nlakes

Hi everyone,

I've just installed Kubuntu 8.10 and I'm really new to linux so the way it works is still a big mystery to me. So forgive my question please.

I was having trouble with my atheros wireless driver, and someone told me how I could get another one.
Anyway, one of the steps was this:

echo 'blacklist ath_pci' >> /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist

Not that I know much, but now it seems my atheros wireless is on a blacklist and can't be used? Am I right?

So, how do I:

(1) Unblacklist it and use it. (Keeping in mind I know little about linux, kubuntu and the whole command line thing, for now).

or

(2) Get a new driver that works better.

The reason I wanted to change the driver was that when I went to use XP, then went back to Kubuntu - I could not see in network manager my wireless connection.

This is the wireless model I have:
0a:03.0 Ethernet controller [0200]: Atheros Communications Inc. AR2413 802.11bgNIC [168c:001a] (rev 01)

So any help on getting my wireless internet up and running again is much appreciated, I'd hate to have to go back to xp. Just the thought of it.. shudder.


Thanks!

waterhead

First, if you want to remove a listing from the blacklist file, you can do so with a text editor like gedit. The blacklist file is really just a text file that is usually located in the /etc/modprobe.d/ folder. To edit it, you need root privileges, so use sudo.
You should find the blacklisted module that you added, at the bottom. Remove it and save the file.

Now, the latest kernels contain new Atheros drivers ath5k/ath9k. One of them may be automatically loading for your wireless card. Look for it in the output of this command.
The ath_pci driver is usually not included by default. So if it is loading, it is because you added it after installation. It usually is the driver that works the best, so you would want to blacklist the ath5k driver, not the ath_pci driver.

I recently tried Fedora 9 0n my Eee Pc with an Atheros wireless ar242x. The Madwifi driver (ath_pci) didn't work, and eventually the ath5k driver decided to work. So, you may need to play around with this. I would recommend trying to get the native driver to work first, whatever that may be. Post the output of lsmod and I'll take a look.

__________________
Paul

Please do not PM me with requests for help. I will not reply.

nlakes

Thanks for the quick reply.

I tried sudo gedit /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist and the terminal told me " sudo: gedit: command not found"

And here is the output from lsmod:


Module Size Used by
usbhid 35840 0
hid 50560 1 usbhid
i915 38144 2
drm 86056 3 i915
rfcomm 44432 0
bridge 56980 0
stp 10628 1 bridge
bnep 20480 2
sco 18308 2
l2cap 30464 6 rfcomm,bnep
bluetooth 61924 6 rfcomm,bnep,sco,l2cap
ppdev 15620 0
cpufreq_conservative 14600 0
cpufreq_ondemand 14988 0
cpufreq_powersave 9856 0
cpufreq_userspace 11396 0
cpufreq_stats 13188 0
freq_table 12672 2 cpufreq_ondemand,cpufreq_stats
pci_slot 12552 0
sbs 19464 0
sbshc 13440 1 sbs
iptable_filter 10752 0
ip_tables 19600 1 iptable_filter
x_tables 22916 1 ip_tables
parport_pc 39204 0
lp 17156 0
parport 42604 3 ppdev,parport_pc,lp
joydev 18368 0
pcmcia 43052 0
acer_wmi 18880 0
led_class 12164 1 acer_wmi
evdev 17696 11
psmouse 45200 0
serio_raw 13444 0
pcspkr 10624 0
snd_hda_intel 381488 1
snd_pcm_oss 46848 0
snd_mixer_oss 22784 1 snd_pcm_oss
snd_pcm 83204 2 snd_hda_intel,snd_pcm_oss
container 11520 0
video 25104 0
output 11008 1 video
snd_seq_dummy 10884 0
tifm_7xx1 13824 0
tifm_core 16028 1 tifm_7xx1
yenta_socket 31756 1
rsrc_nonstatic 19072 1 yenta_socket
pcmcia_core 43412 3 pcmcia,yenta_socket,rsrc_nonstatic
snd_seq_oss 38528 0
wmi 14504 1 acer_wmi
battery 18436 0
ac 12292 0
snd_seq_midi 14336 0
iTCO_wdt 18596 0
iTCO_vendor_support 11652 1 iTCO_wdt
button 14224 0
snd_rawmidi 29824 1 snd_seq_midi
snd_seq_midi_event 15232 2 snd_seq_oss,snd_seq_midi
snd_seq 57776 6 snd_seq_dummy,snd_seq_oss,snd_seq_midi,snd_seq_mid i_event
snd_timer 29960 2 snd_pcm,snd_seq
snd_seq_device 15116 5 snd_seq_dummy,snd_seq_oss,snd_seq_midi,snd_rawmidi ,snd_seq
intel_agp 33724 1
snd 63268 11 snd_hda_intel,snd_pcm_oss,snd_mixer_oss,snd_pcm,sn d_seq_oss,snd_rawmidi,snd_seq,snd_timer,snd_seq_de vice
soundcore 15328 1 snd
shpchp 37908 0
pci_hotplug 35236 1 shpchp
snd_page_alloc 16136 2 snd_hda_intel,snd_pcm
agpgart 42184 3 drm,intel_agp
ext3 133384 1
jbd 55444 1 ext3
mbcache 16004 1 ext3
sr_mod 22212 0
cdrom 43168 1 sr_mod
sd_mod 42264 3
crc_t10dif 9984 1 sd_mod
sg 39732 0
ata_generic 12932 0
pata_acpi 12160 0
ata_piix 24580 2
libata 177312 3 ata_generic,pata_acpi,ata_piix
scsi_mod 155212 4 sr_mod,sd_mod,sg,libata
ehci_hcd 43276 0
uhci_hcd 30736 0
usbcore 148848 4 usbhid,ehci_hcd,uhci_hcd
sky2 53380 0
dock 16656 1 libata
thermal 23708 0
processor 42156 2 thermal
fan 12548 0
fbcon 47648 0
tileblit 10880 1 fbcon
font 16512 1 fbcon
bitblit 13824 1 fbcon
softcursor 9984 1 bitblit
fuse 60828 1


Thanks.

waterhead

You can install gedit through apt, but I just realized that you are using Kbuntu, so kwrite should be installed. Use that instead.
I don't see any wireless modules, so see if Kbuntu has one to install. In the main menu, look for "Hardware Drivers Manager". It should be under the "System" section. It may have a wireless driver just waiting for you to enable it. You will need a wired internet connection, because it will download and install the driver.

__________________
Paul

Please do not PM me with requests for help. I will not reply.

nlakes

Thanks for the reply.

I just unblacklisted the ath_pci

but it still doesn't work.

I looked in my hardware drivers manager and it was sitting there, I clicked activate but nothing happened.

I tried reboot, then activate - still didn't work?

waterhead

You need to put a check in the box under the "Enabled" category. You also need to have a wired internet connection, because it needs to download and then install the driver.

Once you have it installed and enabled the driver, the "Status" category will change to "In Use" or something similar.

__________________
Paul

Please do not PM me with requests for help. I will not reply.