Wi-Fi: Live vs Bare Metal Installation Thinkpad T420

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DavidDavies
Posts: 3
Joined: 2018/10/09 11:43:16

Wi-Fi: Live vs Bare Metal Installation Thinkpad T420

Post by DavidDavies » 2018/10/09 11:54:24

Hi all.

When I run the CentOS 7 live DVD I am able to choose from available wireless networks in the GNOME network manager. Upon choosing a wireless network I am prompted for a password but after a minute or so the connection fails with no error message. The exact same thing occurs with a Ubuntu 18.04 live DVD.

However, I am already running Ubuntu 18.04 on the same machine (Thinkpad T420) and wireless works just fine. Is there some proprietary firmware which is not loaded in a live session which is then included in a bare metal Linux installation?

I do not have immediate access to a wired connection so I'm reluctant to nuke my Ubuntu installation which already has functioning wireless. Am I correct in thinking that I could install CentOS 7 alongside Ubuntu to check that the wireless works when the system is installed on hardware?

enseva
Posts: 25
Joined: 2018/09/29 18:30:50

Re: Wi-Fi: Live vs Bare Metal Installation Thinkpad T420

Post by enseva » 2018/10/09 14:44:08

DavidDavies wrote:
2018/10/09 11:54:24
Hi all.

When I run the CentOS 7 live DVD I am able to choose from available wireless networks in the GNOME network manager. Upon choosing a wireless network I am prompted for a password but after a minute or so the connection fails with no error message. The exact same thing occurs with a Ubuntu 18.04 live DVD.

However, I am already running Ubuntu 18.04 on the same machine (Thinkpad T420) and wireless works just fine. Is there some proprietary firmware which is not loaded in a live session which is then included in a bare metal Linux installation?

I do not have immediate access to a wired connection so I'm reluctant to nuke my Ubuntu installation which already has functioning wireless. Am I correct in thinking that I could install CentOS 7 alongside Ubuntu to check that the wireless works when the system is installed on hardware?
I'm not sure how you're differentiating live vs. bare metal; they aren't exactly opposites, but yes, it is entirely possible drivers and firmware required for your particular wireless card are not installed or available during a live installation, or even post-installation.

I would probably try a minimal installation instead as this will not require a network connection.

gjaltemba
Posts: 49
Joined: 2016/11/29 15:23:25

Re: Wi-Fi: Live vs Bare Metal Installation Thinkpad T420

Post by gjaltemba » 2018/10/09 18:12:07

Unable to reproduce on my T420 with Centrino Advanced-N 6205 wifi and CentOS-7-X86_64-LiveGNOME-1708.iso. Connected successfully with 2.4 and 5 Ghz band.

DavidDavies
Posts: 3
Joined: 2018/10/09 11:43:16

Re: Wi-Fi: Live vs Bare Metal Installation Thinkpad T420

Post by DavidDavies » 2018/10/09 18:47:57

gjaltemba wrote:
2018/10/09 18:12:07
Unable to reproduce on my T420 with Centrino Advanced-N 6205 wifi and CentOS-7-X86_64-LiveGNOME-1708.iso. Connected successfully with 2.4 and 5 Ghz band.
When I run

Code: Select all

inxi -Fxz
on Ubuntu 18.04 (installed) I get

Code: Select all

Network:   Card-1: Intel 82579LM Gigabit Network Connection
           driver: e1000e v: 3.2.6-k port: 5080 bus-ID: 00:19.0
           IF: enp0s25 state: down mac: <filter>
           Card-2: Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300
           driver: iwlwifi bus-ID: 03:00.0
           IF: wlp3s0 state: up mac: <filter>
I know that on Debian the iwlwifi driver has to be installed separately.

DavidDavies
Posts: 3
Joined: 2018/10/09 11:43:16

Re: Wi-Fi: Live vs Bare Metal Installation Thinkpad T420

Post by DavidDavies » 2018/10/09 19:58:04

I found a working solution here: https://askubuntu.com/questions/902992/ ... s-changing. I changed the hardware (MAC) address in network manager to the address used in my Ubuntu installation. Now I have working wireless in the CentOS 7 live session.

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