F10 -- How do I start AR5413 interface?

[Robert Moskowitz]

Rodney Morris wrote:
> On 12/4/08, Robert Moskowitz <rgm at htt-consult.com> wrote:
>   
>> Rodney Morris wrote:
>>
>>     
>>> On 12/4/08, Robert Moskowitz <rgm at htt-consult.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>       
>>>> Rodney Morris wrote:
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>         
>>>>> On 12/4/08, Robert Moskowitz <rgm at htt-consult.com> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>           
>>>>>> Rodney Morris wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>             
>>> [trimmed]
>>>
>>>
>>>       
>>>>>>> The stock F10 kernel should support the ar5413, according to the
>>>>>>>               
>> ath5k
>>     
>>>>>>> website.[1]  Is the ath5k module being loaded?  What does "lsmod |
>>>>>>> grep ath" return?
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>               
>>>>>>  dm_multipath 17164 0
>>>>>>  ath5k 112520 0
>>>>>>  mac80211 173668 1 ath5k
>>>>>>  cfg80211 23816 2 ath5k,mac80211
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>             
>>>>> The ath5k module is definitely loaded.  For NetworkManager to use your
>>>>> wireless card, it must be present in HAL.  Run "lshal" from the
>>>>> command line and see if "atheros" or "ar5413" appears in the output.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>           
>>>>  No. Nothing like that there.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>         
>>> Hmmm. . ..  Other than looking through the log file and dmesg for
>>> anything odd, I only have a couple of more things for you to try.
>>>
>>> 1.  Edit /etc/modprobe.conf and add "alias wifi0 ath5k", making sure
>>> to include a blank line at the end of the file.  Then, reboot.
>>>
>>>
>>>       
>>  NO /etc/modprobe.conf !!!!!!
>>
>>  Why? This is probably why no sound either!
>>     
>
> I was equally vexed when I found no /etc/modprobe.conf on my F10
> installation.  I needed to add an modprobe option for my case's LCD
> display to work properly.  Fortunately, creating the file and adding
> the appropriate stanza worked.
>   

So how do you start making /etc/modprobe.conf? And what to do for 
Atheros and sound. the /etc/modprobe.conf on an identical unit running 
Centos 5.2 has:

alias eth0 8139too
alias snd-card-0 snd-hda-intel
options snd-card-0 index=0
options snd-hda-intel index=0
remove snd-hda-intel { /usr/sbin/alsactl store 0 >/dev/null 2>&1 || : ; 
}; /sbin/modprobe -r --ignore-remove snd-hda-intel


>>> 2.  If you can obtain your wireless card's MAC address, add an entry
>>> to /etc/udev/rules.d/70-persistent-net, using what is
>>>       
>> listed for eth0
>>     
>>> as a guide.  (I don't know if modifying the udev rules in this manner
>>> is considered the best practice.)
>>>
>>>
>>>       
>>  Well it looks like something is recognized:
>>
>>  # iwconfig wlan0
>>  wlan0 IEEE 802.11b ESSID:""
>>  Mode:Managed Frequency:2.412 GHz Access Point: Not-Associated
>>  Tx-Power=0 dBm
>>  Retry min limit:7 RTS thr:off Fragment thr=2352 B
>>  Encryption key:off
>>  Power Management:off
>>  Link Quality:0 Signal level:0 Noise level:0
>>  Rx invalid nwid:0 Rx invalid crypt:0 Rx invalid frag:0
>>  Tx excessive retries:0 Invalid misc:0 Missed beacon:0
>>
>>  # cat /proc/net/wireless
>>  Inter-| sta-| Quality | Discarded packets | Missed | WE
>>  face | tus | link level noise | nwid crypt frag retry misc | beacon | 22
>>  wlan0: 0000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
>>
>>     
>
> Are you now able to see access points using NetworkManager and
> nm-applet?  If not, does "iwlist wlan0 scan" list access points around
> you?
>   

#iwlist wlan0 scan
wlan0 Interface doesn't support scanning : Network is down

No wlan0 interface it seems.

>   
>>     
>>> If neither of the above work, file a bug (my guess would be against
>>> HAL or udev) and use the madwifi packages from rpmfusion or atrpms
>>> until the bug is fixed.
>>>
>>>       
>>  Challenge with atrpms is kernel patching. I got to like the dkms approach
>> that is available via rpmforge for Centos. I was hoping that things would be
>> more integrated...
>>
>>     
>
> If you like the dkms approach, you should check out the akmod-madwifi
> packages in the rpmfusion repo.  From my understanding, akmod packages
> are similar to dkms packages in that a new module is compiled when a
> new kernel is installed.  I have yet to use any of the akmod packages.
>  I'm waiting till amd releases an fglrx driver that works with F10,
> but that is another thread.

How closely linked is the compile of akmod packages and releases of new 
kernels?