Ubuntu Linux

[teachopvutru]

Originally Posted by SeijiSensei

Yes, I'd guess the major problem is signal strength, especially since you can connect but it drops out. Ubuntu, if I recall, has the NetworkManager applet available. Doesn't it show signal strength values (in %) for every router it sees? What do you get for 192.168.0.1? Do you see other routers in your neighborhood as well? If so, you might want to specify the ESSID of your householder's router in the configuration.

I'm only a few rooms away from my router and still have occasional dropouts.

I'd bet the reason you can't ping the machine with Comodo is that the firewall is blocking the pings.

Haha... I already uninstalled it.. =p

But as for signal strength, I have seen it go as low as 15% and as high as 50% before... most of the time it stays around mid-20 and 30 though... But if my problem is signal strength, any view as in why my chance of getting disconnection is higher when I download something? (but I need another alternative to rebooting the computer, but sudo /etc/init.d/networking restart doesn't work...) Speaking of downloading and what not, I just remembered something but, when I didn't use to hang my wireless device on the wall and was still using the other computer with XP on it, my connection speed would slow down after a while of downloading, then when I touch the device, it was pretty hot. I wonder if it's natural but the device, I think, tends to get pretty hot after a while...

[grey_moon]

I just wanted to try to see if this was a generic Ubuntu thing. So I moved my eeepc out of range and it disconnected. I moved it back in range and it connected within 30 seconds. This is using the native drivers, I'll try uninstalling them and adding the stock ndiswrapper when I get a chance. But my test does show in my case range doesn't cause the symptoms you are showing.

[teachopvutru]

Originally Posted by grey_moon

I just wanted to try to see if this was a generic Ubuntu thing. So I moved my eeepc out of range and it disconnected. I moved it back in range and it connected within 30 seconds. This is using the native drivers, I'll try uninstalling them and adding the stock ndiswrapper when I get a chance. But my test does show in my case range doesn't cause the symptoms you are showing.

Thank you for checking it for me ... although rather than one single issue I wonder if it's a combination of problems... but let's not add errr.... something to something...

But if, let's say, as a hypothesis, that the reason why I get disconnection is because of signal, but why I have to restart for it to work again is due to another problem and it either is because of my wireless adapter or it isn't. Okay, okay, that last part of the last sentence was dumb.

EDIT: How do I check what drivers are there in my system btw? There's this post saying something about blacklisting some drivers. However, since it's 1 year old things may be different now....

[grey_moon]

Originally Posted by tiachopvutru

Thank you for checking it for me ... although rather than one single issue I wonder if it's a combination of problems... but let's not add errr.... something to something...

But if, let's say, as a hypothesis, that the reason why I get disconnection is because of signal, but why I have to restart for it to work again is due to another problem and it either is because of my wireless adapter or it isn't. Okay, okay, that last part of the last sentence was dumb.

EDIT: How do I check what drivers are there in my system btw? There's this post saying something about blacklisting some drivers. However, since it's 1 year old things may be different now....

I believe that Linux will only load the wireless driver if it has been detected, in your case I don't think there is a driver that has been tagged to be used. For exmample in 7.04 the ralink rt2500 was supported natively but without wpa. So I would need to blacklist the rt2500.ko and then use ndiswrapper.

[teachopvutru]

Originally Posted by grey_moon

I believe that Linux will only load the wireless driver if it has been detected, in your case I don't think there is a driver that has been tagged to be used. For exmample in 7.04 the ralink rt2500 was supported natively but without wpa. So I would need to blacklist the rt2500.ko and then use ndiswrapper.

Well... what do you say about how I'd guarantee to have a disconnection sooner or later when I download bittorrent? It just keep me thinking that the adapter is at fault (or maybe if it's something else, I just hope I didn't mess anything up when I was building the computer ), but I guess I should stop making random guess, eh?

Offtopic: speaking of bittorrent... I'm downloading the 11st episode of Bamboo Blade right now. It's been very enjoyable so far . I wonder when the girl with glasses will have the actual showtime though... She's been walking around since episode 1...

[grey_moon]

Originally Posted by tiachopvutru

Well... what do you say about how I'd guarantee to have a disconnection sooner or later when I download bittorrent? It just keep me thinking that the adapter is at fault (or maybe if it's something else, I just hope I didn't mess anything up when I was building the computer ), but I guess I should stop making random guess, eh?

Offtopic: speaking of bittorrent... I'm downloading the 11st episode of Bamboo Blade right now. It's been very enjoyable so far . I wonder when the girl with glasses will have the actual showtime though... She's been walking around since episode 1...

Its pretty hard in you situation. If we look at your network adapter stack it is like this.

Application
OS
USB
Wireless
Router

So it could be failing in your case in OS, USB or Wireless oO

Normally if I was at work I would try another adapter, but you don't have that option. I should be able to test out ndiswrapper tomorrow. If it doesn't reconnect for me and leave the network device dead and needing a reboot we will know it is a good chance that it is the same thing happneing to you. I don't think this is the case as it is pretty quiet on ubuntu forums in regards to this...

[IRJustman]

Originally Posted by tiachopvutru

[...] then when I touch the device, it was pretty hot. I wonder if it's natural but the device, I think, tends to get pretty hot after a while...

It's been my experience that radio gear does tend to get hot after a while, even if its radiated power is on the order of a number of milliwatts. Remember, it has to send this into the air so then something else can pick it up, especially if it's some distance away.

--Ian.

[teachopvutru]

How does a wireless adapter receive signal then? I'm just wondering if the tapes I put on it may hinder it receiving signal...

[grey_moon]

As long as there is no metal in the tape then it should be fine broadcasting. You need to check if there are any power lines behind the wall as that will drastically reduce the signal. You can check that by moving the adapter and if the signal strength jumps up, or the noise ratio suddenly drops then it is a good chance that you stuck it on top of a bundle of cables.

[teachopvutru]

Originally Posted by grey_moon

As long as there is no metal in the tape then it should be fine broadcasting. You need to check if there are any power lines behind the wall as that will drastically reduce the signal. You can check that by moving the adapter and if the signal strength jumps up, or the noise ratio suddenly drops then it is a good chance that you stuck it on top of a bundle of cables.

It's pretty much the same... but then, my computer sits next to the same wall, so... ... But speaking of which since the router is 1 or 2 floors above, the signal has to go through 1 or 2 layers of obstacle...

[grey_moon]

Originally Posted by tiachopvutru

It's pretty much the same... but then, my computer sits next to the same wall, so... ... But speaking of which since the router is 1 or 2 floors above, the signal has to go through 1 or 2 layers of obstacle...

If you are lucky you live in a house with wooden floors and supports. If you live in the modern concrete ones then you are sc... in trouble as they have steel poles in them to strengthen the concrete and act like a shield. Have you thought about Ethernet over power? I haven't used it myself but my boss has used it for about 1 year now and loves it.

[teachopvutru]

Originally Posted by grey_moon

If you are lucky you live in a house with wooden floors and supports. If you live in the modern concrete ones then you are sc... in trouble as they have steel poles in them to strengthen the concrete and act like a shield. Have you thought about Ethernet over power? I haven't used it myself but my boss has used it for about 1 year now and loves it.

How does Power over Ethernet works and what it actually is? Please elaborate on that since the wiki entry contains many words I don't understand.... Also, how is the setup like and how well does it actually work?

As for the floor of the above floor, if I remember correctly, the surface (I only know the surface, unfortunately) of the kitchen floor is concrete, the surface of others beside kitchen are either wooden or carpet.

Also, have anyone tried Firefox 3 yet? The latest release is beta 2. I love the feature of searching already browsed page through their page title. Plus, when you highlight the words then drag the mouse, you kinda duplicate them. The same goes to picture although no highlighting is needed.

PS: I hate phone call . Slow Internet Speed + Low signal strength -.-

[Vexx]

Basically, ethernet over power is just sending transmission signals over electrical power lines in your house.

You install special connectors that plug into electric receptacles and the other end into your computer network jack. I've no idea how fast it is but it does solve some no-signal area problems and is less labor-intensive than drilling holes and buying/installing wireless repeaters I guess.

I use a "telephone line over power" solution that allows me to put my fax machine in a really nice place that would be hell to run a phone line to.

[grey_moon]

Originally Posted by Vexx

Basically, ethernet over power is just sending transmission signals over electrical power lines in your house.

You install special connectors that plug into electric receptacles and the other end into your computer network jack. I've no idea how fast it is but it does solve some no-signal area problems and is less labor-intensive than drilling holes and buying/installing wireless repeaters I guess.

I use a "telephone line over power" solution that allows me to put my fax machine in a really nice place that would be hell to run a phone line to.

The one my boss got I think was a eBuyer own brand that runs at 85mbps. He says its really stable and really easy to setup. The only thing you have to make sure is that the two power points are on the same circuit.

[teachopvutru]

So... what is it like? Do I buy something like this? Then, where do I plug it to?

Also, kinda off-topic, but anyone know what this is? There are something about battery written on it...


EDIT: Off topic but haha... I've just read this and can't stop laughing now XD

[SeijiSensei]

That appears to be the first version of the Verizon FiOS "ONT," the box that's installed with FiOS. It has a backup battery in case the power goes out. Regular copper telco circuits carry power on the lines, which is why telephones often work even when there's a power failure. Since there aren't any wires to provide power in a fiber-optic cable, FiOS services require access to regular electrical power. The backup battery keeps the phones alive if the power goes out.

I have two of the newer ONTs (one business, one residential), and they're both larger than this. They include a housing with 50 feet of coaxial cable in case the installer needs to make a long run to the TVs. Makes the thing bloody big, though.

[teachopvutru]

Originally Posted by SeijiSensei

That appears to be the first version of the Verizon FiOS "ONT," the box that's installed with FiOS. It has a backup battery in case the power goes out. Regular copper telco circuits carry power on the lines, which is why telephones often work even when there's a power failure. Since there aren't any wires to provide power in a fiber-optic cable, FiOS services require access to regular electrical power. The backup battery keeps the phones alive if the power goes out.

I have two of the newer ONTs (one business, one residential), and they're both larger than this. They include a housing with 50 feet of coaxial cable in case the installer needs to make a long run to the TVs. Makes the thing bloody big, though.

Thank you for the info. I've always thought they use cables but they actually use FiOS... But uggh, I wonder why they keep like two routers (well, there are two access points).

Also, may I ask if anyone know of any possible commands so that my connections can restart when I type them rather than having to reboot everytime it disconnects?

[IRJustman]

Originally Posted by tiachopvutru

How does Power over Ethernet works and what it actually is? Please elaborate on that since the wiki entry contains many words I don't understand.... Also, how is the setup like and how well does it actually work?

PoE (Power over Ethernet, also defined as IEEE 802.3af) is injecting 48 VDC over two of the four pairs in an Ethernet cable. Some routers, IP phones, wireless access points use PoE, either from a switch which can provide it or you can use a so-called "injector" mid-stream so you can provide the power to the device in question.

Also, have anyone tried Firefox 3 yet? The latest release is beta 2. I love the feature of searching already browsed page through their page title. Plus, when you highlight the words then drag the mouse, you kinda duplicate them. :heh: The same goes to picture although no highlighting is needed.

I have not as yet. I depend on so many extensions to keep me going in terms of my browsing, I'm afraid to leave that comfortable little coccoon. ;)

--Ian.

[teachopvutru]

Originally Posted by IRJustman

PoE (Power over Ethernet, also defined as IEEE 802.3af) is injecting 48 VDC over two of the four pairs in an Ethernet cable. Some routers, IP phones, wireless access points use PoE, either from a switch which can provide it or you can use a so-called "injector" mid-stream so you can provide the power to the device in question.

Ah... so it connects to the Access Point? I thought that was it but was hoping it wasn't. My householders are the people that seem to be pretty paranoid in regard to downloading, and they know I download stuffs a lot so... One of the two used to download a lot, though. Probably he received some viruses that destroyed his system or something. But heh, they still let me use the Internet

I have not as yet. I depend on so many extensions to keep me going in terms of my browsing, I'm afraid to leave that comfortable little coccoon.

--Ian.

Not that I know how to do it but why not install Firefox 3 alongside with Firefox 2? Personally, I don't use any extensions so it's not a problem for me .

[IRJustman]

Originally Posted by tiachopvutru

Not that I know how to do it but why not install Firefox 3 alongside with Firefox 2? Personally, I don't use any extensions so it's not a problem for me :heh:.

The new Firefox may require me to create a different profile, which is no biggie. But there are several extensions I use very heavily, like downTHEMall! which is great if I'm bulk downloading a bunch of files (VERY useful for picking up several torrents in a series which I want to start and there's, say, more than 5 episodes in the series), and Sage which gives me a sidebar RSS reader (EXTREMELY useful for checking A'suki for new downloads). I also use Flat Bookmark Editor which I like MUCH better than Firefox's default editor. And finally, I use Tab Mix Plus to substantially enhance my tabbed browsing experience on my desktop. I used to use Tabbrowser Extensions, but it now languishes unmanaged, which is sad. I used it VERY heavily and couldn't do without it!

I have a wad of other extensions which I use. I'm presently not at home so I can't get a list of what I have just now.

--Ian.