Wireless internet is intermittent

[matthewhaworth]

Okay, I've managed to get my wireless internet working with ubuntu (I was trying to connect at 128bit instead of 64bit lol) but now, it takes ages to load google and sometimes won't even load a page at all, I had to come out of it and come back into windows to post this message on here. Any ideas as to what may be causing the problem? My internet connection is 8mb/s and it works fine on Windows so it had to be a problem with ubuntu.

Also, I'm interested in developing with Ubuntu, any advice on where to start? I've done a lot of PHP programming before but no real application programming, I've dabbled with Java and I'm very comfortable with object oriented programming languages, it's just I want to start developing with Ubuntu, applications and such..

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

[jualin]

ok if you are using firefox try disabling IPV6. To do this type
about:config on the Firefox address bar and then look for IPv6 (use the filter search utility) and Toggle it from False to true. Maybe this will speed up things a little bit.

[superprash2003]

try changing dns servers to opendns 208.67.222.222 and 208.67.220.220

[matthewhaworth]

How would I go about that?
Thanks for your help guys, I'll try both when I reboot

[phidia]

What method and driver are you using to get wireless? What card do you have?

[matthewhaworth]

How do I find that out lol? I'm really new to Linux lol

[jualin]

If you wireless card is a PCI card then type
lspci This will List all of your PCI devices. If your wireless network worked by default you are most likely using a native linux driver and not ndiswrapper (windows driver).

[matthewhaworth]

06:05.0 Ethernet controller: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL-8139/8139C/8139C+ (rev 10)

There's that? My wireless network did work by default, so that means I'm using a native linux driver? I don't know, I've wired my laptop to the router for now.. it was working on wireless quite well for about, two minutes, then it just died again for no reason..

Thank you for your help so far :)

[jualin]

That's the model of the Ethernet (wired internet) so that is not it. If your wireless card is a USB device then you need to type
lsusb. Post the complete results from both commands.

[matthewhaworth]

matthewhaworth@matthewhaworth-laptop:~$ lspci
00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation Mobile 945GM/PM/GMS, 943/940GML and 945GT Express Memory Controller Hub (rev 03)
00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation Mobile 945GM/GMS, 943/940GML 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 82801G (ICH7 Family) High Definition Audio Controller (rev 02)
00:1c.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) PCI Express Port 1 (rev 02)
00:1c.1 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) PCI Express Port 2 (rev 02)
00:1c.2 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) PCI Express Port 3 (rev 02)
00:1d.0 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) USB UHCI Controller #1 (rev 02)
00:1d.1 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) USB UHCI Controller #2 (rev 02)
00:1d.2 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) USB UHCI Controller #3 (rev 02)
00:1d.3 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) USB UHCI Controller #4 (rev 02)
00:1d.7 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 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 IDE interface: Intel Corporation 82801GBM/GHM (ICH7 Family) SATA IDE Controller (rev 02)
00:1f.3 SMBus: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) SMBus Controller (rev 02)
06:04.0 FireWire (IEEE 1394): O2 Micro, Inc. Firewire (IEEE 1394) (rev 02)
06:04.2 SD Host controller: O2 Micro, Inc. Integrated MMC/SD Controller (rev 01)
06:04.3 Mass storage controller: O2 Micro, Inc. Integrated MS/xD Controller (rev 01)
06:05.0 Ethernet controller: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL-8139/8139C/8139C+ (rev 10)
matthewhaworth@matthewhaworth-laptop:~$ lsusb
Bus 005 Device 002: ID 0db0:6877 Micro Star International
Bus 005 Device 001: ID 0000:0000
Bus 004 Device 001: ID 0000:0000
Bus 003 Device 001: ID 0000:0000
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 0000:0000
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 0000:0000


Is that okay? It's definity not a USB but I thought I'd do it anyway lol

[jualin]

I don't see your wireless card listed in there. Are you using a PCMCIA card (little card that you plug in and out)? Post the results of
lspcmcia. And tell us the model and make of your computer.

[matthewhaworth]

There is absolutely no output to the lspcmcia :(.
Erm, I'm using an Advent 7109A.. if that means anything.. Ubuntu can definitely find my wireless card as it's found some networks lol.. odd huh?

Apparently it's a "Ralink 2500 WLAN"

[jualin]

That is pretty odd since the wireless card is not showing on your lspci output. Maybe someone more experienced can confirm that. I will look up a solution for your problem. Just hang in there buddy.

[jualin]

Ok, how about a different approach, post the results of
ifconfig
iwconfig

[jualin]

I found this guide online that you may want to take a look at https://help.ubuntu.com/community/WifiDocs/WirelessTroubleShootingGuide#lshw

[matthewhaworth]

matthewhaworth@matthewhaworth-laptop:~$ ifconfig
eth0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:03:0d:55:94:96
inet addr:192.168.1.70 Bcast:192.168.1.255 Mask:255.255.255.0
inet6 addr: fe80::203:dff:fe55:9496/64 Scope:Link
UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1
RX packets:144406 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:85877 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
RX bytes:196260639 (187.1 MB) TX bytes:8074453 (7.7 MB)
Interrupt:17 Base address:0x2000

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:133031 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:133031 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:0
RX bytes:7168617 (6.8 MB) TX bytes:7168617 (6.8 MB)

wlan0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:13:d3:7e:98:17
UP BROADCAST MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1
RX packets:1088 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:1080 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
RX bytes:1062701 (1.0 MB) TX bytes:127721 (124.7 KB)

wmaster0 Link encap:UNSPEC HWaddr 00-13-D3-7E-98-17-00-00-00-00-00-00-00-00-00-00
UP BROADCAST RUNNING 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)

matthewhaworth@matthewhaworth-laptop:~$ iwconfig
lo no wireless extensions.

eth0 no wireless extensions.

wmaster0 no wireless extensions.

wlan0 IEEE 802.11g ESSID:""
Mode:Managed Frequency:2.442 GHz Access Point: 00:14:7F:9F:20:47
Tx-Power=27 dBm
Retry min limit:7 RTS thr:off Fragment thr=2346 B
Link Quality:0 Signal level:0 Noise level:0
Rx invalid nwid:0 Rx invalid crypt:0 Rx invalid frag:0
Tx excessive retries:0 Invalid misc:0 Missed beacon:0


I shall take a look at the guide. Thank you :).

[phidia]

Try also
lspci -nn. See if that outputs your network device.

[matthewhaworth]

Try also . See if that outputs your network device.

I'm afraid it doesn't :(.

[jualin]

try this
lsmod | grep rt

[matthewhaworth]

matthewhaworth@matthewhaworth-laptop:~$ lsmod | grep rt
parport_pc 36260 0
parport 37832 3 ppdev,parport_pc,lp
rt73usb 27136 0
rt2x00usb 12800 1 rt73usb
rt2x00lib 22528 2 rt73usb,rt2x00usb
iTCO_vendor_support 4868 1 iTCO_wdt
rfkill 8592 1 rt2x00lib
input_polldev 5896 1 rt2x00lib
crc_itu_t 3072 1 rt2x00lib
mac80211 165652 2 rt2x00usb,rt2x00lib
agpgart 34760 3 drm,intel_agp
usbcore 146028 5 rt73usb,rt2x00usb,ehci_hcd,uhci_hcd


That right?

[jualin]

Ok according to that your wireless device is installed and the modules are loaded. Try doing an scan to see if the wireless works
sudo iwlist wlan0 scan

[jualin]

I was reading the guide from the link that I sent you and if the connection is established correctly but then is lost is maybe a problem with channel interference. Maybe you can try changing the Wireless Channel in your router to a channel that no one else is using around your house.

[matthewhaworth]

wlan0 Scan completed :
Cell 01 - Address: 00:14:6C:B5:10:18
ESSID:"SKY24226"
Mode:Master
Channel:6
Frequency:2.437 GHz (Channel 6)
Quality=46/100 Signal level=-84 dBm
Encryption key:on
IE: WPA Version 1
Group Cipher : TKIP
Pairwise Ciphers (1) : TKIP
Authentication Suites (1) : PSK
Bit Rates:1 Mb/s; 2 Mb/s; 5.5 Mb/s; 6 Mb/s; 9 Mb/s
11 Mb/s; 12 Mb/s; 18 Mb/s; 24 Mb/s; 36 Mb/s
48 Mb/s; 54 Mb/s
Extra:tsf=00000001958f2ca4
Cell 02 - Address: 00:14:7F:9F:20:47
ESSID:"BTHomeHub-41D1"
Mode:Master
Channel:7
Frequency:2.442 GHz (Channel 7)
Quality=54/100 Signal level=-34 dBm
Encryption key:on
Bit Rates:1 Mb/s; 2 Mb/s; 5.5 Mb/s; 11 Mb/s; 18 Mb/s
24 Mb/s; 36 Mb/s; 54 Mb/s; 6 Mb/s; 9 Mb/s
12 Mb/s; 48 Mb/s
Extra:tsf=00000180b05aacc1
Cell 03 - Address: 00:11:50:F9:D9:14
ESSID:"Belkin54g"
Mode:Master
Channel:11
Frequency:2.462 GHz (Channel 11)
Quality=47/100 Signal level=-78 dBm
Encryption key:on
Bit Rates:1 Mb/s; 2 Mb/s; 5.5 Mb/s; 11 Mb/s; 22 Mb/s
6 Mb/s; 9 Mb/s; 12 Mb/s; 18 Mb/s; 24 Mb/s
36 Mb/s; 48 Mb/s; 54 Mb/s
Extra:tsf=000006bfdeef12f3


Lol, it's been able to find the different networks since the beginning, it's just when I'm connected that the problem exists.. it stay fine for about five seconds after being connected but then just dies and fails to find websites or use pidgin


I was reading the guide from the link that I sent you and if the connection is established correctly but then is lost is maybe a problem with channel interference. Maybe you can try changing the Wireless Channel in your router to a channel that no one else is using around your house.

It works fine with Windows though?

[jualin]

My knowledge reached to an end. What I would do next is try using Ndiswrapper with a windows XP driver. Go to the Package Manager and install ndiswrapper and ndisgtk. And try installing a windows XP driver since apparently the Linux native driver is not working for you very good.

[matthewhaworth]

Thanks a lot Jualin, I'll try your suggestion :).

[jualin]

Are you trying to connect to a Network with WPA Encryption?, if you are I found this post that it's supposed to enable WPA support for RT2500 wireless cards. Try it if that's your case http://ubuntuforums.org/showpost.php?p=3595458&postcount=6
I hope you solve everything. Just be patient dude someone else might have the solution for your problem.

[matthewhaworth]

http://www.jarviser.co.uk/jarviser/howto1.html#type9

If you go right to the very bottom of that page it shows that windows has an option to obtain ip addresses and DNS automatically, is there an ubuntu equivalent?

[jualin]

Yes Ubuntu Network Manager works the same way.

[flytripper]

hmm in my such and such years of computing i have found that wireless networks simply just ARE intermittent and that you simply cant beat having a cable plugged into your computers harris.