KnetworkManager problems

[ggeo]

Hello everyone

I use KNetworkManager for my wireless card.
I have 2 problems :

1) Even if i choose to log in at start up the KNetworkManager doesn't show!I have to run it every time .(I use KDE-Fedora7 and i have checked from the control center the option for saving the session)

2) When i run the KNetworkManager it doesn't connect and i have to reboot a lot of times!
It seems that it connects random.

(I use ndiswrapper)

Thanks

[bbfuller]

Hello ggeo

Not sure about your second problem, we would need more information to think about that.

As to KNetworkManager though, like you I found it won't start automatically.

What I did was right click on the entry in the main menu, selected to "Add item to desktop" and then fired up konqueror and dragged that link into /my home directory/.kde/Autostart

That will only work for individual users though. There is also a similar folder in /user/share that would probably do it for all users. Haven't got round to trying that yet.

[Iron_Mike]

What I did was add the KNM applet to the main panel, then click it and it asks for the password for the KDE Wallet

[bbfuller]

I've found that the network doesn't connect until the NetworkManager is running.

When I added the NetworkManager icon to the main panel it had to be clicked on to set the NetworkManager running and get a network connection.

Adding NetworkManager to the Autostart folder automatically adds it to the items in the System Tray on login. If you then tell it not to bother with KDE Wallet the network will connect on login without any user intervention, which is to my mind the easiest option.

As to the security implications of that, well, I've come across people who claimed to be able to crack a WPA network in 10 minutes. Whether it's true or not, for home users at least, I think the Wallet option is probably a bit over the top for a wireless key.

That's the joy of Linux though. Lots of ways to do the same job and we all use the one that suits our needs.

Interestingly, I'm playing with Sabayon at the moment which as a selling point reckons to make everything run out of the box. In their instance NetworkManager does appear in the SystemTray automatically. Further investigation shows that it is the result of a 'kdenetworkmanager.desktop' entry in the /usr/share/autostart directory as my previous post.

[ggeo]

Hello,

I added knetworkmanager in ~.kde/Autostart and now it is ok,it start up every time.

The problem though remains that it does not connect every time

Thanks

[bbfuller]

Hello ggeo

I suppose that is going to depend on what network card you have and how you have set it up so far.

Try reading the make of your network Card if it is external, and in any event do:

lspci

at the command line.

Post back on what you find and how you set it up.

You may want to consider starting a new thread with your card identification in it to attract interest from people with experience in that card as it is no longer a KNetworkManager problem.

By the way, if you identify the type of card it may be best to search the forum first with that information to see if anyone else has encountered the same problem.

[ggeo]

Hello ,
I have netgear wg311v3 and i use ndiswrapper.

I will do a search about this card and i hope to find sth but i have a feeling that i won't!


Thanks!

[bbfuller]

Hello ggeo

This is a quote from the ndiswrapper site:

#
Netgear WG311 v3 (Marvell 88w8335 Libertas)

*
Chipset: Marvell 88w8335 Libertas 54Mbps Wireless Interface
*
pciid: 11ab:1faa
*
Driver copied from http://kbserver.netgear.com/products/WG311v3.asp
*
From Initial Release 6.20 MB May 16,
*
Running Mandriva Free 2007 DVD
*
Program Computer Configuration - Network and Internet-Cofiguration New Device
*
Works Great
*
Trabaja muy bien

So take heart, someone has it going.

Did you use the ndiswrapper files from livna, or did you compile your own?

[ggeo]

Hello ,

i used livna repository

As for the search it is in progress!

(the message that shows when it tries to connect and it can't is : configuring device)

[bbfuller]

Hello ggeo

Network Manager is great when it works but sometimes not too informative when it doesn't.

Try going to - Administration - Network - and starting and stopping the device a few times and see if you get any more of a message.

[ggeo]

Hello

I tried this but i get nothing.
It just connects some times and some times not

[bbfuller]

Do you get no message at all from the Network entry on the menu when it doesn't connect? Or is it just the same "Configuring Device"?

I also notice on the Netgear site from the link I gave above, there are three drivers for this particular card.

The person who got this to work reliably was using the initial release driver on that page, are you? It would be worth trying if you are not.

Ndiswrapper works well with drivers it knows about but not others always.

If you are not using that driver and want to try then just delete the relevant folder from within /etc/ndiswrapper and install again.

[ggeo]

Hello

No ,i don't get any other messages,it just stacks at the "configuring device"
It is a problem with the driver or with ndiswrapper and i really don't know if it can be fixed.
I don't remember where i got the drivers but sure not from netgear.At the site you suggest i can't find any drivers for linux ,it has only for windows.


Thanks for the help

[bbfuller]

Hello ggeo

The point of using ndiswrapper is that it makes windows drivers work (or at least the relevant part) under linux.

That is what you have done already if you used ndiswrapper.

I really would look into the matter of using the windows driver listed as "initial" on the netgear site, if you haven't got that one already. Just check the date of the .inf and .sys files you are using already and see if they are later than the date of what you download and unpack from the netgear site.

It may not be the answer, but if somebody else claims reliability it would be worth a try.

[ggeo]

Hello

The driver from the site has date 3/2005 and the driver i use has date 7/2005
I must mention though that i use the 64bit drivers


Thanks