Knoppix Unplugged - We Don't Need No Stinkin' Wireless!

Chapter 4 - We Don't Need No Stinkin' Wireless!

OK, We do. At least I do. I mean it's kinda the point of having a laptop isn't it? So after getting Knoppix installed, I set about trying to get wireless working. I started out with a GigaFast WF721-AEX card. This card had not been recognized by any of the live cds that I had used and some research indicated that others had difficulty with this card as well. (Note: Trying to run any of the wireless configuration programs came back with an error message saying that a wireless card was not found).

I won't list every agonizing step that I followed before giving up on the card (after a week of trying) but I did learn

• Gigafast apparently put out several different chipsets under the same label


• Windows (and Gigafast) identified the card as a Realtek rtl8180 so I tried this
  


• http://rtl8180-sa2400.sourceforge.net/
  


• http://sourceforge.net/projects/rtl8180-sa2400


• Apparently mine has an Atmel Chipset so I tried this:
• http://www.ko4bb.com/linux/Gigafast_WF721-AEX/GigafastWF721-AEX.html
• http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=59001&release_id=128821
  
• Then I found this:
• http://rtl-wifi.sourceforge.net/wiki/Main_Page

This project is alive and new. As at Jan 18 2007 we have the svn repository forked from the old project, and several patches applied that seem to be working for people on recent kernels (2.6.8 - 2.6.21). See the Forum for more information.

• I again tried downloading and compiling - still no luck

So I was almost ready to buy a new wireless card when I remembered that my old laptop had a card. This one was an Actiontec 802CAT1. I plugged this card in and rebooted. The green light started blinking but it still wasn't showing up in the configuration utilities and I got error messages if I tried to add it from the command line.

Attempting to install drivers from here http://thekelleys.org.uk/atmel/ resulted in a downgrading of existing atmel drivers (oops). So after upgrading back to original drivers and some fun with the Knoppix Network Card Configuration Utility and 'ifconfig' and 'iwconfig' commands. I was able to get the card working.

So now that I had wireless working at home, I took my laptop out and about and found out changing wireless networks wasn't exactly painless. So I set about trying to find a utility that would allow for me to easily switch wireless networks. (With XP I had used a third party app. that let you set up several configurations and click on the one you wanted).

Next Chapter: How to Kill Your Wireless Without Really Trying

Adventures in Knoppix - Around Your Whole Body to Get to Your Elbow

Chapter Three - Around Your Whole Body to Get to Your Elbow.

(Note: This section may actually have some useful information for the linux newbie. . . particularly the debian linux newbie. . .particularly the Knoppix newbie)

-Alright we do. Well I do. I mean it's kinda the whole point of lugging the thing around - wireless access. But before I get to the ongoing trials and tribulations that led to multiple reinstalls let me mention some linux stuff unrelated to wireless that I learned along the way.


"Su returned with an error"

• Upon initial login when trying to do - anything of use (configure network, change timezone, etc.) this error shows up
• 1. chown root:root /etc/sudoers (as root)
  2. chmod 0440 /etc/sudoers (as root from the command line)
  
  3. %sudo ALL=(ALL) ALL (I used nano editor launched as root)
• nano -w /etc/sudoers
• change root ALL=(ALL) ALL to %sudo ALL=(ALL) ALL
• exit and save
• Source of fix: http://www.knoppix.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=26577
• Note: I have been unable to compile from source in several instances and I think it might be related to the sudo change. I will report back when I have time to investigate further.

Installing packages

• RPM stands for Red Hat Package Manager so as you might imagine, packages that end in .rpm are designed for Red Hat Based systems. Those that end in .deb are Debian specific. If you find an RPM that you want to install on a Debian system you can try one of three things
• Try to find an equivelent deb package
• Compile from source
• Convert the rpm to deb using alien

http://www.newlinuxuser.com/howto-install-deb-rpm-and-source-code-files/
http://www.knoppix.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=14977
http://www.tuxfiles.org/linuxhelp/softinstall.html

Check KDE First

• Before you scour the web looking for that perfect ap, download and compile from source, downgrade, upgrade, or generally screw with your system check to see if there is a KDE application that does what you want. You might even already have it installed. If not you should be able to get it using the package manager. If you're running Gnome, you can still probably use the KDE ap once all the proper dependecies are installed - it's up to you to decide if it's worth the hassle.
• On a related note: There are some applications under the Knoppix menu that appear to be the same as the KDE applications but don't look or act the same. (Wireless LAN, kpackage). In my quest to get wireless working, I ran across this in a forum post

One thing I've noticed, since I tend to hand-code such things into my etc/network/interfaces file instead, is that trying to get wireless working using those same tools with KNOPPIX just _does_not_ work for me. http://lxer.com/module/forums/t/25053/

My favorite application so far:
Kalarm - I use my laptop as an alarm clock. Kalarm offers all the functionality of the program I was using - Citrus Alarm Clock - except for the ability to mute sound for a designated period before the alarm goes off. But since I'm not using Trillian, the biggest nighttime noise offender, it's not a big issue. Plus, I'm sure with some investigation, I could find a way to schedule sound muting and unmuting.

The Adventure Continues - I Got a Pocketful of Distros.

Chapter Two - I Got a Pocketful of Distros.

I am not a complete Linux newbie. My desktop dual boots XP and Fedora Core but it truth I haven't booted into Fedora (at least not on purpose) in ages. I had too much trouble getting the applications that I wanted to work properly so I gave up on it. Yes, yes I know it's bleeding edge. Maybe I'll go back to Fedora or some other distro once I have my laptop the way I want it. So anyway, I knew that I didn't want Fedora and I had in my possession Freespire, DSL, and old Knoppix discs. I was able to boot all of them as live cds although none of them recognized my wireless card (more on that fun in a later chapter). I decided to go with Freespire.

1. Repeated attempts at Freespire installation failed. Research gave no solutions so I gave up on Freespire
2. How about Gentoo Linux? Downloaded, burned iso, installation failed. . . Next!
   
3. Did some more research on distros and decided to try Topologlinux. Downloaded and burned iso. Waded through the long and detailed installation instructions. Finally after several tries got - how shall I describe this - during it's attempt at booting, the screen was covered with several horizonatal and vertical lines behind which illegible text scrolled quickly by. No login screen ever materialized. Alright, I've wasted several days of my life on Topologilinux, time to move on.
4. Hey, I wonder if one can install Knoppix to the hard drive. Why yes, one can!
5. Downloaded and burned latest stable version (5.1), installation hangs, bad sector on the cd, rinse and repeat. Yay! Easy peasy installation.
   

The Adventure Begins - Laptop needs a new pair of shoes!

Alright, I decided to write this all down before I forget it. That way I'll have a reference should I need to reinstall AGAIN. Perhaps it is a sign of my love of adventure that I can mess up a system to the point that it's easier to reinstall the OS than it is to fix it. But I digress. Let me start at the beginning. . .

Chapter One - Laptop needs a new pair of shoes!

The situation was this:

1. I was tired of waiting 20-30 minutes for my laptop to boot/wake up, plus the time it took to change the network settings with a 3rd party ap, anytime I took it somewhere.
• Find a place to sit, plug in laptop, boot/wake it up
• Order food or beverage
• Come back and stare at screen, tap fingers impatiently
• Get food or beverage if I don't already have it
• Answer Zone Alarm permission questions, eat and or drink, stare at screen some more
• Click on my ap to change network settings, eat and or drink, etc.
• Finally, access local network. Surf/work for about 10-20 minutes until it's time to go.
2. As you can see not a terribly efficient use of time. Plus when I added in the hassle of packing and unpacking my less than tiny or lightweight machine, it just wasn't worth it.
3. But a new, shiny, ultralight machine was not in the current budget. I had already reinstalled XP more than once and put most of my data on an external hard drive and was unwilling to go through another automated voice call to get XP activated. (Can't configure the network until you log in, can't log in until you activate, must spend an eternity on the phone reciting numbers to a computer that tries to be encouraging, "Great! Now the 5th series!" (BTW: She doesn't understand if you call her names))
4. So it was time to install Linux