USB Network Adapter install problem

[mdenard]

Hello

I am trying to connect a Belkin F6D4050v2 to a Dell Inspiron 3700 with Lucid Puppy frugal ver 5.2.5 now residing on my hard drive. I attempted to load the inf file form the original Belkin CD using Ndiswrapper without results. Searching the web I came across http://happylinuxthoughts.blogspot.com/ ... sibly.html

Using the urxvt terminal emulator,
Lsusb showed usb id of 050d:935b and so I followed the instructions at http://happylinuxthoughts.blogspot.com/ ... sibly.html and proceeded to

create a file called /etc/modprobe.d/rt2870sta.conf.

I then proceeded to add the following line to the file
install rt2870sta modprobe --ignore-install rt2870sta ; /bin/echo "050d 935b" > /sys/bus/usb/drivers/rt2870/new_id

Using the urxvt terminal emulator,
I did not get an error message using dmesg | grep firmware and omitted instaling a firmware package

I could not find the /etc/sysconfig/kernel as I concluded puppy is set up differently so I created the entry ADDLIST="rt2870sta" in the etc/rc.d/modulesconfig file.

As I received the message below, my entries are obviously flawed, as I do not write/understand code and am a novice to Linux and Puppy. Any help, guidance and enlightenment is appreciated. Alternative solutions are welcomed as well:

Puppy Network wizard error message:

Loading rt2870 failed with the following message:
WARNING: Deprecated config file /etc/modprobe.conf, all
Config files belong into /etc/modprobe.d/.
Sh: modprobe--ignore-install: command not found
Sh: /sys/bus/usb/drivers/rt2870/new_id: No such file or directory
FATAL: Error running install command for rt2870sta
Maybe try a different driver

Side note 1: I did attempt to load the network module rt2870 and now the file exists at /etc/wireless/RT2870STA. When I use PupControl > tab to Network>Internet Connection>Connect to Internet by wired or wireless LAN>click on the Network Wizard button>click on Load module>choose Module rt2870sta and then click load, the above noted error message appeared.

Side note 2: Unbuntu forum also had a solution at http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1509403. As I do not write/understand code and am a very early novice with puppy, I could not make heads or tails out of their solution. (Pun intended)

Side note 3: Prior to the Belkin I attempted to load a Wirelesss Notebook Adapter MN-520 but without positive results. As the MN-520 is older I had hoped to have better success with the Belkin. My winXP 'inf' files on the XP master CD all are trunctuated as 'in_' and require the setup program on the disk to explode.

Finally,
Thank You for indulging me and this lengthy post.

[rjbrewer]

Maybe this will help:

http://murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic. ... 938#481085

[tempestuous]

Yes, you need the rt3070sta driver for your Belkin F6D4050v2.
Thanks for revealing your USB device ID. It makes it so much easier to help.

Regarding your Microsoft MN-520 PCMCIA card, according to Google it has PCI ID 02d2:0001.
If true, then the hostap_cs driver in Puppy will support it. I suspect this is an old 16bit card, and the PCMCIA system in Puppy 5.x fails to automatically detect these, so you could probably just go ahead and load the hostap_cs driver in the Network Wizard, and that may bring the network interface to life.

But if you still have no success, it probably means the PCMCIA system has not initialised properly, which is a known problem in Puppy 5.1 as reported by forum member tubby. His solution is to modify the start up script, details here -
http://murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic. ... 413#461413

[mdenard]

Thank You I am a bit closer. I used rjbrewers link to download the pup package. But now I am unable to establish a WPA connection:

Using the Internet Connection Wizard>Internet by wired or wireless LAN>NetworkWizard, Puppy identifies the Belkin Enhanced Wireless USB Adapter as Interface ra0. Clicking on it asks me to set the Wireless network parameters and by pressing SCAN it finds my Lynksys Router Managed w/ Encryption on. I choose WPA2 and provide my Key. I seemed to have found my Lynksys Router as reflected in the Network Setup panel. It attempts to acquire a WPA2 connection but fails w/ connect info stating access point : Not Associated. My router is a recent Lynksys E3000.

It has non encryption guest access which Puppy also identified and through which it finds the live network. This allows me to connect to the DHCP server and I get a 'network config of ra0 successful' message. 'Douglas Network Wizard' however states that no interfaces are active. With firewall off clicking the Browse button Dillo 2.2 loads (the others Firefox, etc seemed to have dissapeared?! after a failed load) but clicking on Google for example gives me a screen of encryped code.

tempestuous, the additional information is also helpful regarding the MN-520 and I hope to address that issue as well, since my Belkin occupies the only USB port this computer has.

Thanks to both.

[mdenard]

Additionally I tried the MN-520 with the recommended changes that appeared to also bring it to life. Again I am informed by Puppy that the module selected does not support WPA encryption. In this case networks are not detected. Is this the roadblock I am encountering w/ the Belkin as well?

[tempestuous]

Regarding your Belkin F6D4050v2, ver 2.5.0.1 of the Ralink driver is broken, and I have reverted to ver 2.4.0.1.

It attempts to acquire a WPA2 connection but fails

Unfortunately different Linux wifi drivers, in combination with the wpa_supplicant utility, have mixed results when interacting with different wifi routers.
You will need to experiment with different settings at your router. Sometimes "un-hiding" your SSID can fix association problems. In other cases, WPA2 encryption will work, while WPA(1) encryption fails ... or vice versa.

At the outset, it's worth disabling all encryption at your router, just to check that your device can connect in this unencrypted state. This will at least establish that the Linux driver is basically working.

[tempestuous]

Additionally I tried the MN-520
...
In this case networks are not detected.

Some diagnosis is now necessary. We need to know if Puppy recognises this PCMCIA device. Please run these two commands -

Code: Select all

pccardctl status
pccardctl ident

and report the results, especially the device ID.

[mdenard]

Re MN-520
pccardctl status
Socket 0:
5.0V 16-bit PC Card
Subdevice 0 (function 0) [unbound]
Socket 1:
5.0V 16-bit PC Card
Subdevice 0 (function) bound to driver "hostap_cs"

pccardctl ident
Socket 0:
product info: "3Com", "Megahertz 3CXM356", "56K PC Card Modem For Windows", ""
manfid: 0x0101, 0x002e
function: 254 (unknown)
Socket 1:
product info: "Microsoft", "Wireless Notebook Adapter MN-520", "", "1.0.3"
manfid: 0x02d2, 0x0001
function: 6 (network)

[tempestuous]

Well your pccardctl results look healthy for the MN-520 card. There's no reason why it shouldn't work.

I am informed by Puppy that the module selected does not support WPA encryption.

That's just a configuration problem with the Puppy 5.x series, due to changes in Linux WPA regime used over time. There's a fix here -
http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewto ... 997#448997
The hostap_cs driver definitely supports WPA encryption ... but as with your other Belkin, I suggest you walk before you run! See if the device will connect with no encryption, before moving on to WPA. And as I said before, you may find that WPA2 works, but WPA fails. You need to experiment.
WPA was in its infancy when that card was released, so you may find that the only form of encryption that works is WEP?

In this case networks are not detected.

I'm guessing you mean there were no results from "scan for networks". Sometimes the scan function fails with certain drivers. But as long as you know the name of the wifi network (SSID) to which you want to connect, there's no problem. Just go ahead and manually enter the SSID and password.

[mdenard]

Re mn-520: I plugged in the WPA patch, so now I am getting the following error message when I attempt to initiate configuration for the wireless network and enter scan: Error! Failed to raise interface eth0. Failed command was ifconfig eth0 up Error returned was: iconfig: SIOCSIFFLAGS: Input/output error. This with linksys router secured and unsecured.

Re Belkin: Up and running, although only in an unsecured network. Thank You. I do however want to get this into the secure environment settings as the whole family uses the network to include my child.

[tempestuous]

Regarding the Belkin, there's a history of these RT3070-based devices being "fussy" about different driver versions in order for encryption to work properly. I'm currently helping another forum member test an older version of the rt3070sta driver, and we can probably give some positive results soon. Keep an eye on the "Extras for Puppy 5.1 with 2.6.33.2 kernel" thread.

Regarding the MN-520, your problem sounds familiar, but it's been quite a while since I have dealt with this very old driver. I now remember that the default behaviour of this driver (though not consistently) is to bring up the wifi interface in "master" mode (as an access point). In such cases you need to change it into "managed" mode, and this brings down the interface, which obviously needs to be brought up again.
After booting up, first try these four commands -

Code: Select all

modprobe hostap_cs
ifconfig wlan0 up
iwconfig wlan0 mode managed
ifconfig wlan0 up

Take note of the difference between ifconfig and iwconfig.
Then run the Network Wizard and see if it succeeds. If no good, try these alternative commands -

Code: Select all

rmmod hostap_cs
modprobe hostap_cs iw_mode=2
ifconfig wlan0 up

then try the Network Wizard again.

[mdenard]

The following events occurred per your suggestion:


modpobe hostap_cs results in: WARNING Deprecated config file/etc/modprobe.conf, all config files belong into /etc/modprobe.d/

ifconfig wlan0 up: SIOCGIFFLAGS: No such device

iwconfig wlan0 mode managed: Error for wirelesss requests "Set Mode" (8B06): Set failed on device wlan0; no such device

ifconfig wlan0 up: SIOCGIFFLAGS: No such device

rmmod hostap_cs: returns #

modprobe hostap_cs iw_mode=2: WARNING Deprecated config file/etc/modprobe.conf, all config files belong into /etc/modprobe.d/

ifconfig wlan0 up: error fetching interface information: Device not found

[tempestuous]

Well the hostap_cs driver is failing to create a network interface, which is very strange because we know the hostap_cs module is definitely compatible, as revealed by your device ID.
I now suspect underlying resource allocation problems, either:
i) some other device trying to claim the same IRQ as your wifi device - possibly the (ISA) sound card, or modem.
ii) the ACPI subsystem failing to allow your wifi device to claim the IRQ it needs.

Let's try i) first.

pccardctl ident
Socket 0:
product info: "3Com", "Megahertz 3CXM356", "56K PC Card Modem For Windows", ""
manfid: 0x0101, 0x002e
function: 254 (unknown)

The first thing I suggest you do is remove that modem card (it's Linux-incompatible anyway) and reboot afresh.
The Network Wizard doesn't reveal problems accurately. The best diagnostic commands for your are -

Code: Select all

modprobe hostap_cs
ifconfig -a

If still no success, configure the PCMCIA system to avoid IRQ 3. Open /etc/pcmcia/config.opts in Geany, and change this line -

Code: Select all

#exclude irq 3

to

Code: Select all

exclude irq 3

Reboot, and try the 2 commands I mentioned earlier.

[tempestuous]

Regarding the Belkin F6D4050v2, I have just posted an older version of the rt3070sta driver, which may work better -
http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewto ... 360#513360

[mdenard]

Regarding the Belkin F6D4050v2:

Success! Although I seemed to have had some type of initial conflict. I tried to uninstall Pkg rt3070sta-v2.4x but then received the:
ifconfig ra0 up: SIOCGIFFLAGS: No such device" error message. Thinking a conflict and also working w/ the MN-520 I reformatted the Hard Drive by Booting of a floppy and rebirthing puppy back onto th hd. Then I loaded the rt3070sta-v2.3.0.1-k2.6.33.2.pet with Success.

I have not tested your latest thoughs re: the MN-520 but could the Belkin interfere w/ the older MN-520 if both interfaces are loaded on this old Inspiron 3700?

[tempestuous]

could the Belkin interfere w/ the older MN-520 if both interfaces are loaded on this old Inspiron 3700?

Probably not. It's perfectly acceptable to have multiple network interfaces active, though in normal circumstances you can only acquire an IP address for one interface ...
... but since you are at the testing stage with your MN-520, it would be silly to complicate matters by having the Belkin plugged in at the same time. Surely you would want to know that the MN-520 works, before attempting to have both devices active.