17

November
2017

Wifi in Slax

Apparently I forgot to include some wifi support in Slax. I don't have any device with wifi here at the moment, so I can't test, but there should be few things to consider. First of all, you will probably need some firmware for your wifi adapter. I'm not sure which packages to install, some of them may not be in official debian repository. Hopefully somebody in the comments will suggest something. Second, you will probably need some software to manage your wifi connections. Some people suggested wpa_supplicant, this can be installed with apt install wpasupplicant. This is a commandline utility, as far as I can tell. If you are looking for a GUI to configure your wifi network, you may try

apt install network-manager-gnome
nm-applet &

Or better (half download, only 50MB):

apt install wicd
wicd-gtk -t &

This will put an icon in system tray, which you can use to access network settings using GUI.

Hope this helps a bit.

User comments
fu-deepin-ck 2017-11-17 16:38

today i found slax updated!! it's so cool!!i am waitting for it in a long time.
system start so fast!!Although it without many features , but i believe it will be better and better!
but now ,i can not use it without wifi~hhhhhh

fu-deepin-ck 2017-11-17 16:45

oh~and i want to konw,how can i install the slax in the hard diak. i want use slax like the other system,not base the .sb file.

Petro Pantero 2017-11-17 20:24

Slax is still maintained, cool, awesome. +1
so I give it a try :)

1. how to start with sshd on persistent?
2. how to start in textmode persistent?
3. wifi, I will try to figure it out of my own, there are hints enough around. :)

Petro Pantero 2017-11-17 20:25

sorry, forgotten
4. keyboard layout persistent?

naEX 2017-11-18 08:23

well... and if you have only wifi as internet connection then what? :D Im not expert in this, but why not insert into slax what debian has for wifi to work in minimal CD (netinst)?

Tomas M 2017-11-18 09:43

Yes it is good idea to examine Debian's install CD to check out how they manage to make Wifi work.

p. Trinx 2017-11-18 15:48

Hello,
Regarding the wifi with debian netinstall I need to add the repo non-free and them look for the firmware(s) package(s) linux /intel/realtek etc...I also usually need to add wifi and eth tools and utils.

Za Xandros 2017-11-19 03:36

==================
@tip for Tomas M for wifi/sound etc etc proprietary drivers:

http://cdimage.debian.org/cdimage/unofficial/non-free/firmware/stretch/current/

download firmware.tar.gz from the url above and store it for later offline use.

Extract it . It will contain all the non-libre firmware related .deb for wifi and sound etc . Install the required .deb as per your hardware configuration.

====================
=====================

@humble request for Tomas M

1) can u give a step by step article, by which i can produce a customized (some packages added) iso of slax

2)
can u give step by step in a blog article by which (given the linux-live scripts https://github.com/Tomas-M/linux-live and given the debian iso ), I can compile to slax .iso from scratch by myself


with love to slax - from India

Za Xandros 2017-11-19 03:53

some additional clarification:

remark1: when the .iso of slax is being copied to usb pen drive; at the same time the above firmware.tar.gz can be put put to same usb pen drive partiition.
So, at places where only wifi is available, the chicken egg problem - "of how to connect to wifi internet without drivers to apt install the wifi drivers" - will be solved. because all the firmware are already available offline in that firmware.tar.gz

remark2: whatever .deb you want to install - (the .deb which is extracted from above from firmware.tar.gz), you can install it using
dpkg -i THE_DEB_PACKAGE_NAME

Николин Николов 2017-11-20 21:09

@Za Xandros

Download and unzip firmware.tar.gz , create directory ./niko in main directory USB device ( now only 2 "slax" and "niko") . Now , when start slax 9 in terminal can't see and find ( with mc ) "niko" and can't execute dpkg -I broadcom_bla_bla .

> dpkg -I broadcom_bla_bla
> No such file or directory
:(

Where the file ??

lucbertz 2017-11-22 11:17

@Николин Николов

Folder "niko" you added should be reachable under "/run/initramfs/memory/data/" path.

So you should be able to proceed with the following commands:

cd /run/initramfs/memory/data/niko/
dpkg -I broadcom_bla_bla

Russell Hernandez 2017-11-22 17:04

For anyone trying to get SOUND as well try this:

apt install dbus-x11
nohup pulseaudio >/dev/null 2>&1 &

Enjoy.

Za Xandros 2017-11-23 01:14

@Николин Николов
i did not got any notification email for your query/reply to my comment. So, I am late in replying to your query to my comment.
As lucbertz already pointed that you can get your pen drive at cd /run/initramfs/memory/data/, and do whatever.

I will add that if you choose boot time menu as "copy to RAM", then this folder will not be available then you manually mount /dev/sdX (say)(mostly, it will be /dev/sdb1) to whatever directory mount point you want

any further query/help , you may also copy/notify about it to me to ashishwave@gmail.com

Cheers :-)

Николин Николов 2017-11-23 10:58

@Za Xandros
I was a little bit tired of this distro . I released without a problem wifi driver broadcom but ... can't manage wireless :( . Have not wired internet , only wireless . Download wicd and try instal with dpkg but too many dependency's.
Try connect through my smartphone with tethering but ... distro no find internet . In this form that distro without internet .... sorry . How work without inertnet ??

François Lavoie 2017-11-28 02:00

@Николин Николов or Za Xandros:
Please provide the link or keywords search to get firmware.tar.gz.

Thanks.

François Lavoie 2017-11-28 03:59

root@slax:~# lspci -k
...
03:00.0 Network controller: Intel Corporation WiFi Link 5100
Subsystem: Intel Corporation WiFi Link 5100 AGN
Kernel driver in use: iwlwifi
Kernel modules: iwlwifi
root@slax:~#

Google: Intel Corporation WiFi Link 5100
https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000005511/network-and-i-o/wireless-networking.html
Almost last in the table for 5100

Download 5100:
https://wireless.wiki.kernel.org/en/users/Drivers/iwlwifi?action=AttachFile&do=get&target=iwlwifi-5000-ucode-8.83.5.1-1.tgz

As I have a tgz archive:
https://www.cyberciti.biz/faq/unpack-tgz-linux-command-line/
tar zxvf iwlwifi-5000-ucode-8.83.5.1-1.tgz

Copy the files firmware directory:
/lib/firmware

If the wifi does not work make sure the wifi is not hard blocked as in my case ;)
root@slax:~# rfkill list
0: phy0: Wireless LAN
Soft blocked: no
Hard blocked: yes
root@slax:~#

Николин Николов 2017-11-28 12:07

@François Lavoie


http://cdimage.debian.org/cdimage/unofficial/non-free/firmware/stretch/current/

download firmware.tar.gz

lucbertz 2017-11-28 14:53

I guess if it is possible to add debian firmware.tar.gz to initrfs.img of Slax in order to have many firmwares available and make a Slax USB really portable.

This solution is reported at the following link:
https://wiki.debian.org/DebianInstaller/NetbootFirmware

thierry 2017-11-29 19:21

hello tomas

j essaye slax 9.2.1 que je trouve sympa , mais je ne comprend pas la philosophie de la demarche . la version 7 avec les modules est vraiment genial .
merci pour le boulot

François Lavoie 2017-11-30 00:47

Copying the files the files to /lib/firmware was good enough for me. I am in save changes mode.

Noah Leon 2017-12-08 20:25

Works well, but I have to restart the tray icon every time I reboot. How do I make it permanent.

Sintic Bolivia Tic 2018-04-28 01:14

Hello

Thanks for the great work.

I am having issues with my wifi network card, i found the firmware source code.

But now, my question is, how can i compile the firmware and update the initfsram file.

I have no other way to connect my tablet to networks.
Any help will be appreciated.

Regards,

jeff 2018-11-10 16:04

Hello / Bonjour (Eng/Fr) choose but i'll speak in En

Object: SysAdm

I was looking for an easy/distro/lowMem etc. to monitor systems on older PC. you understand what i mean. I found SLAX, working very very fine BUT take care with WIFI, the latest 4.9.x kernel isn't working fine with older chipset like VT6656_STAGE.

I explain my experience:
->512 Mb RAM
-> install on flash 1Gb Flash Memory is OK (with the copy of the slax dir and the bootinst.sh to make it bootable (great work Tom!)
->networking scripts to connect with LDAP is OK (thx again...)
->everything's working to monitor with chromium
->RAM is OK
->CPU is OK
->HD is OK
->i monitor my nagios well, i'm happy :)
->i used the debian distro and the apt commands as well as unix_based commands

BUT:
->impossible to take the hand and ping via SSH from my pc, too many latences...
->everything's fine FROM the SLAX/DEBIAN_KERNEL to another network, but FROM another network TO the SLAX, impossible..
->i sysctl -a |grep net.ipv4
->i compare to other debian i have
->i found nothing so bad
->i decided to try an older kernel with slacko/puppy based on 3.16 kernel and SLACKWARE 14.2

SOLVED:
->everything's OK
->i can take the hand
->icmp requests are OK (FROM and TO, side by side)

DIFF:
-> modinfo VT6656_STAGE
->not the same between 4.9.x and 3.16.x kernels
->sysctl -a net.ipv4 does not "really" return the same results

CONCLUSION:
->Kernel 4.9 DEBIAN BASED doesn't work even FIRMWARE-LINUX (hard to say coz i'm a debian_user, but it's a fact)
->Stay on SLACKWARE for older hardware

QUESTION:
->Is it possible to obtain a SLAX TOM's distro with older kernel?

THANKS:
You really did a wonderful job and i want to do this distro as my supervision's distro, while staying with DEBIAN (coz i like it too ;) )
I don't have the pretention to be a developper as you are, so many thanks again, i just report my feedback as a simple net/sys/adm/devops...

thx again

jeff 2018-11-10 16:17

Sintic

i tried to upgrade kernel with apt upgrade and same way for initramfs. but it's possible to install packages with apt , like to insert modules to the slax directory and it works, but to initramfs, i don't have the solution, ask tom i think?

Regards

jeff 2018-11-10 16:22

Sintic

If you feel dev in mind, try this :

https://www.slax.org/en/internals.php

Mas Bay 2019-12-31 18:20

just click start menu - click net manager app - there are several connection can be connected...

Agent Iyad 2020-09-10 23:33

How can I put the line break?

abcd567 2022-05-18 21:40

My computer has on-board WiFi adapter Broadcom BCM43228 802.11a/b/g/n. It requires driver wl. The driver provided in SLAX by default is b43 version 5.10.92. Itried to build the driver wl for BCM43228 using command "sudo apt install broadcom-sta-dkm". It tries to build for a while, then exits without building with lot of error messages. When I give command "sudo modprobe wl" I get "FATAL: module wl not found in /lib/usr/5.10.92" (or something like that, I dont remember exactly). How do I solve this? The default driver b43 causes WiFi to go through continous connect-disconnect cycle.

abcd567 2022-05-18 21:50

I subsequently tried running command "sudo apt install linux-headers-amd64", and after that ran command "sudo apt install broadcom-sta-dkms", but the dkms still failed to build the driver wl in /lib/usr/5.10.92

abcd567 2022-05-18 22:52

Broadcom Wireless Driver broadcom-wl AKA broadcom-sta

Debian Wiki:
https : // wiki.debian.org/wl

Broadcom BCM4311, BCM4312, BCM4313, BCM4321, BCM4322, BCM43224, BCM43225, BCM43227, BCM43228, BCM43142, BCM4331, BCM4352, BCM4360 devices (wl)