ASUS N10 USB (Realtek RTL8188SU) conflicts with GRUB

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Shamash

ASUS N10 USB (Realtek RTL8188SU) conflicts with GRUB

Post by Shamash »

It seems bizarre, but my ASUS N10 USB dongle (chipset Realtek RTL8188SU using a r8712u driver) is slowing down my internet connection (60 kbps of a 1280 kbps connection) if it's plugged BEFORE a boot with GRUB (installed version: 2.02~beta2-9ubuntu1). GRUB?!? Yes! Because: 1st) I was using Ubuntu 14.04 (which uses GRUB too) when this first happened. Switched to Linux Mint 17.1 "Rebecca" Cinnamon and the same happened. 2nd) I've installed Debian Wheezy 7.8 in another partition (but using Linux Mint's GRUB as boot loader) and the same applies. 3rd) GRUB had problems with plugged USB devices on boot around 2014 (something that seems to be solved) BUT if I disconnect my ASUS N10 USB BEFORE boot and plug only AFTER a system full boot (graphical environment and everything else, Mint 17.1 and Wheezy 7.8 ), the connection speed is full (1280 kbps of 1280 kbps). Isn't an ISP either a router problem because 1st) As I said, if I plug the dongle AFTER full boot, the problem vanishes and 2nd) An external HD in the same PC with a Windows 7 SP1 runs perfectly.
Last edited by LockBot on Wed Dec 28, 2022 7:16 am, edited 2 times in total.
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JeremyB
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Re: ASUS N10 USB (Realtek RTL8188SU) conflicts with GRUB

Post by JeremyB »

Shamash wrote:It seems bizarre, but my ASUS N10 USB dongle (chipset Realtek RTL8188SU using a r8712u driver) is slowing down my internet connection (60 kbps of a 1280 kbps connection) if it's plugged BEFORE a boot with GRUB (installed version: 2.02~beta2-9ubuntu1). GRUB?!? Yes! Because: 1st) I was using Ubuntu 14.04 (which uses GRUB too) when this first happened. Switched to Linux Mint 17.1 "Rebecca" Cinnamon and the same happened. 2nd) I've installed Debian Wheezy 7.8 in another partition (but using Linux Mint's GRUB as boot loader) and the same applies. 3rd) GRUB had problems with plugged USB devices on boot around 2014 (something that seems to be solved) BUT if I disconnect my ASUS N10 USB BEFORE boot and plug only AFTER a system full boot (graphical environment and everything else, Mint 17.1 and Wheezy 7.8), the connection speed is full (1280 kbps of 1280 kbps). Isn't an ISP either a router problem because 1st) As I said, if I plug the dongle AFTER full boot, the problem vanishes and 2nd) An external HD in the same PC with a Windows 7 SP1 runs perfectly.
Try this

Code: Select all

echo "blacklist r8712u" | sudo tee /etc/modprobe.d/r8712u.conf
Then edit etc/rc.local

Code: Select all

sudo gedit /etc/rc.local
and make the last 3 lines be

Code: Select all

sleep 20
modprobe r8712u
exit 0
Save, exit, and reboot. The line with exit 0 should be in the file already. I think you might be suffering from a bug in the xhci_hcd module
Shamash

Re: ASUS N10 USB (Realtek RTL8188SU) conflicts with GRUB

Post by Shamash »

Thanks, JeremyB! I added the code but the problem still persists.
JeremyB
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Re: ASUS N10 USB (Realtek RTL8188SU) conflicts with GRUB

Post by JeremyB »

Shamash wrote:Thanks, JeremyB! I added the code but the problem still persists.
If it didn't work, just delete it

Code: Select all

sudo rm /etc/modprobe.d/r8712u.conf
and use the same gedit command and remove the 2 added lines

Do you happen to have an internal wifi/bluetooth card? I remember one post that said their USB ports would fail to work a lot of times after booting and it was solved by blacklisting the module for the internal bluetooth so it wouldn't attempt to load firmware
Shamash

Re: ASUS N10 USB (Realtek RTL8188SU) conflicts with GRUB

Post by Shamash »

No, any bluetooth. And the only WiFi is the external ASUS N10 USB. I have this dongle for 3 years and never had any problem. That weird stuff begun about 40 days ago: after an update (I was with Ubuntu 14.04 by then), I rebooted and at boot appeared a message: "error: malformed file / press any key to continue..." (the same message appears now in Linux Mint 17.1). After weeks restarting the router, reinstalling the O.S., opening the firewall, plugging directly in the router, everything; I saw in a forum that this message at boot was a common problem with GRUB about 1 year ago, with Ubuntu 14.04 beta, when it booted with a USB pendrive inserted. I found it really bizarre (the dongle doesn't have any file system), but I removed the dongle, rebooted, and reinserted only after the boot. Worked (but not every time...)

You said about the xhci_hcd module bug. My "external" HD is in fact an internal HD in a case, connected via the e-Sata bus. It doesn't use the USB 3.0 port.
Shamash

Re: ASUS N10 USB (Realtek RTL8188SU) conflicts with GRUB

Post by Shamash »

The problem is back :cry: . Again :evil: . Removing and rebooting doesn't solve it anymore. I've looked hundreds of forums and found no solutions.

I love Linux, but these moments are really a test to our patience.

Anybody have any idea?
Trapper
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Location: North Port, Florida USA

Re: ASUS N10 USB (Realtek RTL8188SU) conflicts with GRUB

Post by Trapper »

I just did an install of 17.2 64 bit with MATE on a box and have also encountered the "error: malformed file" difficulty during boot up. Uniquely, I have installed 17.2 on this box a couple of times previously and did not encounter this problem. Exact same hardware and setup I have always had. Also have installed 17.2 on plenty of other machines too and never saw this error on any of them. Not a lot of understandable info or a fix for this when I google it.

As a side note: Even though there's an instruction with the error notification to press any key to continue, if I wait a few seconds the machine continues it's boot without pressing a key.

No realtek on this box.

I will also include that I did not realize this problem before initial updates after installation. Maybe it was there before the updates but I do not recall it.
Trapper
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Joined: Sat Dec 03, 2011 12:21 pm
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Re: ASUS N10 USB (Realtek RTL8188SU) conflicts with GRUB

Post by Trapper »

Fixed my grub "error: malformed file" by installing grub-pc 2.02~beta2-9ubuntu1.7 from Linux Mint's Level 4 or 5 updates. Don't recall which of the 2 levels it actually was. Worked a charm on several boxes. No more grub errors.
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