Re: [SLUG] Reputable notebook repairer?

[Martin Visser]

HP will be able to arrange for repair of your laptop, regardless of warranty
state - though it won't be free. (HP uses 3rd party authorised repairer here
in Australia).  I think the standard "open it up and look" charge is around
$150 which if you go ahead with the repair is absorbed as part of the total
cost. Unfortunately though I don't think they will only replace components
not repair them (viz. with a soldering iron) so you are likely to be up for
a new system board (motherboard).

While having Linux would be a hindrance for them, which is not unreasonable,
if you provide it to them with a harddisk they should be able to boot it
with a disk of their choosing. I have done this in the past and haven't had
an issue. I imagine a lot of people with broken machines are not keen to
hand over their data to a repairer, so it won't be an uncommon situation.

Regards, Martin

martinvisse...@gmail.com


On 12 October 2011 13:56, meryl  wrote:

> Hi all,
>
> I suspect either my ethernet port has failed or perhaps it's the
> networking chipset on my motherboard. I contacted HP who were useless
> because
> 1. my notebook is just out of waranty and
> 2. I'm a 'naughty' Linux user (tisk, tisk!).
>
> So can anyone recommend a reputable notebook repairer in Sydney /
> / Northern Beaches / Nth Shore area that could troubleshoot and fix my
> problem. I'd rather not patch it up with a PCMCIA ethernet card if I can
> avoid it.
>
> cheers,
> Meryl
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> Subscription info and FAQs: http://slug.org.au/faq/mailinglists.html
>
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[SLUG] OT - Anyone know of a company/business upgrading machines?

[elliott-brennan]

Hi all,

OT post, but for a good cause.

My children's (public) primary school Principal 
has asked me to teach a group of older 'gifted and 
talented' students (yes, that's what they call 
them). We'll be looking at a range of things such 
as basic web page design, image editing, some 
basic video editing etc.


We're going to look at how the machines work first 
and then I'll be showing them how to install Linux.


I'd like to get at least five machines  (P4>>) - 
more would be good!


This way the machines are not the property of the 
school, the Principal won't have a heart attack 
when we pull them apart (they have ageing Macs at 
the school) and the kids can have a better sense 
of controlling the machines without fearing 
negative consequence from the school if something 
breaks :))


If anyone knows of a company or business that is 
upgrading/updating and would be willing to donate 
(I'm happy to pick up etc).


Even if it's just the boxes, that's fine. The rest 
can be sourced bit by bit.


Many thanks for reading this far down and for any 
assistance provided.


Regards,

Patrick
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Re: [SLUG] Cheap Linux/Windows wireless home networking options ?

[Troy Rollo]

On Thursday 13 October 2011 22:14:14 Rod Butcher wrote:
> My budget for this is tiny, $100 max for the whole setup, as it's only
> for training, and I don't want to acquire hardware I will have no use
> for afterward...
> So I'm trying to get specific info on whether it is possible to
> configure a Linux PC with a cheap 80211g/n PCI card to provide a
> reasonably full-featured WAP - user/computer credential validation, data
> encryption, network and Internet access.
> It's fairly simple to configure multiple Ethernet network cards on a
> Linux box to provide routing and Internet access (iptables & NAT)... I
> had assumed a similar software solution should be possible for
> wifi-based LAN. ??

It is possible, depending on the card. The card has to be able to go into AP 
mode, and the drivers have to be able to support that. It is usually the 
drivers that let you down, since stand-alone APs are cheap so there isn't a 
high level of demand for device drivers to do AP mode.

The real question though is, assuming you find the right equipment and drivers, 
how much is this going to help you to learn configuration on stand-alone APs, 
and especially the ones running (for whatever reason) the more expensive 
router operating systems.

The Linux based configuration might teach you the basic principles, but it 
won't teach you how to configure the more overpriced router operating systems.

If you are looking at basic principles, you should look at some of the cheaper 
stand-alone wireless APs, which will come well within the $100 budget. Either 
leave the original OS intact, or get hardware that can run DD-WRT (preferably 
the Mega version, subject to finding hardware within your budget) and install 
that. Or learn on the factory firmware and move to DD-WRT later to get a feel 
for the differences, although that will be of limited use with the more 
expensive stuff.

Regards, 
Troy Rollo 
Solicitor 
Parry Carroll 
Commercial Lawyers 
Direct: (02) 8257 3177 
Fax: (02) 9221 1375 
Switch: (02) 9221 3899 
E-mail: t...@parrycarroll.com.au 
Web: www.parrycarroll.com.au 

Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards 
Legislation 

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Re: [SLUG] Cheap Linux/Windows wireless home networking options ?

[peter]

> "Rod" == Rod Butcher  writes:

Rod> I need to set up a wireless home network, essentially for
Rod> training myself on networking. It needs to support a couple of
Rod> Linux and Windows servers and clients such as laptops. Do I need
Rod> a wireless router, or can I just plug a cheap PCI card into the
Rod> server that will host the network ? Can anybody recommend cheap
Rod> Linux-compatible solutions available in Sydney ?  thanks Rod --

You can pick up a cheap wireless router or access point very cheaply
on eBay---for less than the price of a master-capable PCI card.  Then you can
install dd-wrt and play to your heart's content.  search for wap54g or
wrt54g, but check the actial router version against the supporte
hardware lists for openwrt and/or dd-wrt.  Linksys had a habit of
selling quite differently specced routers under the same name, but with
different amounts of flash and ram. You need the version to tell what
you will get.

Peter C
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Re: [SLUG] Cheap Linux/Windows wireless home networking options ?

[Christopher Barnes]

Just on the topic of disassembling wifi routers and aps to see if you can pinch 
a master mode capable card.

I can tell you I've pulled apart my fair share of APs and wifi routers for 
various reasons...

Almost all of them have SOC (system on chip) configurations so the main proc 
and the wifi circuitry is in one silicone package and therefore not separable.

I did find an old Netgear FM114P that had what looked like a PCMCIA card for 
the wifi adapter.

I did actually remove it and tried jamming it into my smack top but due to 
where the antenna sockets are that stopped the card from inserting enough to 
contact the headers in the laptop so I couldn't really check it.


Your last option might be to find a Cisco 870 series wifi module on ebay. From 
what I understand these use a pci interface, BUT, they are in more of a laptop 
RAM type card and interface so probably not much use to you...except maybe if 
you have a MINI-ATX board because I think some of those boards have this type 
of interface.


Sent from my BlackBerry

-Original Message-
From: Ben Donohue 
Sender: slug-boun...@slug.org.au
Date: Fri, 14 Oct 2011 07:32:19 
To: 
Subject: Re: [SLUG] Cheap Linux/Windows wireless home networking options ?

Hi Rod,

the usual small wireless card that you get with laptops which measures 
about 40mm x 30mm and is usually an Altheros chipset, does NOT support 
master mode. You need master mode in order to switch the card into AP 
mode or access point mode. (same thing really).
Also most cheap PCI based cards (Anatel chipset) don't go into AP or 
master mode.

I would like to pull apart a cheap wireless ADSL router to see whether 
they have such a beast inside them that I could use... however don't 
have one to look at.

Good luck finding a card that can go into AP mode... if you find one 
then please post it back to the list.

you could try www.minibox.com.au (think that's right). Not sure what 
they have now...

Thanks,
Ben Donohue


On 13/10/2011 11:55 PM, Rod Butcher wrote:
> What I found at 
> https://help.ubuntu.com/community/WifiDocs/WirelessAccessPoint and 
> http://www.su-root.eu/computing/turn-your-linux-computer-in-a-wireless-access-point-using-hostapd
>  
> (but not at http://www.linuxhomenetworking.com) is what seems to be 
> the clincher : the chipset of the PCI or USB wireless NIC needs to 
> support "Master mode". Now my task appears to be to chaseup chip specs 
> for the cheap NICS available to me !
> I will report back when I have it all working.
> cheers
> Rod
> On 10/13/11 23:28, Kevin Shackleton wrote:
>> Rod,
>>
>> Seems to me that pages like:
>> http://www.linuxhomenetworking.com/wiki/index.php/Quick_HOWTO_:_Ch13_:_Linux_Wireless_Networking
>>  
>>
>> make it fairly plain that with the right card you will get a PC-based AP
>> working & hang the extra bits like iptables off it.  Which is an
>> achievement in itself - I've never done it.
>>
>> Others have commented that you might be better off focusing on specific
>> other solutions like Cisco, but a) many on-ground examples you might
>> come across would not be Cisco-based so you'll have to manage somehow
>> else and b) if you go to e.g. Cisco, you will only learn that
>> skill-set.  So I'm all for starting out as you are suggesting.  Then
>> maybe look at an AP modified with Tomato.  Then see if you can find a
>> secondhand Cisco e.g. 1xxx or 2xxx series if you come into the funding -
>> I would not bother with the basic 800 series devices because they are
>> made in hardware-specific models rather than having plug-in hardware 
>> bits.
>>
>> hth
>>
>> Kevin
>>
>> On 13 October 2011 19:14, Rod Butcher > > wrote:
>>
>> My budget for this is tiny, $100 max for the whole setup, as it's
>> only for training, and I don't want to acquire hardware I will have
>> no use for afterward...
>> So I'm trying to get specific info on whether it is possible to
>> configure a Linux PC with a cheap 80211g/n PCI card to provide a
>> reasonably full-featured WAP - user/computer credential validation,
>> data encryption, network and Internet access.
>> It's fairly simple to configure multiple Ethernet network cards on a
>> Linux box to provide routing and Internet access (iptables & NAT)...
>> I had assumed a similar software solution should be possible for
>> wifi-based LAN. ??
>> thanks
>> Rod
>> On 10/13/11 10:48, Ken Wilson wrote:
>>
>> I have seen them at Reverse Garbage in Addison Rd Marrickville,
>> where
>> whole computing setups have been discarded including routers, 
>> their
>> price is always not much.
>> Ken
>>
>> On 12/10/11 22:17, Heracles wrote:
>>
>> -BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-
>> Hash: SHA1
>>
>> On 12/10/11 21:29, Rod Butcher wrote:
>>
>> Sounds like my best option is just to use a cheap PCI
>> wireless card as a
>>   

Re: [SLUG] Cheap Linux/Windows wireless home networking options ?

[Ben Donohue]

Hi Rod,

the usual small wireless card that you get with laptops which measures 
about 40mm x 30mm and is usually an Altheros chipset, does NOT support 
master mode. You need master mode in order to switch the card into AP 
mode or access point mode. (same thing really).
Also most cheap PCI based cards (Anatel chipset) don't go into AP or 
master mode.


I would like to pull apart a cheap wireless ADSL router to see whether 
they have such a beast inside them that I could use... however don't 
have one to look at.


Good luck finding a card that can go into AP mode... if you find one 
then please post it back to the list.


you could try www.minibox.com.au (think that's right). Not sure what 
they have now...


Thanks,
Ben Donohue


On 13/10/2011 11:55 PM, Rod Butcher wrote:
What I found at 
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/WifiDocs/WirelessAccessPoint and 
http://www.su-root.eu/computing/turn-your-linux-computer-in-a-wireless-access-point-using-hostapd 
(but not at http://www.linuxhomenetworking.com) is what seems to be 
the clincher : the chipset of the PCI or USB wireless NIC needs to 
support "Master mode". Now my task appears to be to chaseup chip specs 
for the cheap NICS available to me !

I will report back when I have it all working.
cheers
Rod
On 10/13/11 23:28, Kevin Shackleton wrote:

Rod,

Seems to me that pages like:
http://www.linuxhomenetworking.com/wiki/index.php/Quick_HOWTO_:_Ch13_:_Linux_Wireless_Networking 


make it fairly plain that with the right card you will get a PC-based AP
working & hang the extra bits like iptables off it.  Which is an
achievement in itself - I've never done it.

Others have commented that you might be better off focusing on specific
other solutions like Cisco, but a) many on-ground examples you might
come across would not be Cisco-based so you'll have to manage somehow
else and b) if you go to e.g. Cisco, you will only learn that
skill-set.  So I'm all for starting out as you are suggesting.  Then
maybe look at an AP modified with Tomato.  Then see if you can find a
secondhand Cisco e.g. 1xxx or 2xxx series if you come into the funding -
I would not bother with the basic 800 series devices because they are
made in hardware-specific models rather than having plug-in hardware 
bits.


hth

Kevin

On 13 October 2011 19:14, Rod Butcher mailto:rbutc...@hyenainternet.com>> wrote:

My budget for this is tiny, $100 max for the whole setup, as it's
only for training, and I don't want to acquire hardware I will have
no use for afterward...
So I'm trying to get specific info on whether it is possible to
configure a Linux PC with a cheap 80211g/n PCI card to provide a
reasonably full-featured WAP - user/computer credential validation,
data encryption, network and Internet access.
It's fairly simple to configure multiple Ethernet network cards on a
Linux box to provide routing and Internet access (iptables & NAT)...
I had assumed a similar software solution should be possible for
wifi-based LAN. ??
thanks
Rod
On 10/13/11 10:48, Ken Wilson wrote:

I have seen them at Reverse Garbage in Addison Rd Marrickville,
where
whole computing setups have been discarded including routers, 
their

price is always not much.
Ken

On 12/10/11 22:17, Heracles wrote:

-BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-
Hash: SHA1

On 12/10/11 21:29, Rod Butcher wrote:

Sounds like my best option is just to use a cheap PCI
wireless card as a
WAP - can I do that ? - and use the PC as the router.
Does this sound
right ? My question then is, if serious businesses use
expensive
standalone programmable devices to provide WAPs, rather
than the $100
routers at my local PC shop, how realistic is the setup
I will be
training on ? I will be configuring the PC as the
router, along with
security, encryption, iptables etc... how closely do the
skills involved
relate to those involved in a realword business setup ?
thanks
Rod


Depends upon the situation. It could be a worthwhile
exercise to get a
cheap second hand CISCO router, as one of my students did,
and learn
with that. A relatively new one should be quite cheap and
will give you
skills in their scripting.

Heracles
-BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-
Version: GnuPG v1.4.11 (GNU/Linux)
Comment: Using GnuPG with Mozilla - 
http://enigmail.mozdev.org/



iEYEARECAAYFAk6Vdy4ACgkQybPcBA__s9CE8PygCgqp0TLrxxBJYuBROmhj5C__P2DO

HKYAnRznIS5Gdym34KCNO8X+__Qd6SUwLW
=h/SR
-END PGP SIGNATURE-

Re: [SLUG] Cheap Linux/Windows wireless home networking options ?

[Rod Butcher]

What I found at 
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/WifiDocs/WirelessAccessPoint and 
http://www.su-root.eu/computing/turn-your-linux-computer-in-a-wireless-access-point-using-hostapd 
(but not at http://www.linuxhomenetworking.com) is what seems to be the 
clincher : the chipset of the PCI or USB wireless NIC needs to support 
"Master mode". Now my task appears to be to chaseup chip specs for the 
cheap NICS available to me !

I will report back when I have it all working.
cheers
Rod
On 10/13/11 23:28, Kevin Shackleton wrote:

Rod,

Seems to me that pages like:
http://www.linuxhomenetworking.com/wiki/index.php/Quick_HOWTO_:_Ch13_:_Linux_Wireless_Networking
make it fairly plain that with the right card you will get a PC-based AP
working & hang the extra bits like iptables off it.  Which is an
achievement in itself - I've never done it.

Others have commented that you might be better off focusing on specific
other solutions like Cisco, but a) many on-ground examples you might
come across would not be Cisco-based so you'll have to manage somehow
else and b) if you go to e.g. Cisco, you will only learn that
skill-set.  So I'm all for starting out as you are suggesting.  Then
maybe look at an AP modified with Tomato.  Then see if you can find a
secondhand Cisco e.g. 1xxx or 2xxx series if you come into the funding -
I would not bother with the basic 800 series devices because they are
made in hardware-specific models rather than having plug-in hardware bits.

hth

Kevin

On 13 October 2011 19:14, Rod Butcher mailto:rbutc...@hyenainternet.com>> wrote:

My budget for this is tiny, $100 max for the whole setup, as it's
only for training, and I don't want to acquire hardware I will have
no use for afterward...
So I'm trying to get specific info on whether it is possible to
configure a Linux PC with a cheap 80211g/n PCI card to provide a
reasonably full-featured WAP - user/computer credential validation,
data encryption, network and Internet access.
It's fairly simple to configure multiple Ethernet network cards on a
Linux box to provide routing and Internet access (iptables & NAT)...
I had assumed a similar software solution should be possible for
wifi-based LAN. ??
thanks
Rod
On 10/13/11 10:48, Ken Wilson wrote:

I have seen them at Reverse Garbage in Addison Rd Marrickville,
where
whole computing setups have been discarded including routers, their
price is always not much.
Ken

On 12/10/11 22:17, Heracles wrote:

-BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-
Hash: SHA1

On 12/10/11 21:29, Rod Butcher wrote:

Sounds like my best option is just to use a cheap PCI
wireless card as a
WAP - can I do that ? - and use the PC as the router.
Does this sound
right ? My question then is, if serious businesses use
expensive
standalone programmable devices to provide WAPs, rather
than the $100
routers at my local PC shop, how realistic is the setup
I will be
training on ? I will be configuring the PC as the
router, along with
security, encryption, iptables etc... how closely do the
skills involved
relate to those involved in a realword business setup ?
thanks
Rod


Depends upon the situation. It could be a worthwhile
exercise to get a
cheap second hand CISCO router, as one of my students did,
and learn
with that. A relatively new one should be quite cheap and
will give you
skills in their scripting.

Heracles
-BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-
Version: GnuPG v1.4.11 (GNU/Linux)
Comment: Using GnuPG with Mozilla - http://enigmail.mozdev.org/

iEYEARECAAYFAk6Vdy4ACgkQybPcBA__s9CE8PygCgqp0TLrxxBJYuBROmhj5C__P2DO
HKYAnRznIS5Gdym34KCNO8X+__Qd6SUwLW
=h/SR
-END PGP SIGNATURE-


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Re: [SLUG] Cheap Linux/Windows wireless home networking options ?

[Glen Cunningham]

G'day Rod,

On Thursday 13 October 2011 22:14:14 Rod Butcher wrote:
> My budget for this is tiny, $100 max for the whole setup, as it's
> only for training, and I don't want to acquire hardware I will have
> no use for afterward...
> So I'm trying to get specific info on whether it is possible to
> configure a Linux PC with a cheap 80211g/n PCI card to provide a
> reasonably full-featured WAP - user/computer credential validation,
> data encryption, network and Internet access.
   Yes, this can be done.  Depends on your 802.11g/n PCI card -- I have 
used PCI cards with Atheros AR5000 series chipsets as access points.  
Other cards may be usable - depends on the capability of the chipset 
and kernel support.

> It's fairly simple to configure multiple Ethernet network cards on a
> Linux box to provide routing and Internet access (iptables & NAT)...
> I had assumed a similar software solution should be possible for
> wifi-based LAN. ??
  Have you tried any of the Linux distros designed for this?  Endian, 
Smoothwall, IPCop would seem to be candidates.  I assume that you have 
some suitable hardware to try one/some of these distros.  I suggest 
something with a Celleron 500MHz processor (or better), 256MB (or more) 
of memory and at least 4GB of HDD.  While these purpose-built distros 
will run on much lower-spec hardware, the learning experience will 
suffer.

HTH
Glen
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Re: [SLUG] Cheap Linux/Windows wireless home networking options ?

[Rod Butcher]

My budget for this is tiny, $100 max for the whole setup, as it's only 
for training, and I don't want to acquire hardware I will have no use 
for afterward...
So I'm trying to get specific info on whether it is possible to 
configure a Linux PC with a cheap 80211g/n PCI card to provide a 
reasonably full-featured WAP - user/computer credential validation, data 
encryption, network and Internet access.
It's fairly simple to configure multiple Ethernet network cards on a 
Linux box to provide routing and Internet access (iptables & NAT)... I 
had assumed a similar software solution should be possible for 
wifi-based LAN. ??

thanks
Rod
On 10/13/11 10:48, Ken Wilson wrote:

I have seen them at Reverse Garbage in Addison Rd Marrickville, where
whole computing setups have been discarded including routers, their
price is always not much.
Ken

On 12/10/11 22:17, Heracles wrote:

-BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-
Hash: SHA1

On 12/10/11 21:29, Rod Butcher wrote:

Sounds like my best option is just to use a cheap PCI wireless card as a
WAP - can I do that ? - and use the PC as the router. Does this sound
right ? My question then is, if serious businesses use expensive
standalone programmable devices to provide WAPs, rather than the $100
routers at my local PC shop, how realistic is the setup I will be
training on ? I will be configuring the PC as the router, along with
security, encryption, iptables etc... how closely do the skills involved
relate to those involved in a realword business setup ?
thanks
Rod


Depends upon the situation. It could be a worthwhile exercise to get a
cheap second hand CISCO router, as one of my students did, and learn
with that. A relatively new one should be quite cheap and will give you
skills in their scripting.

Heracles
-BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-
Version: GnuPG v1.4.11 (GNU/Linux)
Comment: Using GnuPG with Mozilla - http://enigmail.mozdev.org/

iEYEARECAAYFAk6Vdy4ACgkQybPcBAs9CE8PygCgqp0TLrxxBJYuBROmhj5CP2DO
HKYAnRznIS5Gdym34KCNO8X+Qd6SUwLW
=h/SR
-END PGP SIGNATURE-


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