Wicd and network connection problems

[whocares1234]

Hi. New user here. Thought I would post my problem here and see if it can be solved by advanced/expert Linux users here.

Turns out I was asked by a friend of the family or family member to try and solve his network problem since I was the one that knew how to fix computers. To be honest, this is actually my first time using a Linux operating system (Ubuntu version 9.10) and I have no clue what I'm doing. However, I am doing my research on Google to see if I can get this problem solved... but so far, I am getting nowhere. I have been able to understand how the system works and stuff... even managed to find the terminal and other things. I am just so used to Windows OS. :/

Okay, here goes. First of all, it was a simple network problem. No connections coming in or out, wired or wireless. It could be just the computer itself not accepting connections, but via Google, I heard wicd can be buggy at times like this. SO... after trying a few workarounds, I couldn't get it started. Then one user mentioned checking the BIOS to see if network adapters had a "soft switch" kind of thing. BIOS required a password to enter and tried a password a couple times... then I got locked out of my own system. "System disabled" or so it told me. Had no choice but to power off the laptop (hoping that nothing would get damaged/corrupted since that was the unproper way to power down). :/

Anyhow, once I got back to the desktop screen, I had a message box saying "Wicd needs to access your computer's network cards." and a password prompt.

Entered password and there is an error message: "Could not connect to wicd's D-Bus interface. Check the wicd log for error messages."

"Disconnected"

"Error - The wicd daemon has shut down. The UI will not function properly until it is restarted."

I was able to get rid of those error messages by going to the terminal and typing "sudo gedit /etc/wicd/wired-settings.conf" and removing the [] brackets at the very end of the file. That's exactly what my wicd.log was trying to tell me. It was a "ConfigParser" error relating to line 40 in that file.

And now I'm back where I started, I guess. Just got no clue what else I can do to make this computer accept connections. In the wicd.log, it is attempting to connect. Quite a bit of "Autoconnecting" messages in there.

Again, this is WICD 1.6.1 with Ubuntu 9.10. I know I can upgrade to the new Ubuntu release 10.04.1 LTS since the Update Manager has everything in there... but I didn't want to upgrade unless I really need to. I mean, this isn't my computer... so if I can somehow solve the connection issue in 9.10 without upgrading, great. If I have no choice, I GUESS we can try upgrading to see if that solves anything.

Also, to add... this is running on a HP Pavilion dv6000 laptop (dv6305us on the service tag).

[jayd512]

Hello and Welcome!

Quick question...
I like Wicd and all, but Ubuntu normally does a pretty good job of detecting wireless cards and networks on its own.
Does the Network Manager not give you access to a connection?

[whocares1234]

Wicd Network Manager does give me access to a connection, it just didn't connect... until NOW that I just checked my ethernet wire, seeing if the little lights will come on... in case the ethernet port is actually dead, which it isn't. Using wired-default for my wired network since I'm using my cable modem/router.

The laptop has a battery problem, but since the laptop wasn't affected by any sort of power surge whatsoever... I guess everything is running good... just connection issues. (Found out that HP recalled the battery here. The bar code checked out for recall, so a new battery in the mail soon is a bonus.)

Now I'm connected thru wired connection here at my house... everything should be working like I expected. Now I wonder how I'm gonna get the wireless connection fixed on this laptop at my friend's house. Just fixed a desktop computer for them so I guess I got Internet to do my research and find out what I can do. They have 2 wireless modems/routers... so I'm gonna have to figure a bunch of things out over at his house.

I'll be back if I have any questions. Thank you.

[jayd512]

If the network Manager gives you any issues, look here.

Post back with the requested info.

[whocares1234]

Okay... HP Pavilion dv6305us laptop with Ubuntu 9.10 trying to connect to this Belkin G Wireless Router (Model #: F5D7234-4 v4) and AT&T's 2Wire Gateway (Model #: 2701HG-B). Wicd Network Manager has Wired Network there by default... and for some wierd reason, it detects... but doesn't connect to... the other 2 wireless connections that are there (DARLENE-PC, 100%, WPA2, Channel 6 AND 2WIRE794, 100%, WEP, Channel 6).


I read the "Wireless Setup - Start Here" sticky thread and here is your info:

============ lspci ============
00:00.0 RAM memory [0500]: nVidia Corporation C51 Host Bridge [10de:02f0] (rev a2)
00:00.1 RAM memory [0500]: nVidia Corporation C51 Memory Controller 0 [10de:02fa] (rev a2)
00:00.2 RAM memory [0500]: nVidia Corporation C51 Memory Controller 1 [10de:02fe] (rev a2)
00:00.3 RAM memory [0500]: nVidia Corporation C51 Memory Controller 5 [10de:02f8] (rev a2)
00:00.4 RAM memory [0500]: nVidia Corporation C51 Memory Controller 4 [10de:02f9] (rev a2)
00:00.5 RAM memory [0500]: nVidia Corporation C51 Host Bridge [10de:02ff] (rev a2)
00:00.6 RAM memory [0500]: nVidia Corporation C51 Memory Controller 3 [10de:027f] (rev a2)
00:00.7 RAM memory [0500]: nVidia Corporation C51 Memory Controller 2 [10de:027e] (rev a2)
00:02.0 PCI bridge [0604]: nVidia Corporation C51 PCI Express Bridge [10de:02fc] (rev a1)
    Kernel driver in use: pcieport-driver
    Kernel modules: shpchp
00:03.0 PCI bridge [0604]: nVidia Corporation C51 PCI Express Bridge [10de:02fd] (rev a1)
    Kernel driver in use: pcieport-driver
    Kernel modules: shpchp
00:05.0 VGA compatible controller [0300]: nVidia Corporation C51 [Geforce Go 6150] [10de:0244] (rev a2)
    Kernel driver in use: nvidia
    Kernel modules: nvidia, nvidiafb
00:09.0 RAM memory [0500]: nVidia Corporation MCP51 Host Bridge [10de:0270] (rev a2)
00:0a.0 ISA bridge [0601]: nVidia Corporation MCP51 LPC Bridge [10de:0260] (rev a3)
00:0a.1 SMBus [0c05]: nVidia Corporation MCP51 SMBus [10de:0264] (rev a3)
    Kernel driver in use: nForce2_smbus
    Kernel modules: i2c-nforce2
00:0a.3 Co-processor [0b40]: nVidia Corporation MCP51 PMU [10de:0271] (rev a3)
00:0b.0 USB Controller [0c03]: nVidia Corporation MCP51 USB Controller [10de:026d] (rev a3)
    Kernel driver in use: ohci_hcd
00:0b.1 USB Controller [0c03]: nVidia Corporation MCP51 USB Controller [10de:026e] (rev a3)
    Kernel driver in use: ehci_hcd
00:0d.0 IDE interface [0101]: nVidia Corporation MCP51 IDE [10de:0265] (rev f1)
    Kernel driver in use: pata_amd
00:0e.0 IDE interface [0101]: nVidia Corporation MCP51 Serial ATA Controller [10de:0266] (rev f1)
    Kernel driver in use: sata_nv
00:10.0 PCI bridge [0604]: nVidia Corporation MCP51 PCI Bridge [10de:026f] (rev a2)
00:10.1 Audio device [0403]: nVidia Corporation MCP51 High Definition Audio [10de:026c] (rev a2)
    Kernel driver in use: HDA Intel
    Kernel modules: snd-hda-intel
00:14.0 Bridge [0680]: nVidia Corporation MCP51 Ethernet Controller [10de:0269] (rev a3)
    Kernel driver in use: forcedeth
    Kernel modules: forcedeth
00:18.0 Host bridge [0600]: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] K8 [Athlon64/Opteron] HyperTransport Technology Configuration [1022:1100]
00:18.1 Host bridge [0600]: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] K8 [Athlon64/Opteron] Address Map [1022:1101]
00:18.2 Host bridge [0600]: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] K8 [Athlon64/Opteron] DRAM Controller [1022:1102]
00:18.3 Host bridge [0600]: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] K8 [Athlon64/Opteron] Miscellaneous Control [1022:1103]
    Kernel driver in use: k8temp
    Kernel modules: k8temp
03:00.0 Network controller [0280]: Broadcom Corporation BCM4311 802.11b/g WLAN [14e4:4311] (rev 01)
    Kernel driver in use: wl
    Kernel modules: wl, ssb
07:05.0 FireWire (IEEE 1394) [0c00]: Ricoh Co Ltd R5C832 IEEE 1394 Controller [1180:0832]
    Kernel driver in use: ohci1394
    Kernel modules: firewire-ohci, ohci1394
07:05.1 SD Host controller [0805]: Ricoh Co Ltd R5C822 SD/SDIO/MMC/MS/MSPro Host Adapter [1180:0822] (rev 19)
    Kernel driver in use: sdhci-pci
    Kernel modules: sdhci-pci
07:05.2 System peripheral [0880]: Ricoh Co Ltd R5C843 MMC Host Controller [1180:0843] (rev 0a)
    Kernel driver in use: ricoh-mmc
    Kernel modules: ricoh_mmc
07:05.3 System peripheral [0880]: Ricoh Co Ltd R5C592 Memory Stick Bus Host Adapter [1180:0592] (rev 05)
07:05.4 System peripheral [0880]: Ricoh Co Ltd xD-Picture Card Controller [1180:0852] (rev ff)

============ lsusb ============
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 090c:1000 Feiya Technology Corp. Flash Drive
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub

============ lsmod ============
Module                  Size  Used by
nls_iso8859_1           3732  1 
nls_cp437               5364  1 
vfat                   10708  1 
fat                    51440  1 vfat
usb_storage            52512  1 
binfmt_misc             8444  1 
ppdev                   6712  0 
snd_hda_codec_conexant    20148  1 
snd_hda_intel          26824  2 
snd_hda_codec          76052  2 snd_hda_codec_conexant,snd_hda_intel
snd_hwdep               7416  1 snd_hda_codec
snd_pcm_oss            38112  0 
snd_mixer_oss          16564  1 snd_pcm_oss
snd_pcm                75096  3 snd_hda_intel,snd_hda_codec,snd_pcm_oss
snd_seq_dummy           2680  0 
snd_seq_oss            28736  0 
snd_seq_midi            6560  0 
snd_rawmidi            22240  1 snd_seq_midi
snd_seq_midi_event      7092  2 snd_seq_oss,snd_seq_midi
snd_seq                50896  7 snd_seq_dummy,snd_seq_oss,snd_seq_midi,snd_seq_midi_event
snd_timer              22040  2 snd_pcm,snd_seq
snd_seq_device          6944  5 snd_seq_dummy,snd_seq_oss,snd_seq_midi,snd_rawmidi,snd_seq
lib80211_crypt_tkip     8724  0 
iptable_filter          3092  0 
sdhci_pci               7188  0 
snd                    60740  17 snd_hda_codec_conexant,snd_hda_intel,snd_hda_codec,snd_hwdep,snd_pcm_oss,snd_mixer_oss,snd_pcm,snd_seq_oss,snd_rawmidi,snd_seq,snd_timer,snd_seq_device
wl                   1272808  0 
soundcore               7968  1 snd
sdhci                  17656  1 sdhci_pci
lp                      9604  0 
ip_tables              11652  1 iptable_filter
i2c_nforce2             6872  0 
parport                35976  2 ppdev,lp
x_tables               17176  1 ip_tables
joydev                 10304  0 
led_class               4088  1 sdhci
ricoh_mmc               3700  0 
k8temp                  4276  0 
snd_page_alloc          9244  2 snd_hda_intel,snd_pcm
lib80211                6452  2 lib80211_crypt_tkip,wl
nvidia               9588808  43 
agpgart                35440  1 nvidia
psmouse                56460  0 
serio_raw               5432  0 
ohci1394               30308  0 
ieee1394               87284  1 ohci1394
forcedeth              53280  0 
video                  19244  0 
output                  2836  1 video

============ dmesg-firmware ============

============ kernel version ============
2.6.31-9-rt

============ ifconfig ============
eth0      Link encap:Ethernet  HWaddr 00:1e:68:36:6f:c7  
          UP BROADCAST MULTICAST  MTU:1500  Metric:1
          RX packets:417 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:436 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000 
          RX bytes:370153 (370.1 KB)  TX bytes:110733 (110.7 KB)
          Interrupt:20 Base address:0x8000 

eth2      Link encap:Ethernet  HWaddr 00:1a:73:42:92:5e  
          inet6 addr: fe80::21a:73ff:fe42:925e/64 Scope:Link
          UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST  MTU:1500  Metric:1
          RX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:2
          TX packets:0 errors:39 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000 
          RX bytes:0 (0.0 B)  TX bytes:0 (0.0 B)
          Interrupt:19 

eth0:avahi Link encap:Ethernet  HWaddr 00:1e:68:36:6f:c7  
          inet addr:169.254.8.48  Bcast:169.254.255.255  Mask:255.255.0.0
          UP BROADCAST MULTICAST  MTU:1500  Metric:1
          Interrupt:20 Base address:0x8000 

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:8 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:8 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:0 
          RX bytes:480 (480.0 B)  TX bytes:480 (480.0 B)


============ iwconfig ============
eth2      IEEE 802.11  Nickname:""
          Access Point: Not-Associated

[Wifi-Fanatux]

I believe that the "kernel driver in use" should be the b43 and not "wl" as to how wcid is seeing the wireless networks is befuddling, but have you installed the proprietary drivers using the install application provided by Ubuntu? (You will need a wired connection to install the driver using fwcutter). Also, make sure that you are not using Knetwork manager or Gnome Network Manager (uninstall these if using wcid). The daemon for network manager will connect to the wireless card before wcid, thereby making it inaccessible.

[whocares1234]

You're saying "wireless card". We thought about using a USB wireless card, but if the Wicd Network Manager won't connect via wireless... then there probably is no point getting a USB card.

Anyhow... the laptop's wireless is built-in... therefore, it is detecting the Belkin G Wireless Router and AT7T 2Wire Gateway (DSL modem). I thought about installing any updated drivers for the wireless on the laptop... but with the Linux operating system, I just didn't know how.

I will see what I can do here. Thanks for the info.

[jayd512]

Sorry for the belated reply here... stuff be goin' on!

Looks like your box is detecting you card as eth2, and isn't associating with an access point.
What is the output of

iwlist scan

*EDIT*

If you click on the Network icon on the top right-hand corner of the screen, do you see your network name listed?

[whocares1234]

Hey, sorry for not responding to the thread earlier. Already gave the owner his laptop back, along with a desktop computer I had fixed for them, which is why I delayed going back to work on it (sorry!).

I went yesterday to find out if I could run the "iwlist scan" command on his laptop, but it turns out that he might not be using his laptop for a while. Even tho he got the wired connection, he's fine with it right now. So it's totally up to him what he wants to do. I know that he would have loved to have the wireless network up and running, but I guess I'll have to get that another time in the future.

Anyhow, TYVM for your help, Jayd512. I appreciate what you did for me since I had no idea what to do with the Linux system, but it was quite an experience to work with another type of operating system besides Windows. If we come back to this problem, I'll bring this thread back up and fix his laptop for good. Thanks again!