Few problems with linux mint

tom91x91

tom91x91

tom91x91

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Ive just installed linux mint, i really liked the look of it from the test so decided to give it a go. Ive made sure its NOT running from disc and from HD and it still seems to be hanging quite often, another problem i have is my internet only works for 1-2 mins then i have to reconnect (wireless), i never had this problem in windows, maybe its a driver problem with the wireless card? my network card is a tp link 150mbs TL-WN781N

I have installed some graphics drivers from linux's own updater thing but i dont know if their the newest ones.

Im installing updates right now but had to restart a few times as internet got cut off whilst downloading.

Any other general tips for getting started? Even though ive got a few problems now im going to stick with it :)
 
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If you installed the drivers through the systems own install tools then they may not be the very latest but they will be good enough. Hopefully the updates might solve a few of the issues you are having but something we can look into straight away is the type of wireless card you have. Do you have a make and model number? Even better, open a terminal (mint menu > accessories > terminal (i think!)) type the command:

sudo lspci

and paste the output here, this should list the wireless chipset and some other system information which could help narrow down the problem.
 
ok found that (appreciated the help btw sorry for the noobish questions :p)

00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation 82G33/G31/P35/P31 Express DRAM Controller (rev 02)
00:01.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82G33/G31/P35/P31 Express PCI Express Root Port (rev 02)
00:1a.0 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) USB UHCI Controller #4 (rev 02)
00:1a.1 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) USB UHCI Controller #5 (rev 02)
00:1a.2 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) USB UHCI Controller #6 (rev 02)
00:1a.7 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) USB2 EHCI Controller #2 (rev 02)
00:1b.0 Audio device: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) HD Audio Controller (rev 02)
00:1c.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) PCI Express Port 1 (rev 02)
00:1c.1 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) PCI Express Port 2 (rev 02)
00:1c.4 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) PCI Express Port 5 (rev 02)
00:1c.5 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) PCI Express Port 6 (rev 02)
00:1d.0 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) USB UHCI Controller #1 (rev 02)
00:1d.1 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) USB UHCI Controller #2 (rev 02)
00:1d.2 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) USB UHCI Controller #3 (rev 02)
00:1d.7 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) USB2 EHCI Controller #1 (rev 02)
00:1e.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801 PCI Bridge (rev 92)
00:1f.0 ISA bridge: Intel Corporation 82801IR (ICH9R) LPC Interface Controller (rev 02)
00:1f.2 IDE interface: Intel Corporation 82801IR/IO/IH (ICH9R/DO/DH) 4 port SATA IDE Controller (rev 02)
00:1f.3 SMBus: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) SMBus Controller (rev 02)
00:1f.5 IDE interface: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) 2 port SATA IDE Controller (rev 02)
01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: nVidia Corporation GF104 [GeForce GTX 460] (rev a1)
01:00.1 Audio device: nVidia Corporation GF104 High Definition Audio Controller (rev a1)
03:00.0 Network controller: Atheros Communications Inc. AR9285 Wireless Network Adapter (PCI-Express) (rev 01)
04:00.0 SATA controller: JMicron Technology Corp. JMB362/JMB363 Serial ATA Controller (rev 02)
04:00.1 IDE interface: JMicron Technology Corp. JMB362/JMB363 Serial ATA Controller (rev 02)
05:00.0 Ethernet controller: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL8111/8168B PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet controller (rev 01)
06:06.0 FireWire (IEEE 1394): Texas Instruments TSB43AB23 IEEE-1394a-2000 Controller (PHY/Link)
 
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Ok I believe the chipset for that card is the Atheros AR9285. This has been added to the kernel fairly recently and is still undergoing heavy development. What I would suggest is installing compat-wireless, this is the latest version of the development drivers. To do this follow these instructions:

Go to Software Sources (System>Admin>Software Sources) and on the first tab make sure the box that says backport is ticked.

Open your software manager and update your software list.

Search for:

linux-backports-modules-compat-wireless

Install this package and it should update your wireless drivers to a newer version and might improve your wireless cards usabillity.

Please bear in mind that I don't use Linux Mint and some of the steps or wording may be a bit wrong, you will have to do a bit of trial of error if things are not where I say they are!!

Edit: when you have done this reboot your computer.
 
Think ive messed this up it wont even start now, says something along the lines of FATAL: could not load -2.6.36- etc then goes onto terminal or something, but wont let me start, think i'll sort this out in the morning :(

Maybe ill try out ubuntu.
 
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2.6.35-22-generic

I have it currently working in wired, but still not wireless it wont even find any access points anymore, i think ill try updating via software manager but just hope it doesnt break the system like it seemed to do last time :S (once again thanks for the help)
 
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Could you take a screenshot of when you search for:

linux-backports-modules-compat-wireless

This is the way to go to get the latest drivers, otherwise it's a matter of sitting and waiting unfortunatly. Luckily for you Atheros who your wireless chip is made by "support" open source and have a developer or two activly contributuing to the ath9k driver which means that it should only be a matter of time.

If you still have problems when you've updated to compat-wireless then you can send debug reports in and help to get the problems fixed.
 
Which one did you install before, I would recommend installing the 3rd one from the bottom.

What was the problem that caused it not to boot, was it related to installing one of these modules?
 
Thats the one i did before, and it stopped me being able to boot and needed to reinstall. Like it came up with a black screen asked for password, was basicly just a big version of terminal that wouldnt let me boot :s
 
ok then, try linux-backports-modules-compat-wireless-{2.6.35-22-generic}, the bit in the curly brackets should be on the end, e.g.

linux-backports-modules-compat-wireless-2.6.36-2.6.35-23-generic

See if the exact one above is available, I would assume that it is either the top one or the third one.
 
meh think i give up on linux :( nothing else is running and nothing i tried from google searches work!

Thanks for all the help though jack.
 
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