[SOLVED- ALMOST] 2 laptops - one w/l network problem

[Trio3b]

2 compaq presario cq50's with exact same hdwr ( purchased at same time. lspci shows all same hdwr)

lspci on both:
..........
.........
01:00.0 Ethernet controller [0200]: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL8101E/RTL8102E PCI Express Fast Ethernet controller [10ec:8136] (rev 02)
02:00.0 Ethernet controller [0200]: Atheros Communications Inc. AR242x / AR542x Wireless Network Adapter (PCI-Express) [168c:001c] (rev 01)


compaq 1(pclos 2011.6 running 2.6.38.8-pclos1.bfs) - Atheros AR242x w/l adapter has always worked
compaq 2 (pclos 2010 probably 2.6.33.7) - Atheros AR242x w/l adapter was working but stopped about three weeks ago. No networks seen

Tried: toggle physical switch, three different unrelated networks, no firewall in PCC, remove and reinstall connection via PCC.
OK so thinking possible hdwr failure of onboard Atheros on compaq 2 so:

trying a Netgear W111 USB w/l adapter (which I know works on compaq 1- I have them side by side right now)  and running pclos 2011.6 LiveCD which also runs the 2.6.38.8-pclos1.bfs kernel

Again no networks seen with either Atheros or Netgear adapters on compaq 2. lsusb shows the device detected. ifconfig on compaq 1 shows all network interfaces. ifconfig on compaq 2 shows only the wired eth0 and lo.

Is there something else I have missed that allows wireless networks to be seen?

[UPDATE] Tried the LiveCd on compaq 1 as well and all good with both onboard and USB w/l adapters. Stumped. Is there some hdwr controller common to both the onboard atheros and USB bus that could be failed on compaq 2? That doesn't seem likely. Poked around BIOS but very few options there (only enable/disable network boot- tried both even though that shouldn't have anything to do with it).

Also tried both open and WPA network settings on router

Any ideas appreciated

[pags]

Are all the BIOS settings of the two computers the same?

[DeBaas]

Maybe the WiFi chip is on an extra (small) board on a connector.
Just disconnected or defective ?

[aguila]

Something that happened to me:

I accidentially hit the switch on the case and turned off wireless.

Have you checked yet?

[Trio3b]

w/l switch is front and center unless they've hidden one somewhere. Tried that. tried short tap, long hold, rebooting between taps. During boot w/l is orange then turns blue presumably when module is loaded. Around kernel 2.6.27 someone "fixed" the HP/compaq w/l indicator light issue (orange when off- blue when on) but it has never been a real good indicator b/c the light stays blue on both lappy's regardless of whether w/l is on or off after boot.

Brief glance shows BIOS same. Pretty sure original install was w/ default settings. will double check.

Thought about the onboard atheros going bad/disconnected but what are the odds that the Netgear w/l USB adapter also sees no networks?

Just tried two other distros - same thing -  lspci shows atheros but ifconfig shows no wlan0
with netgear USB lsusb shows adapter but again ifconfig shows no wlan0

Ouch, never run across this before.

[AS]

Just tried two other distros - same thing -  lspci shows atheros but ifconfig shows no wlan0
with netgear USB lsusb shows adapter but again ifconfig shows no wlan0

Ouch, never run across this before.

The difference should depends from the loaded kernel modules, check lsmod, also take a look at module configuration files:
/etc/modprobe.conf
/etc/modprobe.preload
/etc/modprobe.d/blacklist*
...

Exactly which module is using your atheros card ?   ( lspci -nn -k )
ath5k have had some improvements in kernel 2.6.38.8-pclos3

AS

[Trio3b]

output of lspci -nn -k

02:00.0 Ethernet controller [0200]: Atheros Communications Inc. AR242x / AR542x Wireless Network Adapter (PCI-Express) [168c:001c] (rev 01)
        Subsystem: Hewlett-Packard Company Device [103c:137a]
        Kernel driver in use: ath5k
        Kernel modules: ath5k

Took a hunch and opened w/l panel. antennae connected to w/l card by two ridiculously tiny snap connectors. Need a jewelers loupe to even make out what they are. They are similar to snap connectors on a 9v battery only with an even tinier center post. The whole connector is the size of a pin head (sewing needle looks like 2x4 compared to these connectors). Anyway it appears one conn was held in place by the access panel and center tap was smashed flat instead of slipping over the header post on the w/l card. Possible a flaky connection from factory that finally worked its way loose.

Will try to repair and report back. (I have my doubts. Once a spring-tensioner is futzed with it usually breaks or never makes good contact.)  

Still does not explain why I should not be able to use the USB w/l adapter that I know works on compaq 1.

[UPDATE]  HP tech support claims there is no relation between onboard atheros mini PCI-e card and using a USB w/l adapter, which sounds reasonable, however local tech confirms my suspicions that any and all w/l may be running thru a mainboard controller or bus that may be damaged and this would explain why the USB w/l adapter is not working either.

How do I know? swapped atheros mini-PCI-e card and the "bad" one works in compaq 1 but the good one still does not work in compaq 2. I believe the bad antenna issue in compaq 2 is just coincidental.

Not sure how accurate this is but lends credence to idea of a common controller for both USB and mini pci-e
From the PCI wiki:

b]"PCI Express Mini Card (also known as Mini PCI Express, Mini PCIe, and Mini PCI-E) is a replacement for the Mini PCI form factor, based on PCI Express. It is developed by the PCI-SIG. The host device supports both PCI Express and USB 2.0 connectivity, and each card may use either standard. Most laptop computers built after 2005 are based on PCI Express and can have several Mini Card slots."
[/b]
Well, still have wired ethernet.

Thanks for tips

[AS]

If you have not already done, install rfkill, then open a terminal, su to root and try:

Code: [Select]

rfkill list
just in case ... 

AS

[Trio3b]

Will do when I have access to compaq2 .

Thank you

[Hootiegibbon]

There are a few things to try here ,

1. open a terminal and type  /sbin/iwlist scanning

2. update the kernel on the older install - if you have been updating regularly it may be holding you back

3. try the livecd on compaq2 and try using wireless. - this will likely confirm the second item to try

4. blacklist ath5k and try madwifi.

5. iirc the ar242x had more than one revision - try using lspci -vvv -nn -k and extract teh detail of each machines Atheros chipset

Jase

[Trio3b]

Progress!!  Ran "rfkill unblock" and it seemed to now allow the w/l card to see all local networks whereas before none. Still can't connect wireless, but I do have eth0 connection.

/sbin/iwlist scanning shows:

lo        Interface doesn't support scanning.

eth0      Interface doesn't support scanning.

wlan2     Scan completed :
          Cell 01 - Address: 00:14:BF:1E:BA:18
                    Channel:2
                    Frequency:2.417 GHz (Channel 2)
                    Quality=64/70  Signal level=-46 dBm  
                    Encryption key:on
                    ESSID:"user"
                    Bit Rates:1 Mb/s; 2 Mb/s; 5.5 Mb/s; 11 Mb/s; 18 Mb/s
                              24 Mb/s; 36 Mb/s; 54 Mb/s
                    Bit Rates:6 Mb/s; 9 Mb/s; 12 Mb/s; 48 Mb/s
                    Mode:Master
                    Extra:tsf=00000000207035b3
                    Extra: Last beacon: 19325ms ago
                    IE: Unknown: 000473616B69
                    IE: Unknown: 010882848B962430486C
                    IE: Unknown: 030102
                    IE: Unknown: 2A0100
                    IE: Unknown: 2F0100
                    IE: Unknown: 32040C121860
                    IE: Unknown: DD06001018020004
                    IE: WPA Version 1
                        Group Cipher : TKIP
                        Pairwise Ciphers (1) : TKIP
                        Authentication Suites (1) : PSK

iwconfig  now shows an interface wheras none before:

lo        no wireless extensions.

eth0      no wireless extensions.

wlan2     IEEE 802.11bg  ESSID:"user"
          Mode:Managed  Frequency:2.417 GHz  Access Point: 00:14:BF:1E:BA:18
          Bit Rate=1 Mb/s   Tx-Power=20 dBm
          Retry  long limit:7   RTS thr:off   Fragment thr:off
          Power Management:off
          Link Quality=68/70  Signal level=-42 dBm
          Rx invalid nwid:0  Rx invalid crypt:0  Rx invalid frag:0
          Tx excessive retries:0  Invalid misc:0   Missed beacon:0

ifconfig  now shows wlan

eth0      Link encap:Ethernet  HWaddr 00:1D:72:74:44:CF 
          inet addr:192.168.1.103  Bcast:192.168.1.255  Mask:255.255.255.0
          inet6 addr: fe80::21d:72ff:fe74:44cf/64 Scope:Link
          UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST  MTU:1500  Metric:1
          RX packets:15 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:22 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
          RX bytes:3404 (3.3 KiB)  TX bytes:3911 (3.8 KiB)
          Interrupt:28 Base address:0xc000

lo        Link encap:Local Loopback
          inet addr:127.0.0.1  Mask:255.0.0.0
          inet6 addr: ::1/128 Scope:Host
          UP LOOPBACK RUNNING  MTU:16436  Metric:1
          RX packets:32 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:32 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:0
          RX bytes:1840 (1.7 KiB)  TX bytes:1840 (1.7 KiB)

wlan2     Link encap:Ethernet  HWaddr 00:22:69:81:36:C4
          inet6 addr: fe80::222:69ff:fe81:36c4/64 Scope:Link
          UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST  MTU:1500  Metric:1
          RX packets:15 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:24 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
          RX bytes:4416 (4.3 KiB)  TX bytes:4017 (3.9 KiB)

wlan2:9   Link encap:Ethernet  HWaddr 00:22:69:81:36:C4
          inet addr:127.255.255.255  Bcast:127.255.255.255  Mask:255.0.0.0
          UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST  MTU:1500  Metric:1


Now there are some things that seem odd:

1. Why is onboard Atheros wl shown as wlan2 ? Did this come from using the wl USB adapter which is now disconnected? I would think onboard Atheros wl would show as wlan0 and any additional wl adapters would be bumped up to wlan1,2,etc

2. My Router wl frequency was the same as several other local networks and at first, ESSID showed as neighbors access point. Ran " iw dev wlan2 scan" and Changed frequency so should be no conflicts.

3.   Please note  -    according to iwconfig  ESSID "user" Access Point: 00:14:BF:1E:BA:18
When I log into router, the MAC addrees of router is       Access Point: 00:14:BF:1E:BA:17

4. What it wlan2:9 ? Is this a virtual lan as shown in PCC?


Have not had a chance to run Live CD yet but will soon. I don't get access to compaq #2 very often. Maybe should remove [SOLVED] until really solved.

How to rename onboard wl as wlan0 and set correct MAC address to match that ot the router?

Thanks

[Trio3b]

Success! Thought about manual configuration via CL but decided to try one more time via GUI.

I did this several times before , but in PCC deleted wlan2>reboot>setup new connection via PCC.

This time in "wireless settings" page of PCC wizard under "advanced", entered the network name and the frequency, which I have never had to do before.Followed rest of wizard and now have both eth0 and wlan2.

Will remove the "ALMOST" from original post when I figure out:

1. why rfkill was able to access and manipulate this wl environment when the wizard was not
2. why is there still a wlan2
3. Did the MAC address become unbound from the device?
4.  Did daughter futz with wl causing this mess
5. Is my router to blame or was the neighbor's "guest" account somehow mistaken for my own network
6. Why iwconfig shows ESSID Address: 00:14:BF:1E:BA:18, but logging into router shows Address: 00:14:BF:1E:BA:17 and if it's even relevant.
7. Why running LiveCd did not catch this either ( Realized I HAD done it in very first post)


Will give this a few days and see


Thanks for all the tips and if any comments on my questions I would be happy to hear them.