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    Kubuntu WiFi problems

    Discussion in 'Linux Compatibility and Software' started by Merritt, May 28, 2007.

  1. Merritt

    Merritt Notebook Geek

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    Well, last night I was running happily along in Kubuntu, everything workin' fine. So I shutdown for the night.
    I woke up this morning, powered on, grub loaded, it shows the Kubuntu logo with the blue progress bar, but at about 1/4 done it turns on my WiFi light and stops. I tried rebooting, and occasionally it just stays there, but sometimes it switches to terminal view and shows this indefinitely:

    * Reading files needed to boot... [ OK ]
    * Setting preliminary keymap... [ OK ]
    * Preparing restricted drivers... [ OK ]
    Etc, til it stops at loading hardware....

    I tried the GRUB menu and loaded the recovery, and it gave this error:

    [ 26.160000] BUG: soft lockup detected on CPU#0!

    I googled it, and this is the best I can find:

    http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=251944&page=3

    They suggest everything from problems with WiFi, dual core, USB devices and everything in between. I cannot seem to find any real reason or solution.

    I kept rebooting, and hitting the WiFi switch during boot got me back into X. WiFi was not working, but after telling KNetworkManager to connect a few times, it finally did. Was online just fine for a couple hours. My router froze, as it occasionally and unavoidably does, but when I reset it I could no longer connect WiFi. Now things seem to freeze occasionally, while I was watching an AVI, Amarok froze... Still cannot manage to connect to WiFi, though at least I am in X.

    I have been working fine with Kubuntu Feisty for a few days, managed to get WiFi working with ndiswrapper, no problems, until this morning. The only real thing I can think of that I changed recently is that I started running SuperKaramba.

    Any suggestions?
     
    Merritt, May 28, 2007
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  2. Paul

    Paul Mom! Hot Pockets! NBR Reviewer

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    Paul, May 28, 2007
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  3. Merritt

    Merritt Notebook Geek

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    I'm still a linux newbie. :eek:
    How do I edit the file? I don't have root permission, and I only know how to get that with the sudo command in terminal...
     
    Merritt, May 28, 2007
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  4. Merritt

    Merritt Notebook Geek

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    Hmmm... I ran

    Code: 
    sudo kate
    from the terminal, it seems to have allowed me to edit the file...
     
    Merritt, May 28, 2007
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  5. Merritt

    Merritt Notebook Geek

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    I modified the interfaces file, however I am still having the problem. Boot failed once, hit the WiFi switch and got into X, and it took 30 mins of repeated tries to get WiFi to connect. On first successful boot into X, the system froze after a minute. Nothing worked, couldn't even move the mouse. Had to manually power down.

    Any other suggestions? :(

    And could it be possible this is because I am using ndiswrapper, and that the eventual release of the linux driver for my WiFi card would work better? Though that seems odd, as the system worked flawlessly for a few days before this just "popped up".
     
    Merritt, May 28, 2007
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  6. Paul

    Paul Mom! Hot Pockets! NBR Reviewer

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    It is most likely ndiswrapper. Ndiswrapper is in no way as stable as native drivers. Do you have the Intel Wireless N or the Dell? If it's Intel, there will likely be drivers soon. If it's Dell, that's based on Broadcom, and is unlikely to ever have good drivers if any. You should probably consider getting an Intel card next time if you plan to use Linux.
     
    Paul, May 28, 2007
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  7. Merritt

    Merritt Notebook Geek

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    Well, actually, I had not planned to use Linux at all. But since it was a new computer, didn't much care if it got messed up as I could reformat..... It just kind of happened. :) I am happy it did, though.

    I have the Intel 4965AGN. So I'm waiting for that driver. ;)
     
    Merritt, May 28, 2007
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  8. Merritt

    Merritt Notebook Geek

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    Problem still definitely exists - no change.
    For some reason my connection was not set to dhcp, fixed that.

    Anyone have any idea, or do I just have to wait for the Linux driver for my WiFi?
     
    Merritt, May 29, 2007
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  9. Merritt

    Merritt Notebook Geek

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    It seems fixed now. Apparently the updater updated the kernel. I used esc during grub load, and chose 2.6.20-15 instead of 2.6.20-16

    No problem booting, WiFi connects on startup without issue. Reconnects without issue.

    Thank you to everyone who tried to help!
     
    Merritt, May 30, 2007
    #9