[ltp] iwl4965, Hardy x86_64, and frustration (long)

[Chris Penn]

I am running hardy on a t61p nvdia agn wireless and the only issue I
have is hibernate, I needed to install the video drivers from source,
some basic setup for finger print scanning, and the hdaps does not
work.

I would recommend installing from a fresh install...

On Thu, May 8, 2008 at 6:31 AM,  <bhaskins@chartermi.net> wrote:
>
>
>  ---- John Jason Jordan <johnxj@comcast.net> wrote:
>  > I have had  my T61 with nVidia and 4965agn wireless for over a year. I=
n
>  > all that time I have run only Ubuntu x86_64.
>  >
>  > Some additional facts:
>  > At home my house is wired for ethernet and I have a cable connection,
>  > so wireless is not only not needed, there is no wireless network to
>  > connect to. Having said that, the neighbors have wireless and their
>  > networks are visible, even if they are secured so I can't connect to
>  > them. In order to test wireless I have to go to the university, a
>  > coffee shop, or some other location. Unless I make a special trip, thi=
s
>  > happens two-three times a week.
>  >
>  > The problem:
>  > Right from the beginning (Feisty, x86_64 through Gutsy x86_64) the
>  > 4965agn did not work well. I could connect, but I would get disconnect=
s
>  > (random, not timed). The weaker the signal the faster the disconnect. =
I
>  > could not tell that I was disconnected until suddenly I could not go
>  > anywhere. Network Manager would always say I was connected and would
>  > show the IP address for DHCP. Ditto for Wifi-Radar. After much researc=
h
>  > I figured out that I was still connected to the access point, but had
>  > lost my DHCP lease. Yet the command line and the GUIs insisted that I
>  > was connected and had an IP address.
>  >
>  > To fix the problem I used a number of tools. I could kill Network
>  > Manager and restart it, but this restored the DHCP lease only
>  > occasionally. Doing "ifconfig wlan0 down" then "up" occasionally
>  > restored the connection, although not usually.
>  > "Sudo /etc/init.d/networking restart" would sometimes get me going
>  > again, but usually not. "Modprobe -r iwl4965," followed by reinserting
>  > it, would also occasionally work. If I poked at the problem repeatedly
>  > with these tools I could restore the connection most of the time, but
>  > not always.
>  >
>  > System > Administration > Network showed the wireless connection. It
>  > was set by default to roaming mode. (Side comment: I have searched all
>  > the Ubuntu forums without finding a definition of what the hell
>  > "roaming mode" means. It must mean my cell phone company will charge m=
e
>  > extra for time connected via wireless, but that doesn't make sense.)
>  >
>  > If i change the wireless connection from roaming mode I have to enter =
a
>  > network access point and set it to DHCP or something. To do so I need
>  > to select the wireless device, then click on Properties, then uncheck
>  > the roaming mode box. It won't accept the new settings until I give it
>  > an access point. But when I click on the drop-down the available
>  > networks to connect to appear only about one time out of 20-30 tries.
>  >
>  > If i use Wifi-Radar it shows all available networks every time.
>  > However, selecting one and telling Wifi-Radar to connect to it works
>  > only one out of 5-10 tries. I also installed Kwifimanager, but got mor=
e
>  > or less the same results.
>  >
>  > Because of the vexation with the 4965agn I borrowed a Netgear WG511T
>  > PCMCIA card from a friend. It always works just fine.
>  >
>  > Until recently the LED never came on either, whether using the built-i=
n
>  > 4965 or the Netgear. (See below.)
>  >
>  > -----------
>  >
>  > Upgrade to Hardy
>  >
>  > Last Thursday I upgraded Gutsy x86_64 to Hardy x86_64. Right from the
>  > beginning there was no difference in the wifi problem. However, I was
>  > at home and could only poke at Network Manager and Wifi-Radar to see i=
f
>  > they found any wireless networks. Network Manager and Wifi-Radar saw n=
o
>  > available networks. And the LED did not come on. That is, until Peter
>  > Fr=FChberger here told me to install:
>  >
>  > linux-backports-modules-hardy-generic
>  > linux-backports-modules-2.6.24-16-generic <- meaning the one matchin t=
o
>  > your kernel
>  >
>  > Having followed his advice the LED now comes on. Other problems remain=
,
>  > that is, I cannot get a reliable wireless connection.
>  >
>  > Following advice of others, last night I installed Wicd. Installing
>  > Wicd automatically uninstalls Network Manager and Wifi-Radar. After
>  > installing it there seemed to be no change. Wicd could not see any
>  > wireless networks either. Bear in mind that I was at home where I am o=
n
>  > ethernet.
>  >
>  > Today I went to the university. As soon as I was booted up I launched
>  > Wicd. And lo and behold, it displayed all available networks.
>  > (Evidently it failed to do so at home because I was already connected
>  > at the time via ethernet.) I selected the student network
>  > (pubnet.pdx.edu) and a few moments later I was connected with an IP
>  > address. I was happily able to go anywhere on the net. And about an
>  > hour later suddenly I wasn't going anywhere again. Lost the DHCP lease=
.
>  > Same problem as before. At the time I was sitting directly under an
>  > access point.
>  >
>  > Meantime, I hear form a number of people who say have the 4965agn card
>  > working fine. In all cases so far, they are using a different distro, =
a
>  > 32-bit architecture, or are really running a 3945 instead of a 4965, o=
r
>  > something else significant is different.
>  >
>  > I have googled and found a number of posts about the random
>  > disconnects. All are over a year old. None say what they did to fix th=
e
>  > problem, or if their fix involved throwing the T61 in the river and
>  > buying a different laptop.
>  >
>  > ------------
>  >
>  > Suggestions needed:
>  > I would be happy to post back the response from any command line
>  > commands if such would help people diagnose the problem. I am not
>  > extremely knowledgeable about networking, but can follow detailed
>  > instructions faithfully.
>  >
>  > If someone has the 4965agn working without a problem in 64-but Hardy, =
I
>  > would appreciate any insights you can offer.
>  >
>  > --
>  > The linux-thinkpad mailing list home page is at:
>  > http://mailman.linux-thinkpad.org/mailman/listinfo/linux-thinkpad
>  Have you tried this:
>  iwconfig will give you the name of your wireless.
>  Then try dhclient (name of wireless).
>  If it is already running it will give you a pid so do
>  "kill (that pid)" and then dhclient (name of wireless).
>  This works for me if I lose my DHCP.
>
>
> --
>  The linux-thinkpad mailing list home page is at:
>  http://mailman.linux-thinkpad.org/mailman/listinfo/linux-thinkpad
>



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