Disable built-in WiFi card so that USB WiFi device gets used.

[Rolf Turner]

On 31/07/13 20:54, poma wrote:

     <SNIP>
>>
>> [RT] That ***ALMOST*** works.  Thanks very much.  The only WiFi device that
>> the machine now sees is the USB device. The remaining flaw in the
>> ointment is that when I close the lid on the laptop, it seems to stop
>> seeing any available networks.  When I clicking on the networking icon
>> it indicates "Wireless disconnected" and does not list any available
>> network.  (Previously it indicated that the USB device was disconnected
>> and listed available networks under the internal device.)
>>
>> I thought I might try "sudo ifup wlan0" --- no idea if that really makes
>> sense, but it seemed like something I could try.  However it just
>> complains that it can't find the network "UoA-Guest-WiFi" which is
>> a network available when I am at the Uni.  Whereas I was doing this at
>> home and wanted it to use my home network (called "belkin.aaa").  Dunno
>> if it would've worked anyway, but.
>>
>> It finds the available networks OK upon boot-up.  It's just after
>> closing and re-opening the lid that they all disappear.  Can anyone give
>> me a recipe to tell it to find the available networks?  Seems to me that
>> this should be do-able.
>>
>>      cheers,
>>
>>          Rolf
>>
>> P. S.  I can't actually work around the problem, in a shaganappi way,
>> without rebooting.  If I unplug the WiFi dongle, plug it back in, and
>> then click on the network icon --> Connect to Hidden Wireless Network ->
>> Connection (downarrow) then I'm given a list of networks.  I can then
>> click on belkin.aaa.  It spins the wheel of death for a while, then pops
>> up a window saying that a password is required (although the password is
>> stored in the connection information).  I just click on "Connect".
>> It usually pops up that window again, I click on "Connect" again.
>> Sometimes that gives me a connection, sometimes a third or forth try is
>> required.  Eventually (so far) I get through.  Not impossible to live
>> with, but not really satisfactory.
>>
>>          R.
>>
> [poma]
> Kernel mentioned at the beginning of the thread:
> 3.3.4-5.fc17.x86_64
>
> and
>
> Probably the last official kernel for Fedora 17/EOL:
> …/fedora/linux/updates/17/x86_64/kernel-3.9.10-100.fc17.x86_64.rpm
>
> Do you notice the obvious?
> At least update the existing version.

I'm pretty sure that this is a red herring.  I had the device *working* 
under the 3.3.4 kernel, so the aged kernel wasn't the problem.  The 
problem was the the device would "see" available networks on boot-up but 
would no longer "see" them after going into hibernation (I *think* it's 
hibernation that it goes into!).

Be that as it may:  I have recently (due to a disaster that I 
instigated, the details of which I will not go into) had to reinstall 
the Fedora system.  It now has kernel 3.9.10-etc.  And thereby has 
arisen a new disaster.  I can no longer get the driver for the ASUS 
USB-N10 to build.  The "make" fails with an error (a whole mess of 
output which is incomprehensible to me).  With the 3.3.4 kernel the make 
ran seamlessly.  And yes, in case you ask, I *did* put the source of the 
3.9.10 kernel into /usr/src/kernels (using yum install kernel-devel). 
The name of the directory corresponds exactly to the output of uname -r.

So I kind of followed your advice --- to update to the "existing" 
version --- before I received that advice.  And disaster resulted.  My 
USB WiFi device is no longer usable at all.

> [poma]
> Device - built-in WiFi card, supposedly unsupported:
> "08:00.0 Network controller [0280]: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd.
>   RTL8188CE 802.11b/g/n WiFi Adapter [10ec:8176] (rev 01)"
>
> Is it really so:
> $ modinfo
> ./kernel-3.9.10-100.fc17.x86_64/lib/modules/3.9.10-100.fc17.x86_64/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/rtlwifi/rtl8192ce/rtl8192ce.ko
> | grep -iP '(?=.*10ec)(?=.*8176)'
> alias:          pci:v000010ECd00008176sv*sd*bc*sc*i*
>
> Firmware:
> ./linux-firmware-20121218-0.1.gitbda53ca.fc17.noarch/lib/firmware/rtlwifi/rtl8192cfw.bin
>

I have no idea what you are on about in the forgoing. It is all Greek to 
me. Sorry to be such a thicko, but I am one.

> [poma] Once more recommendation:
> # yum update

I have, as I said, just re-installed Fedora 17, and in the process was 
prompted to update a brazillion packages.  Which I did.  Now "yum 
update" produces the message "No Packages marked for Update".

> [poma] I have an idea what you could try, but I need information about the
> module USB WiFi device uses, therefore c/p s'il vous plaît:
> [RT] lsusb
> 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 003 Device 002: ID 0b05:1786 ASUSTek Computer, Inc. USB-N10 Wireless N dongle [Realtek RTL8712U]
> Bus 003 Device 003: ID 046d:c52b Logitech, Inc. Unifying Receiver
> 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 003 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
> Bus 004 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0003 Linux Foundation 3.0 root hub


> [RT] lsusb -t
> /:  Bus 04.Port 1: Dev 1, Class=root_hub, Driver=xhci_hcd/4p, 5000M
> /:  Bus 03.Port 1: Dev 1, Class=root_hub, Driver=xhci_hcd/4p, 480M
>     |__ Port 1: Dev 2, If 0, Class=vend., Driver=r8712u, 480M
>     |__ Port 2: Dev 3, If 0, Class=HID, Driver=usbhid, 12M
>     |__ Port 2: Dev 3, If 1, Class=HID, Driver=usbhid, 12M
>     |__ Port 2: Dev 3, If 2, Class=HID, Driver=usbhid, 12M
> /:  Bus 02.Port 1: Dev 1, Class=root_hub, Driver=ehci-pci/2p, 480M
>     |__ Port 1: Dev 2, If 0, Class=hub, Driver=hub/6p, 480M
> /:  Bus 01.Port 1: Dev 1, Class=root_hub, Driver=ehci-pci/2p, 480M
>     |__ Port 1: Dev 2, If 0, Class=hub, Driver=hub/6p, 480M

For what it's worth.  But as I said, I cannot get the USB WiFi device
to work ***at all*** now, so this is probably all irrelevant.

>
> [poma] Can you confirm whether this is indeed a problem with the system
> hibernation(suspend to disk) or is it actually a system
> suspension(suspend to RAM).

Sorry, I have no idea.  I close the lid, and the screen goes black.
Open the lid, the screen stays black.  Press a key, and the lights
come back on (but wireless connections are lost.  Or at least they
***were*** lost when I had wireless connections!  I no longer have any 
such.)

Thanks for giving this some thought.  I really do appreciate your 
effort.  But I'm afraid that my only recourse will be to sell this 
<expletive deleted> Toshiba and buy another brand which has a WiFi 
device compatible with Linux.  I gather that they ***do*** exist.
I will take a financial bath by so doing, but I guess that's what I have 
to pay for being stupid.

	cheers,

		Rolf Turner