Ubuntu on Lenovo ThinkPad Edge

[alex-uk]

Paul_K, I'm also using an edge and 10.4, but can't get it to work. I've followed your instructions, but still no joy.

Here is what I get in the log:

Mar 18 21:21:54 ricardodaforce kernel: [   80.274945] rtl8192_SetWirelessMode(), wireless_mode:10, bEnableHT = 1
Mar 18 21:21:54 ricardodaforce kernel: [   80.285310] ===>rtllib_start_scan()
Mar 18 21:21:54 ricardodaforce kernel: [   80.287323] ADDRCONF(NETDEV_UP): wlan0: link is not ready
Mar 18 21:21:56 ricardodaforce kernel: [   81.430727] GPIOChangeRF  - HW Radio OFF
Mar 18 21:21:56 ricardodaforce kernel: [   81.430748] -------------->rtl8192se_cancel_hw_scan()scan abort start...
Mar 18 21:21:57 ricardodaforce kernel: [   82.563233] ================>r8192_wx_set_scan(): hwradio off
Mar 18 21:22:21 ricardodaforce kernel: [  107.174858] rtl8192_SetWirelessMode(), wireless_mode:10, bEnableHT = 1
Mar 18 21:22:21 ricardodaforce kernel: [  107.185255] ===>rtllib_start_scan()
Mar 18 21:22:21 ricardodaforce kernel: [  107.187110] ADDRCONF(NETDEV_UP): wlan0: link is not ready
Mar 18 21:22:22 ricardodaforce kernel: [  107.430736] GPIOChangeRF  - HW Radio OFF
Mar 18 21:22:22 ricardodaforce kernel: [  107.430751] -------------->rtl8192se_cancel_hw_scan()scan abort start...
Mar 18 21:22:22 ricardodaforce kernel: [  107.594720] rtl8192_SetWirelessMode(), wireless_mode:10, bEnableHT = 1
Mar 18 21:22:22 ricardodaforce kernel: [  107.605053] ===>rtllib_start_scan()
Mar 18 21:22:22 ricardodaforce kernel: [  107.606817] ADDRCONF(NETDEV_UP): wlan0: link is not ready
Mar 18 21:22:24 ricardodaforce kernel: [  109.430723] GPIOChangeRF  - HW Radio OFF
Mar 18 21:22:24 ricardodaforce kernel: [  109.430744] -------------->rtl8192se_cancel_hw_scan()scan abort start...
Mar 18 21:22:26 ricardodaforce kernel: [  111.561603] ================>r8192_wx_set_scan(): hwradio off

Any ideas? Its a great little laptop and I really want to get wireless working!

Thanks,

Alex

[grmela]

Alex, I had exactly the same problem as you. I tried nearly everyting on the Ubuntu Karmic to get the adapter working but nothing helped. Recompiling the drivers, updating system, updating kernel, ...etc

What solved the WiFi problem? It's weird but it was solved simply by rebooting to Ubuntu Lucid Alpha 3 Live CD. The WiFi didn't work there either but after booting back to Karmic, everything was fine, even Bluetooth started working. In fact, I'm writing right now from my Edge on a WPA2 WiFi network!

[highlandsun]

Makes sense. These devices have software-enabled kill switches. If the driver is too old and doesn't enable the switch, then the device won't power up. I had that issue on my HP dv5z as well, until I got a newer rev of the driver.

Just got an AMD Edge here today, installing Lucid Alpha3 on it at the moment.

Beta1 actually.

It comes with the Realtek driver, and the driver sees one of the wifi networks in the area. But it doesn't see my network, and it looks like the network-manager app doesn't support WPA-Enterprise. What's up with that?

[highlandsun]

Ah never mind. The driver that Lucid ships with doesn't work, but replacing it with the one from the realtek web site it works fine. You just have to find and delete the Lucid driver, otherwise even though you "make install" your own, it won't be loaded (because there are actually 3 different copies of the driver under /lib/modules).

[grmela]

Ah never mind. The driver that Lucid ships with doesn't work

And that's exactly the weird thing. The WiFi didn't work there but it solved the disabled wireless killswitch problem (after booting back to Karmic with). Well, maybe I should look at the Lucid changelog to find out what related has changed.

[finite9]

isn't this only an issue if you've bought the AMD version of the Thinkpad Edge? The Intel version comes with an Intel WiFi Link 1000 adapter, and that should have no issues with the Ubuntu 10.04 kernel driver.

[highlandsun]

Yes, this is only an issue on the AMD version.

By the way, there's a ton of good info in this thread:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=456688

I downgraded back to Karmic because Lucid always said "disks need to be checked" on every boot, even though it was always cleanly shut down. But I kept the 2.6.32.9 kernel that I built for Lucid with the DSDT patch. The machine is now running very well with all these tweaks applied.

[grmela]

What is your power consumption with the DSDT patch? Powertop without the patch reports something around 20-22W what is quite high (~2 hours on 4-cell).

[Zetheroo]

Could those of you who have a Lenovo Edge and have tried Ubuntu on it let us know the following information:

1. Output of lspci

2. Version on Ubuntu used

3. What worked out of the box and what did not work

This way users will be able to get a clear picture of what does and does not work.

[tengteng]

hi everybody i also have a thinkpad edge amd version and i can't turn on the wifi in lucid beta1. i've been reading this thread and tried paul_k's instructions but still no wifi. in network manager it still says wireless networks disconnected. Maybe im doing something wrong. I also dont know how to do highlandsun's suggestion of finding and deleteng the lucid driver in lib/modules
I'm dual booting with windows 7 starter now and it works there.. Also, in case its relevant, im using 2.6.32-17-generic-pae kernel and it sees 3.7 out of the 4 gigs i put in.
I'd rather plug the lan cable in Lucid than use wifi on windows but it would be perfect if i can also use wifi in lucid.
Hope somebody may be able to help. Thanks!