Ubuntu
yelp package

cannot enable atheros wireless

Asked by Paul Kaneski

I just installed ubuntu on my acer aspire one and now I cannot get my Atheros wireless adapter to enable. It is completely unresponsive. I did the following to check for device recognition. It appears to recognise my device but I cannot figure out how to enable it. The physical switch is unresponsive. Please help.

paul@paul-laptop:~$ sudo lshw -C network
[sudo] password for paul:
  *-network
       description: Ethernet interface
       product: RTL8101E/RTL8102E PCI Express Fast Ethernet controller
       vendor: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd.
       physical id: 0
       bus info: pci@0000:02:00.0
       logical name: eth0
       version: 02
       serial: 00:23:8b:6c:0a:a5
       size: 100MB/s
       capacity: 100MB/s
       width: 64 bits
       clock: 33MHz
       capabilities: pm msi pciexpress msix vpd bus_master cap_list rom ethernet physical tp mii 10bt 10bt-fd 100bt 100bt-fd autonegotiation
       configuration: autonegotiation=on broadcast=yes driver=r8169 driverversion=2.3LK-NAPI duplex=full ip=192.168.0.12 latency=0 link=yes multicast=yes port=MII speed=100MB/s
       resources: irq:28 ioport:3000(size=256) memory:51010000-51010fff(prefetchable) memory:51000000-5100ffff(prefetchable) memory:51020000-5103ffff(prefetchable)
  *-network DISABLED
       description: Wireless interface
       product: AR5001 Wireless Network Adapter
       vendor: Atheros Communications Inc.
       physical id: 0
       bus info: pci@0000:03:00.0
       logical name: wmaster0
       version: 01
       serial: 00:24:2b:4a:fa:80
       width: 64 bits
       clock: 33MHz
       capabilities: pm msi pciexpress msix bus_master cap_list logical ethernet physical wireless
       configuration: broadcast=yes driver=ath5k latency=0 multicast=yes wireless=IEEE 802.11bg
       resources: irq:18 memory:55200000-5520ffff
paul@paul-laptop:~$

Question information

Language:
English Edit question
Status:
Solved
For:
Ubuntu yelp Edit question
Assignee:
No assignee Edit question
Solved by:
Paul Kaneski
Solved:
Last query:
Last reply:
Revision history for this message
Book 'em Dano (heymrdjd) said : 		#1

Type the following commands (copy-paste to the Terminal then hit <enter>) and copy the output to this thread.

cat /etc/lsb-release; sudo iwlist scanning; lspci -nn; lsusb; uname -a; dmesg | grep ound; dmesg | grep witch; iwconfig

Revision history for this message
Paul Kaneski (akaboulos) said : 		#2

paul@paul-laptop:~$ cat /etc/lsb-release; sudo iwlist scanning; lspci -nn; lsusb; uname -a;
DISTRIB_ID=Ubuntu
DISTRIB_RELEASE=9.10
DISTRIB_CODENAME=karmic
DISTRIB_DESCRIPTION="Ubuntu 9.10"
lo Interface doesn't support scanning.

eth0 Interface doesn't support scanning.

wmaster0 Interface doesn't support scanning.

wlan0 Scan completed :
          Cell 01 - Address: 00:26:5A:D0:8D:A0
                    Channel:6
                    Frequency:2.437 GHz (Channel 6)
                    Quality=70/70 Signal level=-30 dBm
                    Encryption key:on
                    ESSID:"P and M internetting"
                    Bit Rates:1 Mb/s; 2 Mb/s; 5.5 Mb/s; 11 Mb/s; 6 Mb/s
                              9 Mb/s; 12 Mb/s; 18 Mb/s
                    Bit Rates:24 Mb/s; 36 Mb/s; 48 Mb/s; 54 Mb/s
                    Mode:Master
                    Extra:tsf=00000054340f5282
                    Extra: Last beacon: 824ms ago
                    IE: Unknown: 00145020616E64204D20696E7465726E657474696E67
                    IE: Unknown: 010882848B960C121824
                    IE: Unknown: 030106
                    IE: Unknown: 0706555320010B1B
                    IE: Unknown: 200100
                    IE: WPA Version 1
                        Group Cipher : TKIP
                        Pairwise Ciphers (2) : CCMP TKIP
                        Authentication Suites (1) : PSK
                    IE: Unknown: 2A0102
                    IE: Unknown: 32043048606C
                    IE: Unknown: DD180050F2020101020003A4000027A4000042435E0062322F00
                    IE: Unknown: DD1E00904C334C101BFFFF000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
                    IE: Unknown: 2D1A4C101BFFFF000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
                    IE: Unknown: DD1A00904C3406001900000000000000000000000000000000000000
                    IE: Unknown: 3D1606001900000000000000000000000000000000000000
                    IE: Unknown: DD0900037F01010000FF7F
                    IE: Unknown: DD7B0050F204104A00011010440001021041000100103B00010310470010565AA94967C14C0EAA8FF349E6F5931110210006442D4C696E6B1023000D442D4C696E6B20526F75746572102400074449522D363135104200046E6F6E651054000800060050F204000110110006442D4C696E6B100800020084103C000101
          Cell 02 - Address: 00:40:05:5B:A5:E7
                    Channel:6
                    Frequency:2.437 GHz (Channel 6)
                    Quality=26/70 Signal level=-84 dBm
                    Encryption key:on
                    ESSID:"default"
                    Bit Rates:1 Mb/s; 2 Mb/s; 5.5 Mb/s; 11 Mb/s; 22 Mb/s
                    Mode:Master
                    Extra:tsf=0000009c5956fff1
                    Extra: Last beacon: 908ms ago
                    IE: Unknown: 000764656661756C74
                    IE: Unknown: 010582848B962C
                    IE: Unknown: 030106
                    IE: Unknown: DD0408002800
          Cell 03 - Address: 00:15:E9:61:39:9A
                    Channel:6
                    Frequency:2.437 GHz (Channel 6)
                    Quality=20/70 Signal level=-90 dBm
                    Encryption key:on
                    ESSID:"dlink"
                    Bit Rates:1 Mb/s; 2 Mb/s; 5.5 Mb/s; 11 Mb/s; 6 Mb/s
                              12 Mb/s; 24 Mb/s; 36 Mb/s
                    Bit Rates:9 Mb/s; 18 Mb/s; 48 Mb/s; 54 Mb/s
                    ESSID:""
                    ESSID:""
                    ESSID:""
                    ESSID:""
                    Mode:Master
                    Extra:tsf=0000042682d82181
                    Extra: Last beacon: 6856ms ago
                    IE: Unknown: 0005646C696E6B
                    IE: Unknown: 010882848B960C183048
                    IE: Unknown: 030106
                    IE: Unknown: 050400010A01
                    IE: Unknown: 2A0102
                    IE: Unknown: 32041224606C
                    IE: Unknown: 0000
                    IE: Unknown: 0000
                    IE: Unknown: 0000
                    IE: Unknown: 0000

00:00.0 Host bridge [0600]: Intel Corporation Mobile 945GME Express Memory Controller Hub [8086:27ac] (rev 03)
00:02.0 VGA compatible controller [0300]: Intel Corporation Mobile 945GME Express Integrated Graphics Controller [8086:27ae] (rev 03)
00:02.1 Display controller [0380]: Intel Corporation Mobile 945GM/GMS/GME, 943/940GML Express Integrated Graphics Controller [8086:27a6] (rev 03)
00:1b.0 Audio device [0403]: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) High Definition Audio Controller [8086:27d8] (rev 02)
00:1c.0 PCI bridge [0604]: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) PCI Express Port 1 [8086:27d0] (rev 02)
00:1c.1 PCI bridge [0604]: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) PCI Express Port 2 [8086:27d2] (rev 02)
00:1c.2 PCI bridge [0604]: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) PCI Express Port 3 [8086:27d4] (rev 02)
00:1c.3 PCI bridge [0604]: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) PCI Express Port 4 [8086:27d6] (rev 02)
00:1d.0 USB Controller [0c03]: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) USB UHCI Controller #1 [8086:27c8] (rev 02)
00:1d.1 USB Controller [0c03]: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) USB UHCI Controller #2 [8086:27c9] (rev 02)
00:1d.2 USB Controller [0c03]: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) USB UHCI Controller #3 [8086:27ca] (rev 02)
00:1d.3 USB Controller [0c03]: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) USB UHCI Controller #4 [8086:27cb] (rev 02)
00:1d.7 USB Controller [0c03]: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) USB2 EHCI Controller [8086:27cc] (rev 02)
00:1e.0 PCI bridge [0604]: Intel Corporation 82801 Mobile PCI Bridge [8086:2448] (rev e2)
00:1f.0 ISA bridge [0601]: Intel Corporation 82801GBM (ICH7-M) LPC Interface Bridge [8086:27b9] (rev 02)
00:1f.2 IDE interface [0101]: Intel Corporation 82801GBM/GHM (ICH7 Family) SATA IDE Controller [8086:27c4] (rev 02)
00:1f.3 SMBus [0c05]: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) SMBus Controller [8086:27da] (rev 02)
02:00.0 Ethernet controller [0200]: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL8101E/RTL8102E PCI Express Fast Ethernet controller [10ec:8136] (rev 02)
03:00.0 Ethernet controller [0200]: Atheros Communications Inc. AR5001 Wireless Network Adapter [168c:001c] (rev 01)
04:00.0 System peripheral [0880]: JMicron Technology Corp. SD/MMC Host Controller [197b:2382]
04:00.2 SD Host controller [0805]: JMicron Technology Corp. Standard SD Host Controller [197b:2381]
04:00.3 System peripheral [0880]: JMicron Technology Corp. MS Host Controller [197b:2383]
04:00.4 System peripheral [0880]: JMicron Technology Corp. xD Host Controller [197b:2384]
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 004 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 003 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 005 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 0c45:62c0 Microdia Sonix USB 2.0 Camera
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Linux paul-laptop 2.6.31-20-generic #58-Ubuntu SMP Fri Mar 12 05:23:09 UTC 2010 i686 GNU/Linux
paul@paul-laptop:~$ dmesg | grep ound; dmesg | grep witch; iwconfig
[ 0.912940] ACPI: No dock devices found.
[ 0.963155] pnp: PnP ACPI: found 9 devices
[ 0.998200] pci 0000:02:00.0: BAR 6: no parent found for of device [0xfffe0000-0xffffffff]
[ 0.998211] pci 0000:04:00.0: BAR 6: no parent found for of device [0xffff8000-0xffffffff]
[ 1.873546] isapnp: No Plug & Play device found
[ 1.885439] ehci_hcd 0000:00:1d.7: using broken periodic workaround
[ 1.904255] hub 1-0:1.0: USB hub found
[ 1.904889] hub 2-0:1.0: USB hub found
[ 1.905374] hub 3-0:1.0: USB hub found
[ 1.905837] hub 4-0:1.0: USB hub found
[ 1.906308] hub 5-0:1.0: USB hub found
[ 1.926461] device-mapper: multipath round-robin: version 1.0.0 loaded
[ 1.932374] BIOS EDD facility v0.16 2004-Jun-25, 0 devices found
[ 16.368466] lp: driver loaded but no devices found
[ 17.623446] uvcvideo: Found UVC 1.00 device USB 2.0 Camera (0c45:62c0)
[ 17.679865] sdhci-pci 0000:04:00.0: SDHCI controller found [197b:2382] (rev 0)
[ 17.680361] sdhci-pci 0000:04:00.2: SDHCI controller found [197b:2381] (rev 0)
[ 18.242633] ath5k phy0: Atheros AR2425 chip found (MAC: 0xe2, PHY: 0x70)
[ 0.181671] ACPI: EC: non-query interrupt received, switching to interrupt mode
[ 0.696013] ACPI: EC: missing confirmations, switch off interrupt mode.
[ 0.948052] Switched to high resolution mode on CPU 0
[ 0.949188] Switched to high resolution mode on CPU 1
[ 1.456539] input: Lid Switch as /devices/LNXSYSTM:00/device:00/PNP0C0D:00/input/input2
[ 1.512072] ACPI: Lid Switch [LID0]
[ 5.442888] Console: switching to colour frame buffer device 128x37
[ 19.453921] hda-intel: azx_get_response timeout, switching to polling mode: last cmd=0x001f000d
lo no wireless extensions.

eth0 no wireless extensions.

wmaster0 no wireless extensions.

wlan0 IEEE 802.11bg ESSID:""
          Mode:Managed Frequency:2.412 GHz Access Point: Not-Associated
          Tx-Power=20 dBm
          Retry long limit:7 RTS thr:off Fragment thr:off
          Power Management:off
          Link Quality:0 Signal level:0 Noise level:0
          Rx invalid nwid:0 Rx invalid crypt:0 Rx invalid frag:0
          Tx excessive retries:0 Invalid misc:0 Missed beacon:0

paul@paul-laptop:~$

Revision history for this message
Book 'em Dano (heymrdjd) said : 		#3

You could try following the instructions here https://help.ubuntu.com/community/WifiDocs/Driver/Atheros or here http://dimitar.me/madwifi-drivers-for-ubuntu-9-10-karmic-koala-or-linux-kernels-2-6-29-and-above/ but first type these commands into a terminal to see if ath_pci is blacklisted on your machine:

 grep -r "ath_pci" /etc/modprobe.d/
netstat -rn (to see if your wireless device sees the router)

Revision history for this message
Paul Kaneski (akaboulos) said : 		#4

The wireless is detecting my network and others in the neighbourhood but I can't get it to connect. It repeatedly asks for the password (which I give) and shows that it is trying to connect. I've tried power cycling the modem and router with no success. Others in the house are connected.

I downloaded madwifi 9.4 and extracted the files but I'm not sure what to do with it from there.

Any help is appreciated!

Revision history for this message
Mark Rijckenberg (markrijckenberg) said : 		#5

Hi Paul,

I see 3 potential problems with the following Terminal output that you posted:

                    Channel:6
                    Frequency:2.437 GHz (Channel 6)
                    Quality=70/70 Signal level=-30 dBm
                    Encryption key:on
                    ESSID:"P and M internetting"

1) your wireless access point is transmitting on channel 6, but there are 2 other wireless access points who are also transmitting on channel 6 and could be causing wireless interference
2) encryption is enabled on your wireless access point -> may not work in Ubuntu using your wireless card
3) the ESSID of your router "P and M internetting" contains spaces in the name

So I suggest the following changes to see if they help solve the connection issue:

* access the wireless router homepage using a WIRED network connection and then set the following:
* change the wireless transmission frequency to channel 3 or channel 1
* temporarily disable encryption and enable SSID broadcasting on the router
* change the ESSID name to a name without spaces, for example "WAP"

If Ubuntu can access the wireless point this way, try changing one parameter at a time, for example: enable encryption again (using a less complex WPA password for testing purposes) and retest.....

Regards,

Mark

Revision history for this message
Paul Kaneski (akaboulos) said : 		#6

In my ignorance I couldn't figure out how to change from channel 6 to 1 or 3, but I did change the name of the network and changed the password to something simpler. It now works like a charm!

Thank you, every one!!!