sbin/dhcpcd -k wlp7s0

2013/09/01 07:00:26 :: ifconfig wlp7s0 0.0.0.0 

2013/09/01 07:00:26 :: /bin/route del dev wlp7s0

2013/09/01 07:00:26 :: ifconfig wlp7s0 down

2013/09/01 07:00:26 :: ifconfig wlp7s0 up

2013/09/01 07:00:26 :: wpa_cli -i wlp7s0 terminate

2013/09/01 07:00:26 :: /sbin/dhcpcd -k enp2s0

2013/09/01 07:00:26 :: ifconfig enp2s0 0.0.0.0 

2013/09/01 07:00:26 :: /bin/route del dev enp2s0

2013/09/01 07:00:26 :: ifconfig enp2s0 down

2013/09/01 07:00:26 :: ifconfig enp2s0 up

2013/09/01 07:00:26 :: wpa_cli -i enp2s0 terminate

2013/09/01 07:00:26 :: Putting interface down

2013/09/01 07:00:26 :: ifconfig wlp7s0 down

2013/09/01 07:00:26 :: Releasing DHCP leases...

2013/09/01 07:00:26 :: /sbin/dhcpcd -k wlp7s0

2013/09/01 07:00:26 :: Setting false IP...

2013/09/01 07:00:26 :: ifconfig wlp7s0 0.0.0.0 

2013/09/01 07:00:26 :: Stopping wpa_supplicant

2013/09/01 07:00:26 :: wpa_cli -i wlp7s0 terminate

2013/09/01 07:00:26 :: Flushing the routing table...

2013/09/01 07:00:26 :: /bin/route del dev wlp7s0

2013/09/01 07:00:26 :: iwconfig wlp7s0 mode managed

2013/09/01 07:00:26 :: Putting interface up...

2013/09/01 07:00:26 :: ifconfig wlp7s0 up

2013/09/01 07:00:28 :: enctype is None

2013/09/01 07:00:28 :: ['iwconfig', 'wlp7s0', 'essid', '--', 'linksys']

2013/09/01 07:00:28 :: iwconfig wlp7s0 channel 6

2013/09/01 07:00:28 :: iwconfig wlp7s0 ap 00:22:6B:59:7B:82

2013/09/01 07:00:28 :: Running DHCP with hostname Sinclair

2013/09/01 07:00:28 :: /sbin/dhcpcd -h Sinclair --noipv4ll wlp7s0 

2013/09/01 07:00:28 :: dhcpcd[16713]: sending commands to master dhcpcd process

2013/09/01 07:00:28 :: 

2013/09/01 07:00:28 :: 

2013/09/01 07:00:28 :: DHCP connection successful

2013/09/01 07:00:28 :: not verifying

2013/09/01 07:00:28 :: Connecting thread exiting.

2013/09/01 07:00:28 :: ifconfig wlp7s0

2013/09/01 07:00:28 :: IP Address is: None

2013/09/01 07:00:29 :: Sending connection attempt result success

2013/09/01 07:00:29 :: ifconfig enp2s0

2013/09/01 07:00:29 :: Forced disconnect on

2013/09/01 07:00:29 :: iwconfig wlp7s0

2013/09/01 07:00:29 :: /sbin/dhcpcd -k wlp7s0

2013/09/01 07:00:29 :: ifconfig wlp7s0 0.0.0.0 

2013/09/01 07:00:29 :: /bin/route del dev wlp7s0

2013/09/01 07:00:29 :: ifconfig wlp7s0 down

2013/09/01 07:00:29 :: ifconfig wlp7s0 up

2013/09/01 07:00:29 :: wpa_cli -i wlp7s0 terminate

2013/09/01 07:00:29 :: /sbin/dhcpcd -k enp2s0

2013/09/01 07:00:29 :: ifconfig enp2s0 0.0.0.0 

2013/09/01 07:00:29 :: /bin/route del dev enp2s0

2013/09/01 07:00:29 :: ifconfig enp2s0 down

2013/09/01 07:00:29 :: ifconfig enp2s0 up

2013/09/01 07:00:29 :: wpa_cli -i enp2s0 terminate

2013/09/01 07:00:31 :: ifconfig wlp7s0

2013/09/01 07:00:31 :: ifconfig enp2s0
```

----------

## DONAHUE

I have the impression that somewhere in udev/openrc/wicd/who knows a structure has been developed that tries to impose wired connection in spite of the user's desires. play with  wicd-client-kde or wicd-gtk to try to change from wired to wifi. unplug wired. crazy experiments: disable wired in bios. remove wired driver from kernel.

----------

## Parev00

Tremendous Success.. almost!

By doing some silly experiments, I was able to get it to work, a little.

When doing the initial install of the system, I followed the instructions very closely using my wired connection.

dhcpcd starts on boot, but it's not in the rc-update list. 

```

rc-update show

                acpid |      default                 

             bootmisc | boot                         

           consolekit |      default                 

                cupsd |      default                 

                 dbus |      default                 

                devfs |                       sysinit

                dmesg |                       sysinit

                 fsck | boot                         

             hostname | boot                         

              hwclock | boot                         

              keymaps | boot                         

            killprocs |              shutdown        

          laptop_mode |      default                 

                local |      default                 

           localmount | boot                         

              metalog |      default                 

              modules | boot                         

             mount-ro |              shutdown        

                 mtab | boot                         

               net.lo | boot                         

             netmount |      default                 

                 ntpd |      default                 

               procfs | boot                         

                 root | boot                         

            savecache |              shutdown        

                 sshd |      default                 

                 swap | boot                         

            swapfiles | boot                         

               sysctl | boot                         

                sysfs |                       sysinit

         termencoding | boot                         

       tmpfiles.setup | boot                         

                 udev |                       sysinit

           udev-mount |                       sysinit

              urandom | boot                         

           vixie-cron |      default                 

```

So if I...

start the machine normally

leave the ethernet cable unplugged

startx, go into xfce

go into the termanal & su root

 kill the DHCP daemon 

then wicd handles everything and connects. I am typing this on the laptop on my wi-fi connection.

So my next question is, what the heck is starting the DHCP daemon if it isn't in my runlevels?

----------

## DONAHUE

the author of openrc and dhcpcd made an attempt to automate network connection. My conspiracy theory: stray code apparently still remains and resurfaces as his successorrs make changes.

I mostly use gentoo style networking scripts so am able to get by with removing net.eth0 symlink and not putting eth0 in a run level or unplugging ethernet cable.

kernel may be involved also, as I remember, before 3.8 I could have both NIC's active.

----------

## Parev00

OK then. Well that sounds like a problem with OpenRC or dhcpcd.

I will mark this as SOLVED! Thanks for all the help and now we can confirm that an Atheros 5212 via PCMCIA does work with wicd and the wext driver.

----------

