Any recommended wifi adapter for Puppy?

What works, and doesn't, for you. Be specific, and please include Puppy version.
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Rattlehead
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Any recommended wifi adapter for Puppy?

#1 Post by Rattlehead »

My internal wifi antenna died, and I'm trying to choose a wifi adapter that works out of the box, or close, in Puppy Linux. Is there any time-tried, sure bet model for Puppy? I use slacko 5.5., but I would be willing to relocate to a different pupplet if the adapter is worth it.

And if there is not such thing as a sure bet, could you tell me what are the features to look for in a wifi adapter to minimize the risk of purchasing a brick? I write this after a horrible experience with the TP-Link Archer T2UH Ac 600: the thing doesn't even get recognized by the lsusb command, and I've tried all kind of stuff in 5 different pupplets, with different kernels...
:cry:

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rcrsn51
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#2 Post by rcrsn51 »

If you were running a Puppy with a recent kernel, like Tahrpup, almost any adapter would work off-the-shelf. But drivers are kernel-specific and the older the Puppy, the trickier it gets.

Three all-purpose USB WiFi drivers are carl9170, rt2800usb and 8712u. But a vendor site like newegg won't tell you the driver name, so you need to check at wikidevi.com. Even then, it's not guaranteed if the driver has been updated since your old kernel.

Avoid the next-generation AC-mode adapters.

The driver here is proving to be very good, but there is no version for your Slacko 5.5.

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Rattlehead
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#3 Post by Rattlehead »

rcrsn51 wrote:If you were running a Puppy with a recent kernel, like Tahrpup, almost any adapter would work off-the-shelf. But drivers are kernel-specific and the older the Puppy, the trickier it gets.
Funny that you mention it, because using Tahrpup is one of the things I tried. I DuckDuckGoed "puppy linux latest version", and it gave me "Tahrpup 6.0.5." so that's the one I tried. Same result, adapter completely and fully ignored by my computer.

Does that mean that maybe I've chosen a specially tricky adapter? I'm through with testing it, I'm going to return it to the seller, but my fear is ordering a different model, going through all the drag, only to find myself again in the same brick mode. Is it a matter of avoiding the AC thing that you mentioned, is that the big separator?

What would be really awesome is if someone could tell me "use this puppy and this wifi adapter and it will work", preferably because they are already using them.
rcrsn51 wrote:Three all-purpose USB WiFi drivers are carl9170, rt2800usb and 8712u.
I've tried installing rt2800usb and 8712u via the Network wizard. Also, in Tahrpup, Quickpet offers you an option to install 8712u, "which solves many network problems". No success at all. As for carl9170, it doesn't appear in the network wizard, and a forum search shows it only mentioned in 3 posts about Slacko 5.3., as text, with no download available.

I have also tried the Ndiswrapper route, btw. And more Puppy flavors (Lucid, 4.3.1. and Slacko 53). Same absence of results.

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rcrsn51
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#4 Post by rcrsn51 »

If an adapter is not discovered by lsusb, then either it is defective or you have a problem with your USB ports. I have seen some adapters whose plug only worked through an extension cable.
I've tried installing rt2800usb and 8712u via the Network wizard. Also, in Tahrpup, Quickpet offers you an option to install 8712u, "which solves many network problems". No success at all. As for carl9170, it doesn't appear in the network wizard, and a forum search shows it only mentioned in 3 posts about Slacko 5.3., as text, with no download available.
What Puppy are you talking about? Either a driver is already in the kernel and will be auto-loaded when you plug in the adapter, or it's not.

There is no point in trying to load a driver in advance through the wizard. Instead, run the command "modinfo carl9170" to see if the driver is in your particular kernel.

I don't know why Tahrpup Quickpet would have an option to load r8712u. It's already part of its kernel.

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Rattlehead
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#5 Post by Rattlehead »

rcrsn51 wrote:If an adapter is not discovered by lsusb, then either it is defective or you have a problem with your USB ports. I have seen some adapters whose plug only worked through an extension cable.
Oops... Sorry, my bad. I checked lsusb again and it does show there...

Code: Select all

Bus 002 Device 003: ID 148f:761a Ralink Technology, Corp.
I was looking for "TP Link something" and perhaps I took that entry for the built in wifi. Sorry. :oops:
rcrsn51 wrote:What Puppy are you talking about? Either a driver is already in the kernel and will be auto-loaded when you plug in the adapter, or it's not.
Here is the process I've followed to test drivers: I run the Network Wizard (image 1) and it does not detect my external wifi adapted. So I click "Load modules" (in red in the image) and try one that seems feasible (image 2).

Puppy then reports me that the new module has been loaded and the hardware might or might not work (image 3).

After a few seconds of unbearable suspense, Puppy says that no new hardware has been detected. (Image 4).
rcrsn51 wrote:What Puppy are you talking about?
I've gone through this process, with all the modules that seemed likely, in Slacko 53, Slacko 55, Puppy 431, Lucid and Tahrpup 605 PAE.
rcrsn51 wrote:run the command "modinfo carl9170" to see if the driver is in your particular kernel.
Here is the output:

Code: Select all

[~]# modinfo carl9170
filename:       /lib/modules/3.2.33-4g/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/ath/carl9170/carl9170.ko
alias:          arusb_lnx
alias:          ar9170usb
firmware:       carl9170-1.fw
description:    Atheros AR9170 802.11n USB wireless
license:        GPL
author:         Christian Lamparter <chunkeey@googlemail.com>
author:         Johannes Berg <johannes@sipsolutions.net>
version:        1:1.9.4
srcversion:     D2411637BD7256187C65770
alias:          usb:v1B75p9170d*dc*dsc*dp*ic*isc*ip*
alias:          usb:v1668p1200d*dc*dsc*dp*ic*isc*ip*
alias:          usb:v057Cp8402d*dc*dsc*dp*ic*isc*ip*
alias:          usb:v057Cp8401d*dc*dsc*dp*ic*isc*ip*
alias:          usb:v0409p02B4d*dc*dsc*dp*ic*isc*ip*
alias:          usb:v0409p0249d*dc*dsc*dp*ic*isc*ip*
alias:          usb:v04BBp093Fd*dc*dsc*dp*ic*isc*ip*
alias:          usb:v2019p5304d*dc*dsc*dp*ic*isc*ip*
alias:          usb:v083ApF522d*dc*dsc*dp*ic*isc*ip*
alias:          usb:v0CDEp0027d*dc*dsc*dp*ic*isc*ip*
alias:          usb:v0CDEp0026d*dc*dsc*dp*ic*isc*ip*
alias:          usb:v0CDEp0023d*dc*dsc*dp*ic*isc*ip*
alias:          usb:v0586p3417d*dc*dsc*dp*ic*isc*ip*
alias:          usb:v1435p0326d*dc*dsc*dp*ic*isc*ip*
alias:          usb:v1435p0804d*dc*dsc*dp*ic*isc*ip*
alias:          usb:v0ACEp1221d*dc*dsc*dp*ic*isc*ip*
alias:          usb:v0846p9001d*dc*dsc*dp*ic*isc*ip*
alias:          usb:v0846p9010d*dc*dsc*dp*ic*isc*ip*
alias:          usb:v0846p9040d*dc*dsc*dp*ic*isc*ip*
alias:          usb:v07D1p3A0Fd*dc*dsc*dp*ic*isc*ip*
alias:          usb:v07D1p3A09d*dc*dsc*dp*ic*isc*ip*
alias:          usb:v07D1p3C10d*dc*dsc*dp*ic*isc*ip*
alias:          usb:vCACEp0300d*dc*dsc*dp*ic*isc*ip*
alias:          usb:v0CF3p1011d*dc*dsc*dp*ic*isc*ip*
alias:          usb:v0CF3p1010d*dc*dsc*dp*ic*isc*ip*
alias:          usb:v0CF3p1002d*dc*dsc*dp*ic*isc*ip*
alias:          usb:v0CF3p1001d*dc*dsc*dp*ic*isc*ip*
alias:          usb:v0CF3p9170d*dc*dsc*dp*ic*isc*ip*
depends:        mac80211,ath,cfg80211
intree:         Y
vermagic:       3.2.33-4g SMP mod_unload modversions 686 
parm:           nohwcrypt:Disable hardware crypto offload. (bool)
parm:           noht:Disable MPDU aggregation. (int)
rcrsn51 wrote:I don't know why Tahrpup Quickpet would have an option to load r8712u. It's already part of its kernel.
It's not 8712, but rtl8192. I've enclosed a screenshot of Quickpet. I've tried them and no luck. I've also tried all the tahrpup driver versions in the thread you provided, even though the version was wrong, and the 431 driver, correct version, zero results again.

----------------------------------------

The tahrpup driver that was for my version 605, was for 64 bits and alas, I'm 32 bits. Wouldn't you have that 32 bit driver around by chance? I think that could be the last sensible thing to test with this adapter. The fact that it isn't recognized ootb in Tahrpup makes me think that maybe it was a particularly tough model. They only provide driver support until kernel version 3.16 (http://www.tp-link.com/en/download/Arch ... tml#Driver ).This should work in Tahr, uname -r gives as kernel version 3.14.56., but it doesn't.

To make things worse, this official driver fails to unzip, so I got to download from some other source an I got compiling errors.

If some Puppy user has a recommendation of a wifi adapter that works well ootb with a certain Puppy version, I'll happily follow that suggestion.
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Rattlehead
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#6 Post by Rattlehead »

Not probable that anybody cares, but for the sake of a certain feeling of closure, I'd like to tell the unexpected turn my wifi adventure took:

one of the reviewers of the wifi adapter reported success ootb in Linux Mint, so I installed the latest version and ran the live-cd, to see if the response was different.

Lsusb got the same result. I then negotiated through Mint's menus to find where to check my hardware information --not an easy task, unlike in Puppy, where everything is so at hand...

So I finally decided to run the wifi wizard, open a browser, and test it that way.
The wifi light in my laptop started blinking as it hadn't done in a week and a half. OMG, could it be...?

The browser worked. I plugged the usb wifi adapter off. The browser still worked.

So: to sum up. The adapter wasn't detected by Mint either. But the test showed that the problem with my internal wifi was software related only.

Then I opened Slacko in Ram only mode (no pupsave), and repeated the success. I opened Slacko with a pupsave 10 versions former to my current in use, success again.

These are probably the fruits of an 'installfest indigestion': too much new software added too fast, without testing enough. My main suspect is dmenu, which installed with some weird errors and stuff missing.

I'm happy that this problem kinda self destructed, but it would have been nice if some Puppy users out there would have dropped a few names of wifi adapters models here... Maybe a wiki would be a good tool to gather that info? For sure, TP-Link Archer T2 UH will be excluded from such list... and remember to stay away from AC models! :lol:

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Insomniacno1
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#7 Post by Insomniacno1 »

This one has worked OOTB(out of the box) with all Puppy and Linux including Android that I have thrown at it:

Netgear WG111V2

It's a really old one and it's big but it support WPA2 and run 54Mbps

Picture here:

http://routerken.is-great.org/image/cac ... 00.jpg?i=1

I got it back in the day because I were running Puppy 4 and none of my Ralink or d-link PCI card would work.

I have just used it with Slacko 6.9.6.3 and 6.9.5.4 32 bit running of usb, in usbhub on my x86 tablet and it works fine.

JBJ

s243a
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#8 Post by s243a »

Rattlehead wrote: Here is the process I've followed to test drivers: I run the Network Wizard (image 1) and it does not detect my external wifi adapted. So I click "Load modules" (in red in the image) and try one that seems feasible (image 2).
I've had a problem with network wizard in that it wont detect the d-link WiFi afapter if the interface is down. Typing

ifconfig wlan0 up

before running the wizard fixes the problem. I susspect that when network wizard is looking for interfaces that it is missing an option to show all interfaces.

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Rattlehead
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#9 Post by Rattlehead »

Thank you for all the responses, even though they don't apply any more to me, it's great to have the resource for the future (I just can't wait to have this problem again! Just kiddin... :P :P :P ).

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bigpup
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#10 Post by bigpup »

Look at the first few posts in this section of the forum.
http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/index.php?f=31
The things they do not tell you, are usually the clue to solving the problem.
When I was a kid I wanted to be older.... This is not what I expected :shock:
YaPI(any iso installer)

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