wlan/BT connecting and disconnecting: hw or sw problem?

I have a 2006 era Fujitsu T4220 laptop with an Intel 4965 wlan/BT mini pcie card.

Hadn't used the wifi or BT for a long time, because it locks up the computer when activated.

Error messages in Linux indicate that when the physical switch is turned on, the usb controller presumably used by the BT module keeps connecting and disconnecting.

Happens both when running the original Windows XP OS or a linux distro.

Purchased another 4965 mini pcie wlan BT with same results. A USB wlan adapter did work when last I tried it.

I imagine this is a hardware problem with either cables or the motherboard connection, but am not sure how to check that out.

Appreciate any suggestions.

Happy New Year.

stevesr0

 

Could just be that it's 16 years old.

If I were swapping the WIFI card I would have upgraded in the process rather than the same model. like a 7260 since they're about the same price but gives you access to AC speeds.

The real test here since you're dual booting and it's problematic on both OS is to try a different network and see if the problem follows. If it does then it's the laptop, if it doesn't then it's the router.

Another thing that comes to mind since Intel has been pushing bad drivers occasionally... Try removing the drivers for the card and using a slightly older version than what's currently installed.

 

Thanks for response.

I will try both of your suggestions.

Tonight after trying to improve the connections by connecting and disconnecting the card from the pins of the connector and turning the switch on and off several times, the system seemed to be relatively functional and displayed no errors with the physical switch on and the wlan icon showing in the little screen on the big screen <g>, while the wlan and BT modules were blacklisted. After I loaded the modules, dmesg started showing errors, but the system didn't freeze and ultimately I was able to get the wlan to successfully scan for local networks.

I didn't connect, perhaps because I had problems pasting in my login password (63 characters) for a long enough time that the system got more unstable.

However, I was able to use most functions not related to wlan or BT, except dmesg and I was able to shutdown without hitting the power button.

So, that represents modest (possible) progress if I can repeat it and actually connect (even for a little while).

I will report back if I have any additional info.

stevesr0

 

Speaking of blacklisting.

I built an ADL server and one thing that didn't work is the RTL Dragon 2.5GE on board NIC. I fixed it by Bl''ing the driver to allow it to function correctly. It's kind of funny how stuff just doesn't work right the first time when playing in Linux. Of course they're probably thinking people are just going to use Windows and never find out.

I found when I was working on an issue on a different NIC / kernel under 8700K it would produce an error and then load the desktop but, similarly sudo / dmesg wouldn't work until reverting the kernel to load the proper driver for the card. I suspect the lack of connectivity or error on boot causes a deeper system hang preventing full use of the commands for some reason. After rebuilding under ADL I was able to progress up the kernel tree beyond the 5.14.RC7 version I was getting stuck on. I think there's some other kernel issues going on depending on which HW you have installed but I didn't see anything in the change logs to confirm this.

I would try 5.16 on my setup but, I suspect there's bugs in it still that would produce similar symptoms as before the rebuild with newer CPU / MOBO. 5.15 is running well though on the setup and it's nice to know the patches are being applied as they come out again instead of being stuck on 5.14.

 

When running under windows (XP), I can see the card connecting and disconnecting as it does under linux. It does say that there is a good connection when it connects. I was advised by one of the Linux USB developers to try a program from the usb.org/compliancetools site (I never heard of these tools before), which works under Windows.

While the current version of that tool (usb20cv) only works with Windows 7 on, I found an older version that supposedly works with Windows XP. This program (an.msi program) when installed first replaces the Windows stack and then tests each usb component and after completing the testing restores the Windows stack.

Unfortunately, when I tried it on my XP install, I got an error message about it being the wrong system - could not install.

I will check back with the people on the mail list and if possible at usb.org to see if there is another version that might run.

Bottom line - appears to be a hardware problem. If the usb20cv program can confirm and specify what is broken, maybe I will try to fix.

stevesr0

 

Any particular reason you're sticking with XP / old WIFI?

If anything I would dump XP and concentrate on *nix whichever flavor you prefer. As an older machine it will likely run better w/o the bloat of Windows. If you need to you can always put XP on a VM for certain programs you need occasionally.

There's of course caveats for making either work well up to a point when it comes to updates / patches being applied as well.