1: acer-wireless: Wireless LAN Soft blocked: yes -> DISABLED Wireless Network controller [0280]: Atheros Communications Inc. AR9285 Wireless Network Adapter (PCI-Express) [168c:002b] (rev 01) not working on Sony VAIO VPCEG1BFX in Ubuntu 11.10

Asked by Brad Willis

I am running Ubuntu 11.10 and I love it. All except for one thing,....it will not recognize my wireless adapter.

I have tried everything to no avail, and I was hoping you could direct me to a driver that will work with it. I tried the links in Ubuntu support, but the links are both for older versions of Ubuntu, and when I click on them, it says "not found".

My adapter is an ATHEROS 9285 in a sony vaio laptop.

I admit, also, that I am no programming or scripting wizard either.

 I have found some things online which claim that they "solve" this problem, but I have no idea what the heck I'm looking at when I pull them up and even if I did, I haven't the foggiest idea how to install them.

This has to be explained to a dummy like me in easy to understand step-by-step terms.

The Ubuntu stuff just has a button which says install.

You would think that Ubuntu would have a driver set up for this adapter which just comes with the system by now as I have seen SO MANY people with this same problem on the internet.

Is there any help at all that you folks can offer here?

Frustrated

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ign http://security.ubuntu.com oneiric-security InRelease
Ign http://us.archive.ubuntu.com oneiric InRelease
Ign http://us.archive.ubuntu.com oneiric-updates InRelease
Ign http://us.archive.ubuntu.com oneiric-backports InRelease
Hit http://security.ubuntu.com oneiric-security Release.gpg
Hit http://us.archive.ubuntu.com oneiric Release.gpg
Hit http://us.archive.ubuntu.com oneiric-updates Release.gpg
Hit http://security.ubuntu.com oneiric-security Release
Hit http://us.archive.ubuntu.com oneiric-backports Release.gpg
Hit http://us.archive.ubuntu.com oneiric Release
Hit http://security.ubuntu.com oneiric-security/main i386 Packages
Hit http://us.archive.ubuntu.com oneiric-updates Release
Hit http://security.ubuntu.com oneiric-security/restricted i386 Packages
Hit http://security.ubuntu.com oneiric-security/universe i386 Packages
Hit http://security.ubuntu.com oneiric-security/multiverse i386 Packages
Hit http://security.ubuntu.com oneiric-security/main TranslationIndex
Hit http://security.ubuntu.com oneiric-security/multiverse TranslationIndex
Hit http://us.archive.ubuntu.com oneiric-backports Release
Hit http://us.archive.ubuntu.com oneiric/main i386 Packages
Hit http://us.archive.ubuntu.com oneiric/restricted i386 Packages
Hit http://us.archive.ubuntu.com oneiric/universe i386 Packages
Hit http://us.archive.ubuntu.com oneiric/multiverse i386 Packages
Hit http://us.archive.ubuntu.com oneiric/main TranslationIndex
Hit http://security.ubuntu.com oneiric-security/restricted TranslationIndex
Hit http://security.ubuntu.com oneiric-security/universe TranslationIndex
Hit http://security.ubuntu.com oneiric-security/main Translation-en
Hit http://us.archive.ubuntu.com oneiric/multiverse TranslationIndex
Hit http://us.archive.ubuntu.com oneiric/restricted TranslationIndex
Hit http://us.archive.ubuntu.com oneiric/universe TranslationIndex
Hit http://us.archive.ubuntu.com oneiric-updates/main i386 Packages
Hit http://us.archive.ubuntu.com oneiric-updates/restricted i386 Packages
Hit http://us.archive.ubuntu.com oneiric-updates/universe i386 Packages
Hit http://us.archive.ubuntu.com oneiric-updates/multiverse i386 Packages
Hit http://us.archive.ubuntu.com oneiric-updates/main TranslationIndex
Hit http://security.ubuntu.com oneiric-security/multiverse Translation-en
Hit http://security.ubuntu.com oneiric-security/restricted Translation-en
Hit http://us.archive.ubuntu.com oneiric-updates/multiverse TranslationIndex
Hit http://us.archive.ubuntu.com oneiric-updates/restricted TranslationIndex
Hit http://us.archive.ubuntu.com oneiric-updates/universe TranslationIndex
Hit http://us.archive.ubuntu.com oneiric-backports/main i386 Packages
Hit http://us.archive.ubuntu.com oneiric-backports/restricted i386 Packages
Hit http://us.archive.ubuntu.com oneiric-backports/universe i386 Packages
Hit http://us.archive.ubuntu.com oneiric-backports/multiverse i386 Packages
Hit http://security.ubuntu.com oneiric-security/universe Translation-en
Hit http://us.archive.ubuntu.com oneiric-backports/main TranslationIndex
Hit http://us.archive.ubuntu.com oneiric-backports/multiverse TranslationIndex
Hit http://us.archive.ubuntu.com oneiric-backports/restricted TranslationIndex
Hit http://us.archive.ubuntu.com oneiric-backports/universe TranslationIndex
Hit http://us.archive.ubuntu.com oneiric/main Translation-en
Hit http://us.archive.ubuntu.com oneiric/multiverse Translation-en
Hit http://us.archive.ubuntu.com oneiric/restricted Translation-en
Hit http://us.archive.ubuntu.com oneiric/universe Translation-en
Hit http://us.archive.ubuntu.com oneiric-updates/main Translation-en
Hit http://us.archive.ubuntu.com oneiric-updates/multiverse Translation-en
Hit http://us.archive.ubuntu.com oneiric-updates/restricted Translation-en
Hit http://us.archive.ubuntu.com oneiric-updates/universe Translation-en
Hit http://us.archive.ubuntu.com oneiric-backports/main Translation-en
Hit http://us.archive.ubuntu.com oneiric-backports/multiverse Translation-en
Hit http://us.archive.ubuntu.com oneiric-backports/restricted Translation-en
Hit http://us.archive.ubuntu.com oneiric-backports/universe Translation-en
Reading package lists... Done
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information... Done
grep is already the newest version.
rfkill is already the newest version.
The following NEW packages will be installed:
  hwinfo libhal1 libhd16
0 upgraded, 3 newly installed, 0 to remove and 0 not upgraded.
Need to get 776 kB of archives.
After this operation, 2,314 kB of additional disk space will be used.
Get:1 http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ oneiric/universe libhal1 i386 0.5.14-6 [77.1 kB]
Get:2 http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ oneiric/universe libhd16 i386 16.0-2ubuntu1 [681 kB]
Get:3 http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ oneiric/universe hwinfo i386 16.0-2ubuntu1 [18.2 kB]
Fetched 776 kB in 1s (518 kB/s)
Selecting previously deselected package libhal1.
(Reading database ... 188499 files and directories currently installed.)
Unpacking libhal1 (from .../libhal1_0.5.14-6_i386.deb) ...
Selecting previously deselected package libhd16.
Unpacking libhd16 (from .../libhd16_16.0-2ubuntu1_i386.deb) ...
Selecting previously deselected package hwinfo.
Unpacking hwinfo (from .../hwinfo_16.0-2ubuntu1_i386.deb) ...
Processing triggers for man-db ...
Setting up libhal1 (0.5.14-6) ...
Setting up libhd16 (16.0-2ubuntu1) ...
Setting up hwinfo (16.0-2ubuntu1) ...
Processing triggers for libc-bin ...
ldconfig deferred processing now taking place
  *-network DISABLED
       description: Wireless interface
       product: AR9285 Wireless Network Adapter (PCI-Express)
       vendor: Atheros Communications Inc.
       physical id: 0
       bus info: pci@0000:02:00.0
       logical name: wlan0
       version: 01
       serial: 90:00:4e:bc:15:87
       width: 64 bits
       clock: 33MHz
       capabilities: pm msi pciexpress bus_master cap_list ethernet physical wireless
       configuration: broadcast=yes driver=ath9k driverversion=3.0.0-16-generic-pae firmware=N/A latency=0 link=no multicast=yes wireless=IEEE 802.11bgn
       resources: irq:16 memory:d2500000-d250ffff
  *-network
       description: Ethernet interface
       product: AR8151 v2.0 Gigabit Ethernet
       vendor: Atheros Communications
       physical id: 0
       bus info: pci@0000:09:00.0
       logical name: eth0
       version: c0
       serial: 78:84:3c:93:19:62
       size: 100Mbit/s
       capacity: 1Gbit/s
       width: 64 bits
       clock: 33MHz
       capabilities: pm msi pciexpress vpd bus_master cap_list ethernet physical tp 10bt 10bt-fd 100bt 100bt-fd 1000bt-fd autonegotiation
       configuration: autonegotiation=on broadcast=yes driver=atl1c driverversion=1.0.1.0-NAPI duplex=full firmware=N/A ip=192.168.2.8 latency=0 link=yes multicast=yes port=twisted pair speed=100Mbit/s
       resources: irq:43 memory:d1400000-d143ffff ioport:2000(size=128)
0: sony-wifi: Wireless LAN
 Soft blocked: no
 Hard blocked: no
1: acer-wireless: Wireless LAN
 Soft blocked: yes
 Hard blocked: no
2: phy0: Wireless LAN
 Soft blocked: no
 Hard blocked: no
lo Interface doesn't support scanning.

eth0 Interface doesn't support scanning.

wlan0 Interface doesn't support scanning : Network is down

auto lo
iface lo inet loopback

DISTRIB_ID=Ubuntu
DISTRIB_RELEASE=11.10
DISTRIB_CODENAME=oneiric
DISTRIB_DESCRIPTION="Ubuntu 11.10"
00:00.0 Host bridge [0600]: Intel Corporation 2nd Generation Core Processor Family DRAM Controller [8086:0104] (rev 09)
00:02.0 VGA compatible controller [0300]: Intel Corporation 2nd Generation Core Processor Family Integrated Graphics Controller [8086:0116] (rev 09)
00:16.0 Communication controller [0780]: Intel Corporation 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family MEI Controller #1 [8086:1c3a] (rev 04)
00:1a.0 USB Controller [0c03]: Intel Corporation 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family USB Enhanced Host Controller #2 [8086:1c2d] (rev 04)
00:1b.0 Audio device [0403]: Intel Corporation 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family High Definition Audio Controller [8086:1c20] (rev 04)
00:1c.0 PCI bridge [0604]: Intel Corporation 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family PCI Express Root Port 1 [8086:1c10] (rev b4)
00:1c.1 PCI bridge [0604]: Intel Corporation 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family PCI Express Root Port 2 [8086:1c12] (rev b4)
00:1c.3 PCI bridge [0604]: Intel Corporation 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family PCI Express Root Port 4 [8086:1c16] (rev b4)
00:1d.0 USB Controller [0c03]: Intel Corporation 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family USB Enhanced Host Controller #1 [8086:1c26] (rev 04)
00:1f.0 ISA bridge [0601]: Intel Corporation HM65 Express Chipset Family LPC Controller [8086:1c49] (rev 04)
00:1f.2 SATA controller [0106]: Intel Corporation 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family 6 port SATA AHCI Controller [8086:1c03] (rev 04)
00:1f.3 SMBus [0c05]: Intel Corporation 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family SMBus Controller [8086:1c22] (rev 04)
02:00.0 Network controller [0280]: Atheros Communications Inc. AR9285 Wireless Network Adapter (PCI-Express) [168c:002b] (rev 01)
03:00.0 Unassigned class [ff00]: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTS5116 PCI Express Card Reader [10ec:5209] (rev 01)
09:00.0 Ethernet controller [0200]: Atheros Communications AR8151 v2.0 Gigabit Ethernet [1969:1083] (rev c0)
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 8087:0024 Intel Corp. Integrated Rate Matching Hub
Bus 002 Device 002: ID 8087:0024 Intel Corp. Integrated Rate Matching Hub
Bus 001 Device 003: ID 04f2:b290 Chicony Electronics Co., Ltd
H/W path Device Class Description
=============================================================
                                   system VPCEG1BFX (N/A)
/0 bus VAIO
/0/0 memory 1MiB BIOS
/0/6 memory 8GiB System Memory
/0/6/0 memory 4GiB SODIMM DDR3 1333 MHz (0.8 ns)
/0/6/1 memory 4GiB SODIMM DDR3 1333 MHz (0.8 ns)
/0/c processor Intel(R) Core(TM) i3-2310M CPU @ 2.10GHz
/0/c/e memory 32KiB L1 cache
/0/c/f memory 256KiB L2 cache
/0/c/10 memory 3MiB L3 cache
/0/c/1.1 processor Logical CPU
/0/c/1.2 processor Logical CPU
/0/c/1.3 processor Logical CPU
/0/c/1.4 processor Logical CPU
/0/c/1.5 processor Logical CPU
/0/c/1.6 processor Logical CPU
/0/c/1.7 processor Logical CPU
/0/c/1.8 processor Logical CPU
/0/c/1.9 processor Logical CPU
/0/c/1.a processor Logical CPU
/0/c/1.b processor Logical CPU
/0/c/1.c processor Logical CPU
/0/c/1.d processor Logical CPU
/0/c/1.e processor Logical CPU
/0/c/1.f processor Logical CPU
/0/c/1.10 processor Logical CPU
/0/d memory 32KiB L1 cache
/0/1 processor
/0/1/1.1 processor Logical CPU
/0/1/1.2 processor Logical CPU
/0/1/1.3 processor Logical CPU
/0/1/1.4 processor Logical CPU
/0/1/1.5 processor Logical CPU
/0/1/1.6 processor Logical CPU
/0/1/1.7 processor Logical CPU
/0/1/1.8 processor Logical CPU
/0/1/1.9 processor Logical CPU
/0/1/1.a processor Logical CPU
/0/1/1.b processor Logical CPU
/0/1/1.c processor Logical CPU
/0/1/1.d processor Logical CPU
/0/1/1.e processor Logical CPU
/0/1/1.f processor Logical CPU
/0/1/1.10 processor Logical CPU
/0/100 bridge 2nd Generation Core Processor Family DRAM Controller
/0/100/2 display 2nd Generation Core Processor Family Integrated Graphics Controller
/0/100/16 communication 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family MEI Controller #1
/0/100/1a bus 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family USB Enhanced Host Controller #2
/0/100/1b multimedia 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family High Definition Audio Controller
/0/100/1c bridge 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family PCI Express Root Port 1
/0/100/1c/0 wlan0 network AR9285 Wireless Network Adapter (PCI-Express)
/0/100/1c.1 bridge 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family PCI Express Root Port 2
/0/100/1c.1/0 scsi6 generic RTS5116 PCI Express Card Reader
/0/100/1c.1/0/0.0.0 /dev/sdb disk SCSI Disk
/0/100/1c.1/0/0.0.1 /dev/sdc disk MemoryStick
/0/100/1c.1/0/0.0.1/0 /dev/sdc disk
/0/100/1c.3 bridge 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family PCI Express Root Port 4
/0/100/1c.3/0 eth0 network AR8151 v2.0 Gigabit Ethernet
/0/100/1d bus 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family USB Enhanced Host Controller #1
/0/100/1f bridge HM65 Express Chipset Family LPC Controller
/0/100/1f.2 scsi0 storage 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family 6 port SATA AHCI Controller
/0/100/1f.2/0 /dev/sda disk 500GB Hitachi HTS54505
/0/100/1f.2/0/1 /dev/sda1 volume 10GiB Windows NTFS volume
/0/100/1f.2/0/2 /dev/sda2 volume 100MiB Windows NTFS volume
/0/100/1f.2/0/3 /dev/sda3 volume 455GiB Windows NTFS volume
/0/100/1f.2/1 /dev/cdrom disk CDDVDW TS-L633C
/0/100/1f.3 bus 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family SMBus Controller
Linux ubuntu 3.0.0-16-generic-pae #29-Ubuntu SMP Tue Feb 14 13:56:31 UTC 2012 i686 i686 i386 GNU/Linux
[ 0.000000] found SMP MP-table at [c00fe1b0] fe1b0
[ 0.543229] [Firmware Bug]: ACPI: BIOS _OSI(Linux) query ignored
[ 0.629894] ACPI: No dock devices found.
[ 0.629896] HEST: Table not found.
[ 0.663192] usbcore: registered new interface driver usbfs
[ 0.663201] usbcore: registered new interface driver hub
[ 0.663228] usbcore: registered new device driver usb
[ 0.672690] Switching to clocksource hpet
[ 0.674954] Switched to NOHz mode on CPU #0
[ 0.675007] Switched to NOHz mode on CPU #2
[ 0.675009] Switched to NOHz mode on CPU #3
[ 0.675100] Switched to NOHz mode on CPU #1
[ 0.679981] pnp: PnP ACPI: found 5 devices
[ 0.744958] platform rtc_cmos: registered platform RTC device (no PNP device found)
[ 0.817067] input: Lid Switch as /devices/LNXSYSTM:00/device:00/PNP0C0D:00/input/input0
[ 0.817093] ACPI: Lid Switch [LID0]
[ 0.819348] ERST: Table is not found!
[ 1.172795] isapnp: No Plug & Play device found
[ 1.248294] hub 1-0:1.0: USB hub found
[ 1.268253] hub 2-0:1.0: USB hub found
[ 1.283685] BIOS EDD facility v0.16 2004-Jun-25, 0 devices found
[ 1.559768] usb 1-1: new high speed USB device number 2 using ehci_hcd
[ 1.692046] hub 1-1:1.0: USB hub found
[ 1.743434] Switching to clocksource tsc
[ 1.803297] usb 2-1: new high speed USB device number 2 using ehci_hcd
[ 1.935814] hub 2-1:1.0: USB hub found
[ 2.007191] usb 1-1.2: new high speed USB device number 3 using ehci_hcd
[ 5.914772] lp: driver loaded but no devices found
[ 8.288619] ath9k 0000:02:00.0: PCI INT A -> GSI 16 (level, low) -> IRQ 16
[ 8.288635] ath9k 0000:02:00.0: setting latency timer to 64
[ 8.339444] ath: EEPROM regdomain: 0x65
[ 8.339446] ath: EEPROM indicates we should expect a direct regpair map
[ 8.339449] ath: Country alpha2 being used: 00
[ 8.339451] ath: Regpair used: 0x65
[ 8.412016] uvcvideo: Found UVC 1.00 device Sony Visual Communication Camera (04f2:b290)
[ 8.421632] input: Sony Visual Communication Camer as /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:1a.0/usb1/1-1/1-1.2/1-1.2:1.0/input/input7
[ 8.421705] usbcore: registered new interface driver uvcvideo
[ 8.468651] ieee80211 phy0: Selected rate control algorithm 'ath9k_rate_control'
[ 8.469208] Registered led device: ath9k-phy0
[ 8.514551] Console: switching to colour frame buffer device 170x48
[ 9.228824] hda_codec: CX20590: BIOS auto-probing.
[ 9.255320] input: HDA Intel PCH HDMI/DP,pcm=3 as /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:1b.0/sound/card0/input9
[ 15.690931] atl1c 0000:09:00.0: atl1c: eth0 NIC Link is Up<100 Mbps Full Duplex>
[ 25.871472] eth0: no IPv6 routers present
 Release Date: 05/02/2011
 Manufacturer: Sony Corporation
 Product Name: VPCEG1BFX
 Serial Number: 27548319-3025287
 Manufacturer: Sony Corporation
 Product Name: VAIO
 Serial Number: N/A
 Manufacturer: Sony Corporation
 Serial Number: N/A
 Manufacturer: Kingston
 Serial Number: 8B348B78
 Manufacturer: Micron Technology
 Serial Number: 3639DADC
 Manufacturer: Intel(R) Corporation
 Serial Number: N/A
lo no wireless extensions.

eth0 no wireless extensions.

wlan0 IEEE 802.11bgn ESSID:off/any
          Mode:Managed Access Point: Not-Associated Tx-Power=0 dBm
          Retry long limit:7 RTS thr:off Fragment thr:off
          Power Management:off

install snd-rawmidi /sbin/modprobe --ignore-install snd-rawmidi $CMDLINE_OPTS && { /sbin/modprobe --quiet --use-blacklist snd-seq-midi ; : ; }
# which ath5k cannot recover. To prevent this condition, stop
blacklist ath_pci
blacklist eth1394
# replaced by p54pci
blacklist prism54
# replaced by b43 and ssb.
blacklist bcm43xx
blacklist uart6850
blacklist twl4030_wdt

[main]
NetworkingEnabled=true
WirelessEnabled=true
WWANEnabled=true
WimaxEnabled=true
> hal.1: read hal dataprocess 2262: arguments to dbus_move_error() were incorrect, assertion "(dest) == NULL || !dbus_error_is_set ((dest))" failed in file ../../dbus/dbus-errors.c line 280.
This is normally a bug in some application using the D-Bus library.
libhal.c 3483 : Error unsubscribing to signals, error=The name org.freedesktop.Hal was not provided by any .service files
20: PCI 200.0: 0282 WLAN controller
  [Created at pci.318]
  Unique ID: y9sn.8lvD45FXCI3
  Parent ID: z8Q3.BIRzRHILTZ8
  SysFS ID: /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:1c.0/0000:02:00.0
  SysFS BusID: 0000:02:00.0
  Hardware Class: network
  Model: "Atheros WLAN controller"
  Vendor: pci 0x168c "Atheros Communications Inc."
  Device: pci 0x002b
  SubVendor: pci 0x105b "Foxconn International, Inc."
  SubDevice: pci 0xe017
  Revision: 0x01
  Driver: "ath9k"
  Driver Modules: "ath9k", "ath9k"
  Device File: wlan0
  Features: WLAN
  Memory Range: 0xd2500000-0xd250ffff (rw,non-prefetchable)
  IRQ: 16 (105 events)
  HW Address: 90:00:4e:bc:15:87
  Link detected: no
  WLAN channels: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
  WLAN frequencies: 2.412 2.417 2.422 2.427 2.432 2.437 2.442 2.447 2.452 2.457 2.462 2.467 2.472
  WLAN encryption modes: WEP40 WEP104 TKIP CCMP
  WLAN authentication modes: open sharedkey wpa-psk wpa-eap
  Module Alias: "pci:v0000168Cd0000002Bsv0000105Bsd0000E017bc02sc80i00"
  Driver Info #0:
    Driver Status: ath9k is active
    Driver Activation Cmd: "modprobe ath9k"
  Config Status: cfg=new, avail=yes, need=no, active=unknown
  Attached to: #13 (PCI bridge)

22: PCI 900.0: 0200 Ethernet controller
  [Created at pci.318]
  Unique ID: rBUF.w6XLTcKW383
  Parent ID: Z7uZ.Hn5TKi+ZdsA
  SysFS ID: /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:1c.3/0000:09:00.0
  SysFS BusID: 0000:09:00.0
  Hardware Class: network
  Model: "Attansic Ethernet controller"
  Vendor: pci 0x1969 "Attansic Technology Corp."
  Device: pci 0x1083
  SubVendor: pci 0x104d "Sony Corporation"
  SubDevice: pci 0x908a
  Revision: 0xc0
  Driver: "atl1c"
  Driver Modules: "atl1c"
  Device File: eth0
  Memory Range: 0xd1400000-0xd143ffff (rw,non-prefetchable)
  I/O Ports: 0x2000-0x2fff (rw)
  IRQ: 43 (1068 events)
  HW Address: 78:84:3c:93:19:62
  Link detected: yes
  Module Alias: "pci:v00001969d00001083sv0000104Dsd0000908Abc02sc00i00"
  Driver Info #0:
    Driver Status: atl1c is active
    Driver Activation Cmd: "modprobe atl1c"
  Config Status: cfg=new, avail=yes, need=no, active=unknown
  Attached to: #15 (PCI bridge)
Warning: bad ps syntax, perhaps a bogus '-'? See http://procps.sf.net/faq.html
root 975 0.0 0.0 27920 4828 ? Ssl 21:04 0:00 NetworkManager
root 995 0.0 0.0 2744 1228 ? S 21:04 0:00 /sbin/dhclient -d -4 -sf /usr/lib/NetworkManager/nm-dhcp-client.action -pf /var/run/dhclient-eth0.pid -lf /var/lib/dhcp/dhclient-52212c51-6759-4033-a9f2-2724c02c9d26-eth0.lease -cf /var/run/nm-dhclient-eth0.conf eth0
hal9000 2276 0.0 0.0 4452 768 pts/0 S+ 21:09 0:00 egrep --color=auto wpa|icd|etwork
Module Size Used by
parport_pc 32114 0
ppdev 12849 0
binfmt_misc 17292 1
snd_hda_codec_hdmi 31426 1
snd_hda_codec_conexant 52460 1
snd_hda_intel 28358 2
snd_hda_codec 91859 3 snd_hda_codec_hdmi,snd_hda_codec_conexant,snd_hda_intel
arc4 12473 2
snd_hwdep 13276 1 snd_hda_codec
uvcvideo 67271 0
snd_pcm 80435 3 snd_hda_codec_hdmi,snd_hda_intel,snd_hda_codec
snd_seq_midi 13132 0
videodev 85626 1 uvcvideo
snd_rawmidi 25241 1 snd_seq_midi
ath9k 110903 0
i915 509554 3
snd_seq_midi_event 14475 1 snd_seq_midi
joydev 17393 0
mac80211 406860 1 ath9k
snd_seq 51567 2 snd_seq_midi,snd_seq_midi_event
snd_timer 28932 2 snd_pcm,snd_seq
snd_seq_device 14172 3 snd_seq_midi,snd_rawmidi,snd_seq
drm_kms_helper 32889 1 i915
ath9k_common 13599 1 ath9k
drm 196290 4 i915,drm_kms_helper
ath9k_hw 320407 2 ath9k,ath9k_common
snd 55902 14 snd_hda_codec_hdmi,snd_hda_codec_conexant,snd_hda_intel,snd_hda_codec,snd_hwdep,snd_pcm,snd_rawmidi,snd_seq,snd_timer,snd_seq_device
rts_pstor 353227 0
soundcore 12600 1 snd
ath 19148 2 ath9k,ath9k_hw
psmouse 63474 0
snd_page_alloc 14108 2 snd_hda_intel,snd_pcm
cfg80211 171447 3 ath9k,mac80211,ath
mei 36466 0
acer_wmi 23302 0
i2c_algo_bit 13199 1 i915
serio_raw 12990 0
sparse_keymap 13658 1 acer_wmi
sony_laptop 39681 0
wmi 18744 1 acer_wmi
video 18908 1 i915
lp 17455 0
parport 40930 3 parport_pc,ppdev,lp
ahci 21634 1
libahci 25761 1 ahci
atl1c 35852 0
hal9000@ubuntu:~$

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SONY VAIO - VPCEG1BFX

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thank you for trying to help me so quickly, I hope this information is what you needed,...I'll keep my fingers crossed. :)

Question information

Language:
English Edit question
Status:
Solved
For:
Ubuntu gnome-nettool Edit question
Assignee:
No assignee Edit question
Solved by:
Mark Rijckenberg
Solved:
Last query:
Last reply:
Revision history for this message
marcus aurelius (adbiz) said :
#1

Ubuntu works fine with the atheros wifi. Try right clicki g on the wifi icon then select enable wireless.

Revision history for this message
Mark Rijckenberg (markrijckenberg) said :
#2

Hi,

Please first connect your wired network adapter to the wireless router using an ethernet cable (also known as a LAN cable).

In order to gather essential troubleshooting information about your wireless card, please follow this procedure:

Step 1:

If you are using the Gnome interface, open the Terminal console via "Applications->Accessories->Terminal"

If you are using the Unity interface, the easiest way to open the Terminal is to use the 'search' function on the dash. Or you can click on the 'More Apps' button, click on the 'See more results' by the installed section, and find it in that list of applications. A third way, available after you click on the 'More Apps' button, is to go to the search bar, and see that the far right end of it says 'All Applications'. You then click on that, and you'll see the full list. Then you can go to Accessories > Terminal after that.

So the methods in Unity are:
Dash > Search for Terminal
Dash > More Apps > 'See More Results' > Terminal
Dash > More Apps > Accessories > Terminal

Step 2: Please copy-paste the following command from https://help.ubuntu.com/community/WirelessTroubleshootingProcedure in Firefox into the Linux Terminal. Do NOT copy-paste from the Email message into the Terminal, as that will only copy PART of the command. The command STARTS with the word sudo and ENDS with the word lsmod. So please copy-paste the ENTIRE command below from Firefox into a Terminal, press <enter>, then enter password when sudo asks for password, then press enter again.

Tip: If you have a wheel mouse or 3 button mouse you do not need to type commands into the Terminal. Highlight the command written on the page. Move your cursor anywhere in the Terminal and press the wheel or middle button. Automatic Copy and paste! No spelling mistakes! No Typos! No other errors!

sudo apt-get update; sudo apt-get install hwinfo grep rfkill; sudo lshw -C network; rfkill list; sudo iwlist scanning; cat /etc/network/interfaces; cat /etc/lsb-release; lspci -nn; lsusb; sudo lshw -short; uname -a; dmesg | egrep 'acx|at76|ath|b43|bcm|brcm|CX|eth|ipw|ireless|irmware|isl|lbtf|orinoco|ndiswrapper|NPE|ound|p54|prism|rtl|rt2|rt3|rt5|rt6|rt7|usb|witch|wl';sudo dmidecode|egrep 'anufact|roduct|erial|elease'; iwconfig; cat /etc/modprobe.d/* | egrep 'acx|at76|ath|b43|bcm|brcm|CX|eth|ipw|irmware|isl|lbtf|orinoco|ndiswrapper|NPE|p54|prism|rtl|rt2|rt3|rt6|rt7|wmi|witch|wl'; cat /var/lib/NetworkManager/NetworkManager.state; sudo hwinfo --netcard ; ps -aux|egrep 'wpa|icd|etwork'; sudo lsmod

Step 3: Please post results (copy/paste terminal output) on this thread. The troubleshooters here need to see the full Terminal output from running the above command.

Step 4: Please also specify the exact model and make of your PC (if known) on this thread

Regards,

Mark

Revision history for this message
actionparsnip (andrew-woodhead666) said :
#3

If you run:

sudo rfkill unblock all

Does it work?

is there a switch to disable and disable wif? If so, hit it and try searching for wireless networks with:

sudo iwlist scan

Thanks

Revision history for this message
Brad Willis (guiternity) said :
#4

Sorry,...that didn't work either.

hal9000@ubuntu:~$ sudo rfkill unblock all
[sudo] password for hal9000:
hal9000@ubuntu:~$ sudo iwlist scan
lo Interface doesn't support scanning.

eth0 Interface doesn't support scanning.

wlan0 Interface doesn't support scanning : Network is down

hal9000@ubuntu:~$

Revision history for this message
Richard Garvin (garvinrick4) said :
#5

#Open terminal and copy and paste this in terminal.
gksu gedit /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf

#add this line below to bottom and hit save. Now reboot should work.
blacklist acer_wmi

This i copied and pasted here from your output notice the acer-wireless is softblocked. (this is just for your info do nothing with it.

0: sony-wifi: Wireless LAN
 Soft blocked: no
 Hard blocked: no
1: acer-wireless: Wireless LAN
 Soft blocked: yes
 Hard blocked: no
2: phy0: Wireless LAN
 Soft blocked: no
 Hard blocked: no

Revision history for this message
Best Mark Rijckenberg (markrijckenberg) said :
#6

Richard Garvin (garvinrick4) is right.

Your Terminal output shows the following issue:

1: acer-wireless: Wireless LAN
 Soft blocked: yes
 Hard blocked: no

Please copy-paste the following command into the Terminal and then press
<ENTER>:

gksudo gedit /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf

Using the gedit editor, please ADD the following configuration line into
the file /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf:

blacklist acer_wmi

Using the gedit editor, SAVE the change to the

/etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf file.

Then REBOOT and retest wireless. This blacklist operation should make
the change permanent, even after rebooting.

This should force the Linux kernel to stop loading the acer_wmi module,
which is probably causing the kernel to soft block your wireless adapter.

The acer-wireless interface is an invalid wireless interface on your
computer, because you are using a Sony Vaio laptop , not an
ACER computer.

Also run the following 2 Terminal commands to try to change the rfkill
state of your wireless chipset:

rfkill unblock all

sudo rfkill unblock all

Then retest wireless again.

Revision history for this message
Brad Willis (guiternity) said :
#7

Ok,....I'm readyy to try this, but I don't know what the gedit editor is, perhaps you could shed some light?

Revision history for this message
Brad Willis (guiternity) said :
#8

Ok, I tried it anyway,...and this is what it said.....

hal9000@ubuntu:~$ gksudo gedit /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf

(gksudo:2046): Gtk-WARNING **: Unable to locate theme engine in module_path: "pixmap",

(gksudo:2046): Gtk-WARNING **: Unable to locate theme engine in module_path: "pixmap",

(gksudo:2046): Gtk-WARNING **: Unable to locate theme engine in module_path: "pixmap",

(gksudo:2046): Gtk-WARNING **: Unable to locate theme engine in module_path: "pixmap",

Then a box popped up which I am assuming is the gedit editor which said this............

# This file lists those modules which we don't want to be loaded by
# alias expansion, usually so some other driver will be loaded for the
# device instead.

# evbug is a debug tool that should be loaded explicitly
blacklist evbug

# these drivers are very simple, the HID drivers are usually preferred
blacklist usbmouse
blacklist usbkbd

# replaced by e100
blacklist eepro100

# replaced by tulip
blacklist de4x5

# causes no end of confusion by creating unexpected network interfaces
blacklist eth1394

# snd_intel8x0m can interfere with snd_intel8x0, doesn't seem to support much
# hardware on its own (Ubuntu bug #2011, #6810)
blacklist snd_intel8x0m

# Conflicts with dvb driver (which is better for handling this device)
blacklist snd_aw2

# causes failure to suspend on HP compaq nc6000 (Ubuntu: #10306)
blacklist i2c_i801

# replaced by p54pci
blacklist prism54

# replaced by b43 and ssb.
blacklist bcm43xx

# most apps now use garmin usb driver directly (Ubuntu: #114565)
blacklist garmin_gps

# replaced by asus-laptop (Ubuntu: #184721)
blacklist asus_acpi

# low-quality, just noise when being used for sound playback, causes
# hangs at desktop session start (Ubuntu: #246969)
blacklist snd_pcsp

# ugly and loud noise, getting on everyone's nerves; this should be done by a
# nice pulseaudio bing (Ubuntu: #77010)
blacklist pcspkr

# EDAC driver for amd76x clashes with the agp driver preventing the aperture
# from being initialised (Ubuntu: #297750). Blacklist so that the driver
# continues to build and is installable for the few cases where its
# really needed.
blacklist amd76x_edac

Just wanna make sure all this is what's supposed to be happening,...haven't done anything else as I want to wait for your response to be sure.

Revision history for this message
actionparsnip (andrew-woodhead666) said :
#9

If you run:

sudo apt-get install gtk2-engines-pixbuf

It will suppress the warnings about pixmap.

Revision history for this message
Mark Rijckenberg (markrijckenberg) said :
#10

Yes, add this line to the end of that file:

blacklist acer_wmi

Then save the change and reboot.

Then retest wireless.

Revision history for this message
Brad Willis (guiternity) said :
#11

Holy crap it worked!!! Did I say that you guys are awesome yet?! THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :)

Revision history for this message
Brad Willis (guiternity) said :
#12

Thanks Mark Rijckenberg, that solved my question.