10 replies to this topic

[crito]

I am trying to get wireless working on an eeepc 1000. I am using Tiny Core on a USB stick.

Installed wicd along with its dependencies (wireless-tools, wpa_supplicant, etc) and the rt2860 module (Ralink)

Everything seems to go fine, wicd gui see's my essid, but when I attempt to connect I error out (Connection Failed. Bad Password). The password I am entering is correct; I have 3 other laptops connecting to this AP, wireless works fine on them.

Encryption used is WPA2 PSK.

I am wondering if anyone else has seen this, or have some ideas how to get around this.

thanks
m

[aj123]

Try configuring wpa_supplicant manually.

[sringh]

editing wpa_supplicant manually is pretty much counter productive to installing a GUI client that is meant to handle wireless connection.

I also think (i can't check as i don't have my eee on me) that wicd uses it's own wpa_config tucked away in it's own settings directory, not the one in /etc/.

it may well be that you have to put your password through wpa_passphrase and then enter that instead of the plain text one.

[jemimah]

The rt2860 driver (at least on kernel 2.6.31 that I have) has issues with hidden ssids, so if you have a hidden ssid that could be your problem.

There's possibly a wpa_supplicant log file somewhere that you can look at.

I agree with aj123 that if Wicd is failing, it's likely easier to configure wpa_supplicant yourself than to figure out what's going on inside the black box.

[jemimah]

Did you know that wpa_supplicant comes with its own gui called wpa_gui (needs Qt)? You can do the majority of what Wicd does with wpa_supplicant all by itself.
Wpa_supplicant can even connect to WEP and open networks. It supports automatic network roaming and saves your network profiles. Wicd (and network manager) is just a pretty frontend.

The only thing that wpa_gui won't handle for you is DHCP. So you'll need write a script to start a dhcp client (dhcpcd works automatically with wpa_supplicant and detects network changes automatically).

Edited by jemimah, 26 February 2010 - 04:26 PM.

[sringh]

Quote

I agree with aj123 that if Wicd is failing, it's likely easier to configure wpa_supplicant yourself than to figure out what's going on inside the black box.

I agree that it is easier (for some). But what is the point of using a front-end to wpa_supplicant (which is what wicd essentially is) and then editing the config file by hand? It sort of defeats the point of installing the thing in the first place.

I honestly think it's just a case of entering the password derived from wpa_passphrase.

Quote

Did you know that wpa_supplicant comes with its own gui called wpa_gui (needs Qt)?

In the case of tiny core linux wpa_gui has been seperated from the rest of the package and will need to be installed separately.

[jemimah]

Quote

I agree that it is easier (for some). But what is the point of using a front-end to wpa_supplicant (which is what wicd essentially is) and then editing the config file by hand? It sort of defeats the point of installing the thing in the first place.

Yes i'd remove Wicd before configuring wpa_supplicant by hand.

[aj123]

Quote

Quote

I agree with aj123 that if Wicd is failing, it's likely easier to configure wpa_supplicant yourself than to figure out what's going on inside the black box.

I agree that it is easier (for some). But what is the point of using a front-end to wpa_supplicant (which is what wicd essentially is) and then editing the config file by hand? It sort of defeats the point of installing the thing in the first place.

I honestly think it's just a case of entering the password derived from wpa_passphrase.

Quote

Did you know that wpa_supplicant comes with its own gui called wpa_gui (needs Qt)?

In the case of tiny core linux wpa_gui has been seperated from the rest of the package and will need to be installed separately.

To eliminate what is causing the problem.

http://distro.ibibli...rt2860.tcz.info

[jemimah]

Hmmm, is this the rt2860 driver from the Ralink website? In my experience, that one has major issues communicating with wpa_supplicant. The kernel developers fixed it 2.6.31, but if you have an older kernel, you may need a couple work arounds to get it to work.

[crito]

OK, fresh start, step-by-step. I have never configured my own wpa_supplicant file, it's always just *worked*. I have spent a good deal of time googling and looking at different examples, still kind of flailing around in the dark. But figuring this kind of thing out is half the fun of Linux!

wicd uninstalled. wireless-2.6.29.1, wireless_tools, wpa_gui, wpa_supplicant installed.

These instructions with rt2860 module, placed in bootlocal.sh

After booting, you should see a network interface "raN"
with N being 0 in most cases: ra0. To associate with a
wireless access point, you can set up a simple script like
the following:

#!/bin/sh
# commands to associate with wireless access point
/sbin/ifconfig ra0 up
/usr/local/sbin/iwconfig ra0 essid "{{{YOUR ESSID HERE}}}" key restricted "{{{encrypted passphrase}}}"
sleep 2
/sbin/udhcpc -i ra0

Created and saved this file in /opt/bootlocal.sh, now on to wpa_supplicant:

Created a wpa_supplicant file, referencing http://wiki.tinycore...Setting+up+Wifi

ctrl_interface=/var/run/wpa_supplicant

network={
ssid=*"mynetwork"*
proto=WPA2
key_mgmt=WPA-PSK
pairwise=CCMP
group=CCMP
psk=*encrypted passphrase*
}

I should mention here that I started out with WPA-PSK [TKIP] + WPA2-PSK [AES], but have since backed the encryption off to WPA2-PSK [AES] in the hopes that it would make this process somewhat easier.

Next step of TC "Setting up WiFi WIKI:

to connect to the access point, run in the console:
wpa_supplicant -i*interface* -c/opt/wpa_configure.conf &

"Trying to associate with **:**:**:**:**:** (SSID='my network'

Authentication timed out

wpa_gui: "Could not get status from wpa_supplicant"

Not sure where to go from here...

[jemimah]

You almost certainly need 'ap_scan=2' in the wpa_supplicant.conf.

Here's how I got it to sort of work on Puppeee before I upgraded the kernel:
First I built the driver without native wpa_supplicant support
Added ap_scan=2 to the wpa_supplicant.conf
Start wpa_supplicant with -Dralink flag
If it gets stuck while authenticating: 'wpa_cli -i ra0 reassociate'

Edited by jemimah, 02 March 2010 - 04:43 PM.