Wifi not working on new install

[texchuck]

My son-in-law tried to "upgrade" his Win 7 PC to Win 11 yesterday. It wouldn't install and destroyed his existing Windows install. I recommended that he try MX Linux. He successfully installed MX-23.2_x64 but can't get wifi to work. He emailed a copy of Quick System Info to me that is provided below. He and his wife (my daughter) tried using MX Network Assistant, but didn't really know what to do.The PC apparently uses an ASRock motherboard with a I219-v wifi card.

Code: Select all

System:
  Kernel: 6.1.0-17-amd64 [6.1.69-1] arch: x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 12.2.0
    parameters: BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-6.1.0-17-amd64 root=UUID=<filter> ro quiet splash
  Desktop: Xfce v: 4.18.1 tk: Gtk v: 3.24.36 info: xfce4-panel wm: xfwm v: 4.18.0 vt: 7
    dm: LightDM v: 1.26.0 Distro: MX-23.2_x64 Libretto January 21  2024 base: Debian GNU/Linux 12
    (bookworm)
Machine:
  Type: Desktop Mobo: ASRock model: Z170 Extreme4 serial: <superuser required>
    UEFI-[Legacy]: American Megatrends v: P1.20 date: 07/30/2015
CPU:
  Info: model: Intel Core i3-6100 bits: 64 type: MT MCP arch: Skylake-S gen: core 6 level: v3
    note: check built: 2015 process: Intel 14nm family: 6 model-id: 0x5E (94) stepping: 3
    microcode: 0xF0
  Topology: cpus: 1x cores: 2 tpc: 2 threads: 4 smt: enabled cache: L1: 128 KiB
    desc: d-2x32 KiB; i-2x32 KiB L2: 512 KiB desc: 2x256 KiB L3: 3 MiB desc: 1x3 MiB
  Speed (MHz): avg: 800 min/max: 800/3700 scaling: driver: intel_pstate governor: powersave
    cores: 1: 800 2: 800 3: 800 4: 800 bogomips: 29598
  Flags: avx avx2 ht lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx
  Vulnerabilities:
  Type: gather_data_sampling status: Vulnerable: No microcode
  Type: itlb_multihit status: KVM: VMX disabled
  Type: l1tf mitigation: PTE Inversion; VMX: conditional cache flushes, SMT vulnerable
  Type: mds mitigation: Clear CPU buffers; SMT vulnerable
  Type: meltdown mitigation: PTI
  Type: mmio_stale_data mitigation: Clear CPU buffers; SMT vulnerable
  Type: retbleed mitigation: IBRS
  Type: spec_rstack_overflow status: Not affected
  Type: spec_store_bypass mitigation: Speculative Store Bypass disabled via prctl
  Type: spectre_v1 mitigation: usercopy/swapgs barriers and __user pointer sanitization
  Type: spectre_v2 mitigation: IBRS, IBPB: conditional, STIBP: conditional, RSB filling,
    PBRSB-eIBRS: Not affected
  Type: srbds mitigation: Microcode
  Type: tsx_async_abort status: Not affected
Graphics:
  Device-1: NVIDIA GM206 [GeForce GTX 960] vendor: ASUSTeK driver: nouveau v: kernel
    non-free: 530.xx+ status: current (as of 2023-03) arch: Maxwell code: GMxxx process: TSMC 28nm
    built: 2014-19 pcie: gen: 1 speed: 2.5 GT/s lanes: 16 link-max: gen: 3 speed: 8 GT/s ports:
    active: DP-3,HDMI-A-1 empty: DP-1,DP-2,DVI-I-1 bus-ID: 01:00.0 chip-ID: 10de:1401
    class-ID: 0300 temp: 20.0 C
  Display: x11 server: X.Org v: 1.21.1.7 compositor: xfwm v: 4.18.0 driver: X:
    loaded: modesetting unloaded: fbdev,vesa dri: nouveau gpu: nouveau display-ID: :0.0 screens: 1
  Screen-1: 0 s-res: 3046x1050 s-dpi: 96 s-size: 805x277mm (31.69x10.91") s-diag: 851mm (33.52")
  Monitor-1: DP-3 pos: right model: Dell E1920H serial: <filter> built: 2020 res: 1366x768 hz: 60
    dpi: 85 gamma: 1.2 size: 410x230mm (16.14x9.06") diag: 470mm (18.5") ratio: 16:9 modes:
    max: 1366x768 min: 720x400
  Monitor-2: HDMI-A-1 mapped: HDMI-1 pos: primary,left model: LG (GoldStar) L203WT
    serial: <filter> built: 2006 res: 1680x1050 hz: 60 dpi: 98 gamma: 1.2
    size: 434x270mm (17.09x10.63") diag: 511mm (20.1") ratio: 16:10 modes: max: 1680x1050
    min: 720x400
  API: OpenGL v: 4.3 Mesa 22.3.6 renderer: NV126 direct-render: Yes
Audio:
  Device-1: Intel 100 Series/C230 Series Family HD Audio vendor: ASRock driver: snd_hda_intel
    v: kernel bus-ID: 00:1f.3 chip-ID: 8086:a170 class-ID: 0403
  Device-2: NVIDIA GM206 High Definition Audio vendor: ASUSTeK driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel
    pcie: gen: 1 speed: 2.5 GT/s lanes: 16 link-max: gen: 3 speed: 8 GT/s bus-ID: 01:00.1
    chip-ID: 10de:0fba class-ID: 0403
  API: ALSA v: k6.1.0-17-amd64 status: kernel-api tools: alsamixer,amixer
  Server-1: PipeWire v: 1.0.0 status: active with: 1: pipewire-pulse status: active
    2: wireplumber status: active 3: pipewire-alsa type: plugin 4: pw-jack type: plugin
    tools: pactl,pw-cat,pw-cli,wpctl
Network:
  Device-1: Intel Ethernet I219-V vendor: ASRock driver: e1000e v: kernel port: N/A bus-ID: 00:1f.6
    chip-ID: 8086:15b8 class-ID: 0200
  IF: eth0 state: down mac: <filter>
  Device-2: NetGear A6200 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wireless Adapter [Broadcom BCM43526] type: USB
    driver: N/A bus-ID: 1-14:6 chip-ID: 0846:9050 class-ID: ff00 serial: <filter>
Drives:
  Local Storage: total: 223.57 GiB used: 11.25 GiB (5.0%)
  SMART Message: Unable to run smartctl. Root privileges required.
  ID-1: /dev/sda maj-min: 8:0 vendor: Toshiba model: TR150 size: 223.57 GiB block-size:
    physical: 512 B logical: 512 B speed: 6.0 Gb/s type: SSD serial: <filter> rev: 12.3 scheme: MBR
Partition:
  ID-1: / raw-size: 223.57 GiB size: 219 GiB (97.96%) used: 11.25 GiB (5.1%) fs: ext4
    dev: /dev/sda1 maj-min: 8:1
Swap:
  Kernel: swappiness: 15 (default 60) cache-pressure: 100 (default)
  ID-1: swap-1 type: file size: 3 GiB used: 0 KiB (0.0%) priority: -2 file: /swap/swap
Sensors:
  System Temperatures: cpu: 23.0 C pch: 24.0 C mobo: N/A gpu: nouveau temp: 20.0 C
  Fan Speeds (RPM): N/A gpu: nouveau fan: 0
Repos:
  Packages: pm: dpkg pkgs: 2047 libs: 1045 tools: apt,apt-get,aptitude,nala,synaptic pm: rpm
    pkgs: 0
  No active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/debian-stable-updates.list
    1: deb http://deb.debian.org/debian bookworm-updates main contrib non-free non-free-firmware
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/debian.list
    1: deb http://deb.debian.org/debian bookworm main contrib non-free non-free-firmware
    2: deb http://security.debian.org/debian-security bookworm-security main contrib non-free non-free-firmware
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mx.list
    1: deb http://mirrors.rit.edu/mxlinux/mx-packages/mx/repo/ bookworm main non-free
Info:
  Processes: 211 Uptime: 0m wakeups: 1 Memory: 7.71 GiB used: 971.7 MiB (12.3%) Init: SysVinit
  v: 3.06 runlevel: 5 default: graphical tool: systemctl Compilers: gcc: 12.2.0 alt: 12
  Client: shell wrapper v: 5.2.15-release inxi: 3.3.26
Boot Mode: BIOS (legacy, CSM, MBR)

Edit: Please use code tags for QSI and long text

[CharlesV]

When booting from a LiveUSB does it see and connect to Wi-Fi ?

[Charlie Brown]

Sadly it seems to be problematic with Linux in general (not MX-specific) , even no driver: https://linux-hardware.org/index.php?id=usb:0846-9050

[CharlesV]

The quickest route up might just be to pickup a usb network dongle.

[Charlie Brown]

In the meantime:

... with a I219-v wifi card...

That one is the "ethernet", with the driver loaded:

Device-1: Intel Ethernet I219-V vendor: ASRock driver: e1000e v: kernel port: N/A bus-ID: 00:1f.6 chip-ID: 8086:15b8 class-ID: 0200

So, they can use it wired till there's a better wifi device.

[j2mcgreg]

Since it's a desktop, is an Ethernet connection not possible? If there is no clear pathway for a cable run, an internal adapter like this one would an option:
https://www.canadacomputers.com/product ... _id=194314
and he could surely find a similar product in his own market
Alternatively, he could go with any of these USB dongles:
https://github.com/morrownr/USB-WiFi/bl ... drivers.md

[texchuck]

Thanks to j2mcgreg, Charlie Brown, and CharlesV for helpful comments. The link to information about NetGear A6200 802 non-support was informative, as was the link to compatible devices. The PC is too far from the router for easy direct connection, so we are looking into alternative wifi dongles.