Getting connected with wireless rt2500

[RobbieG]

I am a complete linux newbie, but I believe I have given this a valient effort and am at a point where I need to post.

I have a Gigabyte wireless card, which I found out uses the rt2500 chipset. I downloaded the files associated with this off of http://mymirrors.homelinux.org/puppy/wireless/, booted into puppy, and followed the readme. I believe I got the driver installed, and I could see the essid of my wireless network, but I could not connect. I ran the setup wireless card from the "start menu," it said the card was installed and I should click "wag" (or something like that), and a window titled "xmessage" said this:
------------------------------------
not using PCMCIA

no module loaded
dhcpcd not running
wifi-beta not installed

ra0 enabled
no IP assigned to ra0
ap test failure
no internet ping test

1 wireless network(s) detected
0 open network(s) detected
------------------------------------
I could not enable dhcp (I inputed: dhcpcd -t 20 -h puppypc -d ra0)
I tried statically entering an ip, but that did not allow me to connect either (I inputted:
ifconfig ra0 192.168.0.101 broadcast 192.168.0.255 netmask 255.255.255.0
route add default gw 192.168.0.1 ra0)
I have the right WEP key entered for my wireless router too.

I'm sure there's some assumption I don't know about in the readme, but I've honostly searched and cannot find what to do.

Thanks for any help

Robbie G

[tempestuous]

It sounds like you have installed the Ralink driver properly, and you're close.
I suggest you persist with connecting to your wireless network from the commandline, then you can use WAG later when you know everything else is OK. If you know your wireless router's settings you should be able to connect with -
iwconfig ra0 essid MY_ESSID key 1234567890 mode Managed
... then obtain an IP address as you have already tried.

If no success, try connecting with encryption turned off.
If this quick check fails, now you need to do some more thorough troubleshooting -
After you load the module with "modprobe rt2500" check that the module is now listed with "lsmod".
And run "ifconfig -a" to check that a network interface has been created, "ra0".

After "iwconfig ra0 essid MY_ESSID key 1234567890 mode Managed" check that the network interface ra0 is now listed as active - you should see it with "ifconfig" though with an undefined IP address at this stage.

Is the router set to assign IP addresses with DHCP? If not, what is the allowed address range for static IP addresses? I see you tried 192.168.0.101, this might not be allowed.
Does the router restrict access by MAC address? If so, turn this off, at least temporarily.

[RobbieG]

If you know your wireless router's settings you should be able to connect with -
iwconfig ra0 essid MY_ESSID key 1234567890 mode Managed
... then obtain an IP address as you have already tried.
If no success, try connecting with encryption turned off.

This quick check failed

If this quick check fails, now you need to do some more thorough troubleshooting -
After you load the module with "modprobe rt2500" check that the module is now listed with "lsmod".

yes, it is listed after running lsmod

And run "ifconfig -a" to check that a network interface has been created, "ra0".

----------------------------------------------------------------------
# ifconfig -a:
eth0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:11:D8:82:B2:03
BROADCAST MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1
RX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
RX bytes:0 (0.0 iB) TX bytes:0 (0.0 iB)
Interrupt:10 Memory:fb900000-0

lo Link encap:Local Loopback
inet addr:127.0.0.1 Mask:255.0.0.0
if UP LOOPBACK RUNNING MTU:16436 Metric:1
RX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:0
RX bytes:0 (0.0 iB) TX bytes:0 (0.0 iB)

ra0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:0F:EA:0C:7D:3B
BROADCAST MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1
RX packets:10 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:26 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
RX bytes:3512 (3.4 kiB) TX bytes:1248 (1.2 kiB)
Interrupt:5 Base address:0xd000
----------------------------------------------------------------------

After "iwconfig ra0 essid MY_ESSID key 1234567890 mode Managed" check that the network interface ra0 is now listed as active - you should see it with "ifconfig" though with an undefined IP address at this stage.

This is where we run into problems:
----------------------------------------------------------------------
# ifconfig
lo Link encap:Local Loopback
inet addr:127.0.0.1 Mask:255.0.0.0
UP LOOPBACK RUNNING MTU:16436 Metric:1
RX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:0
RX bytes:0 (0.0 iB) TX bytes:0 (0.0 iB)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Is the router set to assign IP addresses with DHCP? If not, what is the allowed address range for static IP addresses? I see you tried 192.168.0.101, this might not be allowed.
Does the router restrict access by MAC address? If so, turn this off, at least temporarily.

The router is set up for DHCP, and I just looked and the range was from 192.168.0.100 to .199 I believe. This computer in windows is normally .101, but I also tried the static with .102. I changed the network from WEP security with a shared key to no security and an open network, but still cannot get r0 active/an ip address. but if I type "iwconfig" this is what I get:
----------------------------------------------------------------------
# iwconfig
lo no wireless extensions.

eth0 no wireless extensions.

ra0 RT2500 Wireless ESSID:"Georgsaas"
Mode:Managed Frequency:2.412GHz Bit Rate:24Mb/s
RTS thr:off Fragment thr:off
Encryption key:off
Link Quality:84/100 Signal level:-47 dBm Noise level:-192 dBm
Rx invalid nwid:0 Rx invalid crypt:0 Rx invalid frag:0
Tx excessive retries:0 Invalid misc:0 Missed beacon:0
----------------------------------------------------------------------
I feel like I shouldn't be getting that if ra0 isn't returned in the ifconfig? But what do I know.

Thanks for any more tips.

Robbie G

[RobbieG]

tempestuous - Thank you very much for your time and help.

I upgraded the firmware on my wireless router, restarted it, and it is now working. This is something I should have done right away and I'm sorry for wasting your time. I do feel like I understand linux a little better now, though (this reply is from within puppy!). Now the trick is getting it to automatically load when puppy starts. I'll let you know if I run into problems.

Robbie G

[MU]

you can add commands to /etc/rc.d/rc.local0 with an Editor.

Those will be executed, when Puppy boots.

Greets, Mark

[RobbieG]

you can add commands to /etc/rc.d/rc.local0 with an Editor.

Those will be executed, when Puppy boots.

The readme said to add this to /root/.etc/rc.d/rc.local :
-----------------------------------
cd /
tar -zxvf /root/rt2x00.tar.gz
depmod
-----------------------------------

Can I add these commands too?:
-----------------------------------
modprobe rt2500
iwconfig ra0 essid MY_ESSID key 1234567890 mode Managed
dhcpcd -t 20 -h puppypc -d ra0
-----------------------------------
What is the difference between /etc/rc.d/rc.local0 and /root/.etc/rc.d/rc.local ?

Thanks

[MU]

You should not need
tar -zxvf /root/rt2x00.tar.gz
as is just unzips the file.
Once it is unzipped, you don't need to do that again.

For the other commands:
i don't exactly know what they do, but they are normal shell-commands, so you can put them in there.

The difference of rc.local and rc.local0 is Puppy-specific.
rc.local shall be used by Puppy only.
rc.local0 may be edited by the user.

I just read it somewhere.

I think (but don't know) it has to do with the way Puppy boots, all this Ramdisk-stuff.

Mark

[keenerd]

A general suggestion:

Try "ifconfig ra0 up" before trying to connect.

Also, install the latest version of WAG. Parts of your card are working right, since scanning returned a positive result. It seems like something else is wrong too, but WAG 0.3.2 should be able to handle it.
http://www.murga.org/~puppy/download.php?id=1130

[tempestuous]

Good tip about "ifconfig ra0 up", Keenerd.
As I learn more about WPA encryption in Linux I see that it's necessary to bring up the interface (as you suggest) before various WPA utilities can do their job.

"tar -zxvf /root/rt2x00.tar.gz" and "depmod" are not necessary at each boot for a full hard drive (Type2) installation, but they are necessary for liveCD/USB/type1HDinstall because the modules install to a non-persistent part of the Puppy filesystem.

In Puppy, rc.local is your personal boot script. It is called from rc.local0.

[RobbieG]

I will be putting this in /root/.etc/rc.d/rc.local :

Code: Select all

cd /
tar -zxvf /root/rt2x00.tar.gz
depmod

And the readme said to run these from a script:

Code: Select all

modprobe rt2500
iwconfig ra0 essid MY_ESSID key 1234567890 mode Managed
dhcpcd -t 20 -h puppypc -d ra0

my questions:
1. Why not put all 6 lines in rc.local? Does the system need to be completely loaded before running those last 3 lines?
2. How do I run a script?

[keenerd]

Personally I am against putting wifi config stuff into rc.local. I like to pull my wireless card out for a lot of reasons. Battery life, testing cards, etc. Anyway, if you forget to have the proper card inserted when booting things can get messy. Additionally, it locks you down to one one access point. My laptop is too nomadic for that.

I would suggest making a script just for wifi, without building it into rc.local. A basic wifi script just like this was my first script -- and it grew up to become WAG.

Making a script is pretty easy. Anywhere in ROX, right click and choose New > Script. Name the file. Shift + left click on it to open it in a text editor. Or right click and select "Open as text". If you're familar with DOS, scripts are like suped up BAT (batch) files. The script will read through every line of text and enter it into the command line. If you can type commands and connect, just copy everything you type into a script.

Now you don't have to type all that anymore. Just left click the script file and it will run.

[tempestuous]

Sure, you can put all the wireless config commands in rc.local, but as Keenard is saying - your wireless network setup is then inflexible.

The concept of putting this stuff into a script is that you can connect "on-demand".

[RobbieG]

Thanks for the help. The wireless card is actually a PCI card on my desktop computer, so I won't be taking it in and out. But, I suppose it's not that bad having to click one thing to get connected.

The readme says to keep the tar.gz file in the /root directory, but puppy never seems to save that file there. Is that normal? Can it be unzipped and installed from any directory, because the readme said to put it in the / or /root.

[tempestuous]

The contents of /root are stored in the pupfile ... so if your changes to /root are lost it sounds like you have chosen to run Puppy without a pupfile.

So yes, it's fine to put the tar.gz file elsewhere ... but if you don't have a pupfile then your modified /root/.etc/rc.d/rc.local file will not be saved either.

Bottom line - if you want to modify Puppy and keep the changes, you need a pupfile.

[RobbieG]

after upgrading to the oct 20 iso, the file stays saved in my /root directory.

Thanks for the feedback