[SOLVED] Lenovo X1 Carbon - X20A7 model - wireless issue

dexter · 2014-11-17 02:27:14

This is a repost which is now in the right place.

I loaded Crunchbang onto a Lenovo X1 and had no network upon the first boot. None. No CD drive either... I turned to the forums and this is what solved it.

Since there was no network, I had to copy from another computer the needed files and install them offline on the Lenovo. It felt a bit like sneaker-net. Me being brand new to Linux with limited Mac unix exposure it too a while to get the right commands figured out.

If you are in the same directory as the file you want to install use this command:
dpkg -i "packagename.deb"

You will need be root or use sudo to install some of the files.

Install rfkill so you can diagnose and check that it is not a hardware or software switch that is preventing the wireless.
Grab it here:
https://packages.debian.org/stable/utils/rfkill

Then lets install the firmware for that 7260AC dual band sweet mother of a wireless radio.
Grab it here:
https://packages.debian.org/sid/all/fir … i/download

You can check the /lib/firmware folder to see if they are missing or double check they are installed.

Finally a couple wheezy backports to update the libraries to use the newish hardware.
Grab these three and install them:
https://packages.debian.org/wheezy-back … s/download
https://packages.debian.org/wheezy-back … 4/download
https://packages.debian.org/wheezy-back … 4/download

Reboot that laptop and choose a wireless network.
8o

thegarageflower · 2014-12-03 19:48:28

You have no idea how grateful I am for this The Lenovo was the only one of my computers that resisted crunchbang, which was the source of perpetual irritation. You've solved it in minutes. I only wish I could buy you a drink to say thanks.

dexter · 2014-12-03 20:51:02

Right on.

Cheers

ohyran · 2014-12-03 20:57:44

I still haven't managed to even find the install in the menu for some reason on my Lenovo Carbon...

thegarageflower · 2014-12-07 08:52:55

Alas, I spoke too soon 8.( As soon as I tried to go through smxi and get the video drivers, it fell apart. I reinstalled and tried repeatedly with different iterations of sources.list, but dependencies kept getting broken, and I never made it to the other side of smxi with a bootable system. After a day of frustration I'm back to setting it up in Manjaro which is an unwelcome compromise solution but at least it works reliably. I don't know if you've managed this but I'm giving up (my other computers are all staying #! though).

Alad · 2014-12-07 10:09:24

thegarageflower wrote:

smxi

Your problem right there.

damo · 2014-12-07 10:29:04

Alad wrote:

thegarageflower wrote:
smxi
Your problem right there.

No fair, I find it an excellent set of tools

Head_on_a_Stick · 2014-12-07 12:02:29

thegarageflower wrote:

tried repeatedly with different iterations of sources.list, but dependencies kept getting broken

I think this is the more likely culprit.

But yes, sxmi seems to divide people -- those with nvidia cards swear by it, all others distrust it...

As I understand it, the trick is to do all the setup from the console.
Did you try to run the scripts from the X server?

damo · 2014-12-07 12:38:54

Head_on_a_Stick wrote:

....
As I understand it, the trick is to do all the setup from the console.
Did you try to run the scripts from the X server?

smxi won't let you do anything else. If you start it, you get the offer for it to shutdown X. Then it only runs if you "sudo su -" first.

thegarageflower · 2014-12-07 14:38:39

As above, I shut down X first. The only reason I attempted it was that I tried playing a game and noticed that it was running at molluscan speed, so the drivers clearly needed replacing. That led me into a web of broken dependencies, and trying smxi only made matters worse. I'm not a total Linux noob but this has gone far beyond my limited abilities.

For context, I'm running a Lenovo X240 with an i5-4200U CPU. It's now got an openbox Linux Mint running on it (yeah I know, I need something that works) but I'll happily put a #! dual boot on it and try again if it helps track down the problem and assists others. Thanks everyone for your time and help!

Head_on_a_Stick · 2014-12-07 14:47:53

You could always just Crunchify your Mint install -- I've had Mint running pure DWM and it worked really well.

thegarageflower · 2014-12-07 14:56:42

Exactly what I'm doing right now. Any tips?

Head_on_a_Stick · 2014-12-07 15:45:41

thegarageflower wrote:

Any tips?

For the love of $DEITY, don't try to remove plymouth -- it will completely kill it...

Alad · 2014-12-10 18:06:58

^ this. Dont remove MDM either

thegarageflower · 2014-12-14 14:12:57

OK, for the sake of others who may follow, I've now solved this one. I'm not sure that all these steps are necessary but they worked for me.

1. Do everything it says in the first post of this thread, and add some of the extra repositories (some suggestions in http://cynicaltux.blogspot.co.uk/2014/0 … rt-i.html)
2. Install the Nvidia drivers as http://crunchbang.org/forums/viewtopic.php?id=11900&p=1, but ignore anything it tells you about xorg.conf
3. sudo apt-get install bumblebee-nvidia primus (it may be advisable to do this from wheezy-backports but it seemed ok for me: https://wiki.debian.org/Bumblebee)
4. Run nvidia-xconfig
5. Remove /etc/X11/xorg.conf (or rename it to be safe)
6. Restart and it *should* boot up just fine, with the graphics performance that you expect

CrunchBang Linux

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#1 2014-11-17 02:27:14

[SOLVED] Lenovo X1 Carbon - X20A7 model - wireless issue

#2 2014-12-03 19:48:28

Re: [SOLVED] Lenovo X1 Carbon - X20A7 model - wireless issue

#3 2014-12-03 20:51:02

Re: [SOLVED] Lenovo X1 Carbon - X20A7 model - wireless issue

#4 2014-12-03 20:57:44

Re: [SOLVED] Lenovo X1 Carbon - X20A7 model - wireless issue

#5 2014-12-07 08:52:55

Re: [SOLVED] Lenovo X1 Carbon - X20A7 model - wireless issue

#6 2014-12-07 10:09:24

Re: [SOLVED] Lenovo X1 Carbon - X20A7 model - wireless issue

#7 2014-12-07 10:29:04

Re: [SOLVED] Lenovo X1 Carbon - X20A7 model - wireless issue

#8 2014-12-07 12:02:29

Re: [SOLVED] Lenovo X1 Carbon - X20A7 model - wireless issue

#9 2014-12-07 12:38:54

Re: [SOLVED] Lenovo X1 Carbon - X20A7 model - wireless issue

#10 2014-12-07 14:38:39

Re: [SOLVED] Lenovo X1 Carbon - X20A7 model - wireless issue

#11 2014-12-07 14:47:53

Re: [SOLVED] Lenovo X1 Carbon - X20A7 model - wireless issue

#12 2014-12-07 14:56:42

Re: [SOLVED] Lenovo X1 Carbon - X20A7 model - wireless issue

#13 2014-12-07 15:45:41

Re: [SOLVED] Lenovo X1 Carbon - X20A7 model - wireless issue

#14 2014-12-10 18:06:58

Re: [SOLVED] Lenovo X1 Carbon - X20A7 model - wireless issue

#15 2014-12-14 14:12:57

Re: [SOLVED] Lenovo X1 Carbon - X20A7 model - wireless issue

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