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possumjc
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PostPosted: Sat May 08, 2004 6:37 pm    Post subject: eMachines m6809 Laptop Thread (32-bit gentoo for now?) Reply with quote

I figured that it would be nice to start a thread with tips and tricks for getting gentoo running on the eMachines M6809 Athlon64 Laptop. I bought one and I love it. I am running 32-bit gentoo for now because I gotta have UT2004! Hopefully ATI will get off their a** and release good 64 bit drivers soon. Here is a list of some random stuff that I have working. I will be glad to post specifics about things if anyone wants.

- 3D acceleration (using the ati-drivers ebuild)
- DVD playback (xine or mplayer)
- Sound
- 10/100 networking
- Card reader
- DVD/CD burning
- touchpad (tap, scroll both work)
- Volume buttons and the other set of buttons
- PCMCIA
[Edited 6-18-04]
-Broadcom Wireless G adapter (see post by layyze below)
-Powernow ( I patched with patch from www.muru.com )

Things that mostly work
-ACPI (using kernel patches available from http://www.muru.com/linux/amd64/) The ACPI stuff is flakey sometimes. I have not sucessfully 'slept' and 'awakened' yet. I have some scripts that I found somewhere in the forums that I am working on modifying to do what I want with powersaving. It also seems like ACPI will not register an event when the AC Adapter is plugged/unplugged. I am still working on figuring this one out.

None of the things listed above are the result of my mad skillz or anything. I have just done a lot of searching through the forums and googled like mad. If anyone has other things to add please do. If you want specifics about anything above just let me know.

Joel


Last edited by possumjc on Wed Jul 28, 2004 4:28 am; edited 2 times in total
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Chuck Milam
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PostPosted: Mon May 10, 2004 2:17 pm    Post subject: Any big differences between the m6807 and the m6809? Reply with quote

I'm sure you have seen this thread:

https://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic.php?t=130292&highlight=m6809

Are there any big differences between the m6809 and the m6805/7?

So far, I've got my m6809 dual booting w/Win XP. Waiting 'till tonight when I can borrow some bandwidth to do a full emerge system.

My only hangup so far seems to be getting the ethernet port to be recognized as eth0, not eth1--for some reason, I think the firewire port is getting labeled as eth0. Strange?
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Chuck Milam
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PostPosted: Mon May 10, 2004 3:22 pm    Post subject: Figured out the fireware as eth0 problem. Reply with quote

Quote:
My only hangup so far seems to be getting the ethernet port to be recognized as eth0, not eth1--for some reason, I think the firewire port is getting labeled as eth0. Strange?


Found the fix in another thread. Apparently, it's a problem w/hotplug and the 2004.1 liveCDs.
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PostPosted: Thu Jun 17, 2004 3:00 pm    Post subject: Got Broadcom wireless working Reply with quote

I finally got the broadcom 54g wireless working using ndiswrapper under 32-bit gentoo (sorry, it still won't work under 64-bit). The trick is to not use either of the broadcom drivers from the ndiswrapper website. I'll explain:

1) Make sure that if you already have ndiswrapper installed (0.4+) that you first ndiswrapper -e bcmwl5 and then uninstall ndiswrapper (make sure that you rmmod ndiswrapper) -- get rid of the ndiswrapper.(k)o!
2) Now go to ndiswrapper.sf.net and get ndiswrapper 0.8: make, make install
3) Get your rescue CD that came with the m680x and find the wireless drivers. Copy over the directory to another directory like /usr/lib/wireless or something.
4) Do ndiswrapper -i /path/to/wirless/drivers/bcmwl5a.inf <--- make sure you just bcmwl5a.inf and NOT bcmwl5.inf.
5) Non-gentooers can run ndiswrapper -m. Gentooers put the line "alias wlan0 ndiswrapper" at the end of /etc/modules.d/aliases and run modules-update.
6) "modprobe ndiswrapper" -- your e light should come on, if not check dmesg to see what the problem is.
7) Do "iwconfig wlan0 mode Managed ap any essid any" and "iwlist scan" to see if it all works. Then, define your WEP key and whatever you need to do.
8) Finally "dhcpcd wlan0" or do a a static assign.

Good luck!
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possumjc
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PostPosted: Fri Jun 18, 2004 3:38 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks layyze. I got the wireless working too with your help. Have you (or anyone) tried WEP encryption with this driver and card? I tried on my AP at home with no luck.
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atrader42
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PostPosted: Fri Jun 18, 2004 4:40 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

layyze, what did you do to ensure everything was uninstalled? I've used a lot of versions of ndiswrapper trying to make this work, and I'm not certain that there isn't any cruft around.
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possumjc
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PostPosted: Fri Jun 18, 2004 4:48 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

atrader42,
I just deleted the /lib/modules/<kernel version>/misc/ndiswrapper.ko and /usr/sbin/ndiswrapper. That is what layyze suggested to me and it worked fine.

Regards,
Joel
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atrader42
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PostPosted: Fri Jun 18, 2004 5:20 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I was afraid of that....Something's wrong that isn't the uninstall. When I tried your instructions, when I went to modprobe ndiswrapper, it complained that there wasn't a /etc/ndiswrapper/bcmwl5 directory (there WAS a /etc/ndiswrapper/bcmwl5a). I tried linking the directory it wanted to the directory I had and got "cannot add duplicate driver" in dmesg when I tried to modprobe. I tried this on 2.6.6 and 2.6.7-rc1-mm1. What kernels have you used that worked?
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possumjc
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PostPosted: Fri Jun 18, 2004 11:50 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I am using 2.6.7 vanilla. I have also used the 2.6.6-love-r2. I had to delete the /etc/ndiswrapper directory befor it would work for me.
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layyze
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PostPosted: Fri Jun 18, 2004 2:47 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
It complained that there wasn't a /etc/ndiswrapper/bcmwl5 directory (there WAS a /etc/ndiswrapper/bcmwl5a). I tried linking the directory it wanted to the directory I had and got "cannot add duplicate driver" in dmesg when I tried to modprobe. I tried this on 2.6.6 and 2.6.7-rc1-mm1. What kernels have you used that worked?


Okay, It seems that you still have an old driver loaded and the information saved.
It sounds like you needed to do "ndiswrapper -e bcmwl5" before you deleted /usr/sbin/ndiswrapper and /lib/modules/2.X.X/misc/ndiswrapper.(k)o. If you didn't do that, then "rm -rf /etc/ndiswrapper" as possum said.
Now try to "ndiswrapper -i /path/to/driver/bcmwl5a.inf" and then modprobe and see if you get the same error.

Thanks!
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layyze
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PostPosted: Fri Jun 18, 2004 2:58 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Oh! I forgot to mention that I am using 2.6.6-love5 kernel, although I don't think that the patches have anything to do with ndiswrapper working right. Ndiswrapper should work with 2.6 kernels and later 2.4. Post which kernels you can get it working under.
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atrader42
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PostPosted: Fri Jun 18, 2004 11:36 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

OK....we're 95% of the way there. I did as you suggested to remove and reinstall it. It still wanted the wrong directory name, but modprobe worked after I created the link. iwlist even finds my router. The only problem I'm having now is that iwconfig doesn't report my router.
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atrader42
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PostPosted: Fri Jun 18, 2004 11:57 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

actually, things weren't quite like that. after I posted, I was able to set iwconfig to my router and it seemed to see it. however, dhcpcd wlan0 didn't do anything, and ifconfig kept showing wlan0 as down. After I tried restarting, iwlist didn't even show my router.
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layyze
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PostPosted: Sat Jun 19, 2004 3:06 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

atrader42,

What commands are you passing to iwconfig?

When you do an iwlist scan and you do see the router what mode does it say that it is in?

If this is an m680x, does the blue e light up below the mouse when you modprobe ndiswrapper? And what does dmesg say after you modprobe? Also what does ndiswrapper -l say?

Sorry for all of the questions, I'm just trying to get a feel for what is going on.

Thanks!
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atrader42
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PostPosted: Sat Jun 19, 2004 11:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
What commands are you passing to iwconfig?


Code:
iwconfig wlan0 mode Managed ap any essid any

which doesn't have my router when I check with iwconfig.
Code:
iwconfig wlan0 essid NETGEAR
(the name of my router)
The first time I tried this (ie when I posted earlier) put the router and its MAC address in iwconfig, but it wasn't otherwise acting connected. This time, it doesn't show anything in iwconfig after I do that.

iwlist scan shows
Code:
Scan completed:
Cell 01- Address: (my router's MAC addy)
ESSID:"NETGEAR"
Protocol:IEEE 802.11b (odd, it's an 11g router)
Mode: Managed
Frequency:2.462 GHz
Quality:0/100 Signal level:-41 dBm Noise level: -256 dBm
Encryption key:off


The blue e does light up. I think I resolved the modprobe thing: even though it complains about the folder I don't have, it seems to work properly. ndiswrapper -l shows both bcmwl5 and bcmwl5a because I created the simlinked folder.

Thanks for your help.
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atrader42
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PostPosted: Sat Jun 19, 2004 11:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Heh. Naturally, as last time, something changed right after I posted. For the hell of it, I tried iwconfig wlan0 essid NETGEAR again, and this time, iwconfig showed it, although things are still not quite working. iwconfig shows 100/100 link quality (which shouldn't be right. it's not great where I am, alhtough it should still connect) and after dhcpcd, ping still says Network is unreachable.
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possumjc
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PostPosted: Sat Jun 19, 2004 11:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

It could have somerthing to do with both drivers showing up as loaded. Try:
Code:
ndiswrapper -e bcmwl5

and then:
Code:
ndiswrapper -e bcmwl5a

then try loading only the bcmwl5a driver with:
Code:
ndiswrapper -i /path/to/bcmwl5a.inf

I know that for me the bcmwl5 driver would give results like you are having. The bcmwl5a driver worked like a charm. Also what is in your /etc/ndiswrapper directory? I was wondering if the actual driver files are in there. I put my drivers in /lib/windrivers because ndiswrapper puts stuff in the /etc/ndiswrapper directory.

Regards,
Joel
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atrader42
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PostPosted: Sun Jun 20, 2004 1:21 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

ok...tried that. when I modprobe ndiswrapper, it complains:
Code:
Unable to open config dir /etc/ndiswrapper/bcmwl5
FATAL: Error running install command for ndiswrapper

BUT the blue e comes on, and I get the same results with iwlist working, iwconfig sometimes showing my router if I tell it to, and the connection not actually working.
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layyze
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PostPosted: Sun Jun 20, 2004 1:58 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

atrader42,

Quote:
ok...tried that. when I modprobe ndiswrapper, it complains:
Code:
Unable to open config dir /etc/ndiswrapper/bcmwl5
FATAL: Error running install command for ndiswrapper

BUT the blue e comes on, and I get the same results with iwlist working, iwconfig sometimes showing my router if I tell it to, and the connection not actually working.


It looks like you still have the remains of an old ndiswrapper install on your hard drive.
Start by ndiswrapper -e every driver in the list. My suggestion is to delete and unmerge any install that you still might have there, also locate anything called ndiswrapper and eliminate it! It sounds like in your previous efforts, something got installed somewhere and just won't leave. Start in /etc by removing /etc/ndiswrapper. Go into /etc/modules.d and remove "ndiswrapper" if it is there. And go into every /lib/modules/2.6.x/misc and remove ndiswrapper.ko. Then do a modules-update! Be methodical. Then go back through and follow my instructions point for point (except do a make clean before you make ndiswrapper).

To me the blue e coming on indicates a driver that is partially working, so make certain that you are doing "ndiswrapper -i /path/bcmwl5a.inf" to a copy of the broadcom driver off the CD that came with the laptop.

Quote:
Heh. Naturally, as last time, something changed right after I posted. For the hell of it, I tried iwconfig wlan0 essid NETGEAR again, and this time, iwconfig showed it, although things are still not quite working. iwconfig shows 100/100 link quality (which shouldn't be right. it's not great where I am, alhtough it should still connect) and after dhcpcd, ping still says Network is unreachable.


Because ndiswrapper is just that -- a wrapper for windows drivers -- standard linux iwconfig information, like link quality, won't work correctly. In my experience you get 0/100 or 100/100 link quality regardless of how far you actually are from the WAP. Another possibility is that you are close enough to associate, but not close enough to establish a stable connection to your network. I don't know enough about wireless to really say if that makes any sense at all, but I do know from experience that even though I can associate with a WAP that I see in "iwlist scan" that does not necessarily mean that I can pull an IP address.

Overall I am reassured that iwconfig reports that it can find your access point in managed mode and not just in ad-hoc mode. That means that you are almost there, so keep at it!

Good luck!
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atrader42
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 21, 2004 12:09 am    Post subject: Got it! (mostly) Reply with quote

AGH! OK. Now we're at 99.9%. On the first time I tried what you said, I got to a working connection to my router and the outside world. It was, however, amazingly slow (as in several second ping times/about 50 times slower than the computer sitting next to it connected wirelessly to the same router). A google search took well over a minute using lynx on a cable connection. This is slow enough that some things time out before they load.

What I did to get this far:
Code:
ndiswrapper -e bcmw5a (only one on the list)
deleted /etc/modules.d/ndiswrapper (this might have been it. the file contained information about the wrong driver)
deleted /usr/src/*/misc/ndiswrapper.ko
modules-update
deleted /etc/ndiswrapper
deleted /usr/sbin/ndiswrapper
deleted /sbin/loadndisdriver
deleted /usr/sbin/wlan_radio_averatec_5110hx (it gets installed with ndiswrapper)
deleted the ndiswrapper install directory
rebooted (probably not necessary, but it made me feel better)

Then (for those trying to make this work/duplicate what I have, here's where to start)

Code:
cp /path/to/drivers/* /usr/lib/wireless
tar -xzf ndiswrapper-0.8.tar.gz
cd ndiswrapper-0.8
make
make install
ndiswrapper -i /usr/lib/wireless/bcmwl5a.inf
added alias wlan0 ndiswrapper to /etc/modules.d/aliases
modules-update
modprobe ndiswrapper
iwconfig wlan0 mode Managed ap any essid any (at this point, my router showed in iwconfig)
ifconfig wlan0 up (this is important and wasn't in the original instructions)
dhcpcd wlan0 (which took a very long time)


At this point, ifconfig showed I had picked up an ip address. pinging my router worked, but slowly, as did pinging internet servers. emerge sync found servers, but didn't seem to do much after printing the don't sync more than once a day message.

I then tried to bring up wlan0 automatically on reboot by:
Code:
ln -s /etc/init.d/net.eth1 /etc/init.d/net.wlan0
adding the line iface_wlan0="dhcp" to /etc/conf.d/net
rc-update net.wlan0 default


This not only didn't work (it just sat for a long time at brining up wlan0 and then failed), I couldn't successfully make it work at all again until I undid the last set of things and rebooted.
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atrader42
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 21, 2004 3:57 am    Post subject: The Plot Thickens (When Stirred Vigorously) Reply with quote

Alright....here's one I've never heard of: it transfers at a decent speed as long as a key is being pressed. Anyone ever run into anything like this? I don't think gluing down a key is a good way to go about this....
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 21, 2004 5:32 pm    Post subject: Yuck! Reply with quote

atrader,
I just read about the problem of the slow connection except when holding down a key on the ndiswrapper mailing list. I haven't experienced it, and it doesn't make a lick of sense to me.

Have you tried to connect using another access point? See what happens if you wander down to the local coffee place and try to pull an IP address. I have noticed that I can connect to some brands of access points better than others.
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atrader42
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PostPosted: Tue Jun 22, 2004 12:10 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I have a possible lead here. Can you please tell me what options you pass to the kernel on boot, if you have any USB devices, what they are and where they're attached and the output of cat /proc/interrupts? Thanks.
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possumjc
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PostPosted: Tue Jun 22, 2004 12:27 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

atrader42:
Here is that info from my m6809..

kernel options: kernel /vmlinuz ro root=/dev/hda2 psmouse.proto=imps

USB devices: USB mouse plugged into the back ports (As an aside.. I am having a lot of trouble with USB since upgrading to kernel 2.6.7. The entire USB bus stops responding and I have to reboot to get it back.)

/proc/interrupts:
CPU0
0: 2414974 IO-APIC-edge timer
1: 1582 IO-APIC-edge i8042
8: 2 IO-APIC-edge rtc
10: 15193 IO-APIC-level acpi
12: 92 IO-APIC-edge i8042
14: 8830 IO-APIC-edge ide0
15: 32 IO-APIC-edge ide1
17: 1 IO-APIC-level yenta
18: 140791 IO-APIC-level ndiswrapper
21: 81742 IO-APIC-level ehci_hcd, uhci_hcd, uhci_hcd, uhci_hcd
22: 0 IO-APIC-level VIA8233
NMI: 0
LOC: 2414994
ERR: 0
MIS: 0

I hope that this helps out.

Regards,
Joel
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atrader42
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PostPosted: Tue Jun 22, 2004 4:21 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

possumjc, that does help, although I think I still need a little more information to figure out what's going on (assuming that your connection is not slow). Can you tell me what you have for your power management options in the kernel? Also, is that just gentoo-dev-sources or some patch to 2.6.7?

What it looks like is going on is that there's an IRQ conflict between ndiswrapper and that usb port. My /proc/interrupts looks like:

Cpu0
0: 279180 XT-PIC timer
1: 8 XT-PIC i8042
2: 0 XT-PIC cascade
8: 2 XT-PIC rtc
9: 881 XT-PIC uhci_hcd, ndiswrapper
10: 21046746 XT-PIC ehci_hcd, uhci_hcd, ohci1394, VIA8233
11: 1 XT-PIC uhci_hcd, yenta
12: 43 XT-PIC i8042
14: 1842 XT-PIC ide0
15: 18 XT-PIC ide1
NMI: 0
ERR: 35
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