Re: wpa_supplicant cli works, but NM insists "wireless is disabled"

[Andrew <andrew2006 flight us>]

>On Mon, 2008-09-29 at 18:44 -0400, Andrew wrote:
>> >>On Sun, 2008-09-28 at 19:21 -0400, Andrew wrote:
>> >>> Hello, 
>> >>> 
>> >>> I have appealed to the Fedora Forum, but no one seems to have a clue 
>> >there.
>> >>> 
>> >>> Here is the thread:
>> >>> http://forums.fedoraforum.org/showthread.php?t=199562
>> >>> 
>> >>> (A quick synopsis of the thread:
>> >>> 
>> >>> I've activated/deactivated everything i could think of, related to 
>> >>NetworkManager; yet, everything wireless is grayed out in the applet.
>> >>> 
>> >>> But wpa_supplicant (cli) works! 
>> >>> 
>> >>> Additional info (beyond above thread):
>> >>> 
>> >>> I compiled the latest NetworkManager svn; still same grayed out 
>behavior.
>> >>> 
>> >>> )
>> >>> 
>> >>> I tried looking in the source and tracing the calls to and from  
>> >>nm_client_wireless_get_enabled (if that's even a function) but, ignorant 
>of 
>> >C, 
>> >>didn't get far.
>> >>> 
>> >>> Please help!
>> >>
>> >>Does NM think wireless is disabled because a HAL killswitch is reporting
>> >
>> >Don't know enough about HAL to answer the above.  (Where would i look?)
>> >
>> >>that it's off?  Could you post some logs from /var/log/messages from
>> >>when NM starts up?  
>> >
>> >please see attachment.  (i've X'ed out some addresses (xxxx:xxxx:....)
>> 
>> 
>> ooops.  The list strips attachment.  Here is a web link to the same 
>/var/log/messages chunk:
>> 
>>      http://www.flight.us/bugs/var_messages_nm_chunk.txt
>
>What's the output of:
>
>dellWirelessCtl

Here it is: http://www.flight.us/bugs/dellWirelessCtl.txt

OK, it appears that the "problem"(?) /does/ originate in the BIOS (I did present this hypothesis at the Fedora forum, but no one took that path, which now seems correct)

For a quick & dirty fix: any way to force the disabled/enabled switch in the NM source?  Again, i tried to find this in the source and failed.  Where is it?

I wonder if this can be considered a bug or glitch -- my situation apparently presents a need for NM to be more user-configurable here.

Thanks.

>HAL found a killswitch and NM is honoring the setting of that killswitch
>apparently.
>
>Dan
>
>> 
>> 
>> >NM keeps saying "wlan1: link is not ready"
>> >
>> >Yet, I can do "iwconfig" and "iwlist" with NO problem whatsoever, with good 
>
>> >results.  Plus, as i said earlier (this seems VERY significant), i can 
>connect 
>> >with wpa_supplicant no prob (all the while NM is saying "wireless is 
>> >disabled"!)
>> >
>> >>It could also be that you've disabled the device in
>> >>system-config-network, in which case the menu will say the device is
>> >>"unmanaged".
>> >
>> >I have played with system-config-network every which way, before. "wlan1" 
>(and 
>> >"wlan0") are both assigned to NM, ("Controlled by NM" is checked). (wlan0 
>> >versus wlan1 is created depending on which atheros card i insert -- i have 
>two 
>> >at my disposal)
>> >
>> >
>> >>
>> >>dan