Tiny Core Linux
Tiny Core Base => TCB Q&A Forum => Topic started by: tejjyid on September 20, 2012, 10:20:37 PM
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I'm trying to bring an old MSI Wind back to life - I'm using TC 4.6.1 (CorePLus)
On loading, TC can't see/find the wireless card (it's definitely there 'coz W* is using it)
I've tried a bit of inexpert poking around the forums; I had the same/similar problem 3 years ago with a much older version of TC as well.
modprobe shows there is an ath.ko.gz library
lsmod shows it isn't loaded.
iwconfig/ipconfig say there is no wlan0...
Any assistance appreciated, thanks
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The first thing to do would be to indentify your wireless hardware using pci-utils (lspci) or usb-utils (lsusb) and post the results here/search the forum for posts based on the results.
For example: $ lspci
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03:00.0 Network controller: Broadcom Corporation BCM4331 802.11a/b/g/n (rev 02)
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Fair call...
Realtek RTL8187SE Wireless LAN Controller (rev 22)
I'll start searching, but don't let that stop anybody leaping in with THE ANSWER, if they have it...
(Already I know more than I did yesterday)
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From 3.0.21 kernel config file:
# CONFIG_R8187SE is not set
Could that be causing a problem?
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From 3.0.21 kernel config file:
# CONFIG_R8187SE is not set
Could that be causing a problem?
It means there is no driver...
FWIW, there is an out-of-kernel driver extension in the 2.x repo.
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The repo, eh? So, if I understand this, there is a driver in a repository somewhere which could be loaded, and which might solve the problem? Is there a quick guide to getting things from repositories? I assume the name of the extension is obvious...
Does the FWIW suggest pessimism about the likely value of that driver/extension?
I'm a little puzzled by Rich's reference to config 3 - I thought this was TC 4?
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The apps gui will automatically connect to the correct repo for the version of tinycore you're using - for example, tc-4.x will connect to the 4.x repo.
You can manually download apps from a different repo, but there's likely to be a problem with kernel drivers as the kernel version will not match that of the version of tc you're using.
If there's a driver in the 2.x repo, you could take it as an indication that it compiled successfully on tc-2.x, so it might compile on tc-4.x...
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The "FWIW" suggests there is a driver available for running core version 2.x but not newer - and in addition also what juanito stated.
The extension is rtl8187se_coffee.tcz
config 3.0.21 is in reference to kernel version numbering (current kernel version of core).
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Hi tejjyid
The extension is rtl8187se_coffee.tcz
That's the same extension you tried under TC2.10 a couple of years ago.
You might want to run:
lspci -nn | grep Realtek
and verify that the PCIID is listed as [10EC:8199]
These links may be of some help:
http://wiki.debian.org/rtl818x
http://wireless.kernel.org/en/users/Drivers/rtl8187
The wireless-3.0.21-tinycore.tcz extension contains rtl8187.ko.gz which may or may not be right for your chip set.
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Hi tejjyid
The extension is rtl8187se_coffee.tcz
That's the same extension you tried under TC2.10 a couple of years ago.
You might want to run:
lspci -nn | grep Realtek
and verify that the PCIID is listed as [10EC:8199]
These links may be of some help:
http://wiki.debian.org/rtl818x
http://wireless.kernel.org/en/users/Drivers/rtl8187
The wireless-3.0.21-tinycore.tcz extension contains rtl8187.ko.gz which may or may not be right for your chip set.
Not compatible - as is also obvious from content of the links above.
Requires either an out-of-kernel driver like mentioned "coffee" or the driver in staging tree - AFAIK all of them are based on the source of chipset manufacturer.
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OK, thanks folks.
It looks like I'd be better off trying to resurrect TC 2.1, for the particular laptop I have in mind.
BTW - "the driver in staging tree" - what does that mean?
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BTW - "the driver in staging tree" - what does that mean?
It means that the driver exists in the kernel, but it's low quality and/or buggy and/or unstable. We don't enable staging drivers, understandably.