Ralink USB adaptor not finding network

[mark9117]

I posted to this article earlier: viewtopic.php?f=25&t=6466&p=42233#p42233

I subsequently caught a break and upgraded to Mageia 3. The good news is that the Ralink RT5370 Wireless Adapter is recognized by the hardware. Bad new is I can't get it to connect to the network. The Net_applet sees the hardware (as wlan1) and let's me try to configure it, but I can't see the SSID and the adaptor won't connect to the network.

I'm also noticing that the security keeps trying to revert to openwep rather than the WPA/WPA2 pre-shared key that I'm trying to configure. Not sure how to check whether that is actually happening.

Journal says this:

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Dec 10 17:55:07 lenovo kernel: ACPI Error: [OPST] Namespace lookup failure, AE_NOT_FOUND (20121018/
Dec 10 17:55:07 lenovo kernel: ACPI Error: Method parse/execution failed [\_SB_.PCI0.LPCB.EC0_._Q14
Dec 10 17:55:09 lenovo Netapplet[6085]: launched command: /usr/sbin/drakconnect &
Dec 10 17:55:09 lenovo drakconnect[6590]: ### Program is starting ###
Dec 10 17:55:10 lenovo userhelper[6591]: pam_timestamp(drakconnect:auth): timestamp file `/var/run/
Dec 10 17:55:13 lenovo userhelper[6591]: pam_tcb(drakconnect:auth): Authentication passed for root
Dec 10 17:55:13 lenovo userhelper[6591]: pam_timestamp(drakconnect:session): updated timestamp file
Dec 10 17:55:13 lenovo userhelper[6598]: running '/usr/sbin/drakconnect' with root privileges on be
Dec 10 17:55:13 lenovo drakconnect[6598]: ### Program is starting ###
Dec 10 17:55:15 lenovo kernel: ACPI Error: [OPST] Namespace lookup failure, AE_NOT_FOUND (20121018/
Dec 10 17:55:15 lenovo kernel: ACPI Error: Method parse/execution failed [\_SB_.PCI0.LPCB.EC0_._Q14
Dec 10 17:55:17 lenovo drakconnect[6598]: running: /bin/rpm -q --qf %{name}
Dec 10 17:55:21 lenovo kernel: ACPI Error: [OPST] Namespace lookup failure, AE_NOT_FOUND (20121018/
Dec 10 17:55:21 lenovo kernel: ACPI Error: Method parse/execution failed [\_SB_.PCI0.LPCB.EC0_._Q14
Dec 10 17:55:23 lenovo drakconnect[6598]: running: dmidecode
Dec 10 17:55:23 lenovo drakconnect[6598]: Found settings for driver "rt2800usb" in category "network::connection::wireless"
Dec 10 17:55:24 lenovo drakconnect[6598]: Required kernel_module package for module "rt2800usb" is already installed, skipping
Dec 10 17:55:24 lenovo drakconnect[6598]: No tools package for module "rt2800usb" is required, skipping
Dec 10 17:55:24 lenovo drakconnect[6598]: Required firmware package for module "rt2800usb" is already installed, skipping
Dec 10 17:55:24 lenovo drakconnect[6598]: Loading module rt2800usb
Dec 10 17:55:24 lenovo drakconnect[6598]: Settings for driver "rt2800usb" applied
Dec 10 17:55:38 lenovo drakconnect[6598]: running: /bin/rpm -q --qf %{name}
Dec 10 17:55:38 lenovo drakconnect[6598]: modified file /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/wireless.d/any
Dec 10 17:55:38 lenovo drakconnect[6598]: modified file /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/wireless.d/any
Dec 10 17:55:38 lenovo drakconnect[6598]: changed mode of /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/wireless.d/any to 700
Dec 10 17:55:38 lenovo drakconnect[6598]: written  interface configuration in /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/wireless.d/any
Dec 10 17:55:38 lenovo drakconnect[6598]: created file /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf
Dec 10 17:55:38 lenovo drakconnect[6598]: running: /usr/sbin/wpa_cli reconfigure
Dec 10 17:55:38 lenovo drakconnect[6598]: modified file /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-wlan1
Dec 10 17:55:38 lenovo drakconnect[6598]: modified file /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-wlan1
Dec 10 17:55:38 lenovo drakconnect[6598]: changed mode of /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-wlan1 to 700
Dec 10 17:55:38 lenovo drakconnect[6598]: written wlan1 interface configuration in /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-wlan1
Dec 10 17:55:38 lenovo drakconnect[6598]: created file /etc/hostname
Dec 10 17:55:38 lenovo drakconnect[6598]: writing host information to /etc/hosts
Dec 10 17:55:38 lenovo drakconnect[6598]: created file /etc/hosts
Dec 10 17:55:39 lenovo drakconnect[6598]: writing host information to /etc/hosts
Dec 10 17:55:39 lenovo drakconnect[6598]: created file /etc/hosts
Dec 10 17:55:39 lenovo drakconnect[6598]: set sethostname to lenovo
Dec 10 17:55:39 lenovo drakconnect[6598]: running: /usr/bin/run-parts --arg lenovo /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/hostname.d
Dec 10 17:55:39 lenovo su[6618]: (to avahi) chrisq on none
Dec 10 17:55:39 lenovo su[6618]: pam_tcb(su:session): Session opened for avahi by chrisq(uid=0)
Dec 10 17:55:39 lenovo su[6618]: pam_tcb(su:session): Session closed for avahi
Dec 10 17:55:39 lenovo drakconnect[6598]: modified file /etc/sysconfig/network
Dec 10 17:55:39 lenovo drakconnect[6598]: created file /etc/hostname
Dec 10 17:55:39 lenovo drakconnect[6598]: running: /sbin/ifdown wlan1 daemon
Dec 10 17:55:39 lenovo ifplugd(wlan1)[6069]: Exiting.
Dec 10 17:55:39 lenovo drakconnect[6598]: running: /sbin/ifup wlan1 daemon
Dec 10 17:55:39 lenovo ifplugd(wlan1)[6761]: ifplugd 0.28 initializing.
Dec 10 17:55:39 lenovo ifplugd(wlan1)[6761]: Using interface wlan1/C8:3A:35:C1:AD:AA with driver <rt2800usb> (version: 3.8.13.4-serv
Dec 10 17:55:39 lenovo ifplugd(wlan1)[6761]: Using detection mode: SIOCETHTOOL
Dec 10 17:55:39 lenovo ifplugd(wlan1)[6761]: Initialization complete, link beat not detected.
Dec 10 17:55:39 lenovo drakconnect[6598]: running: /bin/mountpoint -q /sys/fs/cgroup/systemd
Dec 10 17:55:39 lenovo drakconnect[6598]: running: /bin/systemctl --no-block start network-up.service
Dec 10 17:55:39 lenovo systemd[1]: Started LSB: Wait for the hotplugged network to be up.
Dec 10 17:55:51 lenovo drakconnect[6598]: modified file /etc/modprobe.conf
Dec 10 17:55:57 lenovo drakconnect[6598]: to put in /etc/modprobe.preload nvram, evdev, hdaps
Dec 10 17:55:57 lenovo drakconnect[6598]: modified file /etc/modprobe.preload
Dec 10 17:55:57 lenovo drakconnect[6598]: ### Program is exiting ###


The only thing I flag here is "link beat not detected" which means what? The USB dongle isn't seeing the wifi signal?

Attempting to manually connect with iwconfig:

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ifconfig wlan1 essid <ssid>
SIOCSIFFLAGS: Operation not possible due to RF-kill
SIOCSIFFLAGS: Operation not possible due to RF-kill

Why is this not working?

Mark

P.S. The hardware is working fine under Win7.

[doktor5000]

Well, the "link beat not detected" is rather frequent for those where wifi is not working, it means that it did not detect activity for the network which it should connect to.
Problem is, I've never encountered such a case personally so can't tell you what the underlying problem or the solution is.

Maybe you could take a look if the approach from viewtopic.php?f=25&t=4460 helps you, otherwise it might be an idea to switch to networkmanager for testing purposes like described in viewtopic.php?f=25&t=5782 . Maybe it gives better results.

For the problem with iwconfig "Operation not possible due to RF-kill" you should check the output of

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rfkill list all

seems it's either soft-blocked or hard-blocked (i.e. hard-blocked would be the wireless switch/key-combo for laptops to enable/disable wifi). With your external dongle it's probably soft-blocked.

[mark9117]

It is soft blocked. I've dealt with it by running "rfkill unblock all" in KDE Autostart. I'm not really happy with that, but can't figure out why rfkill is even a factor in all this.

As for the wifi dongle, I am able to establish a network connection to the router/AP with a static IP, but I can't seen anything on the LAN or on the Internet side.

The issue seems to be a failure to successfully secure a lease from the DHCP server (or something). Log says this:

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Dec 11 12:17:47 lenovo kernel: wlan1: deauthenticated from fe:f5:28:2a:2c:04 (Reason: 15)
Dec 11 12:17:47 lenovo kernel: cfg80211: Calling CRDA to update world regulatory domain
Dec 11 12:17:47 lenovo kernel: cfg80211: World regulatory domain updated:
Dec 11 12:17:47 lenovo kernel: cfg80211:   (start_freq - end_freq @ bandwidth), (max_antenna_gain, max_eirp)
Dec 11 12:17:47 lenovo kernel: cfg80211:   (2402000 KHz - 2472000 KHz @ 40000 KHz), (300 mBi, 2000 mBm)
Dec 11 12:17:47 lenovo kernel: cfg80211:   (2457000 KHz - 2482000 KHz @ 40000 KHz), (300 mBi, 2000 mBm)
Dec 11 12:17:47 lenovo kernel: cfg80211:   (2474000 KHz - 2494000 KHz @ 20000 KHz), (300 mBi, 2000 mBm)
Dec 11 12:17:47 lenovo kernel: cfg80211:   (5170000 KHz - 5250000 KHz @ 40000 KHz), (300 mBi, 2000 mBm)
Dec 11 12:17:47 lenovo kernel: cfg80211:   (5735000 KHz - 5835000 KHz @ 40000 KHz), (300 mBi, 2000 mBm)
Dec 11 12:17:47 lenovo kernel: cfg80211: Calling CRDA for country: US
Dec 11 12:17:47 lenovo kernel: cfg80211: Regulatory domain changed to country: US
Dec 11 12:17:47 lenovo kernel: cfg80211:   (start_freq - end_freq @ bandwidth), (max_antenna_gain, max_eirp)
Dec 11 12:17:47 lenovo kernel: cfg80211:   (2402000 KHz - 2472000 KHz @ 40000 KHz), (300 mBi, 2700 mBm)
Dec 11 12:17:47 lenovo kernel: cfg80211:   (5170000 KHz - 5250000 KHz @ 40000 KHz), (300 mBi, 1700 mBm)
Dec 11 12:17:47 lenovo kernel: cfg80211:   (5250000 KHz - 5330000 KHz @ 40000 KHz), (300 mBi, 2000 mBm)
Dec 11 12:17:47 lenovo kernel: cfg80211:   (5490000 KHz - 5600000 KHz @ 40000 KHz), (300 mBi, 2000 mBm)
Dec 11 12:17:47 lenovo kernel: cfg80211:   (5650000 KHz - 5710000 KHz @ 40000 KHz), (300 mBi, 2000 mBm)
Dec 11 12:17:47 lenovo kernel: cfg80211:   (5735000 KHz - 5835000 KHz @ 40000 KHz), (300 mBi, 3000 mBm)
Dec 11 12:17:47 lenovo kernel: cfg80211:   (57240000 KHz - 63720000 KHz @ 2160000 KHz), (N/A, 4000 mBm)

The Realtec ethernet connection works just fine but the wifi onboard wifi seems to be loading despite being physically turned off.

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lspcidrake -v | grep -i net
r8169           : Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd.|RTL8111/8168 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet controller [NETWORK_ETHERNET] (vendor:10ec device:8168 subv:17aa subd:3975) (rev: 06)
bcma            : Broadcom Corporation|BCM4313 802.11b/g/n Wireless LAN Controller [NETWORK_OTHER] (vendor:14e4 device:4727 subv:14e4 subd:051b) (rev: 01)


The usb dongle is showing up here:

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# lsusb
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 8087:0024 Intel Corp. Integrated Rate Matching Hub
Bus 002 Device 002: ID 8087:0024 Intel Corp. Integrated Rate Matching Hub
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 001 Device 003: ID 148f:5370 Ralink Technology, Corp. RT5370 Wireless Adapter   <----Here
Bus 001 Device 004: ID 5986:0292 Acer, Inc
Bus 002 Device 003: ID 1c7a:0603 LighTuning Technology Inc.
Bus 002 Device 004: ID 0bda:0139 Realtek Semiconductor Corp. RTS5139 Card Reader Controller


I think the WPA supplicant is doing what it's supposed to.

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ps -ef | grep -v grep | grep -ie net -e wpa
root        26     2  0 12:09 ?        00:00:00 [netns]
chrisq    2393  1406  0 12:10 ?        00:00:05 /usr/bin/perl /usr/bin/net_applet
root      4911     1  0 12:16 ?        00:00:00 /usr/sbin/wpa_supplicant -B -i wlan1 -c /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf -D wext

Running "journalctl -b -u network --no-pager -a" with wifi disconnected just tells me that wlan1 is disconnected. Trouble is when I set the dongle to static ip, I get the congratulations message from net_applet that the network is configured and exactly the same output from the journal:

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Dec 11 12:16:25 lenovo ifplugd(eth0)[1013]: Executing '/etc/ifplugd/ifplugd.action eth0 down'.
Dec 11 12:16:26 lenovo ifplugd(eth0)[1013]: Program executed successfully.
Dec 11 12:16:32 lenovo ifplugd(wlan1)[1145]: Link beat lost.
Dec 11 12:16:33 lenovo ifplugd(wlan1)[1145]: Link beat detected.
Dec 11 12:16:40 lenovo ifplugd(wlan1)[1145]: Link beat lost.
Dec 11 12:16:41 lenovo ifplugd(wlan1)[1145]: Link beat detected.
Dec 11 12:16:47 lenovo ifplugd(wlan1)[1145]: Link beat lost.
Dec 11 12:16:49 lenovo ifplugd(wlan1)[1145]: Link beat detected.
Dec 11 12:16:57 lenovo ifplugd(wlan1)[1145]: Link beat lost.
Dec 11 12:16:57 lenovo ifplugd(wlan1)[1145]: Executing '/etc/ifplugd/ifplugd.action wlan1 down'.
Dec 11 12:16:57 lenovo ifplugd(wlan1)[1145]: client: Interface "wlan1" is already disabled.
Dec 11 12:18:46 lenovo ifplugd(eth0)[1013]: Link beat detected.
Dec 11 12:18:47 lenovo ifplugd(eth0)[1013]: Executing '/etc/ifplugd/ifplugd.action eth0 up'.
Dec 11 12:18:49 lenovo dhclient[5315]: DHCPREQUEST on eth0 to 255.255.255.255 port 67
Dec 11 12:18:49 lenovo dhclient[5315]: DHCPACK from 192.168.0.1
Dec 11 12:18:50 lenovo ifplugd(eth0)[1013]: client: Determining IP information for eth0... done.
Dec 11 12:18:50 lenovo ifplugd(eth0)[1013]: client:  [  OK  ]
Dec 11 12:18:50 lenovo ifplugd(eth0)[1013]: Program executed successfully.
Dec 11 12:29:32 lenovo ifplugd(eth0)[1013]: Link beat lost.
Dec 11 12:29:38 lenovo ifplugd(eth0)[1013]: Executing '/etc/ifplugd/ifplugd.action eth0 down'.
Dec 11 12:29:38 lenovo ifplugd(eth0)[1013]: Program executed successfully.

This despite there being a green wifi icon in the tray. I can ping the router/AP and localhost but nothing else.
Again, if I configure for a dynamic IP, it simply fails to successfully communicate with the DHCP server and I don't get a lease on an address. The net_applet reports that problems occurred during the connectivity test.

It should also be noted that the onboard wifi card (wlan0) does not work (hence the wifi dongle) and is switched off in hardware.

I notice the network service does not seem to detect the dongle (wlan1):

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# systemctl status network.service -a
network.service - LSB: Bring up/down networking
          Loaded: loaded (/etc/rc.d/init.d/network)
          Active: active (running) since Wed, 2013-12-11 12:10:39 PST; 25min ago
         Process: 832 ExecStart=/etc/rc.d/init.d/network start (code=exited, status=0/SUCCESS)
          CGroup: name=systemd:/system/network.service
                  ├ 1013 /sbin/ifplugd -I -b -i eth0
                  └ 1079 /sbin/ifplugd -I -b -i wlan0

Dec 11 12:18:46 lenovo ifplugd(eth0)[1013]: Link beat detected.
Dec 11 12:18:47 lenovo ifplugd(eth0)[1013]: Executing '/etc/ifplugd/ifplugd.action eth0 up'.
Dec 11 12:18:49 lenovo dhclient[5315]: DHCPREQUEST on eth0 to 255.255.255.255 port 67
Dec 11 12:18:49 lenovo dhclient[5315]: DHCPACK from 192.168.0.1
Dec 11 12:18:50 lenovo ifplugd(eth0)[1013]: client: Determining IP information for eth0... done.
Dec 11 12:18:50 lenovo ifplugd(eth0)[1013]: client:  [  OK  ]
Dec 11 12:18:50 lenovo ifplugd(eth0)[1013]: Program executed successfully.
Dec 11 12:29:32 lenovo ifplugd(eth0)[1013]: Link beat lost.
Dec 11 12:29:38 lenovo ifplugd(eth0)[1013]: Executing '/etc/ifplugd/ifplugd.action eth0 down'.
Dec 11 12:29:38 lenovo ifplugd(eth0)[1013]: Program executed successfully.

Again, this is all happening with the ethernet cable unplugged, the wifi dongle plugged in and configured for a static IP address.

Firmware doesn't appear to be an issue either:

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# journalctl -b | grep -i firmware
Dec 11 12:10:06 lenovo kernel: [Firmware Bug]: ACPI: BIOS _OSI(Linux) query ignored
Dec 11 12:32:16 lenovo drakconnect[7424]: Required firmware package for module "rt2800usb" is already installed, skipping


With the dynamic ip set, iwconfig shows this:

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wlan1     IEEE 802.11bgn  ESSID:"CenturyLink1367" 
          Mode:Managed  Frequency:2.412 GHz  Access Point: 40:8B:07:C4:74:A4   
          Bit Rate=6.5 Mb/s   Tx-Power=27 dBm   
          Retry  long limit:7   RTS thr:off   Fragment thr:off
          Encryption key:off
          Power Management:on
          Link Quality=33/70  Signal level=-77 dBm 
          Rx invalid nwid:0  Rx invalid crypt:0  Rx invalid frag:0
          Tx excessive retries:132  Invalid misc:1   Missed beacon:0

ifconfig shows:

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wlan1     Link encap:Ethernet  HWaddr C8:3A:35:C1:AD:AA 
          inet6 addr: fe80::ca3a:35ff:fec1:adaa/64 Scope:Link
          UP BROADCAST MULTICAST  MTU:1500  Metric:1
          RX packets:1717 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:1991 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
          RX bytes:218155 (213.0 KiB)  TX bytes:295609 (288.6 KiB)


Setting a static ip shows this:

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 ifconfig wlan1
wlan1     Link encap:Ethernet  HWaddr C8:3A:35:C1:AD:AA 
          inet addr:192.168.0.200  Bcast:192.168.0.255  Mask:255.255.255.0
          inet6 addr: fe80::ca3a:35ff:fec1:adaa/64 Scope:Link
          UP BROADCAST MULTICAST  MTU:1500  Metric:1
          RX packets:1846 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:2148 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
          RX bytes:234470 (228.9 KiB)  TX bytes:320747 (313.2 KiB)

And I notice that connection is only working for higher ip addressess -- 192.168.0.200 shows a connection, 192.168.0.20 does not.

WTF?

I'm stumped. Any help appreciated.

Thanks.

[doktor5000]

Could that simply be a problem with your router? MAC filter enabled, or limited DHCP range or something like that? Some firewall restrictions in router that don't let all router clients communicate among each other?

And when you can ping the router and localhost with static IP, can you please show the routing table with

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netstat -rn

[mark9117]

Could that simply be a problem with your router? MAC filter enabled, or limited DHCP range or something like that? Some firewall restrictions in router that don't let all router clients communicate among each other?

And when you can ping the router and localhost with static IP, can you please show the routing table with

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netstat -rn

I got into the router and checked all the settings that looked remotely relevant. I didn't see anything helpful. MAC authentication is disabled, DHCP is enabled (and working on three other devices), security key is right (and working on other devices),

I turned off security and tried connecting to the AP and it still wouldn't associate with a dynamic IP.

The resource table on the router does not show the the static IP address I have set in the laptop when "connected", so it's not making it to the router. It seems like the network stack detects a connecting when in fact there just isn't any.

The routing table shows this when I connect with a static IP:

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# netstat -rn
Kernel IP routing table
Destination     Gateway         Genmask         Flags   MSS Window  irtt Iface
0.0.0.0         192.168.0.1     0.0.0.0         UG        0 0          0 wlan1
169.254.0.0     0.0.0.0         255.255.0.0     U         0 0          0 wlan1
192.168.0.0     0.0.0.0         255.255.255.0   U         0 0          0 wlan1


Shows the same when connected via ethernet.

On a hunch, I configured the wifi for opendns DNS servers. It did not resolve anything. I still can't even ping anything beyond localhost -- it's not talking to the router/AP.

The only thing it actually does is detect SSID's in range. For kicks, I found an unlocked SSID in the neighborhood and tried connecting to it. Same result as I get here locally.

I just don't know what's going on with this. I have this evening to work on it and then I'm flying back home.

Again, any help appreciated.

[doktor5000]

It's useless to set up DNS servers when you don't get the underlying TCP/IP part right. If you can't ping your own local IP and your router, that's what you need to fix first.

Anyways, from your previous log excerpts related to DHCP I can only see dhclient instances for eth0, but nothing for wlan.
Can you please show output of

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journalctl -a -b --no-pager --lines75 -u network

At least here, e.g. when I disable wireless with the latop softbutton for this, it cannot be reenabled as dhclient doesn't want to run afterwards.
But the other DHCP clients don't give better results for that particular case. Maybe in your case it's the other way around, so you need something else than dhclient.
Check in drakconf, reconfigure your wireless interface: http://doc.mageia.org/mcc/3/en/content/drakconnect.html
The setting is behind the "advanced" button shown on the second or third screenshot, not sure.

But as you even have problem when using a static IP ...

[mark9117]

This thread is a dead issue. I had to come home and will not have any further opportunity to work on my daughter's laptop.

I am keeping an eye open for one of these small form factor usb wifi nics that will work out of the box. I notice that they are cheap and I can trial and error a bit to get the right one. If anybody has any suggestions let me know. I haven't been able to find one that I KNOW will work.

https://www.google.com/#q=tiny+usb+wifi+dongle&tbm=shop

Thanks for the input.

Mark

Edit: this is my primary source of info where linux wifi drivers is concerned. Feel free to enlighten me if there is something better out there.
http://wireless.kernel.org/en/users/Drivers

[doktor5000]

FWIW, many Atheros chipsets are usually supported by in-kernel drivers, and no firmware needed (or it comes with the free dvd).
My parents have such a chipset, and its much more hassle free than mine (Intel 5100)

[mark9117]

FWIW, many Atheros chipsets are usually supported by in-kernel drivers, and no firmware needed (or it comes with the free dvd).
My parents have such a chipset, and its much more hassle free than mine (Intel 5100)

For as long as I can remember, the Atheros chipset has been the go-to wifi choice under Linux. This means that it's an older line of technology that has been updated I'm sure. The tiny dongles I'm after are newer tech and I haven't seen one with an Atheros chipset in it. In fact, I don't believe Atheros makes such a tiny thing.

So my search continues. If anybody buys one of these little guys and finds that it works out of the box, I'd appreciate a "heads up" on it. I know my daughter would appreciate it.

Thanks.

Mark

[doktor5000]

Why not replace the builtin wifi card? They are mostly all MiniPCI Express cards, half or full-size doesn't matter mostly as the connector is the same. And they only cost between 10-20€ here, used ones may be even cheaper. For 25€ you already get a combo card with including Bluetooth 4.0 and you don't block another USB port.

For other chips see http://wireless.kernel.org/en/users/Drivers/ath9k and http://wireless.kernel.org/en/users/Dri ... k/products

[mark9117]

Why not replace the builtin wifi card? T

This was my first idea. I scoured the Interwebs for a card compatible with the Lenovo B570. According to the functionary that I chatted with at Lenovo, there is no such replacement card.

Now, I don't have a lot of experience mucking around in the guts of laptop computers. My realm is almost exclusively desktops and I haven't done much of that in that past 5 years or so. If I could find a card that I knew would A) fit in the case, and B) work out of the box under Mageia 3, I'd jump at it.

If you have any guidance at all, please feel free.


Mark

[alf]

this model would be a good choice, works ootb and needs no nonfree driver:
http://www.amazon.com/HP-676786-001-Ath ... B009SOH9HG
http://www.ebay.com/itm/ATHEROS-AR5B22- ... 0949993921

[mark9117]

this model would be a good choice, works ootb and needs no nonfree driver:
http://www.amazon.com/HP-676786-001-Ath ... B009SOH9HG
http://www.ebay.com/itm/ATHEROS-AR5B22- ... 0949993921

What assurance is there that this card is compatible with the B570 (1070 PCI express)?

[doktor5000]

This was my first idea. I scoured the Interwebs for a card compatible with the Lenovo B570. According to the functionary that I chatted with at Lenovo, there is no such replacement card.

Well, he won't tell you that you can use any other card, as Lenovo would lose money that way no? Only thing that you probably need to do is remove the whitelist from the BIOS, i.e. flash a modded BIOS as most vendors want to prevent you from understanding that you can also use replacement parts from other vendors.