Wireless...

[Ryan]

WHY HAST THOU FORSAKEN ME?!

I am slightly ignorant to true impact of updates, coming from a mainly Windows background I generally accept all updates as they come trusting that they have been well tested and will have relatively little impact on my system.

Since migrating to Ubuntu (and the Linux distros I attempted to use before settling on Ubuntu) I have been wracked with wireless problems. When choosing what distro to install on my IBM x40 I tested several of the major distros all with days spend on just attempting to force my wireless card to work properly. Since I settled on Ubuntu my wireless networking experience has been relatively smooth. However, looming on the horizon are those updates which ends up somehow trashing my wireless drivers.

How do I fix these problems? Reinstallation. Never a fun prospect no matter how easy it's made with the advent of flash drives, online backups, and CD burning. If you want to see me cry, and don't want to draw blood, kill my wireless.

At the last meeting Trent talked about locking updates for our BronOs, and I think that's a great idea, certainly for me and my desire to update myself yo oblivion. I do wonder about everyone else's wireless experiences with Ubuntu or other distros, was it problematic, smooth, etc?

[Ashok Gelal]

That happens to me too mostly with my graphics card. After I accept to install those suggested updates and restart my computer, I find Ubuntu running in a low graphics mode. This is what I do to solve the problem most of the time:
1. Create a backup of /etc/X11/xorg.conf (to something like xorg.conf.bckup)
2. After an update, I check when was the xorg.conf file last modified by using the command:
#stat /etc/X11/xorg.conf
3. If it has been modified recently (within an hour or so), I check what are the modifications by issuing:
#diff /etc/X11/xorg.conf /etc/X11/xorg.conf.bckup -y --suppress-common-lines
If there are any modifications related to my graphics card, I just undo the modifications!

I know it is too complicated but it is so much fun doing all these and that's what Linux is!

[Trent Cutler]

Linux will have wireless woes as always. Ubuntu 8.04 broke my wireless, and my old fix wouldn't work any longer. I'm a little bitter. But I have been communicating with one of the developers and they think they'll have a good resolution for my chipset by the official release time.

But one thing for sure, is moving your /home to a new partition, so you can upgrade to the newest version with a clean install anyway. this article will show you how:

http://ubuntu.wordpress.com/2006/01/29/move-home-to-its-own-partition/

[Ashok Gelal]

I don't think moving /home to a new partition can resolve the issues with hardware. But yes you can save your profiles and documents when you install or reinstall a OS when you move your home directory.

[Trent Cutler]

I didn't mean it to solve any hardware issues. Just so that if he has to reinstall everything he won't lose his /home. It was a very random sidenote I just now realized.

[Derek]

That's interesting as the main reason why I stuck with figuring ubuntu out is due to my issues with wireless and vista. I know that doesn't help out much but I figured I'd throw it in there :)

[Trent Cutler]

Wireless is a big issue on every platform, and thanks for pointing that out Derek. Too often it is easy to blame Ubuntu....

on Ubuntu's defense: They shouldn't be responsible for writing all the hacks and workarounds to get wireless cards working, it should be the wireless chipsets that give the developers the drivers to work with. This is happening more often now, but it is still an issue with Ubuntu. Ubuntu is the most successful with wireless.

Ashok gave some really good advice, to back up the graphics file, and the wireless files before updating.

I've had wireless issues with xp and vista, and I complain less about them because the fix is so easy... But when Ubuntu automatically installed my HP printer/scanner, and I still haven't gotten it working in xp.... the tables may be turning.

[Phil]

Wireless has always been tempermental on Linux. I finally got native support for my BCM44xx wireless in Feisty, but Gutsy got picky - I had to write a custom startup script to get it working after reboots. At this point, it's pretty reliable. The last problem I had with wireless was actually the access point, not my system. The MEC building has good coverage, but sometimes the 802.11b coverage is patchy.

With that said, I've ALWAYS been able to find a way to get it working without reinstallation. But maybe I'm just lucky.

I think allowing users to lock updates to specific subsystems is a good idea - The people savvy enough to use it will really appreciate it, and those not savvy enough will be mad either way when the update hoses their wireless. :)

[Nate]

I have been using an HP dv6000 for a year and a half. It has a Broadcom wireless card. I spent a couple hours that first time I installed Ubuntu on it working my way through ndiswrapper. Since then I have upgraded twice and installed every update I could and I have never had any real trouble with it. Although when I moved from 7.04 to 7.10 I had to remove and reinstall ndiswrapper, I'm not sure why. But even though I had to reinstall it only took me 15 minutes or so, so I don't consider that a big issue. I do understand how a newbie would have serious trouble if there wireless just stopped though.

On that note I think that because Linux and most the software we use is open source if there is a loophole or exploit in it someone will find it and hopefully the first person to find it reports it or fixes it themselves, but thats not always the case. If we don't include certain updates we will be leaving the possibility of large insecurities in the OS. I don't have the time to search code for vulnerabilities and write my own patches so letting canonical do it seems like the best solution to me.

I hope that my scatterbrained style makes sense when people read it.

[Ryan]

I am not trying to rip on Ubuntu and it's wireless support, in fact that is why I use Ubuntu in the first place. It was the only linux version I was able to use everything my laptop had to offer right out of the box. I am just learning that I need to be careful in my updates. Oddly enough the day I wrote this was right after my wireless card decided to not work at BSU. It failed to connect in both the ILC and Business Building. I cried for a while, begged for coins to sharpen to cut myself, then took my laptop home, and it worked fine. Go figure.

I do however hope that the UI for Hardy's wireless networking is changed somewhat. I just do not like it as much, maybe I just want it to look pretty?