Re: Can't get started
On Thu 28 May 2020 at 12:40:44 (+0000), Matthew Campbell wrote:
> On May 27, 2020, 7:50 PM, David Wright wrote:
> > On Thu 28 May 2020 at 00:15:50 (+0000), Matthew Campbell wrote:
> >> The netinst CD leaves a lot to be desired. I had to download a nonfree wifi firmware package with my tablet and install it just to get the Linux system on the laptop to recognize the wifi adapter. I still can't get the wifi to work which makes installation impossible. Many of the network related commands do not exist. I cannot just download a package without being able to connect the laptop to the Internet which is impossible if I can't get a wifi connection. I am using Debian 10.4 Buster on a laptop that uses an Intel Centrino Duo CPU. My wifi adapter is registering as wlp3s0. Each "package" to be installed requires the single use of a blank DVD to transfer the file to Linux. I have a very limited number of blank DVDs. It is up, but down, according to ip addr. It says no carrier. The wifi is on and available. The signal strength is sufficient. It is presently offering an open wifi access point. The ssid is correct. How do I fix this? I cannot connect a phone or any other device to the laptop to help "get it started," nor should I need to. The netinst CD should have everything a new user could need to get things working.
> >
> > If I understand your situation, which I might not, try putting this in
> > the /etc/network/interfaces file:
> >
> > allow-hotplug wlp3s0
> > iface wlp3s0 inet dhcp
> > wpa-ssid YOUR-WIFI-SSID
> > wpa-psk YOUR-WIFI-PASSWORD
> >
> > which may get the wifi working for you. (Reboot if necessary.)
> >
> Thank you for your polite response.
> The wifi access point is open so it does not use a password.
Whenever I've met an open network, I've been on the road, and using a
client like wicd to connect. I can only assume that one leaves out
the password line, or sets it to an empty string.
> I don't know if the netinst CD includes the wpasupplicant package.
Yes. During installation on this machine, it was the 8th package
to be explicitly installed, according to apt's history.log.
It would help to post whether your netinst was one that included
firmware (helps for laptops and suchlike) or not. Also, an outline
of how far you have progressed in the installation. From your OP,
I've presumed you've installed a system with the installer via
wireless, but can't get wifi connectivity since then.
> ip addr is saying that Linux cannot detect a signal from the wifi router.
I didn't know ip addr showed that, but I assume the router still
works after you finished a wireless installation.
> I will consider trying DHCP instead of static to see if it makes a difference.
I have no experience of setting up wifi statically—I don't see how
this would work with a portable device. For simplicity therefore,
I set up all my machines in the same manner, generally switching
from ifupdown (the default for non-DE systems) to wicd, my own
preference from years of use.
Which connection method are you attempting to use yourself?
> I can only hope the netinst CD has included any necessary packages to try DHCP.
Yes, it's built into busybox for the actual installation, and then the
real package is installed in the main tranche.
But, if I'm not out of date, there might not be a seamless transition
from wireless during installation to wireless post-installation for
non-DE installers. You may have to update /e/n/i yourself as I showed
earlier.
Cheers,
David.
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