[solved]wireless will not connect - unable to get ip address

[f.bluedevil]

pwtak

I just got it going again, I rebooted my DSL cable modem and everything is working fine once more. Thank god because I was reading where rc.inet1 needs to creates rc.wireless who pulls configuration information from rc.inet1.conf but nothing matters anyway cause none of them can get anything done without without wpa_supplicant. In other words I was at the part where my head starts throbbing and my eyes start tearing, so I pulled the plug. (modem plug that is).

Actually all humor aside, I do appreciate your help. If I run into the problem again, I will try disabling power management - after I pull the plug

[mimosa]

The great thing - and the great difficulty - is to understand how you fixed it. I think the reason why wireless setup (and the like) is sometimes so hard is you only need to get it to work once, often enough in a somewhat hit-and-miss way, and then you can forget it till the next hardware or software upgrade; so the learning curve is so shallow as to be horizontal for all practical purposes.

[f.bluedevil]

Well I'm not sure I get the solution either but in the past couple of days I had to reboot the modem/router twice in order to get a cable signal for my TV while my internet was operating without a problem. So, I continue to feel the problem lies with the router or my service provider.

Also, I completely agree with your statement regarding manually configuring wireless. I have read numerous dissertations on the subject that discuss multiple options / means for configuration, but I never seem to gleam the specifics for my own requirements.

But, then maybe the problem, in my case at least, is not the documents as much as the reader

[mimosa]

This reader also

Personally, I blame the throbbing head. There are so many elements to control for that even Sherlock Holmes would have trouble applying the scientific method - especially if there is an intemittent fault. 'Zen and the Art of Motorcyce Maintenance' has a bit to say about those, as I remember. Add to that the fact that all those things beginning with w are a house of cards, and it's amazing anyone ever gets it to work at all. When it works, though, wicd is just great.

Another line of attack that occurs to me is Puppy (4.3.1), which copes very well with hardware and has a fairly intuitive graphical front end (but wicd is better) for network configuration and much else. That would be for diagnostic purposes only, of course, but it might provide some insight in another confusing situation - for instance, if you tend to blame your ISP, then you shoudn't be able to connect with any distro or hardware at that point in time.