No wifi when moving to the latest Refracta.

dp · 2022-11-26 01:00:17

I've been out for a while. Decided to get back in. Not sure how to troubleshoot this issue. I've been using this Dell e6400 for several years with Refracta. I've been trying to learn how the firmware gets loaded. I figured it out on the wicd version of Refracta. I'm trying to figure out why I would need a "new" firmware installed since its the same hardware and used to the firmware got loaded and stored in the hardware. I'm trying to learn the boot process as that has changed a lot from lilo, grub1, grub2, etc. I go back to before the MBR so any comments will help. I've heard that the firmware is loaded on every boot. Is that true? Who/When does that happen during the boot process? I'm including some captures from dmesg command from the current Chimaera.iso, an older Refracta (installed on this e6400 hardware) using wicd, and from the latest Refracta.iso using Connman. Seems the Connmanctl loads but no sub-commands produce any output. These are all on the same e6400 hardware. How do I proceed?
----------------------------

Results from: sudo dmesg | grep wifi

Devuan Chimaera.iso wifi Network-Manager

[ 15.704932] iwlwifi 0000:0c:00.0: can't disable ASPM; OS doesn't have ASPM control

[ 15.760404] iwlwifi 0000:0c:00.0: firmware: direct-loading firmware iwlwifi-5000-5.ucode
[ 15.760875] iwlwifi 0000:0c:00.0: loaded firmware version 8.83.5.1 build 33692 5000-5.ucode op_mode iwldvm

[ 15.764204] iwlwifi 0000:0c:00.0: firmware: failed to load iwl-debug-yoyo.bin (-2)
[ 15.958889] iwlwifi 0000:0c:00.0: CONFIG_IWLWIFI_DEBUG disabled
[ 15.959138] iwlwifi 0000:0c:00.0: CONFIG_IWLWIFI_DEBUGFS disabled
[ 15.959725] iwlwifi 0000:0c:00.0: CONFIG_IWLWIFI_DEVICE_TRACING disabled
[ 15.960701] iwlwifi 0000:0c:00.0: Detected Intel(R) WiFi Link 5100 AGN, REV=0x54
[ 20.932109] iwlwifi 0000:0c:00.0: Radio type=0x1-0x2-0x0
[ 21.060138] iwlwifi 0000:0c:00.0: Radio type=0x1-0x2-0x0
[ 21.119026] iwlwifi 0000:0c:00.0: Radio type=0x1-0x2-0x0
[ 21.246105] iwlwifi 0000:0c:00.0: Radio type=0x1-0x2-0x0
[ 434.140132] iwlwifi 0000:0c:00.0: Radio type=0x1-0x2-0x0
[ 434.266793] iwlwifi 0000:0c:00.0: Radio type=0x1-0x2-0x0
[ 849.143047] iwlwifi 0000:0c:00.0: Radio type=0x1-0x2-0x0
[ 849.266722] iwlwifi 0000:0c:00.0: Radio type=0x1-0x2-0x0

Devuan Refracta (installed) wifi wicd

[ 12.789743] iwlwifi 0000:0c:00.0: can't disable ASPM; OS doesn't have ASPM control

[ 13.502354] iwlwifi 0000:0c:00.0: firmware: direct-loading firmware iwlwifi-5000-5.ucode
[ 13.502968] iwlwifi 0000:0c:00.0: loaded firmware version 8.83.5.1 build 33692 op_mode iwldvm

[ 13.932413] iwlwifi 0000:0c:00.0: CONFIG_IWLWIFI_DEBUG disabled
[ 13.932414] iwlwifi 0000:0c:00.0: CONFIG_IWLWIFI_DEBUGFS disabled
[ 13.932416] iwlwifi 0000:0c:00.0: CONFIG_IWLWIFI_DEVICE_TRACING disabled
[ 13.932417] iwlwifi 0000:0c:00.0: Detected Intel(R) WiFi Link 5100 AGN, REV=0x54
[ 32.581771] iwlwifi 0000:0c:00.0: Radio type=0x1-0x2-0x0
[ 32.707619] iwlwifi 0000:0c:00.0: Radio type=0x1-0x2-0x0

Devuan latest Refracta.iso wifi Connman

[ 21.476833] iwlwifi 0000:0c:00.0: can't disable ASPM; OS doesn't have ASPM control

[ 21.515439] iwlwifi 0000:0c:00.0: firmware: failed to load iwlwifi-5000-5.ucode (-2)
[ 21.516476] iwlwifi 0000:0c:00.0: Direct firmware load for iwlwifi-5000-5.ucode failed with error -2

[ 21.518691] iwlwifi 0000:0c:00.0: firmware: failed to load iwlwifi-5000-4.ucode (-2)
[ 21.518980] iwlwifi 0000:0c:00.0: Direct firmware load for iwlwifi-5000-4.ucode failed with error -2
[ 21.519849] iwlwifi 0000:0c:00.0: firmware: failed to load iwlwifi-5000-3.ucode (-2)
[ 21.520910] iwlwifi 0000:0c:00.0: Direct firmware load for iwlwifi-5000-3.ucode failed with error -2
[ 21.522024] iwlwifi 0000:0c:00.0: firmware: failed to load iwlwifi-5000-2.ucode (-2)
[ 21.523079] iwlwifi 0000:0c:00.0: Direct firmware load for iwlwifi-5000-2.ucode failed with error -2
[ 21.524156] iwlwifi 0000:0c:00.0: firmware: failed to load iwlwifi-5000-1.ucode (-2)
[ 21.525200] iwlwifi 0000:0c:00.0: Direct firmware load for iwlwifi-5000-1.ucode failed with error -2
[ 21.526286] iwlwifi 0000:0c:00.0: minimum version required: iwlwifi-5000-1
[ 21.527317] iwlwifi 0000:0c:00.0: maximum version supported: iwlwifi-5000-5
[ 21.528370] iwlwifi 0000:0c:00.0: check git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/firmware/linux-firmware.git

fsmithred · 2022-11-26 12:27:18

Refracta xfce isos and the no-X isos do not have non-free firmware installed. There are firmware packages in the user's home directory that you can install with dpkg if you don't have a network connection. dpkg -i /home/user/firmware-iwlwifi*.deb

If you do have a network connection, you can add 'contrib' and 'non-free' to the deb lines in /etc/apt/sources.list then run apt update and apt install firmware-iwlwifi.

dp · 2022-11-26 16:31:05

I appreciate these instructions very much. However, I'm also trying to understand the design and function of the overall boot process. Back in the day, once the firmware was loaded into the device adapter, there was no need to reinstall it at a later time. The firmware was loaded into the adapter on this machine quite sometime ago. So I'm in a quandary as to why this has to be repeated on this new release of the OS. Its the same hardware. So, in order to understand how this design works: 1) Is the firmware loaded everytime the system boots? 2) If so, who does it? 3) when is it done? 4) Will the above instructions above install the firmware when the only thing loaded is the Refracta.iso. If so, where does the firmware go? Is it installed onto the usb drive which my guess is that its ro? 5) Do I have to install the .iso in order to get the firmware in the right place and then do a refractasnapshot in order to get it onto a usb drive in order to have a functional wifi when booting the .iso from a usb drive? I'm cleary still on the (steep) part of the learning curve in this area but I keep reading and so far the above questions have not been answered. And so I ask the questions to the VUA's. Thank you for your answers and your patience. I really like Devuan and Refracta.

Camtaf · 2022-11-26 18:01:52

Most distros will load necessary drivers when booting up a computer, as long as the needed drivers can be found on the system.

On Devuan, they are kept in the /Firmware directory, & get loaded by the boot process, I think it is the initrd.img that searches for them & actually loads them into kernel space, ready for using.

fsmithred · 2022-11-26 18:45:45

If you install the firmware package while running the live iso on usb, it will be in the system memory only, so it won't survive a reboot. If you install the firmware then install the system to hard drive, the firmware will be in the installed system. It's also possible to install the system first, reboot into the installed system and then install the firmware package.

If you want a live-usb with your wifi driver, you need to set up a persistent volume (rw instead of ro) so your changes are saved. I use refracta2usb for that, but there are other ways.
https://sourceforge.net/projects/refracta/files/tools/refracta2usb-2.4.3.deb

steve_v · 2022-11-26 19:34:49

dp wrote:

Back in the day, once the firmware was loaded into the device adapter, there was no need to reinstall it at a later time.

Back in the day, devices had non-volatile memory to store firmware in. Then manufacturers found they could save a few cents.

dp wrote:

Is the firmware loaded everytime the system boots?

For most things, yes.

dp wrote:

who does it?

The kernel and/or udev.
Generally speaking, the device driver requests firmware through the kernel API, and the kernel pulls it from disk. If the root filesystem is not yet mounted, this may be deferred and a udev trigger used to load it once it's available.

dp wrote:

when is it done?

When the device driver is loaded, if possible. Where exactly this falls in the boot process depends on how the kernel and initrd were built - primarily whether the firmware files are in the initrd image or not.
(AKA, I could tell you how it works on gentoo, but I'm too lazy to dissect the devuan initrd to see if it's the same)
Obligatory kernel documentation link.

As for the refracta stuff, I have no idea. I dislike refracta intensely.

Last edited by steve_v (2022-11-26 19:45:17)

dp · 2022-11-27 00:19:49

Once I learned that the dd requested the firmware via the kernel, I figured the name of the firmware must be hardcoded into the dd. So I did the following:

xxxx@E6400:~/firmware-temp$ strings iwlwifi-5000-5.ucode | grep 5000
5000 fw v8.83.5.1 build 33692
xxxx@E6400:~/firmware-temp$

xxxx@E6400:/etc$ sudo dmesg | grep firmware
[ 13.589031] iwlwifi 0000:0c:00.0: firmware: direct-loading firmware iwlwifi-5000-5.ucode
[ 13.589474] iwlwifi 0000:0c:00.0: loaded firmware version 8.83.5.1 build 33692 op_mode iwldvm
xxxx@E6400:/etc$

Bingo. Confirmed.

Now I guess its on to refracta2usb.
I may try to learn how to set up a persistent volume. I'll search that out...
Thanks a lot!

dp · 2022-12-04 00:22:33

While I'm on the subject...
Perhaps someone can help answer my questions concerning the
firmware-iwlwifi firmware package. Apparently, the source code is not available for study as it belongs to Intel. I'm using Refracta. Several years ago I discovered that the software that cycles through the USB ports looking for the non-free device drivers on a usb stick, only looks at USB-a and USB-b ports. It does not look beyond this to, say, USB-c (where I initially had the usb stick plugged in). Once I discovered this, the firmware was installed just fine. In my current search for a solution for my present issue, I discovered that someone else has had the very same problem with this same firmware driver installer, but with a different hardware/software driver. Failure to find a firmware module on USB-a/b, the code simply cycles back around and ask that a usb drive be inserted with the firmware on it, with no clue as to what went wrong or suggesting that another usb port be tried. No error noted. I conclude that the problem resides in the software that cycles through the USB ports. My question that you may be able to help me with is: Does the portion of the code that cycles through the usb ports reside in the iwlwifi-firmware code or at a higher level. If this behavior is within the iwlwifi-firmware module, then I need to find a way to report this back to Intel. If not, I need to discover if the problem lies in Debian/Devuan. Any advice/ideas is appreciated. Thank you.

fsmithred · 2022-12-04 13:47:50

Several years ago I discovered that the software that cycles through the USB ports looking for the non-free device drivers on a usb stick, only looks at USB-a and USB-b ports.  It does not look beyond this to, say, USB-c (where I initially had the usb stick plugged in)...  the code simply cycles back around and ask that a usb drive be inserted with the firmware on it

What software are you using that asks you to insert a usb with firmware? The only thing I know that asks that is the debian/devuan installer that's on the installer isos, not in the devuan live isos or any Refracta isos. That question comes up early in the installer and should usually be ignored. In most cases, the firmware will be installed automatically unless you do an expert install and tell it not to use non-free software. The main exceptions to this are certain broadcom devices that require an internet connection to get the wireless firmware - that poses a serious problem if someone is trying to install and doesn't have an ethernet connection.

If my guess is right, and you're talking about that early question in the debian/devuan installer, then I think the code is probably in the udeb package that asks for the firmware. I don't know that installer well enough to know which udeb that is.

dp · 2022-12-09 01:41:45

Yes, I believe that's right. My earlier experience was with a broadcom device on a different machine. What I'd like to do now, and to teach my way around the development landscape, I'd like to know the name of the devuan installer and how to access the source code for that package. I've located the debian-installer and its description. I attempted to download the source for bash, as an example, to learn how but that didn't work. I modified the /etc/apt/sources.list file using vi to open up those paths. I need some hand holding in order to make progress. The amount of information availableon the web has improved tremendously over the last few years. Please point me in the right direction.
Btw, not that it matters much since I was doing something that I wouldn't expect to work, was to do an accidental suspend while booted into the refracta live boot. What surprise me was, that after I did that, I could not shutdown nor turn off the e6400. I had to pull the battery to recover. I found that interesting.

golinux · 2022-12-09 02:33:38

Hi dp . . .

The source for the devuan installer is here. It is a real rat's nest!

The officially official Devuan Forum!

#1 2022-11-26 01:00:17

No wifi when moving to the latest Refracta.

#2 2022-11-26 12:27:18

Re: No wifi when moving to the latest Refracta.

#3 2022-11-26 16:31:05

Re: No wifi when moving to the latest Refracta.

#4 2022-11-26 18:01:52

Re: No wifi when moving to the latest Refracta.

#5 2022-11-26 18:45:45

Re: No wifi when moving to the latest Refracta.

#6 2022-11-26 19:34:49

Re: No wifi when moving to the latest Refracta.

#7 2022-11-27 00:19:49

Re: No wifi when moving to the latest Refracta.

#8 2022-12-04 00:22:33

Re: No wifi when moving to the latest Refracta.

#9 2022-12-04 13:47:50

Re: No wifi when moving to the latest Refracta.

#10 2022-12-09 01:41:45

Re: No wifi when moving to the latest Refracta.

#11 2022-12-09 02:33:38

Re: No wifi when moving to the latest Refracta.

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