WIFI problems LMDE dual boot machine.

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bryanmc

WIFI problems LMDE dual boot machine.

Post by bryanmc »

I have a Toshiba laptop that is set up as a dual boot machine with LM 18 / cinnamon and LMDE 2 / cinnamon. When booting into mint 18, the wifi connection acts normal. When booting into lmde, the connection is intermittent in that firefox reports unable to connect to server on some attempts and works fine on others. Checking ifconfig on lmde when I can't get online shows that the network is up and the router has assigned an ip address to the machine. Attempting to ping my router result in "destination host unreachable". Sometimes the wifi works normally.

I would suspect a hw problem, but mint 18 wifi is flawless on the same machine.

Here are the ifconfig results from both boots

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LMDE ifconfig results

eth0      Link encap:Ethernet  HWaddr 00:26:6c:d8:aa:f2  
          UP BROADCAST MULTICAST  MTU:1500  Metric:1
          RX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000 
          RX bytes:0 (0.0 B)  TX bytes:0 (0.0 B)

lo        Link encap:Local Loopback  
          inet addr:127.0.0.1  Mask:255.0.0.0
          inet6 addr: ::1/128 Scope:Host
          UP LOOPBACK RUNNING  MTU:65536  Metric:1
          RX packets:102 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:102 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:0 
          RX bytes:8888 (8.6 KiB)  TX bytes:8888 (8.6 KiB)

wlan0     Link encap:Ethernet  HWaddr e0:ca:94:48:41:bc  
          inet addr:192.168.0.6  Bcast:192.168.0.255  Mask:255.255.255.0
          inet6 addr: fe80::e2ca:94ff:fe48:41bc/64 Scope:Link
          UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST  MTU:1500  Metric:1
          RX packets:443 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:320 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000 
          RX bytes:57398 (56.0 KiB)  TX bytes:37592 (36.7 KiB)
          
          
LM 18 ifconfig results

enp6s0    Link encap:Ethernet  HWaddr 00:26:6c:d8:aa:f2  
          UP BROADCAST MULTICAST  MTU:1500  Metric:1
          RX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000 
          RX bytes:0 (0.0 B)  TX bytes:0 (0.0 B)

lo        Link encap:Local Loopback  
          inet addr:127.0.0.1  Mask:255.0.0.0
          inet6 addr: ::1/128 Scope:Host
          UP LOOPBACK RUNNING  MTU:65536  Metric:1
          RX packets:313 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:313 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:1 
          RX bytes:30223 (30.2 KB)  TX bytes:30223 (30.2 KB)

wlp2s0    Link encap:Ethernet  HWaddr e0:ca:94:48:41:bc  
          inet addr:192.168.0.6  Bcast:192.168.0.255  Mask:255.255.255.0
          inet6 addr: fe80::e2ca:94ff:fe48:41bc/64 Scope:Link
          UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST  MTU:1500  Metric:1
          RX packets:3902 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:2716 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000 
          RX bytes:4407215 (4.4 MB)  TX bytes:363561 (363.5 KB)

Suggestions where to start chasing this issue greatly appreciated.
Last edited by LockBot on Wed Dec 28, 2022 7:16 am, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Topic automatically closed 6 months after creation. New replies are no longer allowed.
bryanmc

Re: WIFI problems LMDE dual boot machine.

Post by bryanmc »

Also wanted to add that wired ethernet acts the same way. There's no issue with the router as my desktop (LM 18 wired connection), my wife's laptop (win 10 wifi) and a host of other devices (wired and wireless) have no issues with the network.

Here are the results of inxi -Fxz

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bryan@zeus ~ $ inxi -Fxz
System:    Host: zeus Kernel: 3.16.0-4-amd64 x86_64 (64 bit gcc: 4.8.4) 
           Desktop: Cinnamon 3.2.1 (Gtk 3.14.5+4) Distro: LinuxMint 2 betsy 
Machine:   System: TOSHIBA product: Satellite C655D v: PSC0YU-03G02C
           Mobo: TOSHIBA model: Portable PC
           Bios: Insyde v: 1.80 date: 12/20/2011
CPU:       Dual core AMD E-300 APU with Radeon HD Graphics (-MCP-) cache: 1024 KB
           flags: (lm nx sse sse2 sse3 sse4a ssse3 svm) bmips: 5187 
           Clock Speeds: 1: 780 MHz 2: 1114 MHz
Graphics:  Card: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD/ATI] Wrestler [Radeon HD 6310]
           bus-ID: 00:01.0
           Display Server: X.Org 1.16.4 drivers: ati,radeon (unloaded: fbdev,vesa)
           Resolution: 1366x768@60.00hz
           GLX Renderer: Gallium 0.4 on AMD PALM
           GLX Version: 3.0 Mesa 10.3.2 Direct Rendering: Yes
Audio:     Card Advanced Micro Devices [AMD/ATI] SBx00 Azalia (Intel HDA) 
           driver: snd_hda_intel bus-ID: 00:14.2 
           Sound: Advanced Linux Sound Architecture v: k3.16.0-4-amd64
Network:   Card-1: Realtek RTL8188CE 802.11b/g/n WiFi Adapter
           driver: rtl8192ce port: 3000 bus-ID: 02:00.0
           IF: wlan0 state: up mac: <filter>
           Card-2: Qualcomm Atheros AR8152 v1.1 Fast Ethernet
           driver: atl1c v: 1.0.1.1-NAPI port: 2000 bus-ID: 06:00.0
           IF: eth0 state: down mac: <filter>
Drives:    HDD Total Size: 351.4GB (3.0% used)
           ID-1: /dev/sda model: TOSHIBA_MK3265GS size: 320.1GB
           ID-2: USB /dev/sdb model: Cruzer_Glide size: 31.3GB
Partition: ID-1: / size: 30G used: 5.1G (19%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sda7 
           ID-2: /home size: 69G used: 174M (1%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sda8 
           ID-3: swap-1 size: 5.00GB used: 0.00GB (0%) fs: swap dev: /dev/sda6 
Sensors:   System Temperatures: cpu: 52.2C mobo: N/A gpu: 52.0 
           Fan Speeds (in rpm): cpu: N/A 
Info:      Processes: 145 Uptime: 6 min Memory: 354.7/3560.9MB 
           Init: SysVinit runlevel: 2 Gcc sys: 4.9.2 
           Client: Shell (bash 4.3.301) inxi: 2.1.28
JeremyB
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Posts: 13771
Joined: Fri Feb 21, 2014 8:17 am

Re: WIFI problems LMDE dual boot machine.

Post by JeremyB »

The usual fix is https://github.com/lwfinger/rtlwifi_new and you will likely need to install some other packages to make it work

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sudo apt-get install build-essential linux-headers-generic git
Then clone the git source

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git clone https://github.com/lwfinger/rtlwifi_new.git
Change into the directory and compile/install

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cd rtlwifi_new
make
sudo make install
Reboot
bryanmc

Re: WIFI problems LMDE dual boot machine.

Post by bryanmc »

Thanks Jeremy...
I'll give it a try if I can get either of the network interfaces up. Sometimes a reboot will do it. Interestingly enough, I had initially loaded Debian 8 alongside Mint 18 on the laptop, but ran into the same issue so it's most likely a Debian issue.

Here's where I'm at now. Sorry but I'm learning as we go...

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bryan@zeus ~ $ sudo apt-get install build-essential linux-headers-generic git
[sudo] password for bryan: 
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree       
Reading state information... Done
Package linux-headers-generic is not available, but is referred to by another package.
This may mean that the package is missing, has been obsoleted, or
is only available from another source

E: Package 'linux-headers-generic' has no installation candidate
bryan@zeus ~ $
jmarinho

Re: WIFI problems LMDE dual boot machine.

Post by jmarinho »

Hello!

Try this:

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sudo apt-get install git build-essential linux-headers-$(uname -r)
git clone https://github.com/lwfinger/rtlwifi_new.git
cd rtlwifi_new
make
sudo make install
And try enabling this settings for better performance:

https://wiki.debian.org/rtl819x#rtl8192ce

Hope this helps.
bryanmc

Re: WIFI problems LMDE dual boot machine.

Post by bryanmc »

Thanks Jmarinho.
I made it through the procedure, but it doesn't appear to have helped the issue. At times the connection acts perfectly normal, at other times the browser returns "server not found" when trying to load a page... then 10 minutes later it may or may not work. I have also found (not sure if it's a symptom or normal) that if I forget to turn the wifi off when plugging in an ethernet cable, the machine locks and has to be power button restarted. Ethernet suffers from the same symptoms as wifi, and if the mint 18 install on the same machine didn't run flawlessly network wise I would consider a hardware issue.
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Fred Barclay
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Joined: Sat Sep 13, 2014 11:12 am
Location: USA primarily

Re: WIFI problems LMDE dual boot machine.

Post by Fred Barclay »

What do you know?!? :shock: I got a hand-me-down laptop a few weeks ago - almost exactly the same as yours (inxi reports "Device: laptop System: TOSHIBA product: Satellite C655D v: PSC0YU-032029" to be precise) and I had the exact same problem with a Netgear router (though strangely enough, another brand of router had no problems). Internet was spotty at best, sometimes it would drop out completely and the come back, but I just couldn't keep it.

Apparently the mainline kernel for Betsy, 3.16, has a few issues with our hardware, and the only fix I found was to upgrade to the latest kernel from Debian's backports. Since you said that Mint 18 works, and Mint 18 has a newer kernel than Betsy, I really expect this will work for you too.
1. Add the backports repository:

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sudo su
echo "deb http://httpredir.debian.org/debian jessie-backports main contrib non-free" >> /etc/apt/sources.list.d/yy-jessie-backports.list
exit
2. Update apt

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sudo apt-get update
3. Install the kernel meta-package from backports (so you'll keep getting (security) updates for the kernel):

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sudo apt-get install -t jessie-backports linux-image-amd64 linux-headers-amd64
If you have a 32-bit machine replace "amd64" with "i386".

4. Reboot

Hope this helps!
Fred
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