[SOLVED] Zorin 9 Core 64-bit Dropping Wifi, Lenovo G50-30

Hi - guess I 'hi-jacked' an old thread so I'll start over...I am totally a newbie here; got my 88-year old Dad a Lenovo G50-30 laptop 64-bit for X-mas...the dreaded Windows 8.1 ain't gonna work. He's used to XP. Installed Zorin 9 Core 64 bit as dual-boot, things are pretty good but running into the same issue as ted_uk detailed on his Zorin 9 Ultimate in a thread from Aug 2014: viewtopic.php?f=5&t=8204 regarding the wifi dropping but showing still connected, and then working again upon reboot. I have confirmed that I have the rtl8723be wifi chip in this pig. Great solution by madvinegar in that same thread:

'I have found that the correct way to install your driver is to run the following commands:..

CODE: SELECT ALL
sudo apt-get install linux-headers-generic build-essential git
git clone http://github.com/lwfinger/rtl8723be
cd rtl8723be
git checkout 604aa9058fb9e5bb1cf571c99989d081f8fc8b9
make clean
make
sudo make install
sudo modprobe rtl8723be

Then, if you are experiencing disconnections, in order to prevent the WiFi card from automatically sleeping and halting connection, run the following command:
CODE: SELECT ALL
echo "options rtl8723be fwlps=0" | sudo tee /etc/modprobe.d/rtl8723be.conf

and reboot.'

...only one issue; when I go check out github for rtl8723be, I see this, apparently from Sept 2014: rtl8723be: Remove obsolete files
Use http://github.com/lwfinger/rtlwifi_new.git instead.

Signed-off-by: Larry Finger <Larry.Finger@lwfinger.net>
master
commit 986358bc0b32aea2bb2c041b3547db0dee58b750 1 parent 01b44fd

So...being UTTERLY clueless with terminal and cryptic command line stuff, I get a bit freaked out. Question 1: do I have to go to github and bring the driver in, or just try the 2nd part of the above to prevent the wifi from sleeping and halting? If I do need to bring in the driver as above, then Question 2 is: do I have to modify the terminal commands above from madvinigar or not? If so, could a kind understanding soul tell me what to input into the terminal to bring in the driver? I do have access to the Win 8 driver files but the comment above by madvinegar makes me suspect that I really should do this thru the terminal. Thanks for your tolerance of a clueless Windows convert. I do love Zorin 9 so far and will be running it myself on at least one of my rigs,

TB

Hi,

go here and download the top file under the "europe" list and save it, once downloaded, install using "gdebi". Right click > open with > gdebi:

https://packages.debian.org/sid/all/fir ... k/download

You might want to install "gdebi" if you don't already have it installed!.

Using your network cable; run this command from a terminal:

Code:

sudo apt-get install gdebi

Text from the website for the driver package:

Binary firmware for Realtek wired and wireless network adapters

This package contains the binary firmware for some Ethernet adapters with the RTL8111/RTL8168 chips supported by the r8169 driver; and wireless network cards with the RTL8188, RTL8192, RTL8712, RTL8723 and RTL8821 chips supported by the r8192_pci, r8192s_usb, r8712u, rtl8188eu, rtl8192ce, rtl8192cu, rtl8192de, rtl8192se, rtl8723ae, rtl8723au, rtl8723be and rtl8821ae drivers.

I hope its the right one!.

Thanks Wolfman! Really appreciate that and I'll try it tonight,

TB

Okay, good news/bad news I guess. I started with a fresh install of Zorin, then installed gdebi but I think it might have already been installed. Then I went to that Debian site to install the package under the Europe heading, and here is what I got. I tried it twice:

Failed to install package 'firmware-realtek_0.43_all.deb
Selecting previously unselected package firmware-realtek.
(Reading database ... 199718 files and directories currently installed.)
Preparing to unpack .../firmware-realtek_0.43_all.deb ...
Unpacking firmware-realtek (0.43) ...
dpkg: error processing archive /home/bob/Downloads/firmware-realtek_0.43_all.deb (--install):
trying to overwrite '/lib/firmware/RTL8192E/main.img', which is also in package linux-firmware 1.127
dpkg-deb: error: subprocess paste was killed by signal (Broken pipe)
Errors were encountered while processing:
/home/bob/Downloads/firmware-realtek_0.43_all.deb

I don't know if that RTL8192E thing is flagging anything. No wifi icon in the lower-right tray. Turned on the Bluetooth settings in the area down in that tray. I don't know if this is normal, but the package installer window will not close after that; even right-clicking it at the lower-left won't close it. Only on shutting down will that window go away. I then did the following, based on a great post on this site, viewtopic.php?f=6&t=8335, to address a wifi issue known to occur on these Lenovo G50-30s:

echo "blacklist ideapad_laptop" | sudo tee -a /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist-ideapad.conf

After this my wifi icon showed up in the lower-right tray. At this point, it would APPEAR that the wifi connection remains on without dropping; this was over about 45 minutes. Usually it drops after about 15-20 minutes. I ran the following in the terminal:

lspci -nnk | grep -iA2 net
sudo lshw -c network

Results:

bob@nowhere:~$ lspci -nnk | grep -iA2 net
02:00.0 Network controller [0280]: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL8723BE PCIe Wireless Network Adapter [10ec:b723]
Subsystem: Lenovo Device [17aa:b736]
Kernel driver in use: rtl8723be
03:00.0 Ethernet controller [0200]: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet Controller [10ec:8168] (rev 10)
Subsystem: Lenovo Device [17aa:3816]
Kernel driver in use: r8169

sudo lshw -c network
[sudo] password for bob:
*-network
description: Wireless interface
product: RTL8723BE PCIe Wireless Network Adapter
vendor: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd.
physical id: 0
bus info: pci@0000:02:00.0
logical name: wlan0
version: 00
serial: c0:38:96:98:3e:65
width: 64 bits
clock: 33MHz
capabilities: pm msi pciexpress bus_master cap_list ethernet physical wireless
configuration: broadcast=yes driver=rtl8723be driverversion=3.13.0-44-generic firmware=N/A ip=192.168.1.77 latency=0 link=yes multicast=yes wireless=IEEE 802.11bgn
resources: irq:18 ioport:2000(size=256) memory:90500000-90503fff
*-network
description: Ethernet interface
product: RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet Controller
vendor: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd.
physical id: 0
bus info: pci@0000:03:00.0
logical name: eth0
version: 10
serial: 68:f7:28:2a:ae:6b
size: 10Mbit/s
capacity: 1Gbit/s
width: 64 bits
clock: 33MHz
capabilities: pm msi pciexpress msix vpd bus_master cap_list ethernet physical tp mii 10bt 10bt-fd 100bt 100bt-fd 1000bt 1000bt-fd autonegotiation
configuration: autonegotiation=on broadcast=yes driver=r8169 driverversion=2.3LK-NAPI duplex=half firmware=rtl8168g-3_0.0.1 04/23/13 latency=0 link=no multicast=yes port=MII speed=10Mbit/s
resources: irq:104 ioport:1000(size=256) memory:90404000-90404fff memory:90400000-90403fff
bob@nowhere:~$

Oddly, the machine will not restart; it hangs. You must press and hold the on/off button to shut it off, then when you press start it starts normally. Not a show-stopper, since my Dad won't be using restart, but disturbing. In my experience, whether with computers or cars, any oddity like that is usually a harbinger of a nasty surprise later when you are least able to handle it...so anyway, I have no clue how to determine if I have the right wifi or ethernet driver, or if it matters. I am troubled by the error messages when trying to install those packages. Perhaps the Lenovo ideapad blacklist fix is what was needed. I will have time to run the thing tonight for a couple of hours and I'll see if the wifi connection holds.But I would appreciate feedback on those error messages, and whether I should be concerned about correct drivers. BTW, I am in the US if that matters. Thanks so much,

TB

Hi TB,

your Wifi is showing in the list so that shouldn't now be a problem!.

The error messages about not being able to install the package I told you to download are there because the firmware was already installed so that wasn't the problem.

If your PC still isn't shutting down correctly, run the following terminal (Ctrl + Alt + t) command to force any missing dependencies:

Code:

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get dist-upgrade -f

Restart your PC!.

If your PC still won't shutdown after a restart, try the following terminal command to shut it down that way:

Code:

sudo poweroff

Thanks Wolfman! I'll run it tonight and hopefully all is good!

TB

Another thought, when you created your version of Zorin OS, did you follow the advice here: viewtopic.php?f=5&t=4771 if you have the time, please browse through it for that just in case scenario!.

Hmm...didn't pay any attention to the DVD burn speed, so based on that writeup, it was probably at a high default speed. Might be worth exploring if my problem persists, thanks,

TB

Hi TB,

if you did burn the ISO at the highest speed, this might account for the problems you are having!. It would possibly create read/write errors on the disk and this is why things are not running smoothly!.

If that is the case, I suggest a complete new disk; burned at the slowest possible speed which means you should do a new install!.

So your wifi is now working, but, after you got the wifi working, a new problem was created i.e. your laptop cannot shutdown or restart properly/normally, correct...?

My guess is that network manager may be preventing your laptop from restarting/shuting down.

Try this. Open terminal and run:

Code:

sudo gedit /etc/conf.d/local.stop

A file will open. Inside it, copy and paste the following two lines.

Code:

/etc/init.d/NetworkManager stop
/usr/bin/killall nm-system-settings

Save the file, exit and then try to shutdown/restart etc to see if that helped.

Thanks so much for all of the help, Wolfman and madvinegar! At this point it would appear that the update Wolfman recommended solved the restart issue...and my wifi connection hasn't dropped since I did the ideapad blacklist thing...so fingers crossed but I will keep the above bookmarked. Turn the laptop back over to Dad tomorrow! Just have to configure his Thunderbird...he uses Outlook Express on his desktop, and my goal is for him to be able to download e-mail to both computers. I have configured OE to leave a copy of the mails on the server, and I believe that on the laptop running Zorin 9, if I configure Thunderbird to IMAP rather than POP3 on the incoming, then it will download the same mails...

During an adjustment last night I told my chiropractor about my Linux adventures...maybe I can convert him too! You guys rock!

TB

Okay, this is not really related directly to the topic, but anyway having read more on the topic, looks like I misunderstood POP3 vs. IMAP. Looks like I should default-configure Thunderbird to POP3 to pull in AT & T Yahoo mails to the hard drive. Having set up Outlook Express on the desktop but checking 'leave copy on server', it should pull the same mails into T-Bird and store on HDD while online, yet allow my Dad to be able to see old e-mail when traveling even when he's not on the 'net. Anybody knows anything different please let me know,

TB

Hi TB,

take a look here:

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/ma ... figuration

Just as an aside, it will depend on your ISP - TalkTalk in the UK used to have POP3 accounts but have moved to IMAP which is **ap as your sent messages DON'T get saved - why? IMAP is a money saver for ISP's!

Hi TB,

can we mark this as solved as your OP is now resolved?.

Yep, this is solved. That reboot thing is back but I didn't get a chance to do all the suggestions. I also can't seem to get proper sizing when I pipe the image to a TV screen but I'll post that up under a new heading. Thanks for all of the help,

TB

Thanks for keeping us updated - have marked as [SOLVED]