downloading tiny core with wireless

[julianb]

I used Tiny Core 2.x for a while but haven't used it lately. I'm interested in using it again but I can't easily get to wired internet access with my netbook.

I'm pretty sure there is no ISO of tiny core+wireless, but there is some way to download the wireless related extensions before installing? Maybe we can put the instructions on the wiki, for everyone who uses internet exclusively from a wireless connection?

[Guy]

http://wiki.tinycorelinux.com/Installing+TC+-+Alternate+Offline+Guide&structure=Installing+TC

This needs updating, but explains how to install Tiny Core without an internet connection.


You probably already know, you can download extensions, and paste them to /tce/optional, then put them in OnBoot.

You need all dependencies, and dependencies of dependencies. Also all .dep files and md5 files.

[tinypoodle]

What Guy already said above applies to this as well:

http://wiki.tinycorelinux.com/Setting+up+Wifi#More_Advanced_Setup:_using_wireless_tools

This script might be useful:

http://forum.tinycorelinux.net/index.php?topic=7243.0

[julianb]

well, tiny core is always an opportunity for me to try something I've never done before. I used cygwin to run the downloader script, and downloaded wireless_tools and its dependencies. Never used cygwin before, but it seems like a tool worth knowing about.

[N8tivNet]

I know I'm a "Few years" late to the party, but…

IF, the OP is still around… I'm curious to know if pre-downloading necessary drivers worked for you.

I want to make the switch from Windows 10 to some sort of flavor of Linux… I've been doing my homework on some different flavors with the help of distrowatch(.)com…

It's come down to these 3, in no particular order really… Tiny Core, obviously being 1 of them.
Sabayon, a flavor of Gentoo… And quite possibly Fedora 26 Workstation.

My production environment is CentOS 7, which is why I am considering Fedora. That way I could watch and possibly participate on what they're producing, then I'd be able to see what Red Hat picks up and what might eventually roll out into CentOS.

I like the idea, of being able to pick and choose… And being close to the metal as much as possible. Being able to squeeze out as much performance as I possibly can with my machine.

That's where Tiny Core and Gentoo come in, I don't mind challenges… Keeps my gray matter young. :-)
Or, at least functioning… :-) ;-)

I can do some tethering with my cell phone and access the Internet that way if I absolutely need to.
I know most Linux flavors seem to have compatibility issues with both Nvidia & Broadcom.

Would anybody here happen to know where I could find a somewhat good template/guide/instructions for these 2 devices for Tiny Core?

Thanks in advance,

Rob

[coreplayer2]

Welcome..

There's only a minor inconvenience with Broadcom actually.  All you need is firmware-getB43.tcz (available in coreplus) and it's dependencies listed in firmware-getB43.tcz.dep.  Run it to download, install and then load the proprietary firmware.   You need wifi.tcz (also available in coreplus) and all dependencies listed in wifi.tcz.dep  load wifi (tce-load -i wifi) and you should be good to connect.

If downloading via a temporary Ethernet connection is difficult i would use coreplus installer to install tinycore to a USB thumbdrive and boot to it on a PC from somewhere which is connected via Ethernet to run firmware-getB43

Or you could boot the coreplus cd on a PC connected via Ethernet then run firmware-getB43.  Just copy the newly created firmware-b43.tcz to a spare USB drive and transport it to the new tinycore installation and install it (tce-load -i firmware-b43)

Good luck

Sorry my bad, I haven't created the proprietary Nvidia drivers yet for TC-8.x due lack of test equipment, though there are nvidia drivers (xf86-video-nv.tcz)  available for Xorg in the repo, depends on how old your hardware is..  I need to get on that..

[N8tivNet]

Sweet!
These are the easiest instructions out of all the other Linux flavors I've been eyeballing…

I don't mind using an older Tiny Core Kernel, one that you know is fairly stable with Nvidia video cards.
Then all I'd have to do, is follow the simple instructions you just gave me about the network card?

Does tiny core have troubles with touchpads? I'm a bit disabled, using a regular mouse is just not an option for me…
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834231136

I replaced the stock RAM sticks with: 3×8 GB
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231705
Added a 1 TB Samsung SSD for my OS and applications, moved the stock 1 TB 5400 RPM storage drive to Bay number 2:
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147374

I'm using the onboard soundcard… Headphones plugged into the jack.
What about USB peripherals?
I have a laptop cooler,  that my laptop sits on… It's powered through the USB ports. I have a couple of 3.0 ports and 2.0 ports. Total of 4 USB ports.
It's how I charge my phone.

With some of the other Linux flavors, there's some sort of stock video driver called "Nouvea"… I probably butchered the spelling.
Would you happen to know if that's compatible with Tiny Core?

Again, thanks for the simple instructions!

Rob

[coreplayer2]

I don't mind using an older Tiny Core Kernel, one that you know is fairly stable with Nvidia video cards.
Then all I'd have to do, is follow the simple instructions you just gave me about the network card?

I just tested firmware-getB43.tcz in the previous version TC-7.2 and it creates a firmware-b43 extension just fine, so whichever version you choose would be ok.  However I'd install the latest TC v8.1  then go from there.
 

Does tiny core have troubles with touchpads? I'm a bit disabled, using a regular mouse is just not an option for me…

Maybe xf86-input-evdev.tcz
Or xf86-input-synaptics.tcz extension?

I'm using the onboard soundcard… Headphones plugged into the jack.

Maybe just install alsa.tcz extension

With some of the other Linux flavors, there's some sort of stock video driver called "Nouvea"… I probably butchered the spelling.
Would you happen to know if that's compatible with Tiny Core?

xf86-video-nouveau.tcz
and xf86-video-nv.tcz are both available in the latest TC-8.1

During the install from coreplus Xvesa will be installed, you might be looking for Xorg which you can install later.

Like I said earlier, I'd install the latest supported version (TC-8.1) and go from there..  YOu could install both version, but I don't want to add complexity when you're relatively new to Linux

[N8tivNet]

Once again, thank you for the pre-install info for this! No other flavor/forum has been this helpful in trying to get things prepared.

If, I downloaded these… Well, not if… When, is there a place/folder I could insert these into… So when I boot it up for the first time, they'll already be loaded?
Doing something similar to this?
https://www.freedesktop.org/software/systemd/man/sysctl.d.html

I don't mind having to install them from the command line, but… If the OS can load them, that would be sweet!

Either way, I have extra steps to take in order to get it working…  Just would be slick, if the OS was able to do it on first try.

Much appreciated,

Rob

[Juanito]

Create a folder named tce/optional in the root of the device you install tinycore to and copy the required extensions into it - don't forget that you'll need extension.tcz, extension.tcz.dep and extension.tcz.md5.txt for each extension you copy.

Next create a file named tce/onboot.lst and list the required extensions in it, one per line.

[PDP-8]

There is also a hardware solution to make things easier - an Ethernet-to-Wifi device - such as the IoGear GWU637.

Once configured, your computer just thinks it is using the ethernet interface, rather than wireless.  No need to hunt down or identify drivers etc.

Basically you attach the Iogear to the ethernet port of any computer with a web-browser.  You temporarily use a static address to connect to the internal web-server of the Iogear to set up your wireless parameters.  Once you have finished setting up, you change the computer back to dhcp (if that's what you were using originally), and now just plug the iogear into any other device's ethernet port.  Of course if your wireless parameters change, you'll have to do the setup again - but no need to do it every time if you don't need to.

The computer you are running Tinycore / piCore (or anything else) thinks it is dealing with a wired ethernet connection, rather than a wireless connection down the line.

The iogear is only 2.4ghz band, but it might be enough to get you online to download drivers for a more advanced card / driver you wish to use on a more permanent basis.  It has been a very handy installation tool for me.

[lt.columbo]

There's only a minor inconvenience with Broadcom actually.  All you need is firmware-getB43.tcz (available in coreplus) and it's dependencies listed in firmware-getB43.tcz.dep.  Run it to download, install and then load the proprietary firmware.   You need wifi.tcz (also available in coreplus) and all dependencies listed in wifi.tcz.dep  load wifi (tce-load -i wifi) and you should be good to connect.

Hi!
I try to turn on wi-fi in tinycore plus 9, but after starting firmware-getB43 I see in the terminal:
Loading Dependencies
squashfs-tools installed
b43-fwcutter installed
Downloading Broadcom driver...
wget: bad address 'www.lwfinger.com'
Error: Downloading source. Exiting.

What is this driver that I can’t download because I don’t have a network connection?
Why it can not be included in the distribution?
I don’t understand why core plus it doesn’t work not only out of the box, but even after manual loading!

[Rich]

Hi lt.columbo

... What is this driver that I can’t download because I don’t have a network connection? ...

The driver is probably located at  www.lwfinger.com/b43-firmware.

... Why it can not be included in the distribution? ...

Some companies don't allow their firmware to be distributed by third parties.

[coreplayer2]

Hi!
I try to turn on wi-fi in tinycore plus 9, but after starting firmware-getB43 I see in the terminal:
Loading Dependencies
squashfs-tools installed
b43-fwcutter installed
Downloading Broadcom driver...
wget: bad address 'www.lwfinger.com'
Error: Downloading source. Exiting.

What is this driver that I can’t download because I don’t have a network connection?
Why it can not be included in the distribution?
I don’t understand why core plus it doesn’t work not only out of the box, but even after manual loading!

The error is generated because the firmware installer cannot connect and retrieve the source.

Broadcom do not allow their firmware to be distributed.  So, they expect you to initially download their firmware via an Ethernet connection. Thereafter your wireless connection should function as expected.
For older WiFi devices you might manage with one of the other available firmware’s

For the best support use firmware_getb43 extension over an Ethernet connection by any means possible

Good luck




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