[SOLVED] IBM/Atheros AR50001X+ Wireless PCI card OK w/ 9.10, nogo w/ 1

[pwp7669]

I've been successfully running with this wifi card for many months with Ubuntu 9.10, and recently upgraded to 10.04. Wireless network is recognized (but at a much lower signal strength than with 9.10) but WiFi connection cannot be established. I've chased down and tried a half dozen different suggestions to no avail.

Hardware/software list is attached


Would appreciate any help.

Peter

[rokytnji]

Posting readout of uploaded text to save time.

============ lspci ============
00:00.0 Host bridge [0600]: Intel Corporation 440BX/ZX/DX - 82443BX/ZX/DX Host bridge (AGP disabled) [8086:7192] (rev 03)
00:07.0 ISA bridge [0601]: Intel Corporation 82371AB/EB/MB PIIX4 ISA [8086:7110] (rev 02)
00:07.1 IDE interface [0101]: Intel Corporation 82371AB/EB/MB PIIX4 IDE [8086:7111] (rev 01)
	Kernel driver in use: ata_piix
00:07.2 USB Controller [0c03]: Intel Corporation 82371AB/EB/MB PIIX4 USB [8086:7112] (rev 01)
	Kernel driver in use: uhci_hcd
00:07.3 Bridge [0680]: Intel Corporation 82371AB/EB/MB PIIX4 ACPI [8086:7113] (rev 03)
	Kernel driver in use: piix4_smbus
	Kernel modules: i2c-piix4
00:08.0 FireWire (IEEE 1394) [0c00]: Sony Corporation CXD3222 i.LINK Controller [104d:8039] (rev 02)
	Kernel driver in use: ohci1394
	Kernel modules: firewire-ohci, ohci1394
00:09.0 Multimedia audio controller [0401]: Yamaha Corporation YMF-744B [DS-1S Audio Controller] [1073:0010] (rev 02)
	Kernel driver in use: Yamaha DS-1 PCI
	Kernel modules: snd-ymfpci
00:0a.0 VGA compatible controller [0300]: Neomagic Corporation NM2200 [MagicGraph 256AV] [10c8:0005] (rev 20)
	Kernel modules: neofb
00:0b.0 Communication controller [0780]: Rockwell International HCF 56k Data/Fax Modem [127a:2005] (rev 01)
00:0c.0 CardBus bridge [0607]: Ricoh Co Ltd RL5c475 [1180:0475] (rev 80)
	Kernel driver in use: yenta_cardbus
	Kernel modules: yenta_socket

============ lsusb ============
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 062a:0000 Creative Labs Optical mouse

============ lsmod ============
Module                  Size  Used by
smc91c92_cs            19328  1 
mii                     5212  1 smc91c92_cs
binfmt_misc             8356  1 
snd_ymfpci             32160  2 
gameport               11368  1 snd_ymfpci
snd_ac97_codec        101216  1 snd_ymfpci
ac97_bus                1532  1 snd_ac97_codec
snd_pcm_oss            37920  0 
snd_mixer_oss          16028  1 snd_pcm_oss
snd_pcm                75296  3 snd_ymfpci,snd_ac97_codec,snd_pcm_oss
snd_opl3_lib           10396  1 snd_ymfpci
snd_hwdep               7200  1 snd_opl3_lib
snd_page_alloc          9156  2 snd_ymfpci,snd_pcm
snd_mpu401_uart         6940  1 snd_ymfpci
snd_seq_dummy           2656  0 
snd_seq_oss            28608  0 
snd_seq_midi            6464  0 
snd_rawmidi            22176  2 snd_mpu401_uart,snd_seq_midi
snd_seq_midi_event      6940  2 snd_seq_oss,snd_seq_midi
pcmcia                 36808  1 smc91c92_cs
snd_seq                50224  6 snd_seq_dummy,snd_seq_oss,snd_seq_midi,snd_seq_midi_event
yenta_socket           24296  3 
snd_timer              22276  4 snd_ymfpci,snd_pcm,snd_opl3_lib,snd_seq
snd_seq_device          6920  6 snd_opl3_lib,snd_seq_dummy,snd_seq_oss,snd_seq_midi,snd_rawmidi,snd_seq
rsrc_nonstatic         11644  1 yenta_socket
ppdev                   6688  0 
joydev                 10240  0 
pcmcia_core            36592  4 smc91c92_cs,pcmcia,yenta_socket,rsrc_nonstatic
i2c_piix4               9932  0 
parport_pc             31940  1 
lp                      8964  0 
snd                    59236  17 snd_ymfpci,snd_ac97_codec,snd_pcm_oss,snd_mixer_oss,snd_pcm,snd_opl3_lib,snd_hwdep,snd_mpu401_uart,snd_seq_oss,snd_rawmidi,snd_seq,snd_timer,snd_seq_device
parport                35340  3 ppdev,parport_pc,lp
psmouse                57332  0 
sony_laptop            31972  0 
soundcore               7264  1 snd
irda                  189564  0 
serio_raw               5280  0 
crc_ccitt               1852  1 irda
ohci1394               29900  0 
ieee1394               86596  1 ohci1394
usbhid                 38208  0 

============ dmesg-firmware ============
[   49.584171] Yamaha DS-1 PCI 0000:00:09.0: firmware: requesting yamaha/ds1_dsp.fw
[   50.068177] Yamaha DS-1 PCI 0000:00:09.0: firmware: requesting yamaha/ds1e_ctrl.fw

============ kernel version ============
2.6.31-22-generic

============ ifconfig ============
eth0      Link encap:Ethernet  HWaddr 00:00:86:09:b4:d1  
          inet addr:192.168.1.5  Bcast:192.168.1.255  Mask:255.255.255.0
          inet6 addr: fe80::200:86ff:fe09:b4d1/64 Scope:Link
          UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST  MTU:1500  Metric:1
          RX packets:5727 errors:18 dropped:0 overruns:18 frame:0
          TX packets:5465 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:286 txqueuelen:1000 
          RX bytes:4615722 (4.6 MB)  TX bytes:977536 (977.5 KB)
          Interrupt:3 Base address:0x100 

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:284 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:284 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:0 
          RX bytes:21296 (21.2 KB)  TX bytes:21296 (21.2 KB)


============ iwconfig ============
============ lspci ============
00:00.0 Host bridge [0600]: Intel Corporation 440BX/ZX/DX - 82443BX/ZX/DX Host bridge (AGP disabled) [8086:7192] (rev 03)
00:07.0 ISA bridge [0601]: Intel Corporation 82371AB/EB/MB PIIX4 ISA [8086:7110] (rev 02)
00:07.1 IDE interface [0101]: Intel Corporation 82371AB/EB/MB PIIX4 IDE [8086:7111] (rev 01)
	Kernel driver in use: ata_piix
00:07.2 USB Controller [0c03]: Intel Corporation 82371AB/EB/MB PIIX4 USB [8086:7112] (rev 01)
	Kernel driver in use: uhci_hcd
00:07.3 Bridge [0680]: Intel Corporation 82371AB/EB/MB PIIX4 ACPI [8086:7113] (rev 03)
	Kernel driver in use: piix4_smbus
	Kernel modules: i2c-piix4
00:08.0 FireWire (IEEE 1394) [0c00]: Sony Corporation CXD3222 i.LINK Controller [104d:8039] (rev 02)
	Kernel driver in use: ohci1394
	Kernel modules: firewire-ohci, ohci1394
00:09.0 Multimedia audio controller [0401]: Yamaha Corporation YMF-744B [DS-1S Audio Controller] [1073:0010] (rev 02)
	Kernel driver in use: Yamaha DS-1 PCI
	Kernel modules: snd-ymfpci
00:0a.0 VGA compatible controller [0300]: Neomagic Corporation NM2200 [MagicGraph 256AV] [10c8:0005] (rev 20)
	Kernel modules: neofb
00:0b.0 Communication controller [0780]: Rockwell International HCF 56k Data/Fax Modem [127a:2005] (rev 01)
00:0c.0 CardBus bridge [0607]: Ricoh Co Ltd RL5c475 [1180:0475] (rev 80)
	Kernel driver in use: yenta_cardbus
	Kernel modules: yenta_socket

============ lsusb ============
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 062a:0000 Creative Labs Optical mouse

============ lsmod ============
Module                  Size  Used by
smc91c92_cs            19328  0 
mii                     5212  1 smc91c92_cs
binfmt_misc             8356  1 
snd_ymfpci             32160  2 
gameport               11368  1 snd_ymfpci
snd_ac97_codec        101216  1 snd_ymfpci
ac97_bus                1532  1 snd_ac97_codec
snd_pcm_oss            37920  0 
snd_mixer_oss          16028  1 snd_pcm_oss
snd_pcm                75296  3 snd_ymfpci,snd_ac97_codec,snd_pcm_oss
snd_opl3_lib           10396  1 snd_ymfpci
snd_hwdep               7200  1 snd_opl3_lib
snd_page_alloc          9156  2 snd_ymfpci,snd_pcm
snd_mpu401_uart         6940  1 snd_ymfpci
snd_seq_dummy           2656  0 
snd_seq_oss            28608  0 
snd_seq_midi            6464  0 
snd_rawmidi            22176  2 snd_mpu401_uart,snd_seq_midi
snd_seq_midi_event      6940  2 snd_seq_oss,snd_seq_midi
pcmcia                 36808  1 smc91c92_cs
snd_seq                50224  6 snd_seq_dummy,snd_seq_oss,snd_seq_midi,snd_seq_midi_event
yenta_socket           24296  1 
snd_timer              22276  4 snd_ymfpci,snd_pcm,snd_opl3_lib,snd_seq
snd_seq_device          6920  6 snd_opl3_lib,snd_seq_dummy,snd_seq_oss,snd_seq_midi,snd_rawmidi,snd_seq
rsrc_nonstatic         11644  1 yenta_socket
ppdev                   6688  0 
joydev                 10240  0 
pcmcia_core            36592  4 smc91c92_cs,pcmcia,yenta_socket,rsrc_nonstatic
i2c_piix4               9932  0 
parport_pc             31940  1 
lp                      8964  0 
snd                    59236  17 snd_ymfpci,snd_ac97_codec,snd_pcm_oss,snd_mixer_oss,snd_pcm,snd_opl3_lib,snd_hwdep,snd_mpu401_uart,snd_seq_oss,snd_rawmidi,snd_seq,snd_timer,snd_seq_device
parport                35340  3 ppdev,parport_pc,lp
psmouse                57332  0 
sony_laptop            31972  0 
soundcore               7264  1 snd
irda                  189564  0 
serio_raw               5280  0 
crc_ccitt               1852  1 irda
ohci1394               29900  0 
ieee1394               86596  1 ohci1394
usbhid                 38208  0 

============ dmesg-firmware ============
[   49.584171] Yamaha DS-1 PCI 0000:00:09.0: firmware: requesting yamaha/ds1_dsp.fw
[   50.068177] Yamaha DS-1 PCI 0000:00:09.0: firmware: requesting yamaha/ds1e_ctrl.fw

============ kernel version ============
2.6.31-22-generic

============ ifconfig ============
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:284 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:284 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:0 
          RX bytes:21296 (21.2 KB)  TX bytes:21296 (21.2 KB)


============ iwconfig ============

While I am no wireless expert. I don't see the atheros card in your lspci readout. It is Sunday though and I might have missed something.

[MikeTbob]

You didn't miss anything Roky, the post does not contain any wireless cards.
@pwp7669
Please make sure the card is plugged in, use lspci --knn for pci and lsusb for USB devices.

[rokytnji]

Man, I wish they included H2 script in Ubuntu. Much easier to read IMO.

~$ inxi -F
System:    Host harry-desktop Kernel 2.6.32-30-generic x86_64 (64 bit) Distro Ubuntu 10.04 lucid
CPU:       Dual core Intel Pentium Dual E2160 (-MCP-) cache 1024 KB flags (lm nx sse sse2 sse3 ssse3) bmips 7183.18 
           Clock Speeds: (1) 1200.00 MHz (2) 1200.00 MHz
Graphics:  Card Intel 82Q35 Express Integrated Graphics Controller X.Org 1.7.6 Res: 1024x768@85.0hz 
           GLX Renderer Mesa DRI Intel Q35 GEM 20091221 2009Q4  GLX Version 1.4 Mesa 7.7.1 Direct Rendering Yes
Audio:     Card Intel 82801I (ICH9 Family) HD Audio Controller driver HDA Intel BusID: 00:1b.0
           Sound: Advanced Linux Sound Architecture Version 1.0.21
Network:   Card-1 RaLink RT2561/RT61 802.11g PCI driver rt61pci v: 2.3.0 BusID: 11:0c.0
           Card-2 Intel 82566DM-2 Gigabit Network Connection driver e1000e v: 1.0.2-k2 at port 1820 BusID: 00:19.0
Disks:     HDD Total Size: 80.0GB (7.7% used) 1: /dev/sda ST380815AS 80.0GB 
Partition: ID:/ size: 9.5G used: 3.7G (41%) fs: ext4 ID:/home size: 61G used: 2.2G (4%) fs: ext4 
           ID:swap-1 size: 3.27GB used: 0.00GB (0%) fs: swap 
Info:      Processes 162 Uptime 41 min Memory 469.2/1983.5MB Runlevel 2 Client Shell inxi 1.4.23

Please make sure the card is plugged in

In my experiences. Sometimes a new install for what ever reason turns off wifi card in the bios. Don't know why. But look in bios also and make sure card is enabled.

[pwp7669]

Below is updated hardware/software list, this time WITH well-seated PCI card and iwconfig output

Peter

============ lspci ============
00:00.0 Host bridge [0600]: Intel Corporation 440BX/ZX/DX - 82443BX/ZX/DX Host bridge (AGP disabled) [8086:7192] (rev 03)
00:07.0 ISA bridge [0601]: Intel Corporation 82371AB/EB/MB PIIX4 ISA [8086:7110] (rev 02)
00:07.1 IDE interface [0101]: Intel Corporation 82371AB/EB/MB PIIX4 IDE [8086:7111] (rev 01)
	Kernel driver in use: ata_piix
00:07.2 USB Controller [0c03]: Intel Corporation 82371AB/EB/MB PIIX4 USB [8086:7112] (rev 01)
	Kernel driver in use: uhci_hcd
00:07.3 Bridge [0680]: Intel Corporation 82371AB/EB/MB PIIX4 ACPI [8086:7113] (rev 03)
	Kernel driver in use: piix4_smbus
	Kernel modules: i2c-piix4
00:08.0 FireWire (IEEE 1394) [0c00]: Sony Corporation CXD3222 i.LINK Controller [104d:8039] (rev 02)
	Kernel driver in use: ohci1394
	Kernel modules: firewire-ohci, ohci1394
00:09.0 Multimedia audio controller [0401]: Yamaha Corporation YMF-744B [DS-1S Audio Controller] [1073:0010] (rev 02)
	Kernel driver in use: Yamaha DS-1 PCI
	Kernel modules: snd-ymfpci
00:0a.0 VGA compatible controller [0300]: Neomagic Corporation NM2200 [MagicGraph 256AV] [10c8:0005] (rev 20)
	Kernel modules: neofb
00:0b.0 Communication controller [0780]: Rockwell International HCF 56k Data/Fax Modem [127a:2005] (rev 01)
00:0c.0 CardBus bridge [0607]: Ricoh Co Ltd RL5c475 [1180:0475] (rev 80)
	Kernel driver in use: yenta_cardbus
	Kernel modules: yenta_socket
01:00.0 Ethernet controller [0200]: Atheros Communications Inc. Atheros AR5001X+ Wireless Network Adapter [168c:0013] (rev 01)
	Kernel driver in use: ath5k
	Kernel modules: ath5k

============ lsusb ============
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 062a:0000 Creative Labs Optical mouse

============ lsmod ============
Module                  Size  Used by
binfmt_misc             8356  1 
snd_ymfpci             32160  2 
gameport               11368  1 snd_ymfpci
snd_ac97_codec        101216  1 snd_ymfpci
ac97_bus                1532  1 snd_ac97_codec
snd_pcm_oss            37920  0 
snd_mixer_oss          16028  1 snd_pcm_oss
snd_pcm                75296  3 snd_ymfpci,snd_ac97_codec,snd_pcm_oss
snd_opl3_lib           10396  1 snd_ymfpci
arc4                    1660  2 
snd_hwdep               7200  1 snd_opl3_lib
snd_page_alloc          9156  2 snd_ymfpci,snd_pcm
ecb                     2524  2 
snd_mpu401_uart         6940  1 snd_ymfpci
snd_seq_dummy           2656  0 
snd_seq_oss            28608  0 
ath5k                 124772  0 
snd_seq_midi            6464  0 
mac80211              181140  1 ath5k
snd_rawmidi            22176  2 snd_mpu401_uart,snd_seq_midi
led_class               4096  1 ath5k
ath                     8060  1 ath5k
snd_seq_midi_event      6940  2 snd_seq_oss,snd_seq_midi
cfg80211               93052  3 ath5k,mac80211,ath
snd_seq                50224  6 snd_seq_dummy,snd_seq_oss,snd_seq_midi,snd_seq_midi_event
snd_timer              22276  4 snd_ymfpci,snd_pcm,snd_opl3_lib,snd_seq
snd_seq_device          6920  6 snd_opl3_lib,snd_seq_dummy,snd_seq_oss,snd_seq_midi,snd_rawmidi,snd_seq
pcmcia                 36808  0 
yenta_socket           24296  2 
rsrc_nonstatic         11644  1 yenta_socket
snd                    59236  17 snd_ymfpci,snd_ac97_codec,snd_pcm_oss,snd_mixer_oss,snd_pcm,snd_opl3_lib,snd_hwdep,snd_mpu401_uart,snd_seq_oss,snd_rawmidi,snd_seq,snd_timer,snd_seq_device
ppdev                   6688  0 
joydev                 10240  0 
pcmcia_core            36592  3 pcmcia,yenta_socket,rsrc_nonstatic
lp                      8964  0 
i2c_piix4               9932  0 
parport_pc             31940  1 
soundcore               7264  1 snd
irda                  189564  0 
sony_laptop            31972  0 
psmouse                57332  0 
crc_ccitt               1852  1 irda
serio_raw               5280  0 
parport                35340  3 ppdev,lp,parport_pc
ohci1394               29900  0 
ieee1394               86596  1 ohci1394
usbhid                 38208  0

============ dmesg-firmware ============
[   52.696209] Yamaha DS-1 PCI 0000:00:09.0: firmware: requesting yamaha/ds1_dsp.fw
[   53.138782] Yamaha DS-1 PCI 0000:00:09.0: firmware: requesting yamaha/ds1e_ctrl.fw

============ kernel version ============
2.6.31-22-generic

============ ifconfig ============
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:88 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:88 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:0 
          RX bytes:6400 (6.4 KB)  TX bytes:6400 (6.4 KB)

wlan0     Link encap:Ethernet  HWaddr 00:20:e0:37:47:1e  
          inet6 addr: fe80::220:e0ff:fe37:471e/64 Scope:Link
          UP BROADCAST MULTICAST  MTU:1500  Metric:1
          RX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:1 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000 
          RX bytes:0 (0.0 B)  TX bytes:108 (108.0 B)

wmaster0  Link encap:UNSPEC  HWaddr 00-20-E0-37-47-1E-33-37-00-00-00-00-00-00-00-00  
          UP RUNNING  MTU:0  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)

============ iwconfig ============
wlan0     IEEE 802.11abg  ESSID:"\x05\xEF\xF7\x00\xE9\xA1:\xE5\xCA\x0B\xCB\xD0HGd\xBD\x1F#\x1E\xA8\x1C{d\xC5\x14sZ\xC5^Kyc"  
          Mode:Managed  Frequency:2.437 GHz  Access Point: Not-Associated   
          Tx-Power=20 dBm   
          Retry  long limit:7   RTS thr:off   Fragment thr:off
          Power Management:off
          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

[MikeTbob]

So it appears you solved your own problem here. You should be able to use your network tool to create the connection settings and continue on from there. Everything looks good to me. Your device is wlan0.

[pwp7669]

And here's the output from lspci -knn --- my bad
--------------------------------------------------------------

00:00.0 Host bridge [0600]: Intel Corporation 440BX/ZX/DX - 82443BX/ZX/DX Host bridge (AGP disabled) [8086:7192] (rev 03)
00:07.0 ISA bridge [0601]: Intel Corporation 82371AB/EB/MB PIIX4 ISA [8086:7110] (rev 02)
00:07.1 IDE interface [0101]: Intel Corporation 82371AB/EB/MB PIIX4 IDE [8086:7111] (rev 01)
Kernel driver in use: ata_piix
00:07.2 USB Controller [0c03]: Intel Corporation 82371AB/EB/MB PIIX4 USB [8086:7112] (rev 01)
Kernel driver in use: uhci_hcd
00:07.3 Bridge [0680]: Intel Corporation 82371AB/EB/MB PIIX4 ACPI [8086:7113] (rev 03)
Kernel driver in use: piix4_smbus
Kernel modules: i2c-piix4
00:08.0 FireWire (IEEE 1394) [0c00]: Sony Corporation CXD3222 i.LINK Controller [104d:8039] (rev 02)
Kernel driver in use: ohci1394
Kernel modules: firewire-ohci, ohci1394
00:09.0 Multimedia audio controller [0401]: Yamaha Corporation YMF-744B [DS-1S Audio Controller] [1073:0010] (rev 02)
Kernel driver in use: Yamaha DS-1 PCI
Kernel modules: snd-ymfpci
00:0a.0 VGA compatible controller [0300]: Neomagic Corporation NM2200 [MagicGraph 256AV] [10c8:0005] (rev 20)
Kernel modules: neofb
00:0b.0 Communication controller [0780]: Rockwell International HCF 56k Data/Fax Modem [127a:2005] (rev 01)
00:0c.0 CardBus bridge [0607]: Ricoh Co Ltd RL5c475 [1180:0475] (rev 80)
Kernel driver in use: yenta_cardbus
Kernel modules: yenta_socket
01:00.0 Ethernet controller [0200]: Atheros Communications Inc. Atheros AR5001X+ Wireless Network Adapter [168c:0013] (rev 01)
Kernel driver in use: ath5k
Kernel modules: ath5k

[MikeTbob]

You are golden!
Click the network tool in the system tray or look for it in the system menu>network
I don't know which tool you have so I don't know the exact name of it but you should only need to enter your ESSID, Passkey, etc, and off you go surfing!

[pwp7669]

Still no-go.
My wireless network is unencrypted (so no Passcode req'd?) and the wifi card's MAC is correctly entered in my Linksys Wireless PERMIT list. Is there anything I have to enter via WICD to enable connection?
If I remove the Wifi card from my Lubuntu system and insert it in my Windows XP laptop, automatic connection to my router takes place. That makes me think that both the Wifi card and router are working OK, and happy with each other.
I'm having a boot-time problem with my Lubuntu system: During boot, I get the error message "Unable to establish connection with FAM. Do you have FAM or Gamin installed and running?". A check via Synaptic PM says that FAM is indeed installed. Is there any chance that this problem has any bearing on my wifi connection problems?

[MikeTbob]

Actually I have no idea what FAM is, never heard of it before. Can you reset the modem/router/wireless card so that you are not using MAC address filtering? Just until you can figure out the problem here. The MAC filtering may be the problem. Of course this is just a guess and you are free to disregard any of this.

Can you post the output of

sudo lshw -c network

If you get command not found then you might need to install it first.