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    #1

    Getting System Settings or wicd to automatically connect wireless with .10.5.6

    Getting wifi to work on the latest laptop was easy--once I remembered to turn the wifi switch on on the front

    I now have a fresh install on this machine, too, which needs hal .10.5.6.

    By now, it's easy to install it. Installing wicd with apt-get removed network manager & knetworkmanager.

    Wicd easily connects--but I have to do it every time I boot or login.

    I've tried using the network connections panel in the System Settings, but it gets reset every time--I tell it to use dhcp and autostart on boot, but there are *no* choices selected after boot.

    I just want it to automatically connect wirelessly so that my wife can use it!

    thanks

    hawk
    Noone else may have these opinions without paying my retainer
    Tags: None
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    #2
    Re: Getting System Settings or wicd to automatically connect wireless with .10.5.6

    Oh, and if it makes a difference, this is jaunty kde3 remix.

    hawk
    Noone else may have these opinions without paying my retainer
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      #3
      Re: Getting System Settings or wicd to automatically connect wireless with .10.5.6

      I think you have too many programs controlling your network. Whatever is in System Setting should be disabled. Then in wicd select the "Automatically connect to this network" check box and it should work as you want.
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        #4
        Re: Getting System Settings or wicd to automatically connect wireless with .10.5.6

        I don't think that that *can* be removed from the system settings . . .

        I've tried disabling there, then coming back to wicd, and enabling the connection.

        However, it doesn't automatically reconnect after boot.

        All I want is for it to automatically connect to the known network on boot--no logging in, no invoking a program first (such as wicd).

        hawk
        Noone else may have these opinions without paying my retainer
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          #5
          Re: Getting System Settings or wicd to automatically connect wireless with .10.5.6

          That is the behavior of wicd on my laptop. It has a script in /etc/init.d that worked after I setup a connection, so all I did was install wicd, set up a wireless connection, and from then on it brings up that wireless at every boot, before the GUI is started and before anyone logs in. I don't recall doing anything to make that happen. I have not yet had the chance to see if it will pick from whichever of multiple connections are available automatically, but I am thinking it will.
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            #6
            Re: Getting System Settings or wicd to automatically connect wireless with .10.5.6

            It's also the behavior on my new laptop (on which I'm typing). They're both Toshiba Sattelite L305, but the older one is an S5914, single core sempron an atheros wireless, while this is an S5939 dual-core centrino with an Intel 5100 wireless.

            This one just plain works (after the very first time you use wicd), while the 5914 will always *let* a user fire it up.

            Both have the script in init.d, and the same entry in default


            redtail pts/0:hawk>cat /etc/default/wicd
            # Don't start the daemon by default, let the user set it.
            # Use "yes" (without quotes) to make /etc/init.d/wicd start the WICD daemon.
            START_DAEMON=yes


            Both are running the kde3 remix of jaunty, with essentially the same packages.

            Both have had reinstalls from scratch over the last two days (I finally figured out how to shove vista to the far end of the disk!).

            hawk
            Noone else may have these opinions without paying my retainer
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              #7
              Re: Getting System Settings or wicd to automatically connect wireless with .10.5.6

              I wonder if this has something to do with the loading of modules for the wireless. The atheros might not be loaded at boot so wicd fails. Or maybe the module is not loaded before wicd is called.
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                #8
                Re: Getting System Settings or wicd to automatically connect wireless with .10.5.6

                The module seems to be loaded. I hacked a line into init.d/wicd to modprobe to a file:
                root@molly:/home/hawk# grep ath /tmp/themodules
                ath_pci 216504 0
                wlan 239216 2 wlan_scan_sta,ath_pci
                ath_hal 312160 1 ath_pci
                ath5k 107008 0
                mac80211 217208 1 ath5k
                led_class 12036 1 ath5k
                cfg80211 38032 2 ath5k,mac80211
                multipath 15232 0


                It seems to *try* to connect, but gives no reason for the failure. The wicd log:


                2009/05/15 13:37:17 :: found wireless_interface in configuration wlan0
                2009/05/15 13:37:17 :: setting wireless interface wlan0
                2009/05/15 13:37:17 :: automatically detected wired interface eth0
                2009/05/15 13:37:17 :: found wired_interface in configuration eth0
                2009/05/15 13:37:17 :: setting wired interface eth0
                2009/05/15 13:37:17 :: found wpa_driver in configuration wext
                2009/05/15 13:37:17 :: setting wpa driver wext
                2009/05/15 13:37:17 :: found always_show_wired_interface in configuration True
                2009/05/15 13:37:17 :: found use_global_dns in configuration False
                2009/05/15 13:37:17 :: setting use global dns to False
                2009/05/15 13:37:17 :: setting use global dns to boolean False
                2009/05/15 13:37:17 :: found global_dns_1 in configuration None
                2009/05/15 13:37:17 :: found global_dns_2 in configuration None
                2009/05/15 13:37:17 :: found global_dns_3 in configuration None
                2009/05/15 13:37:17 :: setting global dns
                2009/05/15 13:37:17 :: global dns servers are None None None
                2009/05/15 13:37:17 :: found auto_reconnect in configuration True
                2009/05/15 13:37:17 :: setting automatically reconnect when connection drops
                2009/05/15 13:37:17 :: found debug_mode in configuration 0
                2009/05/15 13:37:17 :: found wired_connect_mode in configuration 1
                2009/05/15 13:37:17 :: found signal_display_type in configuration 0
                2009/05/15 13:37:17 :: found dhcp_client in configuration 0
                2009/05/15 13:37:17 :: Setting dhcp client to 0
                2009/05/15 13:37:17 :: found link_detect_tool in configuration 0
                2009/05/15 13:37:17 :: found flush_tool in configuration 0
                2009/05/15 13:37:17 :: Wireless configuration file found...
                2009/05/15 13:37:17 :: Wired configuration file found...
                2009/05/15 13:37:17 :: chmoding configuration files 0600...
                2009/05/15 13:37:17 :: chowning configuration files root:root...
                2009/05/15 13:37:17 :: Using wired interface...eth0
                2009/05/15 13:37:17 :: Using wireless interface...wlan0
                2009/05/15 13:37:17 :: autoconnecting... wlan0
                2009/05/15 13:37:22 :: No wired connection present, attempting to autoconnect to wireless network
                2009/05/15 13:37:22 :: Unable to autoconnect, you'll have to manually connect
                2009/05/15 13:37:29 :: No wired connection present, attempting to autoconnect to wireless network
                2009/05/15 13:37:29 :: Unable to autoconnect, you'll have to manually connect
                2009/05/15 13:37:33 :: No wired connection present, attempting to autoconnect to wireless network
                2009/05/15 13:37:33 :: Unable to autoconnect, you'll have to manually connect
                2009/05/15 13:37:37 :: No wired connection present, attempting to autoconnect to
                wireless network
                2009/05/15 13:37:37 :: Unable to autoconnect, you'll have to manually connect
                2009/05/15 13:39:12 :: GetWiredProperty: WiredNetwork does not exist
                2009/05/15 13:39:15 :: Connecting to wireless network aerie
                2009/05/15 13:39:15 :: Putting interface down
                2009/05/15 13:39:15 :: Releasing DHCP leases...
                2009/05/15 13:39:15 :: Setting false IP...
                2009/05/15 13:39:15 :: Stopping wpa_supplicant and any DHCP clients
                2009/05/15 13:39:15 :: Flushing the routing table...
                2009/05/15 13:39:15 :: Putting interface up...
                2009/05/15 13:39:16 :: Running DHCP
                2009/05/15 13:39:16 :: Internet Systems Consortium DHCP Client V3.1.1
                2009/05/15 13:39:16 :: Copyright 2004-2008 Internet Systems Consortium.
                2009/05/15 13:39:16 :: All rights reserved.
                2009/05/15 13:39:16 :: For info, please visit http://www.isc.org/sw/dhcp/
                2009/05/15 13:39:16 ::

                There doesn't seem to be much time between its giving up and my command to connect:

                2009/05/15 13:39:16 :: wmaster0: unknown hardware address type 801
                2009/05/15 13:39:17 :: wmaster0: unknown hardware address type 801
                2009/05/15 13:39:17 :: Listening on LPF/wlan0/00:24:d2:17:78:d5
                2009/05/15 13:39:17 :: Sending on LPF/wlan0/00:24:d2:17:78:d5
                2009/05/15 13:39:17 :: Sending on Socket/fallback
                2009/05/15 13:39:19 :: DHCPREQUEST of 192.168.0.30 on wlan0 to 255.255.255.255 port 67
                2009/05/15 13:39:19 :: DHCPACK of 192.168.0.30 from 192.168.0.1
                2009/05/15 13:39:19 :: bound to 192.168.0.30 -- renewal in 263271 seconds.
                2009/05/15 13:39:19 :: DHCP connection successful
                2009/05/15 13:39:19 :: Connecting thread exiting.


                I've tried rebooting both with and without the wired connection (which does automatically start, but the point is to get away from that cable!

                hawk
                Noone else may have these opinions without paying my retainer
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                  #9
                  Re: Getting System Settings or wicd to automatically connect wireless with .10.5.6

                  A couple of things that might be relevant, or not. I think that in the new kernel (-12) the ath5k driver has changed and no longer uses madwifi. You might have better luck with that if you are not there already. Did you build some drivers? Then your comment
                  "There doesn't seem to be much time between its giving up and my command to connect:"
                  seems all to true. It seems to indicate that you logged in and ran wicd in less than a 100th of a second.

                  You might find some useful info here
                  http://wiki.debian.org/ath5k
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                    #10
                    Re: Getting System Settings or wicd to automatically connect wireless with .10.5.6

                    Originally posted by mando_hacker
                    "There doesn't seem to be much time between its giving up and my command to connect:"
                    seems all to true. It seems to indicate that you logged in and ran wicd in less than a 100th of a second.
                    I'm *good*, but not *that* good

                    OK, I didn't even try the system without the madwifi. This is nice progress.

                    the ath5k loads by itself, also before init.d/wicd runs.

                    But I still need to run wicd!

                    This is maddening. I don't do anything but launch the program and push the button to load my netwrok that its already detected (and with network manager instead of wicd, it also detects but doesn't connect to the network.

                    I notice now that in /etc/network/interfaces, only has the loopback device (but that's the same on this machine, which loads wifi just fine). I tried adding
                    auto wlan0
                    iface wlan0 inet dhcp
                    to it, which produced a "wlan0:avahi" with address of 169.254.8.23, but that doesn't really connect to anything, and I still had to bring up wlan0 manually.

                    hawk, scratching his head
                    Noone else may have these opinions without paying my retainer
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                      #11
                      Re: Getting System Settings or wicd to automatically connect wireless with .10.5.6

                      Your interfaces file should have only lo when you use wicd. You mentioned network manager. Is network-manager installed on your system? If so that is almost certainly the problem. If you installed wicd from the Kubuntu repository the packaging should have removed network-manager.

                      Thinking about the logs and the timing, I think the logs are indicating that wicd is successfully configuring the interface, This makes me think that something else is then screwing it up. If you have network-manager installed this would be exactly what I would expect.
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                        #12
                        Re: Getting System Settings or wicd to automatically connect wireless with .10.5.6

                        No, network manager is gone. I swapped wicd for it briefly to see if it got me anywhere, but it didn't (but it could see the networks with nm-tool).

                        To make things odder, this machine (the newer one) didn't connect when I booted it this morning; I had to do it manually . . .

                        hawk
                        Noone else may have these opinions without paying my retainer
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                          #13
                          Re: Getting System Settings or wicd to automatically connect wireless with .10.5.6

                          Getting harder all the time. I think I would run
                          Code:
                          dpkg -l | grep knet
                          and
                          Code:
                          dpkg -l | grep kdenet
                          and try to remove anything that looked like it was configuring networks. I am almost sure that your logs indicate wicd has successfully configured the network, and yet it fails later, so something is screwing it up.
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