knoppix sees my wireless PCMCIA card unless I save a config

[chiph]

Hi---

I'm definitely a newbie to Linux/Knoppix but I'm really determined to see what I can do with it. Got an HP Pavilion laptop with a Belkin f5d6020 wirless net adapter. If I boot Knoppix without a config, I can use the the wavelan and net card config tools to get the card up and running perfectly. But if I save and reload ANY kind of config, network settings or not, by the time Knoppix is up and running, it no longer sees the PCMCIA card. On the other hand, if I take out the card, restart Knoppix with a config, THEN push the card in, it's ready to go. Any clues why having it in AND loading a config sabotages the PCMCIA recognition?

[Harry Kuhman]

H.... Got an HP Pavilion laptop with a Belkin f5d6020 wirless net adapter.....

HI. I have an HP Pavillion ze4240 notebook and a Belkin F5D6020 ver.2 network card. The card seems to be recognized when I boot the live CD, but I've never managed to get it to actually connect to a router. Can you please post the exact commands that you use with wavelan and net card config tools to get the card working? (Don't worry about insulting me with too detailed of information.) Thanks. I can't help you yet with your problem, but maybe once I do have it working I'll spot something.

I'm not clear about what you are saying about saving any kind of setting affecting you. Are you booting from a live CD but with a saved configuration? Or are you running from an "installed" form of Knoppix, and if so what type of install is it?

[chiph]

Yes, I'm booting from a live Knoppix 3.6 CD (I'm actually using the setup at the moment). At the boot: prompt I enter knoppix myconfig=/mnt/hda2 to bring up the config info I saved using the Knoppix/Configure/Save KNOPPIX Configuration menu. If the wireless card is in its slot at boot time and I don't load a configuration, I can use the Knoppix/Network/Internet Wavelan and Network Configuration tools to tell Knoppix the ESSID and channel, then to use DHCP. The card then is activated and connected. Or, if I have checked network settings when I saved my configuration to /mnt/hda2, but I pull the wireless card out while the computer's off, then wait to push it in until after Knoppix is loaded, the saved info sets up the card properly and it works. But If I leave the card in AND use myconfig to load any kind of saved configuration settings, by the time Knoppix is ready to go, the card has becom invisible to Knoppix. K Menu/System/Info Center says there isn't a card there and trying to configure via Knoppix/Network/... says there isn't a card there. I can live with this but I'd really like to find a foolproof alternative to Windows that non-techie teachers would like well enough to prefer.

[Harry Kuhman]

... I can use the Knoppix/Network/Internet Wavelan and Network Configuration tools to tell Knoppix the ESSID and channel, then to use DHCP. The card then is activated and connected. ......

I've never got it to work. I suspect I'm not using the tools correctly. Please give the exact commands that you use (feel free to use xxx's for the essid and wep if you want). Is your card Version 2?

[chiph]

OK, here's the deal:

A. (How I got it to work for the first time)

1. Computer's off, card (ver 2) is in slot. Boot Knoppix CD. At boot: prompt, don't enter anything, just hit Enter or wait. Knoppix loads, puts up the Konquerer welcome screen, etc.

2. I go to the inflatable penguin icon in the taskbar, click, choose Network/Internet from the menu.

3. I choose Wavelan configuration, get a shell-sort of window with wlconfig in the titlebar and an Xdialog box that says "Configuration of wireless parameters for eth0."

4.I click OK and get a prompt to enter the ESSID for eth0. I enter the ESSID for my local WLAN and click OK.

5.I don't enter anything for the NWID or the mode, I just click OK. But I do put in the channel that my router or base station is using. We're happy to let visitors to the school scrounge some bandwidth, so we aren't using encryption. So I don't enter anything for the remaining dialogues, just click OK. A bunch of stuff flies by in the shell window but it closes immediately so I can't really appreciate what it could tell me.

6. Repeat step2, but instead of step 3, I choose Network card configuration. A new shell window opens with netcardconfig in the titlebar and I get an Xdialog window with "Use DHCP broadcast?"

7. I click Yes and the shell window lasts long enough for me to see "Sending DHCP Broadcast from device eth0 OK" and "auto lo eth0" appear. The network card then works for me and can be seen in K Menu/System/Info Center/Network interfaces with an IP number.


B.(How I saved the settings)

1. From the Knoppix taskbar penguin (or K Menu/Knoppix) I choose configure, then Save Configuration.

2. If I'm trying to save the ESSID/channel info, I make sure there's an X for Network settings. I click OK...

3. ...then I have to choose the directory for saving configuration files. In my case, I have tried both /mnt/hda2 which is my C: drive, and /mnt/sda1, which is my USB flash drive. I click OK, and in a bit get a message that the configuration was successfully saved and can be restored on the next boot by entering "knoppix myconfig=/mnt/hda2" (or "sda1" instead of "hda2").

C. What I'd check if things don't work:

1. K menu/System/InfoCenter/PCMCIA to see if your system even knows you have the card in the slot. If not, trying to configure as in steps A 3-7 will only get a missing card complaint.

2. If the PCMCIA shows the Belkin card in a slot, then click on Network interfaces to see if you received an IP address from whatever's acting as the DHCP server in your network. You should also see 127.0.0.1 as proof you're connected to yourself... What kind of a situation are you dealing with?