[SOLVED]: Firefox: server not detected

[Naga_9]

TLDR: I just installed Mint cinnamon on my Dell PC. Firefox and Transmission worked well for 2 days. On day 3, my PC connects to wifi network, but I get server not detected when I try to use Firefox. I have hit the wall in my tech abilities (the terminal is the magic box you input arcane incantations) .

I tried to search for solutions before posting. I apologize if the solution has already been posted and I missed it.
----

Details: (initial state) 4 devices, 2 of which need to be refurbished by installing Linux Mint

Dell PC (DP)
OS: Ubuntu 12.something
Previous & desired function: Torrent download and media player station for HDTV.
Toshiba Laptop (TL)
OS: Windows 10 (bootleg), previously XP
Previous function: Work PC [Note: The keyboard and battery always need replacement. The laptop now impairs work and requires replacement.]
Desired function: File backup device
Dell Laptop (DL)
OS: Windows 10 (legal)
Function: New work device
Oppo smartphone (OP)
Current function: Waste valuable time: it’s a smartphone bro!
----

Day 1
Activity set A:
1.Install Mint Cinnamon on TL.
2.Install updates
3.Install Proton VPN
4.Initiate VPN and browse news aggregators.
Activity Set B
1.Install Mint Cinnamon on DP.
2.Install updates
3.Install Proton VPN
4.Initiate VPN and download Kenobi E4 using transmission.
5.Watch Kenobi on pre-installed media player
5.1.Meh.

Day 2
Activity Set A
1. Startup TL and connect to net via VPN.
2. Open Firefox and play music on YouTube.
3.Consolidate files from random USB drives and external hard drives.
Activity Set B
1.Statup DP and notice that no wifi connection is detected.
2.Try rebooting several times
2.1.No joy
2.2.Unplug/replug Edimax USB wifi antenna
2.3.Problem solved
3.Reboot, no wifi connection is detected
3.1.Notice prior solution works
3.2.Solution is sub-optimal
4.Run another update
4.1.No other ideas
4.2.Problem resolved.
5.Download Cronenberg’s Crimes of the Future (2022)
5.1.Videodrome, Scanners, The Fly and eXistenz were Cool
6.Watch Crimes of the Future (2022)
6.1.

Day 3
Activity set A
•Repeat Day 2 Set A activities for TL: no issues
Activity set B
1.Startup DP
1.1.Automatically connects to wifi
2.Open Firefox
2.1.Server not found
3.Open transmission
3.1.No data is being uploaded and/or downloaded
4.Reboot x2
4.1.No joy: server not found
5.Unplug/replug Edimax USB wifi antenna
5.1.PC connects to wifi
5.2.No joy: server not found
6.Create Wifi hotspot using OP
6.1.Connects to the hotspot
6.2.No joy: server not found
7.Create hotspot using DL
7.1.Connects to the hotspot
7.2.No joy: server not found
8.Investigate Firefox network settings
8.1.Default is set to Use proxy system proxy settings
8.2 Change to No proxy
8.3.No joy: server not found
8.4.Change settings to Auto detect
8.5.No joy: server not found
9.Open terminal and type: ping -c 4 google.com
9.1.Result: Name or service not known
10.Open update manager and click refresh
10.1.Download package information dialogue box opens
10.2.Nothing happens, select show individual files, status of each is fail
10.3.New dialogue box opens, could not download all file repository indexes
11.Play Kraftwerk on OP to inspire Firefox on DP
11.1.No joy: server not found
12.Shout expletives & gnash teeth
13.Form hypothesis: spirits in DP were disturbed by Cronenberg film.
14.Form solution: provide ritual sacrifice to spirits in DP to atone for offense.

Feedback & suggestions are appreciated.
Thank you for your time and attention.

Cheers,
Naga_9

[antikythera]

VPN data quota exceeded? Check the terms of usage. Also if you want meaningful advice, please post the inxi output for DP using the instructions:

http://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=83444

[rene]

3.Install Proton VPN

There's been a recent flurry of reports about among a few others ProtonVPN's own client causing this. With "this" being DNS failure but usually it's described similarly as here as "internet dunna do it; help" so it's a major pain to search the forum for. One report I could quickly find is viewtopic.php?p=2173430#p2173430. I.e., solved by purging the VPN client and turning 'off the two "Dummy" connections visible on the left' in NetworkManager.

There may be more detail on some/one of the other posts on the subject but they're as said good at dodging search keywords. I personally don't use a VPN and more specifically, would not ever use any given VPN's private client. I very much advise ridding yourself of the Proton VPN client and just setting it up via NetworkManager directly: see viewtopic.php?p=2166415#p2166415

[Naga_9]

VPN data quota exceeded? Check the terms of usage. Also if you want meaningful advice, please post the inxi output for DP using the instructions:

http://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=83444

Thanks for the rapid response. Sorry, I skimmed the rules out of impatience.
No VPN restrictions. I have the plan where I can run 10 devices at the same time.

Here are the details. Also, I found 2 similar posts and I added the results of running terminal commands that were in those posts.

Code: Select all

System: Kernel: 5.4.0-120-generic x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 9.4.0
Desktop: Cinnamon 5.2.7 wm: muffin dm: LightDM Distro: Linux Mint 20.3 Una
base: Ubuntu 20.04 focal
Machine: Type: Desktop System: Dell product: OptiPlex 3020 v: 01 serial: <filter> Chassis:
type: 6 serial: <filter>
Mobo: Dell model: 0VHWTR v: A02 serial: <filter> BIOS: Dell v: A02 date: 01/07/2014
CPU: Topology: Dual Core model: Intel Core i3-4130 bits: 64 type: MT MCP arch: Haswell
rev: 3 L2 cache: 3072 KiB
flags: avx avx2 lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx bogomips: 27139
Speed: 1760 MHz min/max: 800/3400 MHz Core speeds (MHz): 1: 2118 2: 1540 3: 1979
4: 2016
Network: Device-1: Realtek RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet vendor: Dell
driver: r8169 v: kernel port: d000 bus ID: 03:00.0 chip ID: 10ec:8168
IF: enp3s0 state: down mac: <filter>
Device-2: Edimax EW-7711UTn nLite Wireless Adapter [Ralink RT2870] type: USB
driver: rt2800usb bus ID: 3-10:4 chip ID: 7392:7711
IF: wlx801f020bc6f4 state: up mac: <filter>
IF-ID-1: ipv6leakintrf0 state: unknown speed: N/A duplex: N/A mac: <filter>

Code: Select all

 ~$ inxi -fxxxrz
CPU:
Topology: Dual Core model: Intel Core i3-4130 bits: 64 type: MT MCP
arch: Haswell rev: 3 L2 cache: 3072 KiB bogomips: 27136
Speed: 998 MHz min/max: 800/3400 MHz Core speeds (MHz): 1: 998 2: 998
3: 998 4: 998
Flags: abm acpi aes aperfmperf apic arat arch_perfmon avx avx2 bmi1 bmi2
bts clflush cmov constant_tsc cpuid cpuid_fault cx16 cx8 de ds_cpl dtes64
dtherm dts epb ept ept_ad erms est f16c flexpriority flush_l1d fma fpu
fsgsbase fxsr ht ibpb ibrs invpcid invpcid_single lahf_lm lm mca mce
md_clear mmx monitor movbe msr mtrr nonstop_tsc nopl nx pae pat pbe pcid
pclmulqdq pdcm pdpe1gb pebs pge pln pni popcnt pse pse36 pti pts rdrand
rdtscp rep_good sdbg sep smep ss ssbd sse sse2 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 stibp
syscall tm tm2 tpr_shadow tsc tsc_adjust tsc_deadline_timer vme vmx vnmi
vpid xsave xsaveopt xtopology xtpr
Repos:
No active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list
Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/official-package-repositories.list
1: deb http://packages.linuxmint.com una main upstream import backport #id:linuxmint_main
2: deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu focal main restricted universe multiverse
3: deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu focal-updates main restricted universe multiverse
4: deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu focal-backports main restricted universe multiverse
5: deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ focal-security main restricted universe multiverse
6: deb http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu/ focal partner
Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/protonvpn-stable.list
1: deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/protonvpn-stable-archive-keyring.gpg]
https://repo.protonvpn.com/debian stable main

Code: Select all

~$ nmcli
wlx801f020bc6f4: connected to Auto ZTE-c0d0ed
"Edimax EW-7711UTn nLite"
wifi (rt2800usb), 80:1F:02:0B:C6:F4, hw, mtu 1500
ip4 default
inet4 192.168.1.4/24
route4 0.0.0.0/0
route4 192.168.1.0/24
route4 169.254.0.0/16
inet6 fe80::eab0:bd04:aaa2:938e/64
route6 fe80::/64
route6 ::/0
ipv6leakintrf0: connected to pvpn-ipv6leak-protection
"ipv6leakintrf0"
dummy, B2:37:74:9E:3F:17, sw, mtu 1500
ip6 default
inet6 fdeb:446c:912d:8da::/64
inet6 fe80::eea2:6bf4:9052:4080/64
route6 fe80::/64
route6 fdeb:446c:912d:8da::/64
route6 ::/0
enp3s0: unavailable
lines 1-23...skipping...
wlx801f020bc6f4: connected to Auto ZTE-c0d0ed
"Edimax EW-7711UTn nLite"
wifi (rt2800usb), 80:1F:02:0B:C6:F4, hw, mtu 1500
ip4 default
inet4 192.168.1.4/24
route4 0.0.0.0/0
route4 192.168.1.0/24
route4 169.254.0.0/16
inet6 fe80::eab0:bd04:aaa2:938e/64
route6 fe80::/64
route6 ::/0
ipv6leakintrf0: connected to pvpn-ipv6leak-protection
"ipv6leakintrf0"
dummy, B2:37:74:9E:3F:17, sw, mtu 1500
ip6 default
inet6 fdeb:446c:912d:8da::/64
inet6 fe80::eea2:6bf4:9052:4080/64
route6 fe80::/64
route6 fdeb:446c:912d:8da::/64
route6 ::/0
enp3s0: unavailable
"Realtek RTL8111/8168/8411"
ethernet (r8169), F8:BC:12:5B:FB:E5, hw, mtu 1500
lo: unmanaged
"lo"
loopback (unknown), 00:00:00:00:00:00, sw, mtu 65536
DNS configuration:
servers: ::1
interface: ipv6leakintrf0
servers: 192.168.1.1
interface: wlx801f020bc6f4
servers: fe80::1
lines 1-38

Code: Select all

~$ mokutil --sb-state
Command 'mokutil' not found, but can be installed with:
sudo apt install mokutil

Code: Select all

 ~$ sudo apt install mokutil
[sudo] password for mint:
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information... Done
The following NEW packages will be installed:
mokutil
0 upgraded, 1 newly installed, 0 to remove and 0 not upgraded.
Need to get 22.6 kB of archives.
After this operation, 71.7 kB of additional disk space will be used.
Err:1 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu focal/main amd64 mokutil amd64 0.3.0+1538710437.fb6250f-1
Could not resolve 'archive.ubuntu.com'
E: Failed to fetch http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/pool/main/m/mokutil/mokutil_0.3.0+1538710437.fb6250f-1_amd64.deb Could
not resolve 'archive.ubuntu.com'
E: Unable to fetch some archives, maybe run apt-get update or try with –fix-missing? 

Code: Select all

 ~$ rfkill list
0: phy0: Wireless LAN
Soft blocked: no
Hard blocked: no

Code: Select all

 ~$ iwconfig
lo no wireless extensions.
wlx801f020bc6f4 IEEE 802.11 ESSID:"ZTE-c0d0ed"
Mode:Managed Frequency:2.462 GHz Access Point: 28:FF:3E:C0:D0:ED
Bit Rate=65 Mb/s Tx-Power=20 dBm
Retry short long limit:2 RTS thr:off Fragment thr:off
Power Management:on
Link Quality=63/70 Signal level=-47 dBm
Rx invalid nwid:0 Rx invalid crypt:0 Rx invalid frag:0
Tx excessive retries:0 Invalid misc:4 Missed beacon:0
enp3s0 no wireless extensions.
ipv6leakintrf0 no wireless extensions. 

Code: Select all

 ~$ lsusb
Bus 002 Device 002: ID 8087:8000 Intel Corp.
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 8087:8008 Intel Corp.
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 004 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0003 Linux Foundation 3.0 root hub
Bus 003 Device 003: ID 413c:2107 Dell Computer Corp. Dell USB Entry Keyboard
Bus 003 Device 002: ID 0e8f:00a5 GreenAsia Inc. 2.4G RX
Bus 003 Device 004: ID 7392:7711 Edimax Technology Co., Ltd EW-7711UTn nLite Wireless Adapter [Ralink RT2870]
Bus 003 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub 

Code: Select all

 ~$ lspci
00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation 4th Gen Core Processor DRAM Controller (rev 06)
00:01.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation Xeon E3-1200 v3/4th Gen Core Processor PCI Express x16 Controller (rev 06)
00:14.0 USB controller: Intel Corporation 8 Series/C220 Series Chipset Family USB xHCI (rev 04)
00:16.0 Communication controller: Intel Corporation 8 Series/C220 Series Chipset Family MEI Controller #1 (rev 04)
00:1a.0 USB controller: Intel Corporation 8 Series/C220 Series Chipset Family USB EHCI #2 (rev 04)
00:1b.0 Audio device: Intel Corporation 8 Series/C220 Series Chipset High Definition Audio Controller (rev 04)
00:1c.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 8 Series/C220 Series Chipset Family PCI Express Root Port #1 (rev d4)
00:1c.3 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 8 Series/C220 Series Chipset Family PCI Express Root Port #4 (rev d4)
00:1d.0 USB controller: Intel Corporation 8 Series/C220 Series Chipset Family USB EHCI #1 (rev 04)
00:1f.0 ISA bridge: Intel Corporation H81 Express LPC Controller (rev 04)
00:1f.2 SATA controller: Intel Corporation 8 Series/C220 Series Chipset Family 6-port SATA Controller 1 [AHCI mode] (rev 04)
00:1f.3 SMBus: Intel Corporation 8 Series/C220 Series Chipset Family SMBus Controller (rev 04)
01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: NVIDIA Corporation GT218 [GeForce 210] (rev a2)
01:00.1 Audio device: NVIDIA Corporation High Definition Audio Controller (rev a1)
03:00.0 Ethernet controller: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet Controller (rev 0c)

Thanks

[antikythera]

Try turning off powersaving to the ralink usb adapter. It may not make a jot of difference because they are very badly supported by linux anyway.

https://easylinuxtipsproject.blogspot.c ... html#ID2.1

Also consider disabling IPv6 (further down that page I linked to)

[Naga_9]

@rene
@antikythera

Thanks so much for your suggestions.
This morning I explored your suggestions.

• I turned off the powersaving to the ralink usb adapter: no joy.

• I disabled IPv6: no joy.

• Finally, I turned off the one "Dummy" connections visible on the left in NetworkManager: Success!

I then turned on the proton VPN and I can browse using Firefox.

Thanks again
Cheers,

Naga_9

[rene]

Good to know; one more forum-link for the next poor Proton VPN user with the problem