Problem with built-in 3G modem

CCC_037 · n00b Joined: 14 Dec 2012 Posts: 22

Hi

I've recently installed my first Gentoo installation on a brand new laptop, and I'm having a little bit of a problem with an on-board 3.75G/HSDPA device. I have a SIM card in the device, but I can't seem to find it from the operating system - I don't know if it's supposed to be a USB device, a PCI device, or something else.

According to the manual, there's a hotkey combination that I need to push to enable the device (Fn plus -). I do not notice any difference when I do this.

Output of lsusb:

NeddySeagoon · Posted: Fri Dec 14, 2012 9:28 pm Post subject:

CCC_037,

Welcome to Gentoo.

PCI devices and generally USB devices do not vanish from the bus unless they are disabled in the BIOS, so the fact that the device is physically present (you put a SIM in) suggests that you need to poke about in the BIOS.

Many systems use a common set of parts for all models in a range. This means your case could have a SIM drawer in the case, so you can fit a SIM but no device fitted to make use of it. Can you see the gold fingers that actually contact the SIM or are they missing?
IF you have the contacts, the rest of the device is probably there, if not, its game over. You don't have the 3G.
_________________
Regards,

NeddySeagoon

Computer users fall into two groups:-
those that do backups
those that have never had a hard drive fail.

CCC_037 · n00b Joined: 14 Dec 2012 Posts: 22

The gold contacts are there. Thanks, I'll poke around in the BIOS and see if i can find anything...

--------------

Have poked around in the BIOS, didn't find anything. (There was the option to turn bluetooth on, but not 3G). I'm not actually sure if it actually can't be found, or if I just don't know where to look.

NeddySeagoon · Posted: Sat Dec 15, 2012 1:09 pm Post subject:

CCC_037,

Well, its either USB or PCI. Nobody ever made a ISA bus 3G modem, so thats not an option.
The other buses in a PC are slowish hardware management buses. They would be swamped by a 3G modem, so no point in putting it there.

What system do you have?
I'll find the user manual and have a read.

Long shot ...
You have a

CCC_037 · n00b Joined: 14 Dec 2012 Posts: 22

lsmod:

NeddySeagoon · Posted: Sat Dec 15, 2012 7:30 pm Post subject:

CCC_037,

A USB root hub is usually but not always used to provide two USB ports on the PC but I have known 10 USB connectors on a single root hub.
The signficance of a a root hub is that it is permitted to provide 500mA total current for all connected devices. Further, root hubs normally operate at a single speed (at a time) but thats not universally true either.

Is this your notebook?
Thats the service manual for it if it is.

In the picture on page 21, it looks like the SIM connector space is just to the left of the CMOS Battery and the Mini-PCI slot (connector not fitted) for the 3G modem is to the lest of that.
In the image, none of the 3G related hardware is fitted. In the bottom side image on page 19, the model used for the photo does not have the SIM cover.

This tells us that your 3G device should be listed in lspci, not lsusb and since you have the SIM connector you probably have the £G optional hardware too.
What can you see in the vent between the SIM cover and the HDD cover?
Thats the vent for the 3G device.

Look in the BIOS to enable PCI devices.
_________________
Regards,

NeddySeagoon

Computer users fall into two groups:-
those that do backups
those that have never had a hard drive fail.

CCC_037 · n00b Joined: 14 Dec 2012 Posts: 22

NeddySeagoon · Posted: Sat Dec 15, 2012 8:56 pm Post subject:

CCC_037,

Please post the output of

CCC_037 · n00b Joined: 14 Dec 2012 Posts: 22

lspci -n:

NeddySeagoon · Posted: Sat Dec 15, 2012 9:14 pm Post subject:

CCC_037,

The is only one oddball there

CCC_037 · n00b Joined: 14 Dec 2012 Posts: 22

dmesg output pastebinned to here. I plugged in my phone to get an internet connection before running dmesg; that turns up on usb0.

NeddySeagoon · Posted: Sat Dec 15, 2012 10:32 pm Post subject:

CCC_037,

There are no errors is dmesg, which is good.

The next step is to encourage the kernel to find the device. Read /usr/src/linux/Documentation/kernel-parameters.txt (not all of it).
There are a few acpi options worth trying and a few pci= options. Read the descriptions.

You apply the options by pressing e at the grub menu (if you use old grub) and editing the in memory copy of the kernel line, to add the option to test.
Allow the boot to continue, then run lspci and lsusb to see if you have a new device.

Your 3g device connects to a mini PCI slot but the mini PCI card may carry a USB root hub and the 3G functionality be provided by a USB device.
Google thinks the Huawei Model EM770 is a USB 3g dongle.

Hmm, maybe you should test with an Ubuntu liveCD.
It still has problems but at least the device appears.

--- edit ---

Page 56 of the manual shows that the 3G card is indeed a USB device on a mini-PCIe card.
lspci should show a new USB root hub and lsusb should then show the 3G modem attached to that USB bus.
_________________
Regards,

NeddySeagoon

Computer users fall into two groups:-
those that do backups
those that have never had a hard drive fail.

CCC_037 · n00b Joined: 14 Dec 2012 Posts: 22

The Ubuntu boot CD that I have (that I had previously) is a couple of years old, which is probably why it found even less hardware (it couldn't recognise any but the first two USB busses).

As an interesting data point, however, I experimented with a USB peripheral, and found that the USB ports on the outside of the laptop correspond to Bus 003 and Bus 001. This leaves Bus 004 and Bus 002 unaccounted for; I wonder one of these are supposed to connect to the 3G device. It may just be that the key combination that's supposed to turn it on isn't for some reason.

I tried fiddling around with the genkernel script, in an attempt to see if I'd made some sort of silly mistake in the kernel configuration (if a default configuration finds it, then that would be my error) but I can't seem to work out how to get it to ignore a pre-existing kernel configuration (I can replace it, but apparently not with something that doesn't exist).

NeddySeagoon · Posted: Sun Dec 16, 2012 8:36 pm Post subject:

CCC_037,

Look through the vent holes where he device is supposed to be. Is it actually there?

There is a genkernel option to tell genkernel to use the .config file it finds in the kernel tree.

CCC_037 · n00b Joined: 14 Dec 2012 Posts: 22

NeddySeagoon · Posted: Mon Dec 17, 2012 1:07 am Post subject:

CCC_037,

Those commands show different things

CCC_037 · n00b Joined: 14 Dec 2012 Posts: 22

My .config file

I've been fiddling with kernel parameters to try to get it to work - nothing I've done has improved anything (though for an interval earlier today I was unable to boot to the new kernel - that's now fixed at least).

NeddySeagoon · Posted: Mon Dec 17, 2012 1:28 am Post subject:

CCC_037,

Its 1:30 am here ... It will take a while. I'll look at it tomorrow.
_________________
Regards,

NeddySeagoon

Computer users fall into two groups:-
those that do backups
those that have never had a hard drive fail.

NeddySeagoon · Posted: Tue Dec 18, 2012 12:43 am Post subject:

CCC_037,

After poking around the service manual for your laptop and the datasheet for the Huawei Model EM770, its clear that the device presents a USB interface to the outside world.
Its also claer that miniPCIe slots have pins allocated for a USB interface, so either type of card can be installed. (provided the USB interface is provisioned on the connector).

The EM770 has been around for a few years too and Google knows little or nothing about it. From that, I infer that it normally just works.

Go to Clevo and fetch the W24xEU/W25xEU/W27xEU user manual. Please confirm that its correct for your laptop.
It claims that the Fn and (minus) keys control power to the 3G device.
If thats true, when the device is powered off, it may vanish from the lsusb output.

Press Fn- to turn on the 3G module. Give it a few seconds to settle. Did the 3G indicator come on?
Does it appear in lsusb ?
Is there any new messages at the end of dmesg.
_________________
Regards,

NeddySeagoon

Computer users fall into two groups:-
those that do backups
those that have never had a hard drive fail.

CCC_037 · n00b Joined: 14 Dec 2012 Posts: 22

NeddySeagoon · Posted: Tue Dec 18, 2012 1:03 pm Post subject:

CCC_037,

CCC_037 · n00b Joined: 14 Dec 2012 Posts: 22

NeddySeagoon · Posted: Tue Dec 18, 2012 7:59 pm Post subject:

CCC_037,

Get your new config for gentoo-sources-3.7.1

I've done a lot of tidying up but nothing really significant to functionality except perhaps added

CCC_037 · n00b Joined: 14 Dec 2012 Posts: 22

When I accepted the ~amd64 keyword, I got the kernel version 3.7.0 (not 3.7.1). I took your config, and used it to make a kernel (just copied it into the kernel sources directory as ".config", ran "make && make modules_install", put it on the boot partition and told Lilo where to find it).

Booting with the new kernel, I note that the screen brightness up/down functions now work (and are picked up by xev). The 3G module is still not working.

Fiddling around with the function key, I discovered that the bluetooth module works through a usb interface; when I turn it on (Fn+F12), a new USB device appears on bus 003. Fn+minus still has no effect that I can see.

NeddySeagoon · Posted: Wed Dec 19, 2012 2:50 pm Post subject:

CCC_037,

Warining: Major Security Risk

Boot into your new kernel, go to the configuration and set [code]<M> Event debugging [/code Read the kernel help while you are there and be sure to understand the security implications.

Exit the configuration and do[code]make modules
make modules_install
modprobe evbug[/code]As you have only changed an option from < > (off) to <M> (module) the kernel binary in /boot is not changed, so no kernel rebuild, reinstall and reboot is required.
You have just made a module for the running kernel and loaded it.

Now everything your type will be logged - including passwords.
Type a few things each side of a string of Fn- (turning your 3G on/off) so you can spot if the kernel sees the Fn- keypress or not.

When you are done do [code]modprobe -r evbug[/code]to unload the module.
This test will show if the keypresses are getting to the kernel or not, which can filter things before they get to xev.

When you are done, take evbug out of your kernel. Password logging, even accidently, is a very bad thing.
_________________
Regards,

NeddySeagoon

Computer users fall into two groups:-
those that do backups
those that have never had a hard drive fail.