USB wifi adapter not working

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pinkfloydfan

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Hello Linux world!
I am a Linux newb, having only installed Ubuntu 13.10 over this past weekend. At first, my N rated usb wifi adapter was not being recognized. Using Ubuntu help, I typed in command lies in the terminal which clarified that it was not being recognized. At this point, Ubuntu's suggestion was to look for information on the manufacturer's website. Their tech support does not cover Linux. I gave my computer a rest for a couple of hours. I placed the USB adapter in a different port, turned on the computer, and the adapter was recognized. I was able to access the internet through Firefox for a while, but then I would get disconnected. Eventually I was able to reconnect but this pattern would cycle every so often. Eventually I was able to download software updates. Immediately after the updates I received a few error messages but upon restarting everything seemed to work. I was able to maintain a stable connection for a couple of days. After installing a security update for Adobe Flash yesterday I received a couple of error messages. I turned my computer off for the day. Today I logged on and, like at the beginning, my USB adapter is not being recognized. I test drove Linux Mint 16 without installing it and it could not recognize my adapter either. I cannot connect to the internet at all wirelessly.
My question: Does this sound like a USB hardware problem, an OS problem, a malware problem, or something else?
If it is an adapter problem, I will probably want to get a replacement. Does anyone have any suggestions for high functioning USB N rated wifi adapters? (Preferably one I can pick up at a store in the United States.... I've had problems with shipping companies lately.)
 


Silly me- how could I forget such info?
It is an Airlink101 ultra mini USB adapter model #AWLL5099
 
Thank you for directing me to the articles, Devyn!
It seems as though I do not currently have the driver, which seems odd because I was able to connect to the internet and maintain a connection for a while. Is it possible for a driver to simply disappear? The articles you posted did give me some info but their method of compiling the driver seems to require my Linux machine to be connected to the internet, which can't currently happen. The driver I saved onto a USB drive has an installation guide that I am attempting to read through.
Unfortunately, though, it seems to be written for a more experienced audience. It will probably take me a while to sort through all of the tech speak and shorthand it uses.
 
pinkfloydfan said:
Thank you for directing me to the articles, Devyn!
It seems as though I do not currently have the driver, which seems odd because I was able to connect to the internet and maintain a connection for a while. Is it possible for a driver to simply disappear? The articles you posted did give me some info but their method of compiling the driver seems to require my Linux machine to be connected to the internet, which can't currently happen. The driver I saved onto a USB drive has an installation guide that I am attempting to read through.
Unfortunately, though, it seems to be written for a more experienced audience. It will probably take me a while to sort through all of the tech speak and shorthand it uses.
Click to expand...

Do you have a warranty offering customer support?
 
According to Airlink101's website, Linux is outside their tech support scope. Once I saw this statement, I quit looking further from them. I am still reading through the quick start guide for the drivers. I may be able to sort it out, but it will take awhile. If not, I will look through Airlink101's customer support again. I did not purchase an extended warranty from my vendor.
 
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ok I am currently trying to copy the driver source into drivers/net/wireless/ . How do I access drivers/net/wireless/ ? I tried to type it in the Ubuntu search field but apparently the file/directory does not seem to exist.
 
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pinkfloydfan said:
According to Airlink101's website, Linux is outside their tech support scope. Once I saw this statement, I quit looking further from them. I am still reading through the quick start guide for the drivers. I may be able to sort it out, but it will take awhile. If not, I will look through Airlink101's customer support again. I did not purchase an extended warranty from my vendor.
Click to expand...

To run a command as Root, place "sudo" before the command like "sudo apt-get install DRIVER".

Alternately, use the switch user command (su) in a terminal to loggin as Root.

Code: 
collier@Nacho-Laptop:~$ su
Password:
root@Nacho-Laptop:/home/collier#
 
pinkfloydfan said:
ok I am currently trying to copy the driver source into drivers/net/wireless/ . How do I access drivers/net/wireless/ ? I tried to type it in the Ubuntu search field but apparently the file/directory does not seem to exist.
Click to expand...

The "drivers" directory should be in the folder holding all of the driver source code. For example, if you placed the src in your home folder, it would look something like this - ~/DRIVER_SRC/drivers/
 
Cool... I didn't realize that the sudo command meant root.
I can't seem to find the directory for other driver source codes so I'm going to try seeing if creating my own directory will work.
 
I am currently at a step whose instructions state:
4. Config kernel, for example, with 'make menuconfig' command to select 'y' or 'm' for our driver.

5. Now, you can build kernel with 'make' command.
I tried copying and pasting into the terminal but it did not work. What do they mean by the make commands?
 
ok so today I was able to use a cat5e ethernet cord to hook up to the internet so that I could try to follow the linux_hardware_guide directions. I was able to run the sudo apt-get command to install all build essentials for the compiler.
When I typed in chmod +x install.sh , I received a message claiming that no such file/directory exists. I even placed the install.sh file directly onto the desktop hoping that the terminal would be able to find it and run it but still, the terminal could not find it. Do you know how to fix this?
 
Thank you for the suggestion pane-free. While I had the file open in the GUI, I didn't have it open in the terminal. Eventually I figured out how to do this and the command attempted to work as I saw many lines of text being written out. However, it came up with some errors, like
./install.sh: line 17: cd: driver: no such file or directory
./install.sh: line 25: cd: install.sh: not a directory
Authentication requested [root] for make clean:
make: ***No rule to make target 'clean'. Stop.
Authentication requested [root] for make driver:
make: *** No targets specified and no makefile found. Stop.

Compile make driver error: 2
 
I neglected to say run the command as root (or with sudo, with ubuntu). Sorry for the oversight.
 
No worries... I couldn't figure out how to continue on so I reinstalled Ubuntu 13.10 while connected to a cord so that I could install updates. I plugged in the adapter and received a wireless disconnected message. I input my wifi settings and tried to connect. I kept on receiving connect messages like it didn't go through but after attempting to connect maybe 5 times or so it did connect to the internet. I do not know how long it will last, but for now I can get wifi. If I have trouble again I will try reinstalling the driver again.
Thanks, pane-free and Devyn!
 
pinkfloydfan said:
Cool... I didn't realize that the sudo command meant root.
I can't seem to find the directory for other driver source codes so I'm going to try seeing if creating my own directory will work.
Click to expand...

"sudo" does not mean Root. The command "sudo" means "Switch/Substitute User, DO". If no user is specified, then it will default to Root. For instance, if a system had two user accounts, I could use the other user's privileges (if I have privileges to do so) - bill@Computer:~$ sudo -u bob COMMAND
 
Tiny point.

Some say that sudo means SuperUser do. Or just su do.
 
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