Installing an Encore USB wifi adapter

[tandrews16]

My first USB wireless adapter, and I'm looking for installation advice.

I've been given a Dell Dimension E310 desktop, currently with 1GB RAM, but to be raised to the 2GB max in a few days. Mageia 1 32-bit installed nicely, and has been fully updated via a wired Ethernet connection. I've purchased an Encore USB wireless N adapter, model ENUWI-1XN45, so I can move the desktop to another room away from my router. My research indicates this Encore uses the Realtek 8192CU chipset, and that the chipset should be should be supported by the current kernel.

So what's the best procedure to use to install this adapter? For example, do I boot with the adapter plugged in, do I boot then plug in the adapter, or do I go to MCC/drakconnect and then plug in the adapter?

I've already installed the kernel-firmware-extra package, which appears to have the needed firmware as one of the files. Do I need to install anything else before plugging in the device? My only previous wireless experience was with a PCI card that used a Broadcom B4318 chipset, which only needed to have the firmware installed to put me in business.

[doktor5000]

Please open a terminal, and as root do the following:

Code: Select all

tailf /var/log/messages

then leave it running, plugin your wireless adapter, and post the output here, but please use a Code-block.

[tandrews16]

Code: Select all

Feb 21 11:10:44 localhost kernel: usb 1-1: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 3
Feb 21 11:10:44 localhost kernel: usb 1-1: New USB device found, idVendor=0bda, idProduct=8176
Feb 21 11:10:44 localhost kernel: usb 1-1: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=3
Feb 21 11:10:44 localhost kernel: usb 1-1: Product: 802.11n WLAN Adapter
Feb 21 11:10:44 localhost kernel: usb 1-1: Manufacturer: Realtek
Feb 21 11:10:44 localhost kernel: usb 1-1: SerialNumber: 00e04c000001
Feb 21 11:10:44 localhost mtp-probe: checking bus 1, device 3: "/sys/devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:1d.7/usb1/1-1"
Feb 21 11:10:44 localhost mtp-probe: bus: 1, device: 3 was not an MTP device
Feb 21 11:10:44 localhost kernel: cfg80211: Calling CRDA to update world regulatory domain
Feb 21 11:10:44 localhost kernel: cfg80211: World regulatory domain updated:
Feb 21 11:10:44 localhost kernel: cfg80211:     (start_freq - end_freq @ bandwidth), (max_antenna_gain, max_eirp)
Feb 21 11:10:44 localhost kernel: cfg80211:     (2402000 KHz - 2472000 KHz @ 40000 KHz), (300 mBi, 2000 mBm)
Feb 21 11:10:44 localhost kernel: cfg80211:     (2457000 KHz - 2482000 KHz @ 20000 KHz), (300 mBi, 2000 mBm)
Feb 21 11:10:44 localhost kernel: cfg80211:     (2474000 KHz - 2494000 KHz @ 20000 KHz), (300 mBi, 2000 mBm)
Feb 21 11:10:44 localhost kernel: cfg80211:     (5170000 KHz - 5250000 KHz @ 40000 KHz), (300 mBi, 2000 mBm)
Feb 21 11:10:44 localhost kernel: cfg80211:     (5735000 KHz - 5835000 KHz @ 40000 KHz), (300 mBi, 2000 mBm)
Feb 21 11:10:44 localhost kernel: rtl8192cu: MAC address: 00:e0:4c:aa:a1:30
Feb 21 11:10:44 localhost kernel: rtl8192cu: Board Type 0
Feb 21 11:10:44 localhost kernel: rtlwifi: rx_max_size 15360, rx_urb_num 8, in_ep 1
Feb 21 11:10:45 localhost kernel: usbcore: registered new interface driver rtl8192cu
Feb 21 11:10:45 localhost kernel: rtl8192cu: MAC auto ON okay!
Feb 21 11:10:45 localhost kernel: rtl8192cu: Tx queue select: 0x05
Feb 21 11:10:45 localhost kernel: rtl8192c_common: Loading firmware file rtlwifi/rtl8192cufw.bin
Feb 21 11:10:46 localhost kernel: ADDRCONF(NETDEV_UP): wlan0: link is not ready
Feb 21 11:10:46 localhost ifplugd(wlan0)[3320]: ifplugd 0.28 initializing.
Feb 21 11:10:46 localhost ifplugd(wlan0)[3320]: Using interface wlan0/00:E0:4C:AA:A1:30 with driver <rtl8192cu> (version: 2.6.38.8-desktop-10.mga)
Feb 21 11:10:46 localhost ifplugd(wlan0)[3320]: Using detection mode: SIOCETHTOOL
Feb 21 11:10:46 localhost ifplugd(wlan0)[3320]: Initialization complete, link beat not detected.
Feb 21 11:10:53 localhost mgaapplet[1400]: trying distributions list from https://releases.mageia.org/api/a/i586?product=Default&version=1&mgaonline_version=2.77.29

OK, there you have it. Not sure what I'm looking at, but to me it looks like it was detected, and the firmware and driver are indeed there.

Now what?

[doktor5000]

Yep, looking good so far.
You've tried to configure it via MCC -> Network & Internet -> Set up a new network interface (LAN, ISDN, ADSL, ...) ? If not, please do so.

[tandrews16]

Yep, looking good so far.
You've tried to configure it via MCC -> Network & Internet -> Set up a new network interface (LAN, ISDN, ADSL, ...) ? If not, please do so.

Yes, just got back from that. Am now connected via wireless, but it took a little thinking on my part. The device was there to be connected on LAN0. I configured a connection for my router, but when I tried to connect, it failed. Tried disconnecting the wired connection, and it still failed. Then I re-configured the wired connection to not start at boot, shut things down, and disconnected the Ethernet cable. Upon rebooting, the wireless connection was up and going.

Using it to post this, so if you have a list of Mageia-compatible USB wireless adapters somewhere, you can add this one to it. Thanks.

On a related question, once I move this computer away from the router, it most likely will be very inconvenient to run an Ethernet cable to it. So, when the time comes and I install Mageia 2 as I'd like to do, from the Free DVD, will the needed firmware be available on it so I can establish a wireless connection? How about for the Broadcom B43 devices? (My brother's computer uses one of those, and his is on another floor - even more inconvenient for running an Ethernet cable.)

[doktor5000]

On a related question, once I move this computer away from the router, it most likely will be very inconvenient to run an Ethernet cable to it. So, when the time comes and I install Mageia 2 as I'd like to do, from the Free DVD, will the needed firmware be available on it so I can establish a wireless connection? How about for the Broadcom B43 devices? (My brother's computer uses one of those, and his is on another floor - even more inconvenient for running an Ethernet cable.)

That's a good question, nothing definitive yet, AFAIK. There has been some work on a nonfree boot.iso
which includes some firmwares, like radeon-firmware & kernel-firmware-extra and the ones needed for intel wireless devices,
maybe you want to have a look at https://www.zarb.org/pipermail/mageia-d ... 10752.html

[tandrews16]

On a related question, once I move this computer away from the router, it most likely will be very inconvenient to run an Ethernet cable to it. So, when the time comes and I install Mageia 2 as I'd like to do, from the Free DVD, will the needed firmware be available on it so I can establish a wireless connection? How about for the Broadcom B43 devices? (My brother's computer uses one of those, and his is on another floor - even more inconvenient for running an Ethernet cable.)

That's a good question, nothing definitive yet, AFAIK. There has been some work on a nonfree boot.iso
which includes some firmwares, like radeon-firmware & kernel-firmware-extra and the ones needed for intel wireless devices,
maybe you want to have a look at https://www.zarb.org/pipermail/mageia-d ... 10752.html

Looks like I might be able to make an end-run if need be. I just looked around, and found that I can download rpms of various mga1 versions of kernel-firmware-extra from rpmfind.net. Seems to me that I could download whatever's closest to appropriate when the time comes, then make the new install and add the needed firmware on the new system that way.

Or isn't it that simple?

[doktor5000]

If you mean preparing a machine for wireless access without having (wired) internet access before?
Yes, if you have all the other needed packages on the installation, that assumption would be correct.
A default installation needs at least: libiw, wireless-tools, wireless-regdb, wpa-supplicant and any firmware
(kernel-firmware-extra) in your case. All of those except for the firmware should be installed from the installation
medium (free dvd or dualarch cd) when you run drakconnect for the first time and try to setup a wireless connection.