Fun (not) with Linux ath5k - Part Two

Linux ath5k driver (2.6.30.1) occasionally, capriciously times out. The Atheros card is no longer recognized. The problem persists after rebooting multiple times. In this particular event, I rebooted twice into CrunchBang (Ubuntu derivative), once into MicroCore, and twice into Windows. That's FIVE freaking reboots before the card worked. It's never given me any trouble in Windows. Not a bit. I can leave it running, suspend/resume for weeks between reboots, and no problem. But from time to time running under Linux, BOOM it friggin' goes nuts and then the card isn't detected under either Linux or Windows even after rebooting. Physical harm or damage? Possibly. But the inconvenience of waiting nearly a half an hour just to get it working again is pretty bad. Moral of the story: Linux is great for a lot of things, but this card is a long way from being ready for prime time.

Category:

Howto & Style

Tags:

• linux
• ath5k
• acer
• aspire one
• fubar
• wtf
• hardware

[tania2020tania]

How you can blame an os maker for that, hardware maker should provide driver for that.

[lucky13linux]

@tania2020tania NOTE THE VIDEO IS OVER TWO YEARS OLD! The manufacturer is under no obligation to write code for every possible operating system or even to open their specs for competitors to view. Freedom is a two-way street. The reason I chose that particular netbook was because Atheros support was supposedly very good under Linux. It continues to be a PITA under Linux+wpa_supplicant but works fine with Windows.

[lucky13linux]

PS and FWIW, I'm currently running a very basic install of Debian Squeeze (jwm/ratpoison, OOo, emacs, firefox, vlc, etc.) on the Aspire One without all the flaky wifi issues I had before.

[lucky13linux]

@henrique: That looks like ion3 under CrunchBang, as far as I remember. So long ago. I just looked and its author has put his site back up after a while of it being offline. On my Aspire One, I'm presently using jwm configured similarly so that most single-windowed applications open full size on a particular desktop without any decorations (thereby maximizing screen real estate); that also gives me a panel to work with.

[henriquegogo]

What is your Window Interface? This video is microcore? I want some like this, light, but able to run openoffice or browser