RT2500 install

[Freston]

Hi all!

I've been trying to get my RT2500 wireless card to work for well over a year now. I for long didn't have a wireless modem, but I know some networks I could attach to. Lately I bought a wireless router.

The whole ordeal has been very frustrating. But today I'll attempt it again. As basis I use easuters howto. I've followed many in the past, and none of them worked.

The system I'm using is an 1.5Ghz Celeron Packard Bell, 512MB RAM, with the RaLink RT2500 wireless card. There are leftovers from previous attempts to get the card to work on my system. I'm not bothering with it, because I'm gonna rebuild my partitioning scheme and reinstall everything in a couple of days. Knowing how to get it to work on this 'dirty' system will help me set up a better 'clean' system.

OK, here goes. What is quoted, is quoted from easuters howto.

- Step 1: Know if your hardware works

The very first thing you should do is to find out if a certain card is known to work with Linux before you buy it. Even if a native driver is not availible, then NdisWrapper is usually the next best thing, but it is not 100% fail-safe either!

Check. It works while running Mandriva Life. On an installed Mandriva system the card is as dead as ever.

Step 2: Making sure your card is detected
-snip-
If you have a PCI or CardBus/PCMCIA wireless card:

Code:

lspci

Code:

root@lappy:~ #lspci
00:00.0 Host bridge: VIA Technologies, Inc. CN400/PM880 Host Bridge
00:00.1 Host bridge: VIA Technologies, Inc. CN400/PM880 Host Bridge
00:00.2 Host bridge: VIA Technologies, Inc. CN400/PM880 Host Bridge
00:00.3 Host bridge: VIA Technologies, Inc. CN400/PM880 Host Bridge
00:00.4 Host bridge: VIA Technologies, Inc. CN400/PM880 Host Bridge
00:00.7 Host bridge: VIA Technologies, Inc. CN400/PM880 Host Bridge
00:01.0 PCI bridge: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT8237 PCI Bridge
00:06.0 Network controller: RaLink RT2500 802.11g Cardbus/mini-PCI (rev 01) <= that's the one
00:10.0 USB Controller: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT82xxxxx UHCI USB 1.1 Controller (rev 80)
00:10.1 USB Controller: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT82xxxxx UHCI USB 1.1 Controller (rev 80)
00:10.2 USB Controller: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT82xxxxx UHCI USB 1.1 Controller (rev 80)
00:10.3 USB Controller: VIA Technologies, Inc. USB 2.0 (rev 82)
00:11.0 ISA bridge: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT8235 ISA Bridge
00:11.1 IDE interface: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT82C586A/B/VT82C686/A/B/VT823x/A/C PIPC Bus Master IDE (rev 06)
00:11.5 Multimedia audio controller: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT8233/A/8235/8237 AC97 Audio Controller (rev 50)
00:11.6 Communication controller: VIA Technologies, Inc. AC'97 Modem Controller (rev 80)
00:12.0 Ethernet controller: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT6102 [Rhine-II] (rev 74)
01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: VIA Technologies, Inc. S3 Unichrome Pro VGA Adapter (rev 02)

Gotcha!

Step 3: Get your card and computer talking

a ) With a native Linux module

Code:

init 2
vasm
do stuff
init 4
cat /etc/modprobe.conf

Right!

Code:

root@lappy:~ #cat /etc/modprobe.conf
# /etc/modprobe.conf (old location for Linux 2.6+ config)
#
# The use of this config file is deprecated if you are using a
# 2.6.x or newer kernel.  Instead, create files in the
# /etc/modprobe.d/ directory containing modprobe options.
#
# For more information, see "man modprobe.conf".

alias ra0 rt2500
alias eth0 via-rhine

Ok. I had checked this file prior to running vasm, and the ra0 entry was already there. A leftover from a previous attempt. But! vasm did change the order of the ra0 and the eth0 entries. I am very sure of it.

Now at this moment I'm wondering. I've encountered before that parts of the system expect my wireless to be called wlan0. It seems farfetched, but I don't know what to make of things anymore :confused:

If that is the case, then your network interface has been properly created.

Ai, let's hope so. Continue!

Code:

depmod -aq
modprobe xxxxxxxxx

Code:

root@lappy:~ #depmod -aq
root@lappy:~ #modprobe rt2500

I've done this before of course, but as far as I can tell you wont brake something by duplicate modprobes. If I'm wrong O_o

You may want to add wlan0 (or whatever network interface you assigned to your card) to ifplugd.
Open /etc/ifplug.d/ifplugd.conf with you editor and find the line that looks like this:

INTERFACES="eth0"

Add your network interface to that line, so it should look like this:

INTERFACES="eth0 wlan0"

Oops. A typo ;-) /etc/ifplug.d should be /etc/ifplugd
Anyway, I've added ra0, assuming that was the way to go.
Funny thing, I've never had to edit this file before. It sometimes seems that every howto is very different from the next. But this is new.
Anyway, it now sais:

Code:

INTERFACES="eth0 ra0"

Moving on, action!

Code:

service ifplugd restart

Code:

root@lappy:~ #service ifplugd restart
Stopping Network Interface Plugging Daemon: eth0 ra0.
Starting Network Interface Plugging Daemon: eth0 ra0.

Looking good!

Code:

root@lappy:~ #ifconfig
eth0      Link encap:Ethernet  HWaddr 00:40:D0:8F:6F:27
          inet addr:80.57.200.113  Bcast:255.255.255.255  Mask:255.255.254.0
          UP BROADCAST NOTRAILERS RUNNING MULTICAST  MTU:1500  Metric:1
          RX packets:3860452 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:2991546 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
          RX bytes:2935263993 (2.7 GiB)  TX bytes:277039546 (264.2 MiB)
          Interrupt:11 Base address:0x4000

lo        Link encap:Local Loopback
          inet addr:127.0.0.1  Mask:255.0.0.0
          UP LOOPBACK RUNNING  MTU:16436  Metric:1
          RX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:0
          RX bytes:0 (0.0 b)  TX bytes:0 (0.0 b)
root@lappy:~ #iwconfig
lo        no wireless extensions.

ra0       RT2500 Wireless  ESSID:""
          Mode:Managed  Frequency=2.412 GHz  Bit Rate:1 Mb/s
          RTS thr:off   Fragment thr:off
          Encryption key:off
          Link Quality:0  Signal level:136  Noise level:113
          Rx invalid nwid:0  invalid crypt:0  invalid misc:0

eth0      no wireless extensions.

Looking good again!
And now...

Code:

root@lappy:~ #ifconfig ra0 up
SIOCSIFFLAGS: Device or resource busy
root@lappy:~ #ifconfig ra0 down
root@lappy:~ #ifconfig ra0 up
SIOCSIFFLAGS: Device or resource busy

The SIOCSIFFLAGS error again. From this point onward the card does nothing. Nada. And I'm lost again.


Now that could be due to the fact that previous attempts have 'contaminated' my system. But to be frank, I have this error almost every time. And I have tried to install this on several clean systems. Slackware, OpenSUSE, *buntu, Mandriva, Vector. I've googled this to no end, meeting a couple of my own posts (which is always fun)... but frankly I think I'm either overlooking something obvious or I am just cursed; I did meet a witch once...


Now anyone who has read this deserves a medal. Pray, tell me, where did I go wrong?

[newt]

From the looks of it you seem to be on the right track and just an inch away from a working wireless card.  As you are probably aware, you are correct for using 'ra0' instead of 'wlan0', throughout.  Have you checked your BIOS for a plug&play option to make sure it's set to 'No'/'Off' to see if it helps (http://www.thelinuxpimp.com/main/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=562).  Another thing I've read about similar problems was an IRQ conflict.

HTH!

[Freston]

Wow, a medalist!

I got so excited when I read that link that I instantly said 'reboot', forgetting I have a torrent running. I will be able to check if that is harmful in an hour or two :0

Anyway, my BIOS has no settings but password and boot order. So it's a dead end.

The IRQ thing had occurred to me. It reminds me of DOS, and I remember having had to set an IRQ a lot in DOS... I still know my Adlib soundblaster had IRQ 7.

Code:

Freston:$ cat /proc/interrupts
           CPU0
  0:     687179    XT-PIC-XT        timer
  1:       1256    XT-PIC-XT        i8042
  2:          0    XT-PIC-XT        cascade
  5:       5632    XT-PIC-XT        uhci_hcd:usb4, VIA8233
  7:          0    XT-PIC-XT        uhci_hcd:usb3
  8:          1    XT-PIC-XT        rtc
  9:        744    XT-PIC-XT        acpi
 10:          0    XT-PIC-XT        ehci_hcd:usb1
 11:      58765    XT-PIC-XT        uhci_hcd:usb2, eth0
 12:      82888    XT-PIC-XT        i8042
 14:      38497    XT-PIC-XT        ide0
 15:         90    XT-PIC-XT        ide1
NMI:       2288
LOC:     687096
ERR:          0
MIS:          0

and

Code:

Freston:$ dmesg | grep -i irq
IRQ handler type mismatch for IRQ 0
 [<c013ec93>] setup_irq+0x193/0x1d0
 [<c013ee64>] request_irq+0x84/0xa0
IRQ handler type mismatch for IRQ 0
 [<c013ec93>] setup_irq+0x193/0x1d0
 [<c013ee64>] request_irq+0x84/0xa0
IRQ handler type mismatch for IRQ 0
 [<c013ec93>] setup_irq+0x193/0x1d0
 [<c013ee64>] request_irq+0x84/0xa0
IRQ handler type mismatch for IRQ 0
 [<c013ec93>] setup_irq+0x193/0x1d0
 [<c013ee64>] request_irq+0x84/0xa0
IRQ handler type mismatch for IRQ 0
 [<c013ec93>] setup_irq+0x193/0x1d0
 [<c013ee64>] request_irq+0x84/0xa0
IRQ handler type mismatch for IRQ 0
 [<c013ec93>] setup_irq+0x193/0x1d0
 [<c013ee64>] request_irq+0x84/0xa0
IRQ handler type mismatch for IRQ 0
 [<c013ec93>] setup_irq+0x193/0x1d0
 [<c013ee64>] request_irq+0x84/0xa0
IRQ handler type mismatch for IRQ 0
 [<c013ec93>] setup_irq+0x193/0x1d0
 [<c013ee64>] request_irq+0x84/0xa0
IRQ handler type mismatch for IRQ 0
 [<c013ec93>] setup_irq+0x193/0x1d0
 [<c013ee64>] request_irq+0x84/0xa0
IRQ handler type mismatch for IRQ 0
 [<c013ec93>] setup_irq+0x193/0x1d0
 [<c013ee64>] request_irq+0x84/0xa0
IRQ handler type mismatch for IRQ 0
 [<c013ec93>] setup_irq+0x193/0x1d0
 [<c013ee64>] request_irq+0x84/0xa0
IRQ handler type mismatch for IRQ 0
 [<c013ec93>] setup_irq+0x193/0x1d0
 [<c013ee64>] request_irq+0x84/0xa0
IRQ handler type mismatch for IRQ 0
 [<c013ec93>] setup_irq+0x193/0x1d0
 [<c013ee64>] request_irq+0x84/0xa0
IRQ handler type mismatch for IRQ 0
 [<c013ec93>] setup_irq+0x193/0x1d0
 [<c013ee64>] request_irq+0x84/0xa0
IRQ handler type mismatch for IRQ 0
 [<c013ec93>] setup_irq+0x193/0x1d0
 [<c013ee64>] request_irq+0x84/0xa0
IRQ handler type mismatch for IRQ 0
 [<c013ec93>] setup_irq+0x193/0x1d0
 [<c013ee64>] request_irq+0x84/0xa0
IRQ handler type mismatch for IRQ 0
 [<c013ec93>] setup_irq+0x193/0x1d0
 [<c013ee64>] request_irq+0x84/0xa0
IRQ handler type mismatch for IRQ 0
 [<c013ec93>] setup_irq+0x193/0x1d0
 [<c013ee64>] request_irq+0x84/0xa0
IRQ handler type mismatch for IRQ 0
 [<c013ec93>] setup_irq+0x193/0x1d0
 [<c013ee64>] request_irq+0x84/0xa0
IRQ handler type mismatch for IRQ 0
 [<c013ec93>] setup_irq+0x193/0x1d0
 [<c013ee64>] request_irq+0x84/0xa0
IRQ handler type mismatch for IRQ 0
 [<c013ec93>] setup_irq+0x193/0x1d0
 [<c013ee64>] request_irq+0x84/0xa0
IRQ handler type mismatch for IRQ 0
 [<c013ec93>] setup_irq+0x193/0x1d0
 [<c013ee64>] request_irq+0x84/0xa0
IRQ handler type mismatch for IRQ 0
 [<c013ec93>] setup_irq+0x193/0x1d0
 [<c013ee64>] request_irq+0x84/0xa0
IRQ handler type mismatch for IRQ 0
 [<c013ec93>] setup_irq+0x193/0x1d0
 [<c013ee64>] request_irq+0x84/0xa0
IRQ handler type mismatch for IRQ 0
 [<c013ec93>] setup_irq+0x193/0x1d0
 [<c013ee64>] request_irq+0x84/0xa0
IRQ handler type mismatch for IRQ 0
 [<c013ec93>] setup_irq+0x193/0x1d0
 [<c013ee64>] request_irq+0x84/0xa0
IRQ handler type mismatch for IRQ 0
 [<c013ec93>] setup_irq+0x193/0x1d0
 [<c013ee64>] request_irq+0x84/0xa0
IRQ handler type mismatch for IRQ 0
 [<c013ec93>] setup_irq+0x193/0x1d0
 [<c013ee64>] request_irq+0x84/0xa0
IRQ handler type mismatch for IRQ 0
 [<c013ec93>] setup_irq+0x193/0x1d0
 [<c013ee64>] request_irq+0x84/0xa0
IRQ handler type mismatch for IRQ 0
 [<c013ec93>] setup_irq+0x193/0x1d0
 [<c013ee64>] request_irq+0x84/0xa0
IRQ handler type mismatch for IRQ 0
 [<c013ec93>] setup_irq+0x193/0x1d0
 [<c013ee64>] request_irq+0x84/0xa0
IRQ handler type mismatch for IRQ 0
 [<c013ec93>] setup_irq+0x193/0x1d0
 [<c013ee64>] request_irq+0x84/0xa0
IRQ handler type mismatch for IRQ 0
 [<c013ec93>] setup_irq+0x193/0x1d0
 [<c013ee64>] request_irq+0x84/0xa0
IRQ handler type mismatch for IRQ 0
 [<c013ec93>] setup_irq+0x193/0x1d0
 [<c013ee64>] request_irq+0x84/0xa0
IRQ handler type mismatch for IRQ 0
 [<c013ec93>] setup_irq+0x193/0x1d0
 [<c013ee64>] request_irq+0x84/0xa0
IRQ handler type mismatch for IRQ 0
 [<c013ec93>] setup_irq+0x193/0x1d0
 [<c013ee64>] request_irq+0x84/0xa0

O_o, this ain't good.

Code:

Freston:$ dmesg | head -n 60

 [<c05881c4>] dev_open+0x64/0x80
 [<c0589e16>] dev_change_flags+0x46/0x100
 [<c05ceb97>] devinet_ioctl+0x497/0x530
 [<c05d0960>] inet_ioctl+0x60/0x80
 [<c057e14f>] sock_ioctl+0x8f/0x1d0
 [<c057e0c0>] sock_ioctl+0x0/0x1d0
 [<c057e0c0>] sock_ioctl+0x0/0x1d0
 [<c016a904>] do_ioctl+0x64/0x80
 [<c016aa71>] vfs_ioctl+0x51/0x1c0
 [<c016ac42>] sys_ioctl+0x62/0x70
 [<c0102f60>] syscall_call+0x7/0xb
 =======================
IRQ handler type mismatch for IRQ 0
current handler: timer
 [<c013ec93>] setup_irq+0x193/0x1d0
 [<dcf93540>] RTMPIsr+0x0/0x1b0 [rt2500]
 [<c013ee64>] request_irq+0x84/0xa0
 [<dcf93334>] RT2500_open+0x94/0x190 [rt2500]
 [<c05881c4>] dev_open+0x64/0x80
 [<c0589e16>] dev_change_flags+0x46/0x100
 [<c05ceb97>] devinet_ioctl+0x497/0x530
 [<c05d0960>] inet_ioctl+0x60/0x80
 [<c057e14f>] sock_ioctl+0x8f/0x1d0
 [<c057e0c0>] sock_ioctl+0x0/0x1d0
 [<c057e0c0>] sock_ioctl+0x0/0x1d0
 [<c016a904>] do_ioctl+0x64/0x80
 [<c016aa71>] vfs_ioctl+0x51/0x1c0
 [<c016ac42>] sys_ioctl+0x62/0x70
 [<c0102f60>] syscall_call+0x7/0xb
 =======================
KMF: IN=eth0 OUT= MAC=00:40:d0:8f:6f:27:00:05:5f:e9:f0:21:08:00 SRC=209.98.211.164 DST=80.57.200.113 LEN=40 TOS=0x00 PREC=0x00 TTL=242 ID=116 PROTO=TCP SPT=55638 DPT=53964 WINDOW=0 RES=0x00 RST URGP=0
IRQ handler type mismatch for IRQ 0
current handler: timer
 [<c013ec93>] setup_irq+0x193/0x1d0
 [<dcf93540>] RTMPIsr+0x0/0x1b0 [rt2500]
 [<c013ee64>] request_irq+0x84/0xa0
 [<dcf93334>] RT2500_open+0x94/0x190 [rt2500]
 [<c05881c4>] dev_open+0x64/0x80
 [<c0589e16>] dev_change_flags+0x46/0x100
 [<c05ceb97>] devinet_ioctl+0x497/0x530
 [<c05d0960>] inet_ioctl+0x60/0x80
 [<c057e14f>] sock_ioctl+0x8f/0x1d0
 [<c057e0c0>] sock_ioctl+0x0/0x1d0
 [<c057e0c0>] sock_ioctl+0x0/0x1d0
 [<c016a904>] do_ioctl+0x64/0x80
 [<c016aa71>] vfs_ioctl+0x51/0x1c0
 [<c016ac42>] sys_ioctl+0x62/0x70
 [<c0102f60>] syscall_call+0x7/0xb
 =======================
KMF: IN=eth0 OUT= MAC=ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:00:05:5f:e9:f0:21:08:00 SRC=10.38.128.1 DST=255.255.255.255 LEN=344 TOS=0x00 PREC=0x00 TTL=255 ID=51481 PROTO=UDP SPT=67 DPT=68 LEN=324
IRQ handler type mismatch for IRQ 0
current handler: timer
 [<c013ec93>] setup_irq+0x193/0x1d0
 [<dcf93540>] RTMPIsr+0x0/0x1b0 [rt2500]
 [<c013ee64>] request_irq+0x84/0xa0
 [<dcf93334>] RT2500_open+0x94/0x190 [rt2500]
 [<c05881c4>] dev_open+0x64/0x80
 [<c0589e16>] dev_change_flags+0x46/0x100
 [<c05ceb97>] devinet_ioctl+0x497/0x530

ad infinitum... I tried up until head 4000 (!) and still this went on. Ehm... IRQ 0 and RT2500 are in there more than I am comfortable with. Now I would like to know what this means. Is there someone who knows what this is in English?

What I understand of it is that ra0 requests IRQ 0, but that the timer already has it and doesn't want to share. ra0 doesn't get an interrupt channel, and therefor it reads as busy. And I understand that _I_ have to fix that?

Code:

$fix irq --without_reboot --configure_magically
-bash: rtfm

Where should I ... ehm ... click??

[Freston]

Between events I found out the following.

As mentioned, Mandriva Live does give me a working wireless. So I looked into what Mandriva Live had to say about IRQ's.

This here .. ehm .. doesn't really contain what I expected; a ra0 device. But the wireless was working again.

Code:

MandrivaLive:$ cat /proc/interrupts
           CPU0
  0:     117714    IO-APIC-edge  timer
  1:        604    IO-APIC-edge  i8042
  5:          0   IO-APIC-level  uhci_hcd:usb4
  7:          0   IO-APIC-level  uhci_hcd:usb3
  8:          2    IO-APIC-edge  rtc
  9:          2   IO-APIC-level  acpi
 10:          0   IO-APIC-level  ehci_hcd:usb1
 11:          0   IO-APIC-level  uhci_hcd:usb2
 12:      31213    IO-APIC-edge  i8042
 14:        334    IO-APIC-edge  ide0
 15:       3673    IO-APIC-edge  ide1
 18:          0   IO-APIC-level  eth0
 19:        773   IO-APIC-level  VIA8233
 20:      21000   IO-APIC-level  via@pci:0000:01:00.0
NMI:          0
LOC:     117639
ERR:          0
MIS:          0

So I tried this. It gives a lot of information, but none of it useful. Less errors this time than in my previous post.

Code:

MandrivaLive:$ dmesg | grep -i irq
ACPI: INT_SRC_OVR (bus 0 bus_irq 0 global_irq 2 dfl dfl)
ACPI: INT_SRC_OVR (bus 0 bus_irq 9 global_irq 9 low level)
ACPI: IRQ0 used by override.
ACPI: IRQ2 used by override.
ACPI: IRQ9 used by override.
ENABLING IO-APIC IRQs
ACPI: PCI Interrupt Link [LNKA] (IRQs 3 4 5 7 10 *11 14 15)
ACPI: PCI Interrupt Link [LNKB] (IRQs 3 4 5 *7 10 11 14 15)
ACPI: PCI Interrupt Link [LNKC] (IRQs 3 4 *5 7 10 11 14 15)
ACPI: PCI Interrupt Link [LNKD] (IRQs 3 4 5 7 *10 11 14 15)
ACPI: PCI Interrupt Link [LNKE] (IRQs 3 4 5 7 10 11 14 15) *0, disabled.
ACPI: PCI Interrupt Link [LNKF] (IRQs 3 4 5 7 10 11 14 15) *0, disabled.
ACPI: PCI Interrupt Link [LNKG] (IRQs 3 4 5 7 10 11 14 15) *0, disabled.
ACPI: PCI Interrupt Link [LNKH] (IRQs 3 4 5 7 10 11 14 15) *0, disabled.
ACPI: PCI Interrupt Link [ALKA] (IRQs 20) *0, disabled.
ACPI: PCI Interrupt Link [ALKB] (IRQs 23) *11
ACPI: PCI Interrupt Link [ALKC] (IRQs 22) *5, disabled.
ACPI: PCI Interrupt Link [ALKD] (IRQs 21) *0
PCI: Using ACPI for IRQ routing
PCI: If a device doesn't work, try "pci=routeirq".  If it helps, post a report
Serial: 8250/16550 driver $Revision: 1.90 $ 4 ports, IRQ sharing enabled
ACPI: PCI Interrupt Link [ALKA] BIOS reported IRQ 0, using IRQ 20
ACPI: PCI Interrupt Link [ALKA] enabled at IRQ 20
ACPI: PCI Interrupt 0000:00:11.1[A] -> Link [ALKA] -> GSI 20 (level, low) -> IRQ 16
VP_IDE: not 100% native mode: will probe irqs later
ide0 at 0x1f0-0x1f7,0x3f6 on irq 14
ide1 at 0x170-0x177,0x376 on irq 15
PNP: PS/2 Controller [PNP0303:KBC,PNP0f13:PS2M] at 0x60,0x64 irq 1,12
serio: i8042 AUX0 port at 0x60,0x64 irq 12
serio: i8042 AUX1 port at 0x60,0x64 irq 12
serio: i8042 AUX2 port at 0x60,0x64 irq 12
serio: i8042 AUX3 port at 0x60,0x64 irq 12
serio: i8042 KBD port at 0x60,0x64 irq 1
ACPI: Unable to set IRQ for PCI Interrupt Link [ALKD] (likely buggy ACPI BIOS).
ACPI: PCI Interrupt 0000:00:10.3[D]: no GSI - using IRQ 10
ehci_hcd 0000:00:10.3: irq 10, io mem 0x20002000
ACPI: Unable to set IRQ for PCI Interrupt Link [ALKD] (likely buggy ACPI BIOS).
ACPI: PCI Interrupt 0000:00:10.0[A]: no GSI - using IRQ 11
uhci_hcd 0000:00:10.0: irq 11, io base 0x00001200
ACPI: Unable to set IRQ for PCI Interrupt Link [ALKD] (likely buggy ACPI BIOS).
ACPI: PCI Interrupt 0000:00:10.1[B]: no GSI - using IRQ 7
uhci_hcd 0000:00:10.1: irq 7, io base 0x00001220
ACPI: Unable to set IRQ for PCI Interrupt Link [ALKD] (likely buggy ACPI BIOS).
ACPI: PCI Interrupt 0000:00:10.2[C]: no GSI - using IRQ 5
uhci_hcd 0000:00:10.2: irq 5, io base 0x00001240
qlogicfas: no cards were found, please specify I/O address and IRQ using iobase= and irq= optionsFailed initialization of WD-7000 SCSI card!
ACPI: PCI Interrupt 0000:00:06.0[A] -> GSI 19 (level, low) -> IRQ 17
ACPI: PCI Interrupt Link [ALKB] BIOS reported IRQ 11, using IRQ 23
ACPI: PCI Interrupt Link [ALKB] enabled at IRQ 23
ACPI: PCI Interrupt 0000:00:12.0[A] -> Link [ALKB] -> GSI 23 (level, low) -> IRQ 18
eth0: VIA Rhine II at 0x1e200, 00:40:d0:8f:6f:27, IRQ 18.
ACPI: PCI Interrupt Link [ALKC] BIOS reported IRQ 5, using IRQ 22
ACPI: PCI Interrupt Link [ALKC] enabled at IRQ 22
ACPI: PCI Interrupt 0000:00:11.5[C] -> Link [ALKC] -> GSI 22 (level, low) -> IRQ 19
ACPI: PCI Interrupt 0000:01:00.0[A] -> GSI 16 (level, low) -> IRQ 20

So I tried this. Grep for rt2500 (found once) with ten lines of context.

Code:

MandrivaLive:$ dmesg | grep -iC 10 rt2500
bootsplash 3.1.6-2004/03/31: looking for picture...<6> silentjpeg size 189894 bytes,<6>...found (800x600, 189846 bytes, v3).
bootsplash: status on console 0 changed to on
Netfilter messages via NETLINK v0.30.
ip_conntrack version 2.4 (3583 buckets, 28664 max) - 224 bytes per conntrack
Removing netfilter NETLINK layer.
Linux agpgart interface v0.101 (c) Dave Jones
agpgart: Detected VIA PM800/PN800/PM880/PN880 chipset
agpgart: AGP aperture is 32M @ 0xa0000000
PCI: Enabling device 0000:00:06.0 (0000 -> 0002)
ACPI: PCI Interrupt 0000:00:06.0[A] -> GSI 19 (level, low) -> IRQ 17
rt2500 1.1.0 CVS 2005/07/10 http://rt2x00.serialmonkey.com
PCI: Setting latency timer of device 0000:00:06.0 to 64
via-rhine.c:v1.10-LK1.2.0-2.6 June-10-2004 Written by Donald Becker
ACPI: PCI Interrupt Link [ALKB] BIOS reported IRQ 11, using IRQ 23
ACPI: PCI Interrupt Link [ALKB] enabled at IRQ 23
ACPI: PCI Interrupt 0000:00:12.0[A] -> Link [ALKB] -> GSI 23 (level, low) -> IRQ 18
eth0: VIA Rhine II at 0x1e200, 00:40:d0:8f:6f:27, IRQ 18.
eth0: MII PHY found at address 1, status 0x7849 advertising 05e1 Link 0000.
ip_tables: (C) 2000-2006 Netfilter Core Team
Netfilter messages via NETLINK v0.30.
ip_conntrack version 2.4 (3583 buckets, 28664 max) - 224 bytes per conntrack

Hmmm... old driver. Ah well, newer isn't always better. I guess. At least it's working.


If you compare this with my install of Vector:

Code:

Freston:$ dmesg | grep -iC 6 rt2500
 [<c016ac42>] sys_ioctl+0x62/0x70
 [<c0102f60>] syscall_call+0x7/0xb
 =======================
IRQ handler type mismatch for IRQ 0
current handler: timer
 [<c013ec93>] setup_irq+0x193/0x1d0
 [<dcf4c540>] RTMPIsr+0x0/0x1b0 [rt2500]
 [<c013ee64>] request_irq+0x84/0xa0
 [<dcf4c334>] RT2500_open+0x94/0x190 [rt2500]
 [<c05881c4>] dev_open+0x64/0x80
 [<c0589e16>] dev_change_flags+0x46/0x100
 [<c05ceb97>] devinet_ioctl+0x497/0x530
 [<c05d0960>] inet_ioctl+0x60/0x80
 [<c057e14f>] sock_ioctl+0x8f/0x1d0
 [<c057e0c0>] sock_ioctl+0x0/0x1d0
--

This goes on 86 times to be exact. It looks different doesn't it?





Now I've made a couple of very long posts, and I have provided a lot of info on my system. But almost all of it was tedious and useless. I _am_ aware of that.

It's just that .. ah well .. ehm .. I was hoping if someone knows if I'm even digging in the right direction. If it's an IRQ thing, I'll fix the IRQ thing. But either the problem lies here, or I'm totally off course and lost.

Ah well, today I wont get any further. I'm off to work again in an hour or two (and it seems I have to eat). I'll look for:
wireless and IRQ issues
devices and IRQ issues
assigning an IRQ to wireless
Gentoo wiki (gotta love Gentoo wiki!)
serialmoney's help (again)
And whatever comes to mind.



Any input that sets me a little on track is highly appreciated!

[uelsk8s]

did you try adding "pci=routeirq" to the boot prompt?

[Freston]

Alas! It had no noticeable effect, not even in /proc/interrupts or anywhere in dmesg.

It did however stall my login to KDE, at least I attribute the failed first login to pci=routeirq. I dunno how though, it's just that I have not encountered a stalling KDE login for quite some time. I didn't check the error logs, as my second attempt to login succeeded. Let's call it a hiccup.

I did find some things though. Some further options if you will. Things like irq=something, which I will have to read up on before I'm able to use them. I'll look into that.



Just a long shot here, I have more probably stupid questions. Both taken from this:

Code:

MandrivaLive:$ dmesg | grep -iC 1 rt2500
ACPI: PCI Interrupt 0000:00:06.0[A] -> GSI 19 (level, low) -> IRQ 17
rt2500 1.1.0 CVS 2005/07/10 http://rt2x00.serialmonkey.com
PCI: Setting latency timer of device 0000:00:06.0 to 64

Could it be that my pci=noacpi setting is somehow interfering with my ra0 device? It occurred to me today that I have to append acpi=force to enable auto poweroff. But that brakes access to my USB ports. I fix that with pci=noacpi. Now it says in the above: ACPI: PCI Interrupt 0000:00:06:0 IRQ 17

I take it from those lines above that my device is named 0000:00:06:0 and it is somehow tied to or invoked through ACPI. Now it may be that my blunt understanding of this machine at this level is putting me off track, but I think this may be not to far off. What do you think?
That would also explain why Mandriva finds the card from lifeCD, but doesn't do anything when I install it. I install it with those parameters, but don't bother with them when I run a LiveCD.

*wonders*
I have had the wireless problem long before I solved my auto poweroff problem... but that was a different kernel; the 2.4. The dead USB ports came when I moved to 2.6. Fixed that then. Hmm.. It's worth a shot... 

[Freston]

Oh joy! It worked!

At least it was able to scan. Didn't see so fast where to click to get an IP address from the router. But what's worst: I don't .. actually .. have access to my USB ports right now??
Auto poweroff wont work either..

*sigh*

Well, that's it! I'm off to the pub. I'll have better chances tomorrow 

PS. Sorry, I know this isn't a Vector thing. But I've spend days like this. Thanks for reading, and specially newtor and uelsk8s for taking the time to respond.