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View Full Version : New to knoppix internet connection with USB help please



logic
03-01-2006, 12:05 AM
Hey im new to linux so please take that into account.

I have a 1.1 mb broardband connection, im using a USB alcatel speedtouch modem that my ISp BT had provided, i use knoppix as a live cd.

I have been messing around with K to see if i can sort it out myself, after trying random things on K i look at some sites for help, which to be honest confused me even more..

Im only asking for help to get on the net, once ive done that everything else i will be able to deal with

Cheers :D

Harry Kuhman
03-01-2006, 12:16 AM
If you are using Knoppix the one place this certainly doesn't belong is in the "Other Live CDs" forum; I have moved it to Networking for you.

USB is awful for networking in general (in spite of the large amount of Windows garbage sold that combines networking and USB). and you may need special drivers to get a USB modem to work under Knoppix. That said, I do believe that I have seen poeple posting about getting speedtouch USB modems working under Knoppix, you might try looking at previous posts to find this information if you have your heart set on making it work. Personally I would (and did) insist that the ISP not provide a USB modem but rather provide one with Ethernet and use that and an inexpensive router to access the Internet the way God intended.

Also, I've seen mention in these forume of some modems that have both USB and an ethernet interface. If you have that I suggest putting gum or hot glue in the USB connection and pretending that it never existed.

giant_toaster
03-08-2006, 03:09 PM
Also, I've seen mention in these forume of some modems that have both USB and an ethernet interface. If you have that I suggest putting gum or hot glue in the USB connection and pretending that it never existed.

Lol!

My grandad broke one of USB ports once and tried (surprisingly successfully!) to fix it by putting a bit of balsa wood in it... Older people never changes their ways do they... he used to be a carpenter, why should a computer work any differently to a cabinet I guess!?

drb
03-08-2006, 04:18 PM
I've managed to connect the Speedtouch 330 with Kanotix without problems. The link to the kanotix forum below points you in the right direction. Some versions of Knoppix have been a problem (unionfs issue). There's also a link to enable you to get the Speedtouch running at boot when you take the step of a HDD install.

drb

http://kanotix.com/PNphpBB2-viewtopic-t-12978-highlight-speedtouch.html

http://kanotix.com/PNphpBB2-viewtopic-t-13660-highlight-speedtouch.html

chrisfer1991
03-15-2006, 08:06 PM
I recently tried to get online with Knoppix. please take into consideration my naivete, I want to switch to Linux and this is my first experience with this level of complexity(dont laugh)having been coddled by the windows OS for the past decade. I have an Alcatel Speedtouch Modem, I dont know what version it is, other than to say it looks like an Alien manta ray and its black, it is connected with USB 1.0. I have DSL through bellsouth. My questions are, what do I do: download some drivers, save it to a floppy, re-boot to Knoppix with the floppy available to install the drivers or what? I have never "compiled a kernel"but hey, Im open to new things!!!
I might add, I also have SUSE on my HD and I CAN boot into that, but I stioll have nevr figured out how to get on the internet wit h it either.

Your help would be of considerable value to me.... :shock:

chrisfer1991
03-15-2006, 08:06 PM
I recently tried to get online with Knoppix. please take into consideration my naivete, I want to switch to Linux and this is my first experience with this level of complexity(dont laugh)having been coddled by the windows OS for the past decade. I have an Alcatel Speedtouch Modem, I dont know what version it is, other than to say it looks like an Alien manta ray and its black, it is connected with USB 1.0. I have DSL through bellsouth. My questions are, what do I do: download some drivers, save it to a floppy, re-boot to Knoppix with the floppy available to install the drivers or what? I have never "compiled a kernel"but hey, Im open to new things!!!
I might add, I also have SUSE on my HD and I CAN boot into that, but I stioll have nevr figured out how to get on the internet wit h it either.

Your help would be of considerable value to me.... :shock:

ohwhell
03-18-2006, 05:42 PM
Personally I would (and did) insist that the ISP not provide a USB modem but rather provide one with Ethernet and use that and an inexpensive router to access the Internet the way God intended.
Also, I've seen mention in these forume of some modems that have both USB and an ethernet interface. If you have that I suggest putting gum or hot glue in the USB connection and pretending that it never existed.

Harry: I've read the above, and while on another topic I read your article in general reply to this whole issue, http://www.knoppix.net/wiki/User:Harry_Kuhman. Please do not take offense, but I must point out that some of your answers are not solutions, they are a big part of the problem.

Knoppix, to be user-friendly for the general user, ought to have an easy to use dialer with a readily-available - and simple - modem search dialog, and/or a access to modem configuration for its dialer.

(At one point in the help file, I was told that if I had any problems wuith the CD's PPPD dialer, I should get on the internet. There is nothing I hate worse than being told I should get on the internet in order to use the software I am using to get on the internet.)

While I understand that Knoppix is something of a promo-pack and I recognize that it is not a fully installed Linux distro, there's no doubt that easy access to the Internet should be an offered feature, since many of us who loathe Microsoft do so because of the way it manages web-access, and would love nothing better than to switch to a safe reliable alternative. But if this isn't easy to do, it's not worth it, since the frustration level for newbies will be about the same as for MS.

Come on; I'm not putting glue in my USB ports; and I'm not here to help develop technology or tear it apart. I'm here to get my computer to do what I bought it for - no less, but - and this seems to get lost on techies - NO MORE. I.e., e.g., I would certainly have purchased a different computer if I wanted to write programs for software - but I DON'T want to write software programs.

If you think I'm stupid or old-fashioned - please do so - and keep you're software to yourself.

I sampled Knoppix, because the buzz on the web has been that Linux has at last come of age for mass distribution, which would include people who couldn't tell USB or Ethernet from an old Edsel carburator.

Well, the buzz is wrong. Knoppix should be a simplified Linux (I wasn't expecting much from a CD boot); but while it has a couple good software packages on it, but it's still like those early Linux CD's I used to bump into leafing through hacker magazines that seemed to be written in Cobalt. It's all geek.

While researching this issue, I found Eric Raymond's article from 2004:
http://www.catb.org/~esr/writings/cups-horror.html
What he wrote then is still applicable, as far as I can tell. And he doesn't treat readers like they're stupid.

Harry Kuhman
03-18-2006, 09:20 PM
Harry: I've read the above, and while on another topic I read your article in general reply to this whole issue, http://www.knoppix.net/wiki/User:Harry_Kuhman. Please do not take offense, but I must point out that some of your answers are not solutions, they are a big part of the problem.
There are 9 different sections there and it's not clear what you take exception to, but I'll deal with your further feedback below.


Knoppix, to be user-friendly for the general user, ought to have an easy to use dialer with a readily-available - and simple - modem search dialog, and/or a access to modem configuration for its dialer.

(At one point in the help file, I was told that if I had any problems wuith the CD's PPPD dialer, I should get on the internet. There is nothing I hate worse than being told I should get on the internet in order to use the software I am using to get on the internet.)
You seem to be upset that there isn't always support for software based dial-up "WinModems". This isn't Knoppix's problem, it's common to much of Linux, and it really isn't Linux's fault either when the manufacturers keep the hardware design secret and only release software for Windows. It should be said that Linux developers have gotten the specs for some software moidems and are now able to support them, but the people that are crying that their moden is not supported apparently bought other modems. The fault lies in two places, the manfacturers who make and sell things with these modems and the pepole who buy them. But I wrote nothing in my generic 9 answers about Winmodems, too much has already been written about it and I don't want to beat that dead horse.

I did include a link to the networking faq (I did not write everything in the faq) and some information that warns people that USB is a bad choice for interfacing tthe Internet. USB is a bad fit here, both because of the drivers-only-written-for-windows issue and the poor throughput issue. Do you fault me for telling people about this?

As to the info about the PPPD dialer, first of all, I did not write that. Second, is it in the wiki or on the Knoppix CD? If it is in the wiki then you were already on the Internet, the complaint would be bogus. If it is in a help file on CD your complaint has slightly more merit, but it is not unreasonable to think that someone trying to use Knoppix has access to other OSs and to the Internet. But this is certainly something that you can'y lay on me.


While I understand that Knoppix is something of a promo-pack and I recognize that it is not a fully installed Linux distro, there's no doubt that easy access to the Internet should be an offered feature, since many of us who loathe Microsoft do so because of the way it manages web-access, and would love nothing better than to switch to a safe reliable alternative. But if this isn't easy to do, it's not worth it, since the frustration level for newbies will be about the same as for MS.
Promo-pack is a misleading term, but I agree that easy access to the Internet should be there. I disagree that it is not; on every system that I have booted Knopix on, both at my home and at friends, we have been on the Interner right away. And the 9 responses that you fault me for even include #4, which advises people of the many benefits of a router when using a high speed connection. But if you have hardware that the manufacturer has decided there is to be no Linux support for, be that a Winmodem for older dial-up access or a high speed wireless card that the chip and card maker will not release specs for and only provide windows dirivers for, then you may indeed be disapointed. But why address this disapointment to me?


Come on; I'm not putting glue in my USB ports; and I'm not here to help develop technology or tear it apart. I'm here to get my computer to do what I bought it for - no less, but - and this seems to get lost on techies - NO MORE. I.e., e.g., I would certainly have purchased a different computer if I wanted to write programs for software - but I DON'T want to write software programs.
I was making the point that usb ports have no place on an ethernet modem, and if you have a modem with both ethernet and usb the usb should absolutely never be used, not even under windows. If you didn't undrstand that, well...


If you think I'm stupid or old-fashioned - please do so - and keep you're software to yourself..
I certainly never inplied that you were stupid, as this is your very first post and I never responded to you. My thought are private, unless I share them. What I think is that you are frustrated but you are pointing that frustration in the wrong places. None of the software in Knoppix is mine; I didn't contribute any of it. Not that I think your frustration is deserved to be aimed at the developers if it is about a modem or other device not being supported in Linux. But I doubt that you will put the blame on buying without researching the product and then just expecting smeone to make everything work though.


I sampled Knoppix, because the buzz on the web has been that Linux has at last come of age for mass distribution, which would include people who couldn't tell USB or Ethernet from an old Edsel carburator.
Perhaps you should take your griping back to those sites, and post that Knoppix isn't any good at all because some people don't know what modem they have or what ethernet is. Of course, if people want to learn what that stuff is this is a great website and we will walk them through it. But we can't correct mistakes they already made in getting the wrong equipment, just try to enlighten them about why some equipment is bad. I'm still not clear on why you target me though, is it because you see me as one who wants to tell people the differences of Ethernet from an old Edsel carburator?


Well, the buzz is wrong. Knoppix should be a simplified Linux (I wasn't expecting much from a CD boot); but while it has a couple good software packages on it, but it's still like those early Linux CD's I used to bump into leafing through hacker magazines that seemed to be written in Cobalt. It's all geek.
Linux is a tough OS for new users to come to. As was Unix before it. Knoppix isn't going to change that, and I see no sign that Linux is really going to change. I still consider myself a Linux novice, it is a hard OS to pick up, a lot of things are needlessly cryptic and less than user friendly. Knoppix is not going to change that and should not even try. What Knoppix does do is give people who want to introduce themself to Liniux, in spite of it's less than user friendly face, a chance to run Linux without having to install anything or disturbing their current operating system. It isn't even intended for installing; it is a live CD that will do a good job of booting on many systems, detect and configure the hardware automatically, and provide a wide range of common Linux software packages to try. And for more experienced Linux users it is a handy way to take a copy of Linux with you and run on most systems that you encounter. But it is not intended to correct all the had hardware choices that people have made, even if they were made in ignorance. I does address some, and I don't think you can fairly say that if it addresses those then it must address the rest also. And I sure don't know why this complaint seems to be addressed to me, unless you believe in shooting the messenger. By the way, Cobalt is an element, nothing is written in Cobalt. Cobol is an old programming language. But while not many today know how to program in it, it was quite readable, even to a fault. Of all the programming languages that you could have picked, this was perhaps the worst choice to imply obscurity in software.


While researching this issue, I found Eric Raymond's article from 2004:
http://www.catb.org/~esr/writings/cups-horror.html
What he wrote then is still applicable, as far as I can tell. And he doesn't treat readers like they're stupid.
There are lots of tyrates against Linux on the web. I'm not sure what your point is in posting this link, I looked at it but I already knew that Linux can be frustrating.

So I'm still not at all clear on why you chose to address me; I didn't start by responding to you, you responded to a page that you had found where I collected 9 things that I end up telling people over and over. I created this so that, for example, rather than telling each new user of the day how to find the wiki and then to read the downloading faq to burn the cd properly, I could just give them a link to this information. And I don't want to just give them a link to the downloading faq, I want them to know about the wiki and be able to find it without having to ask for another link when they have another question, with the hope that a small percentage might even read the documentation there. If I didn't keep my answers short this way I would respond to far fewer posts that ask the same questions over and over. In what way am I treating people like they are all stupid?

chrisfer1991
03-19-2006, 01:25 AM
Hey fellas, I didnt reply to anyone , at least not yet. Is it at all possible that someone can advise me without using my question to criticize someone else. I am usuing the Knoppix live CD. I dont know what wiki is(oh no, here we go again!!!). I have a DSL modem (speedtouch) that is USB, I know there are peeves about that, but the documentation that I have with my Knoppix DOES seem to allude to its being easier to configure than I suspect it is and I beseach someone to walk me through the required procedures, what drivers how to install/access them. If you just want to flex your cerebral muscles, then you are not the person :evil: I am asking, dont make Me OUT TO BE THE PINHEAD. I just want some help.

drb
03-19-2006, 04:32 PM
Try working through my reply above. Two methods are described. It's worked for a lot of people but unionfs needs to be invoked.

drb

drb
03-19-2006, 05:12 PM
Chrisfer - responded to your message but ot sure if it sent properly so added below :

There is a silver and maroon speedtouch 330. The method appears to work for both (the silver has historically been the more difficult). If it's not the 330 you'll have to Google a bit more. LiveCD forums are not the best for such specific information. I don't think any LiveCD will work first time with a Speedtouch ADSL modem (Kanotix used to which is why I went to it rather than Knoppix); this is primarily a software modem where the firmware has to be loaded each time.

I eventually went for an ADSL modem router to allow wireless access from a second laptop. Kanotix just picked up the router with no configuration at all.

Kanotix is a fantastic LiveCd; it's even better as a HD install. Took me 30 minutes to set up partitions and then 15 minutes to install. No problems in three months since the install (even after three kernel upgrades and a daily distribution upgrade). The Kanotix forum is also excellent.

drb

TheBoyMole
03-20-2006, 02:12 PM
For all those that are having problems connecting a Silver Speedtouch 330 to the internet with Knoppix, I suggest you give this a try (I posted this in the previous thread "Speedtouch USb (Idiots guide, by an idiot!)")




"I just thought I'd add my experiences to this Thread, as I too found the myriad of different driver instructions/projects (all very similarly named, speedtch, speedtouch, speedtouch-conf etc!.) on the net quite confusing. I've written in such a fashion that I hope someone totally new to Linux will understand:

This is my setup, and how I finally got it working:

Using a Toshiba Laptop (fairly old, 1ghz celeron), with a silver speedtouch 330 USB modem, and the latest LiveCD of Knoppix (4.0.2).

Starting in Windows, I downloaded the speedtouch-usb script from here: http://christophe.delord.free.fr/en/adsl/

Then, I copied this into a directoy on my hard drive c:\temp\speedtouch\.

Then, I rebooted and inserted the Knoppix liveCD.

Once Knoppix had loaded, I clicked the Knoppix icon at the bottom of the screen, and under Services I chose to set up a persitent home directory on the hard drive, using about 50mb of space. Once this was complete, I open Konqueror, and browsed to the temp\speedtouch directoy on my "c drive" (now called hda1). Then, I right-click in the directory display to obtain the "Actions" menu. One of the actions you can perform is to open a Terminal window here. Click this to open up the Terminal. Then type "ls" to list the directoy contents and verify that the "speedtouch-usb" file is actually there. Then, its simply a case of typing speedtouch-usb and pressing Return.

The script will then run. First it should detect your modem, and display the version of the Linux kernel that you are running. The script will then proceed until a dialog pops up prompting you to choose your VPI/VCI numbers. For the UK, this is the 0,38 option. Then click OK. The script should continue until another dialog box appears, this time asking you for a "connection identifier". Into this dialog you need to enter the username for your ISP connection. For example ABC123@xtreme3.pipex.net. Then, click OK, and another dialog will appear asking you to enter a password. Enter the password for your ISP connection. Then click OK.

Now, if all is well... the script will attempt to connect to your ISP. If it fails with a time-out message, I'd recommend running it again. If its successful, it will finish with the message "You are connected".

Then, you can close the terminal window and open up FireFox/Konqueror and start browsing!

Im not 100% sure the step of creating a persistent home directory is required, but I found without that step I seemed to get error messages about the "read-only filesystem".

I hope this helps somebody out there."

chrisfer1991
03-20-2006, 11:32 PM
Thanks for that tip. I will find the codes for the US of A and hope thatit works for my black, manta-ray shaped Speedtouch even though Im pretty sure its not a 330. If it works I promise to se my powers only for good:never evil, etc. etc. etc.

robibob
05-12-2006, 07:52 AM
Hi

I am also an USB-Modem-User with Knoppix-4.0.2 in LiveCD-Modus.

After start-up I have to type in the shell:

sudo modprobe usbnet
netcardconfig
-> Yes

... and You are surfing.

Bob