Ubuntu has a good wireless troubleshooting guide: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/WifiDocs/SolvingWireless
Roy Linux: Fast, friendly, flexible and ... free! Support open Source <,*)}}+< Only dead fish go with the flow. 2009/3/4 Bryan Smith <[email protected]> > > -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- > Hash: SHA1 > > Fletcher, > > Install kismet and aircrack...I had a wireless nic that was acting a bit > odd and it would only power on when I forced it to with iwconfig or > kismet/aircrack would force it on 'iwconfig ath0 txpower on' should be > all you need to get the ball rolling. Then again...I think I fixed that > with firmware or something! > > What I read is that the light really has no bearing on whether the wifi > is on or not, but there is probably someone who has mapped that button > to a script to load and unload the wireless modules. You are thinking > about this the wrong way. The button is an accessory, not a component of > the internal card. You can do it all from the command line. The state of > the wireless device is not stored or trapped if the machine is turned > off. If you got Vista back on it and pressed the button...the card > would reset on reboot/boot/powerdown. > > Use of the button is not compulsory > > Bryan > > Fletcher Bonds wrote: > | Thanks - I looked at that stuff and it's useful, but appears to all be > | stuff I'd utilize after after I get over this first obstacle in my path. > | > | The Compaq Presario C751NR laptop has a button on the left side of the > | of the work area about 3/4 of inch above the F1 key. > | see: > | " > http://www.tapchilaptop.com/uploads/Image/21.4.08/Compaq_C714NR_big2.jpg"; > | This is an illuminated key - Blue is on, Orange is off. > | > | This I think is a direct equivalent to the airplane mode mechanical > | switch many laptops have on them. It disables the onboard wireless. > | Without Vista, I can't get the fraking thing to turn back on - with > | vista off/on/off/on/off/on all day no problem - which leads to the > | logical conclusion that it's a "soft-key". Essentially equivalent to > | the mail, internet, media player, etc keyboard some cookie-cutter PCs > | come with which expect to transmit a signal to the supporting OS and > | have something occur except in this instance I suspect this button > | communicated directly with Vista's driver for the wireless chip. Like > | Press button -> Button tells Vista to off the wireless -> Vista driver > | tells chip to toggle itself off. As if there were no or little onboard > | bios support for controlling the chip. > | > | Unfortunately for me when Vista seized it's chest, made gurgling noises > | and fell over dead, the button was in it's off state. Now I press the > | button under Debian (with either the default Atheros linux module > | loaded or with that disabled and the ndiswrapper/madwifi driver config > | running) and no one appears to be there to hear the signal. It stays > | orange. > | > | Without reloading Vista -which would be a challenge since I don't have > | the media and the system restore disks won't work on the new harddrive > | (different size, no secret partition) - I gotta figure out a way to tell > | the onboard wireless chip to go back to an ON state. It's less > | important to me whether or not the soft-key ever works again. I'd be > | happy as a clam to have it permanently in the ON state (instead of > | permanently off). > | > | On Tue, Mar 3, 2009 at 11:13 PM, Chris Miller > | <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>> > wrote: > | > | > | It didn't disappear in the great bit-bucket in the sky, it was just > | the mod-team certifying that it was indeed Not Spam (TM). > | > | On Tue, Mar 3, 2009 at 11:35 AM, Fletcher Bonds <[email protected] > | <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: > | > I've got Debian (Lenny) running pretty well on my Compaq Presario > | C751NR > | > laptop. I got this thing as a refurb and it came with Vista > (yech). > | > | That's enough to make anyone suicidal. > | > | > Problems I'm encountering though if anyone has suggestions are: > | > > | > Wireless: > | > There's a button on the laptop above the keyboard to turn the > | wireless > | > on/off - it's been in the off state since I dumped Windows. The > | Compaq bios > | > is all but useless (dumbed down to the point that no advanced > | features are > | > accessible). I can not for the life of me figure out how to turn > | this back > | > on. I have tried the ndiswrapper/madwifi solutions to load a > | driver for it > | > and it does show up in lspci, but it never shows up ifconfig. > | I'm guessing > | > it has something to do with the fact the button is soft-offed > | somehow and if > | > I could just toggle it on life would be goodness. > | > | Yeah, there's a command to turn wifi on and off... > | > | Should be in here somewhere: > | > | http://wirelessdefence.org/Contents/LinuxWirelessCommands.htm > | > | > | > | | > > - -- > A healthy diet includes Linux, Linux and more Linux. > -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- > Version: GnuPG v1.4.9 (GNU/Linux) > Comment: Using GnuPG with Mozilla - http://enigmail.mozdev.org > > iEYEARECAAYFAkmuzwIACgkQh+MLjl5SKYQVFgCcDz4b3oJGDHE3JvQ3GYPpvSSa > WgcAn1Bz1imYLj4ZP2ie/WHV/MkhGnrK > =ZcH2 > -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- > > > > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Linux Users Group. 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