No Connection, Wired OR Wireless. Ubuntu 10.10 Netbook Remix

[Charlie:]

First off, my name is Stefan, and thank tech-heaven there's a whole forum dedicated to the noobs!

I installed Ubuntu 10.10 Netbook Remix, dual-boot with Windows XP Home on my Acer One netbook Sunday night. Since then, I've been frustrated trying to figure out my connection issues.

From my searches on this forum I can tell lots of people are having problems with the Broadcom Wireless connection, same here. The twist is, I can't get the B43 proprietary drivers installed without a connection. When hardwired, Ubuntu has no connection, and my router doesn't show that the ethernet port is active. (Blinking lights and such aren't on) This happens on my desk, connected to the same router as my XP desktop, while I'm surfing on that machine. I'm not sure what's happening. :confused: Both wired and wireless work just fine when I boot into XP on the netbook. (Posting from my living room right now in Windows, unfortunately)

The night of my installation I could connect with ethernet, and I followed a page on the ubuntu site that took me step-by-step through installing the firmware with terminal, but it didn't get the wireless working. After I restarted, all connections have stopped working.

HERE IS SOME USEFUL INFORMATION:

charlie@Charlie-Book:~$ lspci
00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation Mobile 945GME Express Memory Controller Hub (rev 03)
00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation Mobile 945GME Express Integrated Graphics Controller (rev 03)
00:02.1 Display controller: Intel Corporation Mobile 945GM/GMS/GME, 943/940GML Express Integrated Graphics Controller (rev 03)
00:1b.0 Audio device: Intel Corporation N10/ICH 7 Family High Definition Audio Controller (rev 02)
00:1c.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation N10/ICH 7 Family PCI Express Port 1 (rev 02)
00:1c.1 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation N10/ICH 7 Family PCI Express Port 2 (rev 02)
00:1c.2 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation N10/ICH 7 Family PCI Express Port 3 (rev 02)
00:1c.3 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation N10/ICH 7 Family PCI Express Port 4 (rev 02)
00:1d.0 USB Controller: Intel Corporation N10/ICH 7 Family USB UHCI Controller #1 (rev 02)
00:1d.1 USB Controller: Intel Corporation N10/ICH 7 Family USB UHCI Controller #2 (rev 02)
00:1d.2 USB Controller: Intel Corporation N10/ICH 7 Family USB UHCI Controller #3 (rev 02)
00:1d.3 USB Controller: Intel Corporation N10/ICH 7 Family USB UHCI Controller #4 (rev 02)
00:1d.7 USB Controller: Intel Corporation N10/ICH 7 Family USB2 EHCI Controller (rev 02)
00:1e.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801 Mobile PCI Bridge (rev e2)
00:1f.0 ISA bridge: Intel Corporation 82801GBM (ICH7-M) LPC Interface Bridge (rev 02)
00:1f.1 IDE interface: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) IDE Controller (rev 02)
00:1f.2 SATA controller: Intel Corporation 82801GBM/GHM (ICH7 Family) SATA AHCI Controller (rev 02)
00:1f.3 SMBus: Intel Corporation N10/ICH 7 Family SMBus Controller (rev 02)
01:00.0 Network controller: Broadcom Corporation BCM4312 802.11b/g LP-PHY (rev 01)
03:00.0 Ethernet controller: Atheros Communications AR8132 Fast Ethernet (rev c0)
charlie@Charlie-Book:~$



charlie@Charlie-Book:~$ lsusb
Bus 005 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 004 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 003 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 001 Device 003: ID 0781:5530 SanDisk Corp.
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 04f2:b084 Chicony Electronics Co., Ltd
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub



charlie@Charlie-Book:~$ iwconfig
lo no wireless extensions.

eth0 no wireless extensions.



charlie@Charlie-Book:~$ ifconfig
eth0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:26:22:17:2f:71
UP 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 B) TX bytes:0 (0.0 B)
Interrupt:46

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:16436 Metric:1
RX packets:168 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:168 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:0
RX bytes:13256 (13.2 KB) TX bytes:13256 (13.2 KB)



charlie@Charlie-Book:~$ lsmod
Module Size Used by
nls_iso8859_1 3261 1
nls_cp437 4931 1
vfat 9201 1
fat 48240 1 vfat
usb_storage 40172 1
parport_pc 26058 0
ppdev 5556 0
snd_hda_codec_realtek 218227 1
binfmt_misc 6599 1
joydev 8767 0
snd_hda_intel 22107 2
snd_hda_codec 87552 2 snd_hda_codec_realtek,snd_hda_intel
i915 294989 5
snd_hwdep 5040 1 snd_hda_codec
snd_pcm 71475 2 snd_hda_intel,snd_hda_codec
snd_seq_midi 4588 0
drm_kms_helper 30200 1 i915
snd_rawmidi 17783 1 snd_seq_midi
snd_seq_midi_event 6047 1 snd_seq_midi
snd_seq 47174 2 snd_seq_midi,snd_seq_midi_event
drm 168092 5 i915,drm_kms_helper
snd_timer 19067 2 snd_pcm,snd_seq
snd_seq_device 5744 3 snd_seq_midi,snd_rawmidi,snd_seq
uvcvideo 55847 0
intel_agp 26694 2 i915
psmouse 59033 0
videodev 43098 1 uvcvideo
snd 49038 13 snd_hda_codec_realtek,snd_hda_intel,snd_hda_codec, snd_hwdep,snd_pcm,snd_rawmidi,snd_seq,snd_timer,sn d_seq_device
v4l1_compat 13359 2 uvcvideo,videodev
serio_raw 4022 0
led_class 2633 0
soundcore 880 1 snd
agpgart 32011 2 drm,intel_agp
snd_page_alloc 7120 2 snd_hda_intel,snd_pcm
i2c_algo_bit 5168 1 i915
video 18712 1 i915
output 1883 1 video
lp 7342 0
parport 31492 3 parport_pc,ppdev,lp
ahci 19198 2
libahci 21664 1 ahci
atl1c 29949 0
ssb 39288 0



Firmware stuff:
File 1: broadcom-wl-4.150.10.5.tar.bz2
File 2: wl_apsta-3.130.20.0.o


If this has been addressed and I just looked over it in my searching, please facepalm with a complimentary 'Solved' link!

That's all for now.
-Stefan

[jtarin]

What is you connection...DSL, cable etc;?
Try this.

Networking

If the ethernet device was knocked out during installation:

ensure that /etc/network/interfaces contains no hotplug entry for eth0 or wlan0
shutdown netbook and remove the power cord
remove battery and let sit for a minute or so
restore power to netbook and startup
lspci -v | grep net reveals the ethernet device (Atheros Communications AR8132 Fast Ethernet)
bring up the interface...
ifconfig eth0 up and
dhclient eth0

[Charlie:]

Ah, forgot to mention..

I have Comcast Cable.

EDIT:
charlie@Charlie-Book:~$ ifconfig eth0 up
SIOCSIFFLAGS: Permission denied
charlie@Charlie-Book:~$ sudo ifconfig eth0 up
[sudo] password for charlie:
charlie@Charlie-Book:~$ sudo dhclient eth0
Internet Systems Consortium DHCP Client V3.1.3
Copyright 2004-2009 Internet Systems Consortium.
All rights reserved.
For info, please visit https://www.isc.org/software/dhcp/

Listening on LPF/eth0/00:26:22:17:2f:71
Sending on LPF/eth0/00:26:22:17:2f:71
Sending on Socket/fallback
DHCPDISCOVER on eth0 to 255.255.255.255 port 67 interval 3
DHCPDISCOVER on eth0 to 255.255.255.255 port 67 interval 3
DHCPDISCOVER on eth0 to 255.255.255.255 port 67 interval 5
DHCPDISCOVER on eth0 to 255.255.255.255 port 67 interval 7
DHCPDISCOVER on eth0 to 255.255.255.255 port 67 interval 11
DHCPDISCOVER on eth0 to 255.255.255.255 port 67 interval 15
DHCPDISCOVER on eth0 to 255.255.255.255 port 67 interval 10
DHCPDISCOVER on eth0 to 255.255.255.255 port 67 interval 7
No DHCPOFFERS received.
No working leases in persistent database - sleeping.

[jtarin]

With or without a modem?
When you do ifconfig eth0 up
Check ifconfig to see if your eth0 has an ip address.

[Charlie:]

With a modem.

Wall -> modem -> router -> desktop/wireless
I've had my desktop and PS3 hooked in since August with no problems. I bought this netbook last week for the sole purpose of learning about Linux.

Haha, I'm so green it's not even funny! I'll come back in a minute with the results.

Thanks for the help so far jtarin!

After that,

eth0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:26:22:17:2f:71
UP 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 B) TX bytes:0 (0.0 B)
Interrupt:45
same result except for different numbers:
3
5
9
9
9
11
11
4

No IP as far as I can tell..
--Stefan

[jtarin]

With a modem.

Wall -> modem -> router -> desktop/wireless
I've had my desktop and PS3 hooked in since August with no problems. I bought this netbook last week for the sole purpose of learning about Linux.

Haha, I'm so green it's not even funny! I'll come back in a minute with the results.

Thanks for the help so far jtarin!

After that,

eth0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:26:22:17:2f:71
UP 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 B) TX bytes:0 (0.0 B)
Interrupt:45
same result except for different numbers:
3
5
9
9
9
11
11
4

No IP as far as I can tell..
--Stefan

Ok I'm approaching this problem from the standpoint of the wired connection and your lsmod command shows the module loaded for your ehternet card..."atl1c 29949 0". Possibly this is the wrong module even though it is an Atheros module. Let me search for problems withthis and get back.

[jtarin]

OK I found this.

To fix LAN. I have an Atheros AR8131 Ethernet card.

From a terminal:
1) sudo gedit /etc/default/grub

In gedit:
2) Replace the line:
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash"
with
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash pci=use_crs"
then save and close.

From a terminal:
3) sudo update-grub

4) Reboot your system

[Charlie:]

Thanks for another try.

I followed instructions, and after the reboot it's still the same story.
No IP from ifconfig, and dhclient eth0 still returns nothing.

I'm thinking a fresh install might be simpler, any other thoughts?

EDIT:
I installed from a live-flash drive, if there might be something on there I should dig for.. I'm pretty illiterate when it comes to anything Linux.

[jtarin]

Before installing see if you can get online using the live CD/Flashdrive.

[Charlie:]

No luck, as usual. I'm gonna try to figure out ndiswrapper again tonight, maybe I skipped a step last time :/

[Charlie:]

Had a bit of luck tonight with this:

sudo modprobe -r b43 ssb

then

sudo modprobe b43

It seems like Ubuntu recognized my network card because instead of listing (from the icon on the toolbar, left-click)"Wired connections - none available" alone, it also said "Wireless connections - firmware missing".

Seems like I'm getting closer.. Still no cigar though :(

I've got some time tonight though so I'll finally get around to trying ndiswrapper. Cross your fingers!

[Charlie:]

Last post for this thread.

Tonight I installed Ubuntu 10.04, had a rocky start but after a little work in the command line (from GRUB) I was able to get a stable boot every time. Installed STA driver from additional hardware and it works like a charm!

I appreciate the help, and I'm sure I'll be back for more shortly.

Any suggestions what to go after first with my shiny new Linux?

[wep940]

I saw a couple of posts back that you were thinking of trying ndiswrapper again - this brings to mind a few tips, and since you've solved you problem this will be for others reading this thread:

- if you install ndiswrapper and try to use it, then try to use one of the restricted drivers, you will get a conflict. For Broadcom wireless, *IF* you use ndiswrapper you will need to black list b43, ssa, etc., or they will make anything you do in ndiswrapper not work. The best option is to always try to the restricted drivers first - if they don't work and you have no other way to get on the net, only then install ndiswrapper (and be sure to include the GUI for it - ndisgtk). After you are online, do a sudo apt-get update, then check in restricted drivers again to see if something else comes up. If so, enable it and REMOVE ndiswrapper and ndisgtk, and REBOOT before trying the new driver out.

[Charlie:]

Thanks wep940! That's a much simpler explanation than I got from the tutorials.

On another note since I have my netbook up and running 10.04 with no problems, this thread can probably be deleted.