Need some help on WiFi

[ernest072]

Need some help with WiFi  I have made an USB-bootable stick with the TC-Plus. After some struggle to format the internal hard-disk I was able to install the TC on this hard-disk and can boot from it. So far so good, but once booted the WiFi does not work. If I boot from the USB-stick I can see and choose from available WiFi networks and can install from the mirror (like wireless_tools and such). But being an absolute newbie not sure how to get the WiFi going when booted from the HD.

Info: When booted from HD I have this WiFi icon on the desktop, but if I click that I get a window with sudo on the top-left, and a black screen. This screen disappears after about 10 seconds. The dhcp service is on.
If I go to the terminal and type: sudo wpa_supplicant -v I can see that I have v2.9 installed.
If I connect to LAN it works, and I could install the same wireless tools on the HD, but no WiFi ...

TIA for any tips

[Rich]

Hi ernest072
Welcome to the forum.

... After some struggle to format the internal hard-disk I was able to install the TC on this hard-disk and can boot from it. So far so good, but once booted the WiFi does not work. ...

When you got to this step:
http://tinycorelinux.net/install.html#5_
Did you remember to check all of the boxes for  Wireless ?

[ernest072]

Hi Rich, thanks!
Indeed, good point. I think I only checked the top one. But it seems I have WiFi support installed.
I wanted to redo the install and then check both boxes, but now I do not succeed to format the internal HD, as it says the whole time that it is "busy".
I had the same problem just before, and not sure how I have succeed to format, I think with fdisk I was able to delete the partition and needed to reboot, and then the installation would go (otherwise the installation of TC would wait forever on the formatting disk...). Okay, but that is an whole other issue I was dealing with, as you can see I don't really know what I am doing here 

[Rich]

Hi ernest072

... but now I do not succeed to format the internal HD, as it says the whole time that it is "busy". ...

That's because the drive was mounted.

[ovacikar]

to reformat the HDD, booting from USB, you need to interrupt the GRUB and hit 'e'.

And possible add the bootcode for your USB device https://wiki.tinycorelinux.net/doku.php?id=wiki:boot_codes_explained

Code: [Select]

CD or Installed
When running from a CD, include “tinycore” before bootcodes. Following is an example.

If Tiny Core is installed, include

tce=sda1
in the bootloader.

If running from a CD, use

tinycore tce=sda1

[ernest072]

I have done a test, like suggested on internet, with command iwconfig. The response is: no wireless extensions.
Probably the card is not installed in the right way or not at all... so I probably need to install the right driver first... and what card do I have...
EDIT: I see the list of drivers by using the command: modprobe -l | grep ath
EDIT2: When doing: Verify they are loaded using: lsmod | grep ath I don't get any answer.

[ernest072]

WiFi should be able to work, as it works when I boot from the USB-TC-installation stick.

[ernest072]

Hi ernest072

... but now I do not succeed to format the internal HD, as it says the whole time that it is "busy". ...

That's because the drive was mounted.

Yes, but I am not really able to unmount. From within the TC-installation-USB it says it is busy and don't want to unmount (neither from GUI MountTool nor from the Terminal).

[ernest072]

I have now a clean disk, somehow I was able to do it again, but I have now this old problem that the TC Installation hangs on the Formatting/dev/sda1, and does not proceed.
The sda1 itself does not show in the GUI MountTool, but I can list the HD from the Terminal. If I try to format from the Terminal it says it is been used? There is no OS on it, and I start from the USB.

[ovacikar]

Try booting in safe mode after the USB drive boots.
https://distro.ibiblio.org/tinycorelinux/faq.html#bootcodes
https://wiki.tinycorelinux.net/doku.php?id=wiki:boot_codes_explained

To boot from CD, utterly ignoring any perfectly valid TC install which may or may not be otherwise present

tinycore base norestore


If this still does not help, you may want to wipe / erase the hard drive using a different computer with a working operating system (Windows, Linux etc) or a linux based rescue cd.

[ernest072]

Hi, I have tried Base only. The same problem that the TC Installer is not able to format the HD. There are 3 steps: 1) Writing zero's to beginning of /dev/sda, 2) Partitioning /dev/sda and 3) Formatting /dev/sda1. As soon as it comes to the step 3) the small clock icon turns off and it hangs there forever. It is probably the same problem I am not able to format from the Terminal. Either is says it is been used by the system, or busy, or mounted. I can not see the sda (or sda1) on the GUI MountTool. I can not dismount from within this USB-boot GUI or Terminal.
Edit: I have installed (from this USB-TC-stick environment) the GParted and see the HD, but the option to Format is "grayed out". .. (and there is small key after the name /dev/sda1).

[jazzbiker]

Hi ernest072!

The troubles You've described happening with tc-install reminded me my first TC steps a couple years ago :-)

You make take a look at http://forum.tinycorelinux.net/index.php/topic,26658.0.html, it is an implementation of "subtractive" approach for TinyCore installation, as opposite to the standard "additive" approach. During "additive" install You start with minimum stuff and expand it with the parts You suggest You'll need. "subtractive" approach captures all necessary and supposes that You will later discard unnecessary stuff.
 InstantCore.img is an image of already installed CorePlus14 and TinyCorePure64 in dual boot BIOS/UEFI manner.

Installation process is writing with "dd" of an image to the target drive. The target may be Your HDD, but such shortcut needs extracting Your HDD and writing it on another box. The more convenient and safe way is writing InstantCore.img to USB flash drive, then booting from it on the target computer (in base mode) and self-copying of the USB drive to the target HDD. Of course as You have fully functional TC after booting from flash, You may play around, test compatibility with Your hardware and even download missing stuff - in normal mode. If You are satisfied You reboot into base and dump the USB flash to Your HDD.

Looks like Your computer is functional and have no severe hardware problems, so You may give to InstantCore a chance.

I'm sorry I'm intervening in the standard installation process, just reminded my own unpleasant surprises in the past :-) 

[ernest072]

Hi jazzbiker. Yeah, first (baby) steps    and something about steep learning curve haha.. 

[ernest072]

About the installing, it all goes fine until it comes to the step formatting. Then it stops. I am trying different combinations in deleting and making new partitions with fdisk, but I suppose I need to use the option w at the end to write the options made and exit fdisk? I get following massage fdisk: write error: Text file busy !? So partition has not been made I suppose.
The problem is that the HD seems to be "busy" and does not allowed to be altered.

[vinceASPECT]

Sir,

I know that this isn't an ideal solution with regard to Wi-Fi.......but there is a method for using  your smart handheld device plugged  into  your  tinycore PC via a USB cable to  send  "wi--fi  internet"  to  the  tinyCore PC....

(.....you  don't want anything else plugged into the pc's USB sockets.....)

Connect your hand held  device to a Wi-Fi signal that's available, and make sure that it can surf the Internet.

Go into the handheld device menu and click "USB tethering" enabled.
Plug it into the  tinycore PC using USB cable.....

...........on  Your  Tiny Core Desktop   you need  to 
type the following into a terminal.....





"dmesg | less"

And scroll all the way down to check the new connection, you should see something like this:



=================================
usbcore: registered new interface driver cdc_ether
rndis_host 1-4:1.0 usb0: register 'rndis_host' at usb-0000:00:1d.7-4, RNDIS devi
ce,
usbcore: registered new interface driver rndis_host
===============================

Check the ID, in this case is: usb0

then  type

"sudo udhcpc -i usb0" ...........no  quotes

.......and  ENTER


Your Tiny Core PC desktop should now have network and Internet access and app browser.

hope  it  may   help