Question

Ubuntu 9.04 won't recognize USB wireless device

Asked by: mdcollier

I've got a Buffalo WL-UC-GN USB wireless device on a vintage Toshiba. I've got the whole wireless routine down with a PC Card, but want to use the USB. I've been able to use ndiswrapper to create a linux driver. Ubuntu 9.04 even has the ability to create the driver for you. That works, too. But the computer doesn't seem to be recognizing the device.

Any ideas? I've put a premium point value on this because I can't find the answer anywhere. Right on the box, the device claims to have been designed for netbooks, a lot, of course, would be using Linux.

This Question has been solved and asker verified All Experts Exchange premium technology solutions are available to subscription members.

Subscribe now for full access to Experts Exchange and get

Instant Access to this Solution

  • Plus...
  • 30 Day FREE access, no risk, no obligation
  • Collaborate with the world's top tech experts
  • Unlimited access to our exclusive solution database
  • Never be left without tech help again

Subscribe Now

Asked On
2009-09-06 at 16:20:05ID24711539
Topics

Wireless Network Cards & Adapters

,

Ubuntu

Participating Experts
1
Points
500
Comments
20

Trusted by hundreds of thousands everyday for fast, accurate and reliable tech support.

  • "The time we save is the biggest benefit of Experts Exchange to Warner Bros. What could take multiple guys 2 hours or more each to find is accessed in around 15 minutes on Experts Exchange." Mike Kapnisakis, Warner Bros.
  • "Our team likes having a resource that is more secure than just using Google and most experts using this service really know their stuff. It's nice to look here first versus using Google." Dayna Sellner, Lockheed Martin
  • "Anytime that I've been stumped with a problem, 9 out of 10 times Experts Exchange has either the accepted solution or an open discussion of the potential solution to the problem." Kenny Red, eBay Inc.

See what Experts Exchange can do for you.

Got a question?

We've got the answer.

Experts Exchange has been collecting answers to technology questions since 1996…3 million and counting! If you have a question, chances are we already have your answer.

Screenshot of Experts Exchange Knowledgebase

Need individual assistance?

Our experts are ready to help.

If you can't find the exact answer you're looking for, ask our exclusive community of 50,000 experts. You’ll get a personalized answer from a trusted professional.

Screenshot of Experts Exchange Knowledgebase

Want to learn from the best?

Read articles from industry experts.

Thousands of free tech tips, tricks, how-to’s and tutorials are available in our peer reviewed articles section. See for yourself how smart our experts are, no login required.

Screenshot of an Article

Working on a long term project?

Store your work and research.

Save solutions to your questions, answers you’ve discovered through searching plus helpful articles in your personal knowledgebase for easy future access.

Screenshot of Experts Exchange Knowledgebase

Access the answers to your technology questions today.

Subscribe Now

30-day free trial. Register in 60 seconds.

What Makes Experts Exchange Unique?

Members of the expert community talk about why the experience at Experts Exchange is different than what you will find anywhere else.

Trusted by the world's most respected brands.

image of each brand's logo

Faithfully serving IT professionals since 1996.

Experts Exchange Logo

Try it out and discover for yourself.

Subscribe Now

30-day free trial. Register in 60 seconds.

Related Solutions

  1. Ubuntu on old toshiba 320 CDT
    I am trying to install Ubuntu on a Toshiaba 320 and during the semi text part of the initial install the letters come out so large that I can not see all the options on the screen. I need Ubuntu because it seems to be the only distro that supports my wireless nic right ou...
  2. USB hub on gOS/Ubuntu
    I have an HP Pavilion dv5000 with gOS/Ubuntu. I have a USB keyboard and a wireless USB mouse (logitech) that work when individually plugged in to USB ports. When I plug USB hub into one of the USB ports and then plug the keyboard and mouse into the hub, they do not work, Wha...
  3. Ubuntu and wireless keyboard and mouse
    I am new to Ubuntu and I am just wondering how I would install the driver for the wireless keyboard and mouse for my PC with OS as Ubuntu. Thanks

Free Tech Articles

  1. WARNING: 5 Reasons why you should NEVER fix a computer for free.
    It is in our nature to love the puzzle. We are obsessed. The lot of us. We love puzzles. We love the challenge. We thrive on finding the answer. We hate disarray. It bothers us deep in our soul. W...
  2. SCCM OSD Basic troubleshooting
    SCCM 2007 OSD is a fantastic way to deploy operating systems, however, like most things SCCM issues can sometimes be difficult to resolve due to the sheer volume of logs to sift through and the dispe...
  3. Migrate Small Business Server 2003 to Exchange 2010 and Windows 2008 R2
    This guide is intended to provide step by step instructions on how to migrate from Small Business Server 2003 to Windows 2008 R2 with Exchange 2010. For this migration to work you will need the fo...
  4. Create a Win7 Gadget
    This article shows you how to create a simple "Gadget" -- a sort of mini-application supported by Windows 7 and Vista. Gadgets can be dropped anywhere on the desktop to provide instant information, ...
  5. Outlook continually prompting for username and password
    There have been a lot of questions recently regarding Outlook prompting for a username and password whilst using Exchange 2007. There are a few reasons why this would happen and I will try to cover t...
  6. Backup Exchange 2010 Information Store using Windows Backup
    There seems to be quite a lot of confusion around the ability to backup Exchange 2010 using the built in Windows Backup feature. This stems from the omission of this feature prior to Exchange 2007 s...

Cloud Class Webinars

  1. Avoiding Bugs in Microsoft Access
    Alison Balter takes and in-depth look at avoiding bugs in Access. In this webinar you will learn about using the immediate window to debug your applications, invoking the debugger, using breakpoints to troubleshoot, stepping through code, setting the next statement to execute, ...
  2. Top 10 Best New Features in Visio 2010
    Scott Helmers gives live demonstrations of the top 10 new features in Visio 2010. This webinar will teach you how to create compelling diagrams by adding shapes to the page with a single click, linking the shapes in a diagram to data in Excel (or SQL Server, or SharePoint), ...
  3. IT Consultant Business Secrets Revealed
    Michael Munger, Experts Exchange tech pro and IT consultant, pulls back the curtain on his very successful businesses and answers question on every IT consultant and business owner should know about. He shares secrets on what he did to solve the 5 most common problems in IT, ...
  4. Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity
    Quest CTO, Mike Billon, gives an overview of the steps involved in building a dunamic disaster recovery plan. Through case studies and an examination of software/hardware tooles for monitoring and testing, you'll gain a better understandin of where you are, where you want ...
  5. Organize Your Visio Diagrams with Containers and Lists
    Scott Helmers uses cross functional flowcharts, wireframe diagrams, data graphic legends and seating charts to teach you: how to ustilize all three new structured diagram components in Visio 2010, the best practices for organizeing shapes in previous version of Visio, how to organize ...
  6. How to Us Objects, Properties, Events and Methods in Microsoft Access
    Alison Dalter gives an in-depbth look at objects, properties, events and methods in Microsoft Access. In this webinar you will learn about using the object browser, referring to objects, working with properties and methods, working with object variables, understanding the ...

Join the Community

Give a Little. Get a Lot.

Join the community of experts here and help other tech pros by answering question in your area of expertise. You can earn FREE access to all Experts Exchange's premium features and resources.

Join the Community

Answers

 

by: fmarzoccaPosted on 2009-09-07 at 02:05:24ID: 25273623

What output do you have from this command:

lsusb

 

by: mdcollierPosted on 2009-09-07 at 03:09:16ID: 25273920

Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 046d:c016 Logitech, Inc. M-UV69a/HP M-UV96 Optical Wheel Mouse
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub

 

by: fmarzoccaPosted on 2009-09-07 at 03:12:29ID: 25273938

The device is not even detected as an usb device.
Try changing the usb port and again lsusb

 

by: mdcollierPosted on 2009-09-07 at 04:10:08ID: 25274183

Bus 002 Device 002: ID 0411:015d MelCo., Inc.
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 046d:c016 Logitech, Inc. M-UV69a/HP M-UV96 Optical Wheel Mouse
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub

 

by: mdcollierPosted on 2009-09-07 at 04:41:58ID: 25274325

My bad. I didn't have the USB device plugged in the first time.

 

by: mdcollierPosted on 2009-09-07 at 04:43:07ID: 25274331

Also, I've used the Windows driver utility, and it creates the driver, but there is an indicator that the device is not present.

 

by: fmarzoccaPosted on 2009-09-07 at 05:02:23ID: 25274419

Try do this way. Extract the dongle, thein reinsert it, wait a minute and post here the result of this command:

dmesg | tail

 

by: mdcollierPosted on 2009-09-07 at 05:05:16ID: 25274435

[39879.544732] usb 2-1: configuration #1 chosen from 1 choice
[40533.657122] TKIP: RX tkey->key_idx=1 frame keyidx=2 priv=f5c08b40
[40534.686488] TKIP: RX tkey->key_idx=1 frame keyidx=2 priv=f5c08b40
[40536.734498] TKIP: RX tkey->key_idx=1 frame keyidx=2 priv=f5c08b40
[40544.004740] TKIP: RX tkey->key_idx=1 frame keyidx=2 priv=f5c08b40
[40546.052752] TKIP: RX tkey->key_idx=1 frame keyidx=2 priv=f5c08b40
[40552.299019] TKIP: RX tkey->key_idx=1 frame keyidx=2 priv=f5c08b40
[40558.033359] TKIP: RX tkey->key_idx=1 frame keyidx=2 priv=f5c08b40
[40562.334250] TKIP: RX tkey->key_idx=1 frame keyidx=2 priv=f5c08b40
[41406.307197] TKIP: RX tkey->key_idx=1 frame keyidx=2 priv=f5c08b40

 

by: fmarzoccaPosted on 2009-09-07 at 05:10:10ID: 25274456

It looks like the handshake is working... try this:

ifconfig

 

by: mdcollierPosted on 2009-09-07 at 05:20:37ID: 25274504

FYI: I removed the wireless PC Card, restarted, and connected with ethernet.

eth0      Link encap:Ethernet  HWaddr 00:08:0d:97:61:09  
          inet addr:192.168.1.204  Bcast:192.168.1.255  Mask:255.255.255.0
          inet6 addr: fe80::208:dff:fe97:6109/64 Scope:Link
          UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST  MTU:1500  Metric:1
          RX packets:2108 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:2163 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
          RX bytes:2097349 (2.0 MB)  TX bytes:548021 (548.0 KB)

lo        Link encap:Local Loopback  
          inet addr:127.0.0.1  Mask:255.0.0.0
          inet6 addr: ::1/128 Scope:Host
          UP LOOPBACK RUNNING  MTU:16436  Metric:1
          RX packets:4 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:4 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:0
          RX bytes:240 (240.0 B)  TX bytes:240 (240.0 B)

 

by: fmarzoccaPosted on 2009-09-07 at 05:22:49ID: 25274520

Ah, I was curious to see ifconfig with the USB dongle inserted...

 

by: mdcollierPosted on 2009-09-07 at 05:25:10ID: 25274536

The dongle is now inserted, the PC Card is not. Sorry for the miscues.

 

by: fmarzoccaPosted on 2009-09-07 at 05:28:21ID: 25274549

I don't understand... The wifi dongle was inserted when you pasted the ifconfig above? And also the ethernet cable?

 

by: mdcollierPosted on 2009-09-07 at 05:30:11ID: 25274555

The current status is the USB wifi is inserted and I'm connected via ethernet. The results were from that configuration.

Before, I had a PC Card wireless and no ethernet.

 

by: fmarzoccaPosted on 2009-09-07 at 05:33:18ID: 25274577

So, you can navigate with the usb dongle?
inet addr:192.168.1.204

 

by: mdcollierPosted on 2009-09-07 at 05:35:23ID: 25274591

No. I'm connected via ethernet.

bash: inet: command not found

 

by: fmarzoccaPosted on 2009-09-07 at 05:38:14ID: 25274610

Ah, ok.

So: remove any wireless PC card, disconnect the ethernet cable, insert the USB dongle and paste here the result of:

ifconfig

 

by: mdcollierPosted on 2009-09-07 at 05:45:16ID: 25274649

( I reinserted the ethernet after running the command so I could paste the results.)

eth0      Link encap:Ethernet  HWaddr 00:08:0d:97:61:09  
          UP BROADCAST MULTICAST  MTU:1500  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:1000
          RX bytes:0 (0.0 B)  TX bytes:0 (0.0 B)

lo        Link encap:Local Loopback  
          inet addr:127.0.0.1  Mask:255.0.0.0
          inet6 addr: ::1/128 Scope:Host
          UP LOOPBACK RUNNING  MTU:16436  Metric:1
          RX packets:4 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:4 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:0
          RX bytes:240 (240.0 B)  TX bytes:240 (240.0 B)

 

by: fmarzoccaPosted on 2009-09-07 at 05:48:03ID: 25274667

The problem is that I don't see an eth1 for the wireless, nor a wlan.

I am afraid that, as this dongle is quite new, maybe it is not yet supported in Ubuntu...

 

by: mdcollierPosted on 2009-09-07 at 05:50:38ID: 25274680

That seems to be the case, even though it is billed as being perfect for netbooks. They should asterisk that with 'netbooks using windows'.

Thanks for your help.

20120131-EE-VQP-002

3 Ways to Join

30-Day Free Trial

The Experts

98% positive feedback on 31,087 answers since March 2000. angeliii is a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional for his work with MS SQL Server & Develoment.

He has also proven his knowledge of Visual Basic Programming, PHP Scripting and Oracle Databases.

The Experts

97% positive feedback on 10,752 answers since July 2000. lrmoore has more than 18 years experience in the networking industry.

The six-time Mircosoft MVPs specialties include firewalls, virtual private networking, and network management.

Testimonials

"...and excellent source for support... Kind of like having your very own IT dept." Electriciansnet

Testimonials

"I was apprehensive at signing up at first. However... it has already made my life as an IT administrator much easier." JaCrews

Testimonials

"WOW! You guys have great, active, and knowledgeable people on here." moore50

Business Clients

Business Clients

In the Press

"If you’ve got a question... Experts Exchange can supply an answer.”

In the Press

"...an invaluable aid for both IT professionals and those who require tech support."

In the Press

"where IT professionals provide quick answers on just about any topic"

Business Account Plans

Loading Advertisement...