Mint 8 and a USB wifi dongle

**paulnrhodes** · 02-16-2010

I installed Mint 8 onto a T23 IBM ThinkPad yesterday without a glitch and was feeling very smug with myself.I purchased a new USB Wi-Fi dongle which has Linux drivers on the CD called 2009_0206_RT73_Linux_STA_Drv1.1.0.2.tar.bz2(read only).
I don't have rights permission to extract archives in a folder on the CDROM. I can double click this file and two more folders are revealed one called Module which is 1.5MB in size and the other WPA_Supplicant-0.5.8 which is 317.9KB in size. I have opened the readme files which might as well be in a foreign language. It is asking me to copy some files to "wpa_supplicant directory" Where on earth do I find one of those? Is it in the File System? If so then which file would it be in?
I have not plugged the USB Dongle in yet as I have found that when working with windows it pays not to jump the gun and physically connect hardware to a computer without first loading the drivers.
I'm not set on keeping Mint 8 as my OS if another OS would be more simple for me to configure peripherals. I am hoping someone will be able to advise me how I can resolve my problem in very plain language and not too much jargon. Many thanks in advance.

**rokytnji** · 02-16-2010

Howdy. Before installinf anything post the output from terminal of

sudo lspci -knn

with the dongle plugged in. You will need to reboot so as for the operating system to recognise and maybe load a driver from the kernel. I aint sure if Mint 8 doesn't have the rt73 module/driver in it's kernel. That is what lspci -knn will check.

If you want to try a simple gui installer LATER to install the linux driver from cd. Take a looksee at GUI Installer for RT73 (RaLink) Devices [Beta]|Ubuntu Geek . Ubuntu and Mint are pretty close to the same distro. Some folks call Mint, Ubuntu with Codecs.

Edit: I own a IBM T23 lappy also. I run AntiX and Puppy on it. I use a Belkin F5D 7010 ver. 6 pcmcia cardbus for wireless.

**paulnrhodes** · 02-17-2010

_________________________________________
( I got a hint of things to come when I )
( overheard my boss lamenting, 'The books )
( are done and we still don't have an )
( author! I must sign someone today! )
( )
( -- Tamim Ansary, "Edutopia Magazine, )
( Issue 2, November 2004" )
( )
( on the topic of school textbooks )
-----------------------------------------
o ,__,
o (oo)____
(__) )\
||--|| *
paulnrhodes@paulnrhodes-laptop ~ $ sudo lspci -knn
[sudo] password for paulnrhodes:
00:00.0 Host bridge [0600]: Intel Corporation 82830 830 Chipset Host Bridge [8086:3575] (rev 02)
Kernel driver in use: agpgart-intel
Kernel modules: intel-agp
00:01.0 PCI bridge [0604]: Intel Corporation 82830 830 Chipset AGP Bridge [8086:3576] (rev 02)
Kernel modules: shpchp
00:1d.0 USB Controller [0c03]: Intel Corporation 82801CA/CAM USB Controller #1 [8086:2482] (rev 01)
Kernel driver in use: uhci_hcd
00:1d.1 USB Controller [0c03]: Intel Corporation 82801CA/CAM USB Controller #2 [8086:2484] (rev 01)
Kernel driver in use: uhci_hcd
00:1d.2 USB Controller [0c03]: Intel Corporation 82801CA/CAM USB Controller #3 [8086:2487] (rev 01)
Kernel driver in use: uhci_hcd
00:1e.0 PCI bridge [0604]: Intel Corporation 82801 Mobile PCI Bridge [8086:2448] (rev 41)
Kernel modules: shpchp
00:1f.0 ISA bridge [0601]: Intel Corporation 82801CAM ISA Bridge (LPC) [8086:248c] (rev 01)
Kernel modules: iTCO_wdt, intel-rng
00:1f.1 IDE interface [0101]: Intel Corporation 82801CAM IDE U100 Controller [8086:248a] (rev 01)
Kernel driver in use: ata_piix
00:1f.3 SMBus [0c05]: Intel Corporation 82801CA/CAM SMBus Controller [8086:2483] (rev 01)
Kernel modules: i2c-i801
00:1f.5 Multimedia audio controller [0401]: Intel Corporation 82801CA/CAM AC'97 Audio Controller [8086:2485] (rev 01)
Kernel driver in use: Intel ICH
Kernel modules: snd-intel8x0
01:00.0 VGA compatible controller [0300]: S3 Inc. SuperSavage IX/C SDR [5333:8c2e] (rev 05)
Kernel modules: savagefb
02:00.0 CardBus bridge [0607]: Texas Instruments PCI1420 PC card Cardbus Controller [104c:ac51]
Kernel driver in use: yenta_cardbus
Kernel modules: yenta_socket
02:00.1 CardBus bridge [0607]: Texas Instruments PCI1420 PC card Cardbus Controller [104c:ac51]
Kernel driver in use: yenta_cardbus
Kernel modules: yenta_socket
02:02.0 Communication controller [0780]: Agere Systems WinModem 56k [11c1:0449] (rev 01)
02:08.0 Ethernet controller [0200]: Intel Corporation 82801CAM (ICH3) PRO/100 VE (LOM) Ethernet Controller [8086:1031] (rev 41)
Kernel driver in use: e100
Kernel modules: e100
paulnrhodes@paulnrhodes-laptop ~ $

Thank you for your advice so far

**reed9** · 02-17-2010

USB wireless adapters won't show up in lspci. Can you instead post the output of

Code:

lsusb

**rokytnji** · 02-17-2010

My bad Paul. Edit: reed saw my mistake and beat me to it. I spaced out and should have told you the command for usb dongle is
while it is plugged in is

Code:

sudo lsusb

The previous command I gave you was for internal pci cards. sorry.
when posting a long string output like above. Or any terminal readout (which is what I usually do). Use the code tag (#) on task bar in reply box under go advanced on reply. It makes it easier to read and look at. Sorry I didn't mention that earlier also.

Can you also post the out puts of

Code:

lsmod

This will give a long readout also.

Also post

Code:

dmesg

output To see any error codes that your system may have generated concerning the wireless,

wouldn't hurt to post

Code:

dmesg | grep firmware

output either.

Lastly the out put of

Code:

uname -r

Remember to leave the dongle plugged in when booting up and running these commands.

all these outputs will help members see what is going on with your usb

**paulnrhodes** · 02-17-2010

By the way I did mention in the original post that I do have a cd with drivers for Linux on. Can't I just run that or is it not that straight forward. This is a dark art. On my Mac I just drag and drop into applications, and on a PC running windows just double click a setup exe file. This is so different to what I'm used to.

**rokytnji** · 02-17-2010

By the way I did mention in the original post that I do have a cd with drivers for Linux on. Can't I just run that or is it not that straight forward

I guess I don't see why you can't use that gui installer link I gave you to install that driver off cd. I was more curious on whether you might have rt73 installed already in Mint. I would say go for it. If it doesn't work. You can blacklist that driver later.

**reed9** · 02-17-2010

Normally linux drivers are included in the kernel, and drivers are being added all the time. Older kernel releases in general will have worse hardware support than newer kernels.

In the event that you have to go out and find a driver not included, it usually means building it from the source code. Not actually all that difficult a task, but daunting when you're new. What was provided on the disc looks like it is the source code for the driver.

If you actually don't have the driver included in the kernel, then we can go that route. But we want to get a picture of what is happening on your machine, what's loading, etc, which is what the above commands will do.

**paulnrhodes** · 02-17-2010

Code:

Bus 003 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 002 Device 004: ID 148f:2573 Ralink Technology, Corp. RT2501USB Wireless Adapter
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub

**paulnrhodes** · 02-17-2010

_________________________________________
( Exercise caution in your daily affairs. )
-----------------------------------------
o
o
___
{~._.~}
( Y )
()~*~()
(_)-(_)
paulnrhodes@paulnrhodes-laptop ~ $ sudo lsmod
Module Size Used by
usbhid 38208 0
isofs 31620 1
udf 80900 0
arc4 1660 2
ecb 2524 2
rt73usb 26336 0
crc_itu_t 1852 2 udf,rt73usb
rt2500usb 21152 0
rt2x00usb 11548 2 rt73usb,rt2500usb
rt2x00lib 29756 3 rt73usb,rt2500usb,rt2x00usb
input_polldev 3716 1 rt2x00lib
mac80211 181236 2 rt2x00usb,rt2x00lib
cfg80211 93052 2 rt2x00lib,mac80211
binfmt_misc 8356 1
savage 30620 2
drm 159584 3 savage
dm_crypt 12928 0
snd_intel8x0 30168 2
snd_ac97_codec 101216 1 snd_intel8x0
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_intel8x0,snd_ac97_codec,snd_pcm_oss
snd_seq_dummy 2656 0
snd_seq_oss 28576 0
snd_seq_midi 6432 0
snd_rawmidi 22208 1 snd_seq_midi
snd_seq_midi_event 6940 2 snd_seq_oss,snd_seq_midi
snd_seq 50224 6 snd_seq_dummy,snd_seq_oss,snd_seq_midi,snd_seq_mid i_event
pcmcia 36808 0
snd_timer 22276 2 snd_pcm,snd_seq
iptable_filter 3100 0
intel_rng 4444 0
ip_tables 11692 1 iptable_filter
snd_seq_device 6920 5 snd_seq_dummy,snd_seq_oss,snd_seq_midi,snd_rawmidi ,snd_seq
yenta_socket 24200 2
snd 59204 14 snd_intel8x0,snd_ac97_codec,snd_pcm_oss,snd_mixer_ oss,snd_pcm,snd_seq_oss,snd_rawmidi,snd_seq,snd_ti mer,snd_seq_device
rsrc_nonstatic 11644 1 yenta_socket
soundcore 7264 1 snd
x_tables 16544 1 ip_tables
pcmcia_core 35792 3 pcmcia,yenta_socket,rsrc_nonstatic
snd_page_alloc 9156 2 snd_intel8x0,snd_pcm
shpchp 32272 0
thinkpad_acpi 67108 0
nsc_ircc 20976 0
psmouse 56180 0
lp 8964 0
irda 189564 1 nsc_ircc
led_class 4096 2 rt2x00lib,thinkpad_acpi
crc_ccitt 1852 1 irda
ppdev 6688 0
parport_pc 31940 1
serio_raw 5280 0
nvram 7528 1 thinkpad_acpi
parport 35340 3 lp,ppdev,parport_pc
dm_raid45 84228 0
xor 15620 1 dm_raid45
e100 32452 0
mii 5212 1 e100
video 19380 0
output 2780 1 video
floppy 54916 0
intel_agp 27484 1
agpgart 34988 2 drm,intel_agp
paulnrhodes@paulnrhodes-laptop ~ $

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Mint 8 and a USB wifi dongle

As instructed I'm posting the output of "sudo lspci -knn

Should I post all the out puts separately?

sudu lusb

sudo lsmod

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