TP-LINK Wifi Adapter not connecting

[pnbalaji]

Hi,

I have Xubuntu installed on my desktop and I am planning to replace it with Salix. I have a TP-LINK TL-WN823N wifi adapter on my desktop to connect to my Wireless network. I was able to install the updated driver for this Wifi adapter in Xubuntu using the link https://sites.google.com/site/easylinux ... /reserve-7. The adapter is based on the realtek chipset RTL8192CU, which is a problematic chipset for many linux distros.

I booted Salix OS from live USB and tried to connect to my Wireless Network. The Wireless network is automatically detected by Salix. When I configured it with WiCD and tried to connect, it fails while trying to validate the authentication with the error message "Bad/Wrong Password" even though I am entering the correct password. I am not sure why it is not connecting to the WiFi network.

Can some one help?

Thanks,
Balaji.

[gapan]

You haven't posted a detailed description of your device, so I'm not sure, but if the default drivers don't work, these instructions probably will:
http://www.blog.paranoidpenguin.net/tag/rtl8192cu/

[pnbalaji]

Thanks for the response.

Regarding the info about Wifi Adapter, it is TP-Link TL-WN823N 300 Mbps Mini Wireless N USB Adapter. I have a 16Mbps connection at home and I am getting around 15Mbps in Xubuntu after rebuilding the driver. The adapter is based on Realtek Chipset RTL8192CU and the driver supplied by Realtek appears to be having a bug and hence the connection will not be stable if we use the default driver from Realtek. A patch has been applied by a gentleman for this driver and it is hosted at git clone https://github.com/pvaret/rtl8192cu-fixes.git.

Anyway, I don't think I need to update the driver as the existing driver in Salix seems to be identifying the Wireless Network and also showing the signal strength of > 90%.

The only issue that I am having is the "Bad Password" when trying to connect with WiCd. I might probably replace WiCd with Network Manager as it is my preferred network connector due to the fact I can connect to my client's VPN network with out opening up a terminal window. I googled and I found couple of options that are listed below.

1. Remove any Network Manager related components if connecting thru WiCd.
2. Run WiCd as root.

Any other ideas?

Thanks,
Balaji.

[gapan]

Option 2 is nonsense. And on a standard salix installation, there are no network manager parts included, so option 1 is out too.

You could check if the options in wicd are correct for your network. Or try network manager...

[pnbalaji]

I tried the method mentioned in the URL http://www.blog.paranoidpenguin.net/tag/rtl8192cu/, but I could not finish the make.

The make command fails with the error message.

make ARCH=x86_64 CROSS_COMPILE= -C /lib/modules/3.10.17/build M=/run/media/one/Balaji/bala/down/TPLINK/Linux/RTL8188C_8192C_USB_linux_v4.0.2_9000.20130911/driver/rtl8188C_8192C_usb_linux_v4.0.2_9000.20130911 modules
make: *** /lib/modules/3.10.17/build: No such file or directory. Stop.
make: *** [modules] Error 2

I tried launching wicd as root, but still it won't connect to WiFi network.

I have no way of installing Network Manager in this desktop with out internet connection.

I tried loading windows drivers using Ndiswrapper. The windows XP 64 bit driver loaded fine, but it still cannot connect to Wifi.

Please help.

Thanks,
Balaji.

[gapan]

You need to install the kernel-source package first.

Code: Select all

sudo slapt-get -i kernel-source

You can also download it from another PC and install it with spkg.

I tried launching wicd as root, but still it won't connect to WiFi network.

Imagine if someone hasn't told you that this idea was nonsense...

[laprjns]

The only issue that I am having is the "Bad Password" when trying to connect with WiCd.

Have you checked to see if you got the correct WPA Supplicant drive selected in Wicd Preferences under the Advance Settings tab? I believe the default is wext, but your chip set may need something different.

[pnbalaji]

The only issue that I am having is the "Bad Password" when trying to connect with WiCd.

Have you checked to see if you got the correct WPA Supplicant drive selected in Wicd Preferences under the Advance Settings tab? I believe the default is wext, but your chip set may need something different.

Hi,

Sorry for the late reply. There were two other options available apart from wext, and I tried all of them. It doesn't work with any of these options and I still get the "Bad Password" with WiCd. Based on the one of the forum post from debian, I tried using the wpa_passphrase command to generate the encrypted WiFi key and I used that with WiCd. Still no joy.

I see multiple problems with this wireless device and I am listing them below.

1. rtl8192cu module is loaded as a kernel module in Salix, but it doesn't connect due to the 'Bad Password' issue with WiCd.
2. I tried to download the driver from realtek, but I could not compile it. The make command fails even after installing the kernel-source. I don't remember the exact error message, but I can re-try it to capture the error message.
3. The driver supplied by realtek appears to be buggy and I could see that a gentleman has patched it and hosted on github https://github.com/pvaret/rtl8192cu-fixes/. The github website lists the steps to build the module under ubuntu based linux or gentoo. Is there anyway I can build this with Salix? The instructions are given at https://sites.google.com/site/easylinux ... /reserve-7.
4. I tried using ndiswrapper, but it looks like I cannot test it with out installing Salix. I would like to test it with LiveCd first before installing.

Can some one help?

Thanks,
Balaji.

[tessi]

Hi,
dkms you find in Sbo

Code: Select all

spi -u
spi -i dkms 

[pnbalaji]

Hi All,

Thanks to all who responded to my query.

Finally I got the WiFi adapter working perfectly under Salix (with the patch). I did take the risk of installing Salix OS before confirming that it would work. Below are the steps I followed.

1. Booted into latest Salix live CD and installed into the desktop (Overwritten my Xubuntu install).
2. Used a different WiFi adapter temporarily to resolve the issues. This WiFi adapter is old one based on Zd1211b chipset. This adapter works under Salix, but with slow speed.
3. Installed Network-Manager, Network-Manager-applet from either gslapt or sourcery.
4. From the menu, select "System" and then "System Services", check Network Manager and uncheck WiCd.
5. From the menu, select "Settings" and then "Session and Startup". Under "Application Auto Start", uncheck WiCd.
6. Reboot. Network manager will display in systray instead of WiCd. Connect to the WiFi.
7. Install the following from command line.

Code: Select all

    
    sudo slapt-get --install kernel-source
    sudo slapt-src --install dkms
    sudo slapt-get --install git (It should be already there, run this command if you don't have it).

8) Create a directory rtl8192cu under home directory with the command

Code: Select all

    "mkdir -p ~/rtl8192cu" 

9) cd to the directory

Code: Select all

    "cd ~/rtl8192cu". 

10) Pull the git code of the patched driver for rtl8192cu chipset"

Code: Select all

    git clone https://github.com/pvaret/rtl8192cu-fixes.git

11) Set it up as a dkms module.

Code: Select all

     sudo dkms add ./rtl8192cu-fixes

12) Build and install the new driver.

Code: Select all

     sudo dkms install 8192cu/1.9 (Replace 1.9 with the version of the driver that is pulled. In my case, 1.10 was pulled).

13) Refresh the module list

Code: Select all

     sudo depmod -a

14) Blacklist the faulty driver

Code: Select all

     sudo cp ./rtl8192cu-fixes/blacklist-native-rtl8192.conf /etc/modprobe.d/

15) Shutdown the computer and connect the WiFi adapter based on rtl8192cu chipset and then reboot.
16) Network manager should be able to scan the WiFi networks now. Connect to your network and enjoy.
17) Type the below command to make sure that the faulty driver is not loaded, but the correct one is loaded.

Code: Select all

     lsmod | grep 8192  ==> This should show 8192cu, NOT rtl8192cu

Thanks,
Balaji.