(fixed for the tce* version) segfault: wpa_supplicant tcz*

[tobiaus]

can't get wpa supplicant (either tce or tcz) to do anything, including --help

also, the example in .info is nice, but without the --help option i can't figure out what the options mean... also, the example in the .info file says it uses /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf, but there is no example of the .conf's contents.

[tobiaus]

if there's anything i hate about linux, it's getting the stupid thing on the net. and i hate that wireless is the main thing keeping me from using tc as my primary distro, but more than that i hate that i'm the only person for whom wpa_supplicant segfaults (checked the md5sum 5 minutes ago) and no one even has a comment about that.

i just upgraded to 1.2, wondering if that was it (was using 1.0.) i can't even use the --help because that segfaults too. but since it's just me, i'll just use tc when i'm connected to wired eth, as i am whenever i'm using a desktop.

[Jason W]

I don't have wireless, but I installed wpa_supplicant and issuing the command "wpa_supplicant" with no arguements gives a lot of information.  Using the --help option gives the same info.  There must be something wrong in your system.  Have you tried using this while booting with "norestore nolocal base" and then using the appbrowser to fetch that extension?


Some possibly helpful info:

http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/How_to_install_wpa_supplicant

http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Wpa_supplicant

[tobiaus]

Have you tried using this while booting with "norestore nolocal base" and then using the appbrowser to fetch that extension?

no, because it's rare that the machine with wireless is anywhere near a wired eth. but i might as well, even though it's one more inconvenient step for nothing (you have no idea how many different attempts i've made.)

Some possibly helpful info:

http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/How_to_install_wpa_supplicant

http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Wpa_supplicant

it's difficult not to see that as condescending, and i can't imagine it has anything to do with installing wpa supplicant in tc, (nor is it going to tell me how to not make it segfault.) but i'm the one that demanded an answer, so i should be grateful. i'm just frustrated. i feel like i've wasted years on things like this, i ought to say "to hell with it" and just keep using xubuntu for wireless. it's not my preference. i'll try it your way though.

oh and i am using the nodhcp code. but i tried it without that (just killing udhcpc) originally. thanks for replying.

[Jason W]

You mentioned that there were no examples of the wpa_supplicant.conf in the info file and you didn't know what the options mean without --help working, so pointing out some info that would give you examples and options is natural in that case.  Segfaulting is the issue here, so until whatever is amiss in the system is remedied the configuration options are not going to help though.  Using the command "wpa_supplicant --help" should not segfault because of hardware issues, but I could be wrong.

The amount and kind of info given in response to a request for help is related to the amount of info given in the request, or what info is being asked for.  The more you spell out what you have already done, and the more information you give, the less you will be asked and the less info will be pointed out to you.  Posting little more than "darn it, this doesn't work" is going to be replied with questions like "what mode are you running in?", "have you tried it using norestore?",  and other simple questions.  That is not to be taken as condescending if that info was not given in previous posts.

Links were posted that give the information you said you could not find in the info file and --help.  It is not condescending since you said you desired that info.  It just happened to be already documented. 

I understand frustration, but I was just trying to help since it seems at this point a system issue I could possibly help more than a wireless hardware issue that I cannot. 

[tobiaus]

all understood, and apologies, i was just going to edit the post. actually your advice was indispensable, thank you, although i'm not sure if it directly or indirectly solved one problem (it doesn't matter which, really.)

luckily when i tried norestore nolocal base with my 1.2rc cd, i decided to try the tce* instead of the tcz* (from appbrowser like you said.) then i tried wpa_supplicant with no switched and got the "quite a lot of information") then i rebooted and tried tcz, still got the segfault (don't care, but worth noting.) i rebooted again, downloaded the tce version from appbrowser (download only) and replaced all opens-whatever (sl i think) and wpa_supplicants on the thumb with the tce versions. note: i've tried tce versions before, maybe using appbrowser helped (i don't know, it was your idea.)

so the thumb boots 1.2 (not the rc) and wpa_supplicant works (tce only.) thanks again.

i'll look at the links, and perhaps the wpa_supplicant conf in xubuntu will clue me into setting that up. (you think differently when you're less annoyed about the number of attempts you've made.)

naturally i'm still not online, but you've solved the one that was the farthest beyond me. i thought i was going to have to use the wpa_supplicant from dsl (which sounded like a terrible idea anyway.) i'm changing the title to (fixed for tce*) this really has been all uphill, so thanks for the push, and your own patience.

[Jason W]

Everything is cool here.  Looking back on my initial response I see how it could be taken as condescending.  I think it is better to say "wpa_supplicant is probably configured the same whichever distro is used and configuration may not be TC-specific" than it is to post urls.  There are times to post urls, but I think it is to be done judiciously and with tact.  And I should have known how could you boot and load the extensions over the net when you clearly stated you could not get on the network with that machine in the first place!  And being already frustrated by the issue you were facing, my initial reply could just add to the frustration.

Anyway, I am glad to hear that at least the segfault issue is solved.  I had a hunch that something was amiss with wpa_supplicant or openssl like missing or corrupt files.  I hope it goes well and you are online with TC on that machine soon.

 

[tobiaus]

oh i overreacted. but i'm very sensitive to frustrated users, because i have been so many times. as i mentioned to roberts, i often feel like doing certain things relating to internet access are like lucy holding out a football that says (in this instance, "wireless") and telling me to kick it (lucy always pulls the ball away at the last minute, and charlie brown lands on his back.)

that's got nothing to do with you. you're right, urls can be taken the wrong way "hey, read this, dumbass..." but i didn't really think that's what you meant. it's more along the lines of, when you've already tried so many things, having someone tell you to download something so you can get the internet working (that is precisely what i did,) sort of produces a "oh no, not again!" feeling, if not resentment.

you'd see i was no stranger to second tries if you saw my setup, but that was self inflicted... xubuntu uses xfce and lots of things are tied into the sessions, which aren't done the same way as in lighter or more traditional distros. (for example, there is no wpa*.conf anywhere, wpa_supplicant uses a file called wpa_supplicant-global3 but the file does not exist.) despite this, i got wireless working in jwm without .xsession by examining the output of ps -FA and replicating this and that, so i have a script that lets me get online even though i'm not using xfce anymore.

none of that helps here, sadly (and i'm not trying to use it.) before i had a wireless card that worked in linux, i bought a cardbus adapter just for eth, (because the laptop was a pii and didn't have its own,) and i could never get that working in the distro i was using, until i tried it in dsl and it "just worked." so i was very happy the first time i got online in linux, even though it took about a year just to do wired eth

with the help here last year, i got wired eth working in the earlier versions (where you had to modprobe) within days, now you don't have to do anything to use wired eth. i know that as more people ask about setting up wireless i'll find more things that i should try, and sooner or later i'll figure it out, because i know that it works in linux. perhaps i'll try wlan0 instead of ath0 next. (it's ath0 in conk, lsmod lists ath_pci and wlan, but ath_pci is used by "0" things, wlan is used by "5.") not sure wpa is the issue, in the setup it says "wep" but i do need the key. time to read more (again.)

[tobiaus]

i hate all the confusion. was this all for nothing? i don't know. from your link:

What is WPA Supplicant?

You have probably heard about WEP and its inherent weaknesses. A network protected by a static WEP key can quite easily be compromised by a motivated hacker. WPA corrects the problem of the static key, by changing it at a packet transmitted/recieved frequency, or once a certain amount of time has passed. This process is performed by a daemon which is tightly bound to your wireless hardware.

so i know i'm using wep. i'm going to try to comment out the links regarding wpa_supplicant in xubuntu (or just rename /sbin/wpa_supplicant to /sbin/no_wpa_thankyou) and see if i can still get online.

if so, i'll know i don't need it. if i can't, i still won't know anything. using an open router is so tempting, though i won't have that option everywhere i intend to use this, and it seems like an even worse idea than using wep. (right now, wep is the only option anyway.) nothing about this stuff is ever very clear, even the thinkwiki page is still a bit alien. it's intolerable how complicated this is, when everyone else gets away with three extensions and three commands at the root prompt.

=edit= back in wireless in xubuntu again. no surprise that hiding wpa_supplicant didn't help. sadly this proves nothing except that the setup in xubuntu thinks it needs wpa_supplicant (i had to unhide it.) it does not prove i need wpa in tc, so i don't know if i'm wasting my time more trying to get wpa to work, or, trying everything else... (i wish i knew which was easier.) despite this, i'm really (truly) glad i don't have to wait another day to get wpa_supplicant to run without a segfault. still losing the war (so far) but won the battle.

[roberts]

The router that you are trying to connect to dictates the contents of wpa_supplicant.conf

Have you tried copying your wpa_supplicant.conf from xubuntu into TC and try it.
If xubuntu is installed then mount the drive, if not mounted and copy it.
You can test it from any location with the -c option, e.g., -c /home/tc/wpa_supplicant.conf

I had one working on a simple WPA-PSK router. If needed I will post the conf file.
But I would try the xubuntu one first, as it is already setup for your router.

[jpeters]

For whatever it's worth, I've never used wpa_supplicant, and had no problem getting ath0 up and running with tc on my laptops with a simple script. I have two access points I connect to, one on 80211B with WEP, and one on 80211A without.  My approach was to get a buy a card that I knew would work (inexpensively, of course    .   

[tobiaus]

Have you tried copying your wpa_supplicant.conf from xubuntu into TC and try it.

there isn't one, i've looked in scripts and setups and they link to files that simply aren't there. i've used sudo find / and grep to look for anything containing "wpa" and "conf" but there isn't one.

For whatever it's worth, I've never used wpa_supplicant, and had no problem getting ath0 up and running with tc on my laptops with a simple script. I have two access points I connect to, one on 80211B with WEP...

with a key i assume. i know it's wep (that's the setting you use in the xubuntu setup,) so your way probably suffices. it's all very confusing.

My approach was to get a buy a card that I knew would work (inexpensively, of course    .   

mine too, i bought mine for dsl. it seems to be just fine with dsl, but i wasn't able to connect it either. actually there was just once when i got both lights blinking in dsl, just the way it does when it's connected in xubuntu. but the browser wouldn't go to any site, not even ip addresses (so i don't think it's a dns issue.) i've used the dsl book to try to set it up, but i've only gotten close.

there's a lot more to making something friendly than sticking a gui on top. i have no problem with the command line, it's everything else that is confusing. i hope someday connecting to things on linux is a little less complicated, but this is an iwconfig / all the other tools issue, not a tc issue. probably. i have to say the first time i did this in windows it was really very simple. in xubuntu almost as much. once you have the three commands right, naturally, it's very easy from there.

i'd certainly rather use the net in tc than anything else though. i mean if it wasn't for that preference, this wouldn't be an issue let alone a hassle.

[softwaregurl]

Hi tobiaus,
Wireless has given me fits on linux as well, once I got it its a gazillion times better then before linux.  I finally got wpa working on DSL just a month ago.  the problem was prism54 was wrongly detecting my card.  I had tryed unloading it but didn't realize all the dependencies that had to go to (e.g. firmware).  Then went ndiswrapper.  A headache in its self because the driver that works with windows doesn't with ndiswrapper.  I had to install a disposable copy of windows to extract each one (5 or 6 I think) then try each one.  I still don't know how I got wpa_supplicant.conf to work right but it does if I do everything right and pray lots.
heres a couple things I found:

Don't try to iwlist wlan0 scan ever.  It will never connect or stop transferring data even if the lights are on.

give wpa_supplicant lots of time to connect...Lots...before starting the DHCP client.  I find its best to just start it manually after booting finishes. and the lights look right.

Double and triple check dmesg to see whats loading on boot.  Remove the card or maybe disable in bios and compare the two boots.  Check all the bios settings.  My pc card slots have more then one mode in bios.  Makes no difference which in windows but does in Linux.  And different Linuxs can be very different.  TCL works on stuff I never can get going on debian and vs. versa.

wpa_supplicant can connect to most anything.  It can connect to the first open network it finds if configured that way.  I will be needing to connect to open access points and wpa at least.

I know this is just some general stuff because I havn't tryed beyond that i need to recompile to get rid of the kernel panic on boot with tiny core.  Once I can boot then on a computer with wireless I'll post details on what I find.  Hope something in this helps until I can give an educated answer.
I still say it's worth the effort.  Once I do get connected its so much more stable then windows.  Everything I read says the newer kernels do way better at wireless.  And if it doesn't work right you "free" to redo it so it does.

i got wireless working in jwm without .xsession by examining the output of ps -FA and replicating this and that, so i have a script that lets me get online even though i'm not using xfce anymore.

Before TCL i had never successfully compiled anything for Linux much less even considered attempting the custom kernel I need.  Hope that gives some encouragement.

[jpeters]

I'm using a Netgear WAG511 dual band card, and have wireless-2.6.26, wireless_tools, and madwifi-hal loaded.  Then  I can modprobe ath_pci, and use iwconfig ath0 channel XX essid XXX key XXX.
The difference from DSL is using udhcpc -i ath0 instead of pump  to get the lights blinking.