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I searched the forums, but it seems anyone with a similar problem didn't get a proper solution. I have good wifi signal, other devices connect to the internet just fine, computer is connected to network, but I have no access to the internet on my browser or the software center.

Firefox and the Ubuntu Software Center won't connect to anything. I can't go online, download updates, or anything. When I start the browser it just sits there saying 'Connecting...' but does nothing. If I start the Software Center I get no options to install anything and I get no results if I search for anything.

I ran the script that I saw other people using (BTW, you guys don't make it very easy for a novice to figure this stuff out, we're not all code junkies!), but I'm not sure how to post the results in one of those imbedded windows. ~~If someone can tell me that, I will post the output of the script.~~ Added Link to results below.

Oh, and this netbook had Ubuntu 10.04 on it and it worked fine. Being obsolete and no longer supported, I foolishly thought it would be a good idea to install a newer version. I installed the 32-bit version since I only have 1 Gig of RAM.

Thank you.

Dmesg results, yet another wall of text!

2nd dmesg output for comparison

~~POSSIBLE SOLUTION: I disabled hardware encryption, set IPv6 to local only, and did a rfkill unblock all. That seems to have worked and network is humming now. I'm going to call this a fix guys.~~ EDIT works until it doesn't, then slow as hell, connection drops to 1 Mbs again, not sure why. Tried another fix, will report back how that works.

FINAL UPDATE: I replaced the Atheros Wifi card with a Broadcomm card. It worked immediately when I booted to a Live USB image. Unfortunately, it ceased to function after installation and boot from HD, but after a quick DL of FWwrapper and the installation of proper drivers, it worked like a charm.

TL;DR: Ditch the Ath9k card and get something else.

Marcus Drakus
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  • copy the output to http://paste.ubuntu.com/ and provide a link – Elder Geek Feb 29 '16 at 17:46
  • Can you open a terminal and ping google.com? ping google.com -c 5 – Elder Geek Feb 29 '16 at 18:01
  • Yes, I it says 5 packets transmitted and 5 received, 0% packet loss – Marcus Drakus Feb 29 '16 at 18:06
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    Then clearly you have access to the internet. Can you clarify what you mean by "doesn't allow internet access? – Elder Geek Feb 29 '16 at 18:13
  • Firefox and the Ubuntu Software Center won't connect to anything. I can't go online, download updates, or anything. When I start the browser it just sits there saying 'Connecting...' but does nothing. If I start the Software Center I get no options to install anything and I get no results if I search for anything. – Marcus Drakus Feb 29 '16 at 18:23
  • [edit] that information into your question. – Elder Geek Feb 29 '16 at 18:25
  • Okay, did that. – Marcus Drakus Feb 29 '16 at 18:31
  • Try sudo apt-get update from a terminal – Elder Geek Feb 29 '16 at 18:37
  • Oh, an old netbook? have you tried waiting? – Elder Geek Feb 29 '16 at 18:39
  • Did you check the hash of the image you downloaded before installing? See: http://askubuntu.com/questions/503776/md5-hash-for-ubuntu-iso/503788#503788 – Elder Geek Feb 29 '16 at 18:42
  • apt-get responds with 'Could not resolve 'security.ubuntu.com'. I did try waiting (it used to take maybe 2 seconds) but it says the connection timed out after 5 minutes. I will check out the hash (although I have no idea what that means) – Marcus Drakus Feb 29 '16 at 18:46
  • Oh, and I'm using the 32 bit version as the netbook has only 1 gig of RAM. – Marcus Drakus Feb 29 '16 at 18:47
  • the hash is used to confirm the download matches the source – Elder Geek Feb 29 '16 at 18:48
  • I still don't get the hash thing, what am I supposed to do? – Marcus Drakus Feb 29 '16 at 18:52
  • Read http://askubuntu.com/questions/503776/md5-hash-for-ubuntu-iso/503788#503788 – Elder Geek Feb 29 '16 at 18:55
  • I don't have an ISO anymore, it was on the netbook I used to create the bootable USB that installed it, but I downloaded it from the Ubuntu website. When I booted from the USB stick I chose to erase the HD and make a fresh install. – Marcus Drakus Feb 29 '16 at 19:32
  • The reason I asked is nothing from your wireless script info jumps out at me as being incorrect and it's odd that you can ping past the gateway but can't browse or update software so my best guess at this point is corrupted installation media. Can you ping security.ubuntu.com? – Elder Geek Feb 29 '16 at 20:12
  • Related: http://askubuntu.com/questions/224619/how-to-resolve-wireless-disconnect-problem-in-atheros-ath9k – Elder Geek Feb 29 '16 at 20:24
  • Yes, the ping returns just fine, as it did with Google. Software Center, however can't. Should I just start from scratch, make a whole new bootable USB and do a fresh install? – Marcus Drakus Feb 29 '16 at 20:24
  • After backing up any critical data, a fresh install is certainly an option. The media you created should also have an option to check the disk for errors that will run hashes on all the files on the media. Did you check the Related link I posted above? Also http://askubuntu.com/questions/718884/why-am-i-unable-to-access-internet-even-with-being-connected-to-network?rq=1 – Elder Geek Feb 29 '16 at 20:27

2 Answers2

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The only thing odd that I could see in the output is that your wireless NIC speed is 1 Mb/s (line 143). You need to determine if this is an issue with your AP or your wireless NIC.

To check if it's with your AP, do other devices on your network get fast speeds? Also, try booting into a Live CD and running a speed test from there. If both of these work without issues, then you've ruled out the AP, and your hardware. So it's probably a setting within your current install.

If you include the output from iw info it will show the speeds supported by your wireless NIC (perhaps it has been set to the 1 Mb/s somehow and isn't coming off that speed). Try those and let us know.

Tim Holmes-Mitra
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  • Nice catch (line 143) – Elder Geek Feb 29 '16 at 20:46
  • All my other devices are connected much higher than 1 Mb/s, but oddly enough when I look at the network connections on the netbook, it shows me connected at 65 Mb/s. How do I phrase the iw info command? – Marcus Drakus Feb 29 '16 at 21:20
  • I think he means iw list | grep -A15 Bitrates the minimal info I get from iw wlan0 info doesn't seem very useful – Elder Geek Feb 29 '16 at 21:30
  • Ok, it lists 1, 2, 5.5, 11*, 6, 12, 18, 24, 36, 48, and 56 Mbps. Those with the star are short preamble supported. Strange that it shows me connected at 65 Mbps in the wireless properties window. – Marcus Drakus Feb 29 '16 at 21:35
  • @MarcusDrakus Strange indeed. It would seem that your installation is dyslexic. Of course all that info is in your pastebin post anyway. – Elder Geek Feb 29 '16 at 21:37
  • Have you tried booting to a live CD and running a speedtest from there? – Tim Holmes-Mitra Feb 29 '16 at 21:42
  • ok, so I made a new boot USB and selected to install Ubuntu. On the next screen it asks which network I want to connect to and added the password. Then, it connects to the network and brings me to a page that says 'For best results please ensure this computer has 6.5 Gigs of free space (check), is plugged in (check) and connected to the internet (X). So right off the bat it's doing the same thing again, so it's obviously not the hardware or the network config, but something else in Ubuntu that's not jiving. – Marcus Drakus Feb 29 '16 at 22:02
  • @dlickc how do I run a speedtest? – Marcus Drakus Feb 29 '16 at 22:04
  • You don't want to Install Ubuntu. Is there an option to Try Ubuntu? (and leave the files currently on your install untouched!) There are a number of speedtests available online. Once you'ved selected to Try Ubuntu, your computer should boot into a default Ubuntu Desktop. From there, launch your browser, and check out link – Tim Holmes-Mitra Feb 29 '16 at 22:13
  • OK, so I backed out of the install and just 'tried' Ubuntu, and now I have internet! Granted it's slow as hell, and not very reliable. Why would it work from the USB but not when I install?!!? – Marcus Drakus Feb 29 '16 at 22:16
  • How old is this computer?

    This is a stab in the dark, but line 456 might indicate hardware encryption is disabled for your card? If that is the case, then I imagine WPA2 encryption would drag your system down.

    Perhaps try a different version of encryption on your router to see if you get better speeds? only do this for testing as WEP and WPA are borken

     – Tim Holmes-Mitra Feb 29 '16 at 22:20
  • @dlickc That makes sense. If I could keep whatever settings the USB uses to run the system and add the conf file with the option set to false, I think it will work. If I run the script again while it's 'trying' Ubuntu (while the internet works, albeit slowly) could we simply compare the two and change whatever to match the working configuration? – Marcus Drakus Mar 01 '16 at 00:50
  • @dlickc This is why it's a good idea to keep a copy of the outputs so you can compare to stable working configs! I have been looking everywhere for this solution and I'm just not seeing it. – Marcus Drakus Mar 01 '16 at 04:12
  • Have you tried changing the encryption type on the router to see if you get better speeds? – Tim Holmes-Mitra Mar 01 '16 at 09:14
  • @dlickc it's set to WPA2, and not my router, so... – Marcus Drakus Mar 01 '16 at 16:11
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Since network connections is showing you connected at 65Mb/s which makes no sense and isn't supported by your 1, 2*, 5.5*, 11*, 6, 12, 18, 24, 36, 48, and 56 Mbps. I think I would reinstall after backing up any critical files on the system. This time insure you have a good image first by checking the hashes as outlined here. You may also find it useful to check the created installation media prior to installation as noted in this post

Since you have an older underpowered system you might want to try the Lubuntu or Xubuntu flavors which are more likely to perform well with the limited resources that system has to offer.

If all else fails you might want to consider a different wifi adapter I've had good luck with Ralink chipsets like this one

Community
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Elder Geek
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  • I'm checking out Xubuntu – Marcus Drakus Mar 01 '16 at 01:16
  • @MarcusDrakus Don't forget check the hash. – Elder Geek Mar 01 '16 at 01:19
  • OK, so I got Xubuntu installed and running, internet now works, but it keeps dropping from 50-something Mbps to 1Mbps. It'll stay like that for a bit and then pop back up to 50-something again. Browser will time out two or three times and then be lightning fast for a while. Trying to use get in a terminal is painfully slow as well, been waiting for Calibre to download forever now and it looks like there's no progress at all. Something is still amiss. Will continue searching. Thanks for your help, if you think of anything, I'd love to hear it. – Marcus Drakus Mar 01 '16 at 06:12
  • I got Calibre to download after a reboot and reattempting the Terminal download, and it was fast. Still an intermittent browser, though. Network properties say connected at 65Mbps (slightly odd) but it still drops to 1 Mbps sometimes. Could this high speed have something to do with my issues? Maybe connecting at a rate faster than it can handle? – Marcus Drakus Mar 01 '16 at 15:36
  • It appears the ath9k driver is pretty buggy. See https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+bugs?field.searchtext=ath9k&orderby=-importance – Elder Geek Mar 01 '16 at 15:48
  • can you [edit] in output from dmesg ? thank you for helping us help you – Elder Geek Mar 01 '16 at 15:51
  • Added link to dmesg output above as per request. – Marcus Drakus Mar 01 '16 at 16:11
  • Hmm. Possible resurgence of this bug? https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+bug/414560 I'm seeing repeated connection drops in your dmesg output. – Elder Geek Mar 01 '16 at 18:39
  • It looks like you have the correct modprobe options in /etc/modprobe.d/ath9k.conf (to the best of my knowledge. – Elder Geek Mar 01 '16 at 18:47
  • I just changed the modprobe options actually. I forgot about that after installing Xubuntu, and did it about 30 minutes ago and now everything seems to be working well. I'm going to do the dmesg again and see what it says now. How do I know how old the info is in the dmesg output? I noticed the drop outs before, too, but if i rerun the command now, will it show all those old dropouts as well, or does it make a new log every time you boot? And what are these bogus alignment messages about? – Marcus Drakus Mar 01 '16 at 19:26
  • added a link to latest dmesg output. – Marcus Drakus Mar 01 '16 at 19:34
  • Oh, I'm glad you got those modprobe options fixed (that device doesn't have the capability for onboard encryption so thats a requirement to offload the work to the CPU as I understand it. As far as dmesg is concerned see man dmesg and http://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/35851/whats-the-difference-of-dmesg-output-and-var-log-messages for explanations. As for the alignment messages I believe it's a bug in the intel graphics driver https://lists.freedesktop.org/archives/intel-gfx-bugs/2015-April/038859.html Feel free to ask another question if you have further issues. – Elder Geek Mar 02 '16 at 00:11
  • just curious, the rfkill command I used, is it persistent or will I have to make a script or something? – Marcus Drakus Mar 02 '16 at 00:53
  • Search rfkill in the q & a search box at the upper right corner above as your question has likely already been answered. If not, feel free to click the Ask Question button just below it. and ask a new question so that others with the same interest can find it. It's unlikely anyone will look for answers buried deep in the comments of a different question. In this way we can help as many people as possible. Thank you! You should also review http://askubuntu.com/help/how-to-ask to improve the odds of receiving good answers from the community. – Elder Geek Mar 02 '16 at 01:24