(old)Puppy Linux Discussion Forum

Installed this pup (from http://augras.eu/puppy_linux/musher0/xe ... -7.0.6.iso as a frugal install onto Acer AOA150 (ATOM N270, 1GB).

Unfortunately the WiFi card isn't recognised - it uses an Atheros PCI device and in Precise the ath5k driver is used (Atheros 242x/542x).

For the Xenialpup version, a kind of patch has been supplied in the form of a .pet (atheros_kernel_modules-4.4.95noPAE-xenial32.pet ) but this doesn't work with the 7.0.6 version (presumably because of the kernel difference).

Before I go haring around trying to sort this out myself, has anyone else packaged them up already?

ath5k isn't very unusual and has been included in Puppy for ages now - certainly before Precise; Any reason why it was dropped from the xenial series?

thanks in advance

Hello, PaulH.

Thanks for installing xenialPup-7.0.6_k41.

Sorry to hear about your Atheros wifi problem. The driver IS included, at:
/lib/modules/4.1.2-EmSee-32-pae/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath5k/ath5k.ko

so perhaps it is something else? For some reason the driver does not load
properly? Or your card itself has a glitch?

The forum member who compiled this Puppy's kernel, stemsee, also seems to
know quite a lot about wi-fi:
http://murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic. ... ost#982043

Maybe ask your question to him through PM or initiate a thread for your problem?
Just a thought. (I am a wi-fi dummy myself, sorry. I have been connecting through
ethernet cable forever. I am not even sure if we have wi-fi in the neighborhood.)

IHTH. BFN.

paulh177 wrote:Installed this pup (from http://augras.eu/puppy_linux/musher0/xe ... -7.0.6.iso as a frugal install onto Acer AOA150 (ATOM N270, 1GB).

Unfortunately the WiFi card isn't recognised - it uses an Atheros PCI device

I have an Acer Aspire One, will try mushero's Xenial and report.
~~~~~~~~
I had a USB flash drive with mushero's Xenial, and just booted from it on this Acer. I'm on here with wireless.

Linux puppypc29259 4.1.2-EmSee-32-pae #1 SMP Wed Jul 15 12:39:34 BST 2015 i686 i686 i686 GNU/Linux

Sheldon

Thanks, SheldonIsaac.

Just an observation here...
It seems that the 4-series kernels have dropped support for the ath5k/9k and the ath ethernet.

Regards
8Geee

The driver IS included, at:
/lib/modules/4.1.2-EmSee-32-pae/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath5k/ath5k.ko

so perhaps it is something else? For some reason the driver does not load
properly? Or your card itself has a glitch?

see screenshot - it's not included in mine, and the directory structure is different from what you suggest.

My card otherwise works perfectly, with Precise, Tahr and with XenialPup 7.5 (once the patch from the latter has been applied), so no card glitch.

Hi 8Geee

Look again!

[/lib/modules]>tree -fi | grep ath | grep wireless
./4.1.2-EmSee-32-pae/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/ath
./4.1.2-EmSee-32-pae/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/ath/ar5523
./4.1.2-EmSee-32-pae/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/ath/ar5523/ar5523.ko
./4.1.2-EmSee-32-pae/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath10k
./4.1.2-EmSee-32-pae/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath10k/ath10k_core.ko
./4.1.2-EmSee-32-pae/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath10k/ath10k_pci.ko
./4.1.2-EmSee-32-pae/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath5k
./4.1.2-EmSee-32-pae/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath5k/ath5k.ko
./4.1.2-EmSee-32-pae/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath6kl
./4.1.2-EmSee-32-pae/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath6kl/ath6kl_core.ko
./4.1.2-EmSee-32-pae/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath6kl/ath6kl_sdio.ko
./4.1.2-EmSee-32-pae/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath6kl/ath6kl_usb.ko
./4.1.2-EmSee-32-pae/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k
./4.1.2-EmSee-32-pae/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k/ath9k_common.ko
./4.1.2-EmSee-32-pae/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k/ath9k_htc.ko
./4.1.2-EmSee-32-pae/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k/ath9k_hw.ko
./4.1.2-EmSee-32-pae/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k/ath9k.ko
./4.1.2-EmSee-32-pae/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath.ko
./4.1.2-EmSee-32-pae/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/ath/carl9170
./4.1.2-EmSee-32-pae/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/ath/carl9170/carl9170.ko
./4.1.2-EmSee-32-pae/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/ath/wcn36xx
./4.1.2-EmSee-32-pae/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/ath/wcn36xx/wcn36xx.ko
./4.1.2-EmSee-32-pae/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/ath/wil6210
./4.1.2-EmSee-32-pae/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/ath/wil6210/wil6210.ko

musher0 wrote:Hi 8Geee

Look again!

With respect, musher0, your system has the directory structure /lib/modules/4.1.2-EmSee-32-pae/ but mine (as you can see in the screenshot I supplied) has /lib/modules/4.1.30/

SO we must be looking at different editions of the pup.

I got mine from here: http://augras.eu/puppy_linux/musher0/xe ... -7.0.6.iso

8Geee wrote:Just an observation here...
It seems that the 4-series kernels have dropped support for the ath5k/9k and the ath ethernet.

Regards
8Geee

Which is probably why the XenialPup7.5 version has an addon .pet for the atheros cards - it works fine with my AOA150. I was advised however that 7.0.6 was a more stable release but I seem to be having more problems than with 7.5

Anyway - it seems that we need to add the ath5k drivers back in a similar way for xenial 7.0.6.

I can remember doing this for another puppy years and years ago for some card or other but the details escape me.

I wonder can anyone remind me? --

Do I have to get the driver code + the correct kernel headers for this version (of the kernel) and then compile them?

If that's right where would I get the kernel headers for this (I've looked quickly in the puppy repo on NLUUG and can't find them) ?

deleted

I downloaded the ISO from the augras site. As paulh has reported, it has a different kernel build that is missing the Atheros drivers.

OTOH, there is NO problem in general with k4 kernels and Atheros. They are still included in the mainstream kernel and work fine.

paulh177 wrote:

musher0 wrote:Hi 8Geee

Look again!

With respect, musher0, your system has the directory structure /lib/modules/4.1.2-EmSee-32-pae/ but mine (as you can see in the screenshot I supplied) has /lib/modules/4.1.30/

SO we must be looking at different editions of the pup.

I got mine from here: http://augras.eu/puppy_linux/musher0/xe ... -7.0.6.iso

Hi paulh177.

You are perfectly right. And I am too... This:
http://augras.eu/puppy_linux/musher0/xe ... l+zdrv.zip
is the alternative kernel and modules that I provided for xenialPup-7.0.6.

I apologize for not anticipating this language hurdle: "Autre Noyau" means
"Other Kernel" in French.

You may, if you wish, go looking for kernel-4.1.30's headers, etc. But this "Other Kernel"
offers the ath* wifi drivers OOTB.

It is a simple tit for tat substitution to unpack and install the above alternative.
Preferably from another Pup, or even from the same 706 Pup but booted entirely
from CD/DVD or USB key:

-- go to your current xenialPup-7.0.6 folder;

-- move your present vmlinuz and zdrv*.sfs to a safe place;

-- unzip stemsee's kernel 4.1.2 package (the zip archive mentioned above);

-- copy stemsee's files vmlinuz and zdrv_xenial_7.sfs to the xenialPup-7.0.6 folder;

-- remove the CD, DVD or USB key

-- reboot normally. The alternative kernel and drivers should now be in place and active.

Again, I am sorry about this misunderstanding, which I unadvertedly brought about.

Please let me know if you have any problem with the substitution.

Best regards.

ah calice ... I should have checked out the contents of the zip files myself


but I write this from xenial 7.0.6 via wireless

merci beaucoup!

musher0 (in part) wrote:This:
http://augras.eu/puppy_linux/musher0/xe ... l+zdrv.zip
is the alternative kernel and modules that I provided for xenialPup-7.0.6..

Thanks very much to you all.
May I ask about 4.1.2-EmSee-32-pae vs 4.1.30
Apparently the vmlinuz (is that the "kernel"?) is different, and also the zdrv.
Is there a reason to use the 4.1.30 , rather than musher0's alternative kernel and modules, which I have been using ?

sheldonisaac wrote:

musher0 (in part) wrote:This:
http://augras.eu/puppy_linux/musher0/xe ... l+zdrv.zip
is the alternative kernel and modules that I provided for xenialPup-7.0.6..

Thanks very much to you all.
May I ask about 4.1.2-EmSee-32-pae vs 4.1.30
Apparently the vmlinuz (is that the "kernel"?) is different, and also the zdrv.
Is there a reason to use the 4.1.30 , rather than musher0's alternative kernel and modules, which I have been using ?

Hi SheldonIsaac.

On Puppy Linux, the vmlinuz executable always contains the Linux kernel, and the
zdrv*.sfs file, the drivers. On older Puppies, sometimes the drivers were included in
the main puppy*.sfs file rather than kept separate.

I changed to stemsee's 4.1.2 kernel and offered it as an alternative because I
wanted something that could access the 4 Gb of RAM I have on this machine.
I like having a ramdisk, It speeds things up so much, e.g. for file transfers and
compilations,

The ex-factory kernel from the Woof-CE build, although good, was not PAE:
accessing 2 Gb maximum, it only allows a tiny ramdisk.

I hope this answers the question.

~~~~~~~~~~

@PaulH177: Watch your language! and enjoy this alternative kernel!

new background.

I have been using Puppy Linux since 2008 starting with 4.1.2, acquiring newer versions as I got "newer" hardware. Currently, I'm using Tahrpup64 on a hp/Compaq nx6325 (AMD Turion 2 Core @1600 MHz, 4 GB memory) with success, having previously used Tahrpup (32 bit) and Precise on this machine.

Out of curiosity, I downloaded the XenialPup64-7.5 to try out. It booted well enough, if slowly, taking almost twice as long as Tahrpup64 (almost 2 minutes vs' under 1 minute). The reported CPU temp was significantly lower (more than 15 C lower) but the performance was terrible. Everything responded slowly, so slowly that I would double click things because I thought I missed earlier. Hovering over the temp icon in the taskbar showed the CPU speeds as 800 MHz, half their rated speeds. Hmmm.

I understand that modern systems vary the CPU speed to keep power consumption down, but under no condition did I observe the CPU speed vary from the half speed, even when running video. I then tried the 32 bit version of XenialPup-7.5 with the same sad results.

I usually test new Puppies using a "cheat-frugal" install until I'm convinced it's worth making a more formal installation. To be sure the install was not the fault, I did a bonafide frugal install of XenialPup-7.5 with the same lack of speed.

I was almost ready to give up on XenialPup, at least on this machine, until I spied a link to this thread. It looks like the slightly older kernel was the fix that this machine needed! It boots in under a minute, snappy response, things just seem to work. The CPU temp is a little lower than Tahrpup & Tahrpup64, while reporting full CPU speed.

This is just a long way to say, "Merci, musher0!" You've made a winner!

heywoodj wrote:I have been using Puppy Linux since 2008 starting with 4.1.2, acquiring newer versions as I got "newer" hardware. Currently, I'm using Tahrpup64 on a hp/Compaq nx6325 (AMD Turion 2 Core @1600 MHz, 4 GB memory) with success, having previously used Tahrpup (32 bit) and Precise on this machine.

Out of curiosity, I downloaded the XenialPup64-7.5 to try out. It booted well enough, if slowly, taking almost twice as long as Tahrpup64 (almost 2 minutes vs' under 1 minute). The reported CPU temp was significantly lower (more than 15 C lower) but the performance was terrible. Everything responded slowly, so slowly that I would double click things because I thought I missed earlier. Hovering over the temp icon in the taskbar showed the CPU speeds as 800 MHz, half their rated speeds. Hmmm.

I understand that modern systems vary the CPU speed to keep power consumption down, but under no condition did I observe the CPU speed vary from the half speed, even when running video. I then tried the 32 bit version of XenialPup-7.5 with the same sad results.

I usually test new Puppies using a "cheat-frugal" install until I'm convinced it's worth making a more formal installation. To be sure the install was not the fault, I did a bonafide frugal install of XenialPup-7.5 with the same lack of speed.

I was almost ready to give up on XenialPup, at least on this machine, until I spied a link to this thread. It looks like the slightly older kernel was the fix that this machine needed! It boots in under a minute, snappy response, things just seem to work. The CPU temp is a little lower than Tahrpup & Tahrpup64, while reporting full CPU speed.

This is just a long way to say, "Merci, musher0!" You've made a winner!

Good to hear! Glad you like it! Thanks for the thanks, heywoodj.

I'll echo a substantial portion of your thanks upstream to the good people
who maintain the "woof-CE" builder, and to stemsee, who compiled the 4.1
kernel for this xenialPup flavor.

I hope you have a great time with it!

BFN.

64 bits is slow... and that is true.
Bionic 32 bits is very fast, not only at boot.
There is something wrong in xenialpup.. It has always been something wrong, at least at home.. kind of freezing, progressive , whatever the kernel..
If artfulpup is a flavour, Bionic will be LTS, replacing Xenial.
Don't forget Stretch, quite perfect..

I just installed acpitool and now this laptop suspends and wakes up gracefully after the lid is closed. It even re-establishes Wifi connection without a fuss.
Woohoo!

Tahrpup64 never did that right for me -- I just got used to working around that quirk. No need for a workaround on XenialPup-7.0.6 !!