[sclug] Problem with USB wireless adaptor

[Pieter Claassen]

I made some progress on the issue, but some of the original questions still
remain. It seems that once I properly purged hotplugging (there was more
than a config left after using deselect to uninstall it), the machine shuts
down and reboot properly.

However, if I plug the card out without stopping the wlan iface, then I
still get a spectacular crash.

So, hotpluggin seems to be guilty. I would still greatly appreciate some
comments on my original questions:
1. How do I check what was the configuration of a precompiled kernel?
2. How do I debug a kernel crash. Is there a core dump file that is left
somewhere for a look thru with a debugger?


Pieter


----- Original Message -----
From: "Pieter Claassen" <pieter at openauth.co.uk>
To: <sclug at sclug.org.uk>
Sent: Wednesday, February 19, 2003 9:52 AM
Subject: [sclug] Problem with USB wireless adaptor


> Hi,
>
> I have a funny problem with a USB wireless adapter and a few questions:
>
> Setup:
> system: debian mixed stable and testing
> pre-compiled kernel 2.4.20-5
> linux-wlan-modules-2.4.20
> hotpluggin un-installed
> card: actiontec usb adapter
>
> Problem:
> When I shut the machine down, I get a crash. This happens if I if-down the
> wlan interface and it unloads the kernel modules correctly, or when the
> interface is up and I shut the machine down.
> Previously, I though the problem was with hot plugging, as the crash was
in
> hotplug, but I removed it and now the process that creates the crash is
> swapper.
> Also, initially when I unplugged the usb card (actiontec with prism2_usb
> driver) the machine crashed, but I find that if I if-down wlan0 the card
> (after fixing the bug in
/etc/network/if-post-down.d/linux-wlan-ng-post-down
> that tried to unload the prism2_pci driver) then it unloads the prism2_usb
> and the 80211 kernel modules and I can plug the card out.
>
> So, here are my questions:
> 1. I don't want to recompile the kernel because this has to be a standard
> install that I can support remotely and I can see chaos if I have to
compile
> kernels for individual  machines.
> 2. How do I see what the problem is (who do I contact about this)?
> 3. I would gladly consider going back a number of kernel releases, but
there
> are no released wlan-modules for earlier kernels and if I want to compile
> them myself, then I need to compile my own kernel again.
> 4. Is there a way to see what a precompiled kernels configuration is?
>
> Any help is appreciated.
> Thanks,
> Pieter
> -----------------------------
> Pieter Claassen
> pieter at openauth.co.uk
> http://www.openauth.co.uk
>
> OpenAuth
> Tel: 01344 390530
> DDI: 01344 390630/390631
> Fax number: 01344 390700
> Mobile:  0776 665 6924
>
> Highview House
> Charles Square
> Bracknell
> Berkshire
> RG12 1DF
>
> TERMS AND CONDITIONS
> (i)The information contained in this email and attachments is only
intended
> for the addressed recipient(s) and may not be distributed or viewed by any
> other party without the explicit consent of the sender. If you have
received
> this message by accident, please contact Pieter Claassen
> (pieter at openauth.co.uk) and destroy any electronic or physical copies of
the
> information contained in it, immediately.
> (ii)This email is not certified to be virus free and OpenAuth accepts no
> liability for losses arising from you receiving this email.
> (iii)Any digital signatures (if present) used to authenticate this email,
> only serves to allow you to verify the originating email address of the
> sender and should not be relied upon to prove identity or base financial
> transactions on, unless the Certificate Practice Statement that the
> signature references, explicitly states differently.
> (iv)This email may be subjected to further terms and conditions as
published
> on the company website at http://www.openauth.co.uk. If you need to rely
on
> the information contained in this email in any way, then you should read
> those terms and conditions to understand how much you can trust the
> information in this email.
> (v)OpenAuth retains the copyright on any relevant material that is
included
> in this email.
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> sclug mailing list
> sclug at sclug.org.uk
> http://www.sclug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/sclug
>