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[solved]Possible hardware malfunction with wireless network?
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oddballOffline
Post subject: [solved]Possible hardware malfunction with wireless network?  PostPosted: 25.03.2011, 17:03



Joined: 2010-09-11
Posts: 102
Location: Skåne, Sweden
Status: Offline
Some days ago my wireless network didn't work anymore. I get the message in ceni "could not set interface 'wlan0' up".

It has worked since a long time without problem before. I have tried with a new installation on a fresh hard-drive but it's the same problem.

I also found out that Bluetooth also has stopped working.

Because I suspect hardware failure I tried with a brand new usb wireless network-device with Atheros AR9170. Doesn't work either, I get the same message in ceni. The new device works perfectly on two other boxes with the same configuration.

The question now, can it be some hardware malfunction which also affect an external device as the usb-network device?

The box with the failure is a Thinkpad T60, the two ones which are working with the new device is Thinkpad x60 and Thinkpad Edge.

(Edit, I tried to move the hard-drive from the malfunctioning T60 to my X60 and there the usb-network device is working directly without any more configuration.)

For information about the box with the problem:
      Code:
vilde@aptosidbox-T60:~$ infobash -v3
Host/Kernel/OS  "aptosidbox-T60" running Linux 2.6.38-1.slh.2-aptosid-686 i686 [ aptosid 2011-01 Γῆρας - xfce - (201102052006) ]
CPU Info        2x Genuine Intel T2400 @ 2048 KB cache flags( sse3 ht nx vmx ) clocked at [ 1833.000 MHz ]
Videocard       ATI M52 [Mobility Radeon X1300]  X.Org 1.9.4.901  [ 1400x1050@60.0hz ]
Network cards   Intel 82573L Gigabit
                ATHER ZyXEL NWD271N
                Intel PRO/Wireless 3945ABG [Golan]
Processes 113 | Uptime 8min | Memory 117.6/3040.8MB | HDD Corsair CSSD-V64 Size 64GB (3%used) | GLX Renderer Gallium 0.4 on ATI RV515 | GLX Version Yes | Client Shell | Infobash v3.35
      Code:
vilde@aptosidbox-T60:~$ lspci
00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation Mobile 945GM/PM/GMS, 943/940GML and 945GT Express Memory Controller Hub (rev 03)
00:01.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation Mobile 945GM/PM/GMS, 943/940GML and 945GT Express PCI Express Root Port (rev 03)
00:1b.0 Audio device: Intel Corporation N10/ICH 7 Family High Definition Audio Controller (rev 02)
00:1c.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation N10/ICH 7 Family PCI Express Port 1 (rev 02)
00:1c.1 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation N10/ICH 7 Family PCI Express Port 2 (rev 02)
00:1c.2 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation N10/ICH 7 Family PCI Express Port 3 (rev 02)
00:1c.3 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation N10/ICH 7 Family PCI Express Port 4 (rev 02)
00:1d.0 USB Controller: Intel Corporation N10/ICH 7 Family USB UHCI Controller #1 (rev 02)
00:1d.1 USB Controller: Intel Corporation N10/ICH 7 Family USB UHCI Controller #2 (rev 02)
00:1d.2 USB Controller: Intel Corporation N10/ICH 7 Family USB UHCI Controller #3 (rev 02)
00:1d.3 USB Controller: Intel Corporation N10/ICH 7 Family USB UHCI Controller #4 (rev 02)
00:1d.7 USB Controller: Intel Corporation N10/ICH 7 Family USB2 EHCI Controller (rev 02)
00:1e.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801 Mobile PCI Bridge (rev e2)
00:1f.0 ISA bridge: Intel Corporation 82801GBM (ICH7-M) LPC Interface Bridge (rev 02)
00:1f.1 IDE interface: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) IDE Controller (rev 02)
00:1f.2 SATA controller: Intel Corporation 82801GBM/GHM (ICH7 Family) SATA AHCI Controller (rev 02)
00:1f.3 SMBus: Intel Corporation N10/ICH 7 Family SMBus Controller (rev 02)
01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: ATI Technologies Inc M52 [Mobility Radeon X1300]
02:00.0 Ethernet controller: Intel Corporation 82573L Gigabit Ethernet Controller
03:00.0 Network controller: Intel Corporation PRO/Wireless 3945ABG [Golan] Network Connection (rev 02)
15:00.0 CardBus bridge: Texas Instruments PCI1510 PC card Cardbus Controller
      Code:
vilde@aptosidbox-T60:~$ lsusb
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 003 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 004 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 005 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 001 Device 003: ID 0586:3417 ZyXEL Communications Corp. NWD271N 802.11n Wireless Adapter [Atheros AR9001U-(2)NG]
      Code:
vilde@aptosidbox-T60:~$ lsmod
Module                  Size  Used by
carl9170               65296  0
ath                    11739  1 carl9170
iwl3945                67145  0
iwlcore                51693  1 iwl3945
mac80211              184662  3 carl9170,iwl3945,iwlcore
cfg80211              128514  5 carl9170,ath,iwl3945,iwlcore,mac80211
acpi_cpufreq            5053  1
sco                     7211  2
mperf                   1003  1 acpi_cpufreq
rfcomm                 28334  0
bnep                    8387  2
af_packet              17358  4
l2cap                  38383  6 bnep,rfcomm
cpufreq_stats           2320  0
bluetooth              49758  6 sco,bnep,rfcomm,l2cap
cpufreq_performance      654  0
cpufreq_ondemand        7432  2
cpufreq_conservative     7356  0
freq_table              1959  3 acpi_cpufreq,cpufreq_stats,cpufreq_ondemand
cpufreq_powersave        650  0
parport_pc             27608  0
ppdev                   4758  0
lp                      6881  0
parport                24219  3 parport_pc,ppdev,lp
fuse                   58368  1
dm_crypt               13122  0
pcmcia                 30826  0
arc4                    1062  4
ecb                     1581  4
snd_hda_codec_analog    61281  1
radeon                872322  2
snd_hda_intel          18732  0
snd_hda_codec          63677  2 snd_hda_codec_analog,snd_hda_intel
thinkpad_acpi          52676  0
snd_hwdep               4500  1 snd_hda_codec
ttm                    46171  1 radeon
snd_pcm                56982  2 snd_hda_intel,snd_hda_codec
snd_seq                40089  0
drm_kms_helper         23767  1 radeon
rtc_cmos                7714  0
snd_timer              14743  2 snd_pcm,snd_seq
tpm_tis                 6124  0
snd_seq_device          4233  1 snd_seq
yenta_socket           18713  0
drm                   137731  4 radeon,ttm,drm_kms_helper
tpm                     9050  1 tpm_tis
pcmcia_rsrc             8688  1 yenta_socket
snd                    40757  9 snd_hda_codec_analog,snd_hda_intel,snd_hda_codec,thinkpad_acpi,snd_hwdep,snd_pcm,snd_seq,snd_timer,snd_seq_device
tpm_bios                4173  1 tpm
psmouse                54411  0
rtc_core               12769  1 rtc_cmos
evdev                   6956  18
pcmcia_core             9801  3 pcmcia,yenta_socket,pcmcia_rsrc
pcspkr                  1351  0
i2c_i801                6874  0
serio_raw               3302  0
rtc_lib                 1773  1 rtc_core
i2c_algo_bit            4280  1 radeon
battery                 4512  0
nvram                   4421  1 thinkpad_acpi
ac                      1676  0
rng_core                2610  0
rfkill                 12054  4 cfg80211,bluetooth,thinkpad_acpi
video                   9631  0
intel_agp               8440  0
soundcore               4417  1 snd
processor              21333  3 acpi_cpufreq
button                  3738  0
intel_gtt              11321  1 intel_agp
snd_page_alloc          5653  2 snd_hda_intel,snd_pcm
ext4                  248278  1
mbcache                 4162  1 ext4
jbd2                   46200  1 ext4
crc16                   1067  2 l2cap,ext4
dm_mod                 56380  1 dm_crypt
sg                     18235  0
sr_mod                 13190  0
sd_mod                 31618  3
crc_t10dif              1072  1 sd_mod
cdrom                  30837  1 sr_mod
usb_storage            34236  0
uas                     6291  0
ata_generic             2495  0
ahci                   17773  2
pata_acpi               2332  0
libahci                15907  1 ahci
ata_piix               18346  0
libata                151164  5 ata_generic,ahci,pata_acpi,libahci,ata_piix
uhci_hcd               19339  0
scsi_mod              117680  6 sg,sd_mod,sr_mod,usb_storage,uas,libata
e1000e                123501  0
ehci_hcd               35114  0
thermal                 6350  0
usbcore               115788  6 carl9170,usb_storage,uas,uhci_hcd,ehci_hcd
nls_base                5009  1 usbcore


Last edited by oddball on 02.04.2011, 19:42; edited 1 time in total
 
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bfreeOffline
Post subject: RE: Possible hardware malfunction with wireless network?  PostPosted: 01.04.2011, 23:17
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Joined: 2010-08-26
Posts: 225

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This seemed odd to me until I wondered if the maybe the T60 has a wireless switch which has disabled your wifi+bluetooth?

I admit I would be surprised or impressed if this managed to disable your atheros usb stick.

If ceni gives the exact same message (i.e. wlan) then you might not be picking the correct device somehow?

Have a look at the end of dmesg, it might provide more useful clues when it tries to load the modules in the first place or when you try use ceni.
 
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slhOffline
Post subject: RE: Possible hardware malfunction with wireless network?  PostPosted: 02.04.2011, 12:18



Joined: 2010-08-25
Posts: 585

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"/usr/sbin/rfkill list" (packaged in "rfkill") will confirm or rule out rfkill blocking.
 
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oddballOffline
Post subject:   PostPosted: 02.04.2011, 19:41



Joined: 2010-09-11
Posts: 102
Location: Skåne, Sweden
Status: Offline
Thanks bfree and slh you put me on the right way. rfkill shows me hard and soft off, I manage to unblock soft with rfkill, checked bios for the tenth time, but nonono, still hard off. Then with some glasses on I did a close check of the surface of the T60 and Embarassed there it was on the left side of the front I found a little plastic switch, click! and it's working Very Happy Very Happy Very Happy

That solved my network on the T60 now it remains the unsolved problem on the S12 - BCM4312 and the .38 kernel, and on the Thinkpad edge with finding free driver for realtek RTL8191se but there are other threads about that.
 
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slhOffline
Post subject:   PostPosted: 02.04.2011, 19:44



Joined: 2010-08-25
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rfkill usually affects wlan and bluetooth alike, it's mandated by FCC for "airline mode" (no radio emissions at all).

r8192e_pci (firmware-realtek needed) "should" work, sorry untested, just like BCM4312.
 
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oddballOffline
Post subject:   PostPosted: 02.04.2011, 19:51



Joined: 2010-09-11
Posts: 102
Location: Skåne, Sweden
Status: Offline
BCM4312 on the Lenovo S12 is not working with the latest kernel, it works with the .37 kernel provided in the latest aptosid release http://aptosid.com/index.php?name=PNphp ... amp;t=1057
 
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slhOffline
Post subject:   PostPosted: 02.04.2011, 20:11



Joined: 2010-08-25
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Well, the problem is that I only have access to BCM4306 and BCM4318 or rtl8192su (USB), which are all working fine - but also significantly different from Broadcom LP-PHY (BCM4312) or RealTek rtl8192e (PCI), so that drawing conclusions is not really possible. At the same time I haven't seen any issues regarding those chipsets reported upstream, yet - so finding a solution there isn't obvious either. Now, the problem is to find an attack vector to actually start debugging - something like error messages (dmesg) or other kinds of feedback from device and driver.
 
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oddballOffline
Post subject:   PostPosted: 02.04.2011, 20:33



Joined: 2010-09-11
Posts: 102
Location: Skåne, Sweden
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ok slh I have found with rfkill that there are softblocks with the .38 kernel, I go and connect the s12 with cable and then I can give you the outputs from what you want to, dmesg or whatever

rfkill list with .37 kernel and working wireless:

      Quote:
vilde@aptosidbox-s12:~$ /usr/sbin/rfkill list
0: hci0: Bluetooth
Soft blocked: no
Hard blocked: no
1: ideapad_wlan: Wireless LAN
Soft blocked: no
Hard blocked: no
2: ideapad_bluetooth: Bluetooth
Soft blocked: no
Hard blocked: no
3: ideapad_killsw: Wireless LAN
Soft blocked: no
Hard blocked: no
4: acer-wireless: Wireless LAN
Soft blocked: yes
Hard blocked: no
5: phy0: Wireless LAN
Soft blocked: no
Hard blocked: no

with .38 kernel and no wireless
      Quote:
root@aptosidbox-s12:/home/vilde# rfkill list
0: ideapad_wlan: Wireless LAN
Soft blocked: yes
Hard blocked: no
1: ideapad_bluetooth: Bluetooth
Soft blocked: no
Hard blocked: no
2: acer-wireless: Wireless LAN
Soft blocked: yes
Hard blocked: no
3: hci0: Bluetooth
Soft blocked: no
Hard blocked: no
4: phy0: Wireless LAN
Soft blocked: yes
Hard blocked: no


After unblock 0 and 4 ceni works and tries to connect but it will not find any network and the 4 (phy0) becomes hard blocked and then from dmesg:
      Quote:
733.182167] b43-phy0: Loading firmware version 478.104 (2008-07-01 00:50:23)
[ 733.275286] b43-phy0: Radio hardware status changed to DISABLED
[ 733.275652] b43-phy0: Radio turned on by software
[ 733.275668] b43-phy0: The hardware RF-kill button still turns the radio physically off. Press the button to turn it on.
[ 733.277326] ADDRCONF(NETDEV_UP): wlan0: link is not ready

so it seems like I have pressed some button, but I havn't. The keyboard on this box is a little smashed and it could be som problem with that but it doesnt happen with the .37 kernel.
 
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