Getting Wireless running on new build

tashtego_jwm · Post by **tashtego_jwm** » Sat Dec 26, 2015 12:11 am

Hey Guys,

am totally new to Linux (first day with it) and am having troubles trying to get a wireless connection going to my router (Netgear N-600). I am connected and online with it using a cable, but I need to get wireless going on my new machine. Okay, so my brand new homebuilt computer is this: AMD FX-6300 and Asus M5A78L-M USB3. I'd give everything else, but the motherboard is the only piece of hardware related to my question.

I've successfully installed Linux Mint 17.3 (no windows on this machine - only Linux) and did all of the updates first thing. It all went very smooth and very fast. I was impressed. When I open up the Network Connections, it shows I'm attached to the Wired Ethernet connection, but it doesn't show any wireless connections to connect to.

I've researched a bit on my own, but just not coming up with any solid advice that's close to specific enough for my situation or a little outdated. MintWifi is installed and updated. Ethernet is enable in the Bios. Below is the code when entering sudo mintwifi in the terminal:

Code: Select all

jason@KnightWriter ~ $ sudo mintwifi
[sudo] password for jason: 
-------------------------
* I. scanning WIFI PCI devices...
-------------------------
* II. querying ndiswrapper...
-------------------------
* III. querying iwconfig...
eth0      no wireless extensions.

lo        no wireless extensions.

-------------------------
* IV. querying ifconfig...
eth0      Link encap:Ethernet  HWaddr 38:2c:4a:ba:aa:cd  
          inet addr:192.168.1.10  Bcast:192.168.1.255  Mask:255.255.255.0
          inet6 addr: fe80::3a2c:4aff:feba:aacd/64 Scope:Link
          UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST  MTU:1500  Metric:1
          RX packets:11102 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:3247 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000 
          RX bytes:4734570 (4.7 MB)  TX bytes:409149 (409.1 KB)

lo        Link encap:Local Loopback  
          inet addr:127.0.0.1  Mask:255.0.0.0
          inet6 addr: ::1/128 Scope:Host
          UP LOOPBACK RUNNING  MTU:65536  Metric:1
          RX packets:497 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:497 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:0 
          RX bytes:54618 (54.6 KB)  TX bytes:54618 (54.6 KB)

-------------------------
* V. querying DHCP...
RTNETLINK answers: File exists
-------------------------
* VI. querying nslookup google.com...
Server:		192.168.1.1
Address:	192.168.1.1#53

Non-authoritative answer:
Name:	google.com
Address: 74.125.224.5
Name:	google.com
Address: 74.125.224.7
Name:	google.com
Address: 74.125.224.8
Name:	google.com
Address: 74.125.224.9
Name:	google.com
Address: 74.125.224.4
Name:	google.com
Address: 74.125.224.2
Name:	google.com
Address: 74.125.224.14
Name:	google.com
Address: 74.125.224.6
Name:	google.com
Address: 74.125.224.0
Name:	google.com
Address: 74.125.224.3
Name:	google.com
Address: 74.125.224.1

jason@KnightWriter ~ $

First question is - when it says "no wireless extensions" does that mean my motherboard just doesn't have wifi capabilities and I need to get a pci wifi card? If this is the case, do you all have a recommendation for any particular product? Or is there an issue buried in that code I don't quite understand on my own that someone smarter than I can help me remedy? I need wireless as wired just doesn't work in my living space where my computer sits. Any help will be most appreciated. Please bear in mind today is my first foray into all that is linux and I ain't looking back to windows, so easy instructions would be doubly appreciated. Thanks.

Pjotr · Post by **Pjotr** » Sat Dec 26, 2015 5:55 am

First of all: motherboards usually have no built-in wifi chipset.

Just to make sure, please generate an overview of your system like this:
- Launch a terminal window (this is how to launch a terminal window);
- make the terminal window full screen, to avoid chopped lines;
- copy/paste this command into the terminal:

Code: Select all

inxi -Fxz

(if you type: the letter F is a capital letter)

Press Enter.

Copy/paste the output in your next message.

tashtego_jwm · Post by **tashtego_jwm** » Sat Dec 26, 2015 11:43 am

Thanks for the response Pjotr

here is the output:

jason@KnightWriter ~ $ inxi -Fxz
System: Host: KnightWriter Kernel: 3.19.0-32-generic x86_64 (64 bit gcc: 4.8.2)
Desktop: Cinnamon 2.8.6 (Gtk 3.10.8~8+qiana) Distro: Linux Mint 17.3 Rosa
Machine: Mobo: ASUSTeK model: M5A78L-M/USB3 v: Rev X.0x Bios: American Megatrends v: 2101 date: 12/02/2014
CPU: Hexa core AMD FX-6300 Six-Core (-MCP-) cache: 12288 KB
flags: (lm nx sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 sse4a ssse3 svm) bmips: 42186
clock speeds: max: 3500 MHz 1: 2000 MHz 2: 1400 MHz 3: 2000 MHz 4: 2500 MHz 5: 2000 MHz 6: 1400 MHz
Graphics: Card: NVIDIA Device 1402 bus-ID: 01:00.0
Display Server: X.Org 1.17.1 drivers: nvidia (unloaded: fbdev,vesa,nouveau)
Resolution: 1440x900@59.9hz
GLX Renderer: GeForce GTX 950/PCIe/SSE2 GLX Version: 4.5.0 NVIDIA 352.63 Direct Rendering: Yes
Audio: Card-1 NVIDIA Device 0fba driver: snd_hda_intel bus-ID: 01:00.1 Sound: ALSA v: k3.19.0-32-generic
Card-2 Advanced Micro Devices [AMD/ATI] SBx00 Azalia (Intel HDA) driver: snd_hda_intel bus-ID: 00:14.2
Network: Card: Realtek RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet Controller
driver: r8169 v: 2.3LK-NAPI port: e800 bus-ID: 03:00.0
IF: eth0 state: up speed: 1000 Mbps duplex: full mac: <filter>
Drives: HDD Total Size: 240.1GB (5.9% used) ID-1: /dev/sda model: KINGSTON_SHSS37A size: 240.1GB
Partition: ID-1: / size: 213G used: 5.6G (3%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sda1
ID-2: swap-1 size: 8.57GB used: 0.00GB (0%) fs: swap dev: /dev/sda5
RAID: No RAID devices: /proc/mdstat, md_mod kernel module present
Sensors: System Temperatures: cpu: 29.0C mobo: 27.0C gpu: 0.0:34C
Fan Speeds (in rpm): cpu: 1544 sys-1: 1256
Info: Processes: 190 Uptime: 8 min Memory: 608.5/7966.8MB Init: Upstart runlevel: 2 Gcc sys: 4.8.4
Client: Shell (bash 4.3.111) inxi: 2.2.28
jason@KnightWriter ~ $

austin.texas · Post by **austin.texas** » Sat Dec 26, 2015 12:02 pm

tashtego_jwm wrote:First question is - when it says "no wireless extensions" does that mean my motherboard just doesn't have wifi capabilities and I need to get a pci wifi card? If this is the case, do you all have a recommendation for any particular product?

It does appear that you need a wireless pci card or usb wireless adapter.
With a Netgear router, you could look for a Netgear pci card - but others would work, too. I have a Ralink PCI card that works fine with my Netgear router.

Welcome to Mint and to the forum, tashtego_jwm !

Linux Linx 2015
Ubuntu Help wiki
IBM's Learn Linux, 101 Tutorials
Linux Mint Beginners Search Engine
A guide on how to post on the Linux Mint forums
Rescatux CD: A tool everyone should have (includes SuperGrub2 and gparted)

Pjotr · Post by **Pjotr** » Sat Dec 26, 2015 12:10 pm

Indeed, as expected: no built-in wifi in the motherboard.

Tip: this nano USB wifi adapter works out of the box in Linux Mint 17.x:
http://www.amazon.com/TP-LINK-TL-WN725N ... B008IFXQFU

tashtego_jwm · Post by **tashtego_jwm** » Sat Dec 26, 2015 12:53 pm

Awesome! So glad it's something a little simpler since I'm just starting out with Linux. I'll take harder a little bit later on as I learn more. Going over to the local Frys as soon as I the kids are up and ready. Thanks again Pjotr and Austin.Texas.

tashtego_jwm · Post by **tashtego_jwm** » Sun Dec 27, 2015 2:41 am

Okay, next hurdle. So, I got the Asus usb-ac51 adapter. I had the one you recommended in my hands, but the tech said it would only deliver of quarter of my routers speed, so he pointed me to the ac-51 which on the box says it supports Linux.

Now, I'm trying to get the thing working. The CD it came with has an install program and drivers, but everything on it is an exe file which doesn't work on Linux. A folder in the directory called Linux has two files, a tar and a txt file. I've tried all of the various managers but cannot get this adapter to work. I installed it on various USB ports, rebooted, but it doesn't seem to recognize that it's there. How does one use a CD with drivers if all of its executable programs are only exe? Makes no sense for a product that states it supports Linux. The txt file couldn't help either. It wouldn't run the first code in terminal.

What am I missing? How can I get this dongle recognized and working?

Pjotr · Post by **Pjotr** » Sun Dec 27, 2015 5:13 am

What does this command give as output:

Code: Select all

lsusb

And this one:

Code: Select all

rfkill list all

tashtego_jwm · Post by **tashtego_jwm** » Sun Dec 27, 2015 12:34 pm

Here's the result. As you can see, rfkill did not produce anything. Does rfkill need to be installed?

jason@KnightWriter ~ $ lsusb
Bus 009 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 004 Device 002: ID 0b05:17d1 ASUSTek Computer, Inc.
Bus 004 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 008 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 007 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 003 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 006 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 005 Device 002: ID 046d:c537 Logitech, Inc.
Bus 005 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0003 Linux Foundation 3.0 root hub
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 045e:0780 Microsoft Corp.
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
jason@KnightWriter ~ $ rfkill list all
jason@KnightWriter ~ $ rfkill list all
jason@KnightWriter ~ $

Pjotr · Post by **Pjotr** » Sun Dec 27, 2015 12:51 pm

I searched a bit on that USB ID, and it appears you've bought rather a trainwreck, at least for Linux....

This doesn't look good:
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php? ... st13273299

However, you might try this:
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php? ... st13412502

There's no feedback on that potential solution, so this might produce useful information, both when it works and when it doesn't work.

tashtego_jwm · Post by **tashtego_jwm** » Sun Dec 27, 2015 6:55 pm

Hey Pjotr,

here is the terminal response to the following from that second link you provided:

Code: Select all

jason@KnightWriter ~ $ echo 'install rt2800usb modprobe --ignore-install rt2800usb ; /bin/echo "0b05 17d1" > /sys/bus/usb/drivers/rt2800usb/new_id' | sudo tee /etc/modprobe.d/rt2800usb.conf
[sudo] password for jason: 
install rt2800usb modprobe --ignore-install rt2800usb ; /bin/echo "0b05 17d1" > /sys/bus/usb/drivers/rt2800usb/new_id
jason@KnightWriter ~ $ dmesg | grep rt2
jason@KnightWriter ~ $ iwconfig
eth0      no wireless extensions.

lo        no wireless extensions.

jason@KnightWriter ~ $ lsmod

I'm assuming that's means it's still not working ... Asus has finally let me down with this "trainwreck" HA! Thinking of just returning it and getting what you had originally suggested, the TP-Link WN725N Wireless-N150 Nano USB Adapter, but (and I don't want to push my luck) would the TP-Link TL-WN823N Wireless-N300 Mini USB Adapter work just as well with more speed for some light future gaming? Or even the TP-Link TL-WDN3200 N600 Wireless Dual Band USB Adapter? Not even the manufacturers website showed drivers used for these products, so is finding hardware that will work with Linux just a crap shoot? What's your opinion on these since the usb-ac51 is not wanting to work (unless, of course, you have a next suggestion for it?)

Thanks for all this help so far Pjotr.

Pjotr · Post by **Pjotr** » Sun Dec 27, 2015 7:07 pm

That solution for the Asus dongle contains a mandatory reboot after applying the magical terminal incantation. Have you rebooted?

tashtego_jwm · Post by **tashtego_jwm** » Sun Dec 27, 2015 7:30 pm

I've rebooted with the dongle in and then with the dongle not in just to see if that would make a difference. You know, I'm assuming that to tell if it worked that the Network Connections Manager would show a wireless option being detected at least, if not connected until I supply the password(which it has not). Is that right?

Pjotr · Post by **Pjotr** » Sun Dec 27, 2015 7:33 pm

Click on the icon of Network Manager in the system tray. Does it show the available wireless networks?

tashtego_jwm · Post by **tashtego_jwm** » Sun Dec 27, 2015 7:44 pm

Network Connections shows only the Ethernet Wired connection 1 (with the option to add, edit and delete of course).
Network Setting shows Wired as On, and Network Proxy that points nowhere.

Pjotr · Post by **Pjotr** » Sun Dec 27, 2015 7:54 pm

Well, that finally disqualifies the Asus dongle then.... At least in my opinion.

The only dongle I can vouch for is the one I mentioned previously, because I have one myself. It has an unimportant optical bug: it shows the strength of all available wireless networks as zero. But you should be able to connect with your wireless network without problems, and the connection should be stable and fast.

Don't be put off by sales talk of lesser speed: in most cases, your theoretical maximum internet speed doesn't even come close to the maximum speed of that dongle. Unless you have a super-fast glass fiber connection or something like that.

tashtego_jwm · Post by **tashtego_jwm** » Sun Dec 27, 2015 8:23 pm

Okay, and yeah you're right. Doing a couple internet speed tests gives me an average 50 mbps download and 6.07 mbps upload. Seeing as that's nowhere near 150 mbps, I think I'm safe to do as you originally suggested with the TP-LINK TL-WN725N. My gut said to listen to you in the first place. Ah well. Thanks for all of your help with this Pjotr. Oh and by the way, I've employed almost all of your "10 things to do first in Linux Mint 17.3" as well as the next 10 and the next. Really great list. Stuff like that is super appreciated by us newbies to Linux.

Frys better take this thing back

tashtego_jwm · Post by **tashtego_jwm** » Sun Dec 27, 2015 11:49 pm

Hey Pjotr,

Success! The dongle immediately found the local wireless connections and I was able to enter my password and log on. There are times when it hovers at only 2% though. Not sure if that is the bug you were talking about or not. It does lead me to a question though about drivers for it. The particular version I bought is v2.1. On the TP Link website, there is a Linux driver, but I'm not sure how to tell if it is a new driver or not. Is there a way to tell what driver is running this usb adapter to check it against the one they have on the website? I just want to know if I need to update the driver for it. I ran the same command you gave me before, lsusb, and noticed it came up with a different line:

Code: Select all

Bus 003 Device 002: ID 0bda:8179 Realtek Semiconductor Corp.

Thanks again for all of your help.

Pjotr · Post by **Pjotr** » Mon Dec 28, 2015 5:57 am

tashtego_jwm wrote:Success! The dongle immediately found the local wireless connections and I was able to enter my password and log on. There are times when it hovers at only 2% though. Not sure if that is the bug you were talking about or not.

Yep, that's the bug alright. No worries though: the connection should be stable and fast. As long as the distance between your router and the dongle isn't too big, because the internal antenna of that tiny device is of course very small as well. No real need for another driver.

Note that it's always a good idea to select the optimal wireless channel for your router:
https://sites.google.com/site/easylinux ... st-channel
(item 1, left column)

I ran the same command you gave me before, lsusb, and noticed it came up with a different line:
Code: Select all
Bus 003 Device 002: ID 0bda:8179 Realtek Semiconductor Corp.

That's the correct USB ID for that TP-Link dongle, which means that you indeed have the same device as I.

Have fun! Your computer is now running on the very best that desktop Linux currently has to offer.

P.S.: You might be interested to know, that installing the latest lwfinger driver for this device, reduces the impact of the "wireless strength" indicator bug a bit. Because after installing that driver, and after connecting to my wireless network, I noticed that the displayed strength of my wireless network increased from (on average) 3 % to (on average) 56 %. Before connecting all networks are still shown as 0 %, though.

I'm not sure whether this driver change improves the actual performance and stability of the device at all, but a bigger displayed strength does feel better.

If you're interested in trying the lwfinger driver as well, you can install it like this:
https://sites.google.com/site/easylinux ... 0bda:8179-
(item 5, left column)

tashtego_jwm · Post by **tashtego_jwm** » Mon Dec 28, 2015 10:10 pm

Woohoo! That did the trick. Now showing at an almost constant 100%. Thanks Pjotr.

Linux Mint Forums

Getting Wireless running on new build

Getting Wireless running on new build

Re: Getting Wireless running on new build

Re: Getting Wireless running on new build

Re: Getting Wireless running on new build

Re: Getting Wireless running on new build

Re: Getting Wireless running on new build

Re: Getting Wireless running on new build

Re: Getting Wireless running on new build

Re: Getting Wireless running on new build

Re: Getting Wireless running on new build

Re: Getting Wireless running on new build

Re: Getting Wireless running on new build

Re: Getting Wireless running on new build

Re: Getting Wireless running on new build

Re: Getting Wireless running on new build

Re: Getting Wireless running on new build

Re: Getting Wireless running on new build

Re: Getting Wireless running on new build

Re: Getting Wireless running on new build

Re: Getting Wireless running on new build