Is TP-Link AC600 wifi adapter supported in Puppy Linux?

[progrockfrog]

I have the following adapter, TP-Link AC600 wireless Realtek RTL8811AU [Archer T2U Nano]. I couldn't find it in the list through the Network Wizard.

[mikewalsh]

I have the following adapter, TP-Link AC600 wireless Realtek RTL8811AU [Archer T2U Nano]. I couldn't find it in the list through the Network Wizard.

@progrockfrog :-

I believe I've read somewhere recently that your particular chipset IS supported by one of the more recent kernels. I can't, however, find the specific thread/post ATM.

@ozsouth is one of our better-informed members when it comes to this stuff. Hopefully, he'll see the "mention" I've made to him, and will investigate closer. We'll get you sorted-out if we possibly can.

Please be patient, as our membership is world-wide, and folks here hail from all sorts of different time zones.

Mike.

[progrockfrog]

Thanks for the reply. I am able to install the drivers through Linux Mint, but using sudo apt commands. Possibly, I can get this sorted if I know how Puppy Linux terminals work. Is there a tutorial on any wifi adapter? I can then see what they did to get it working and just apply those steps to the driver files.

[mikewalsh]

Thanks for the reply. I am able to install the drivers through Linux Mint, but using sudo apt commands. Possibly, I can get this sorted if I know how Puppy Linux terminals work. Is there a tutorial on any wifi adapter? I can then see what they did to get it working and just apply those steps to the driver files.

@progrockfrog :-

Firstly, Puppy doesn't use "sudo"! We do have methods for running as the restricted user "spot", but basically Puppy - and most of the distros represented here on the forum - run AS root all the time anyway. So 'sudo' is kind of irrelevant for us. Puppy was always intended as a single-user, "hobbyist" distro, and has never run in the multi-user mode employed by mainstream distros, y'see.

I'll have another scout around, see if I can find further mention of the chipset in use here. Do you happen to remember, or know which kernel Mint was running when you had the adapter working there? It WOULD give us a head-start...

As for tutorials, again.....I'll have a look. Don't hold your breath, though, because this is NOT my area of expertise!

Mike.

[progrockfrog]

On the computer in question, Linux Mint "Victoria" (version 21.2) which used Linux kernel 5.15 LTS.
Also on a second computer I had Cinnamon, which appears to be the same. That wifi adapter should be TL-WN725N. I could swap them if it is easier to get the other one working.

[wizard]

@progrockfrog

In this topic viewtopic.php?t=13830
You reference a Acer Aspire D257 from ~2010 and another unspecified 2015 desktop computer.

It always helps us if you specify your hardware, make, model, cpu and ram. Also what exact Pup you are running, i.e. BookwormPup64 10.0.9

Your Acer Aspire D257 will run 64 bit Pups, but its cpu power and 2gb ram limit will make it slow. Check here for some tips to help: viewforum.php?f=218

There's some good general Pup reference files here too: viewforum.php?f=184
wizard

[progrockfrog]

The computer in question has the following.

Machine Hewlett-Packard HP Compaq 6000 Pro SFF PC (version: NA)
Mainboard Hewlett-Packard 3048h (version: Not Specified)
BIOS Hewlett-Packard 786G2 v02.02 | Date: 06/23/2011 | Type: Legacy
CPU Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Quad CPU Q9550 @ 2.83GHz (4 cores)
Architecture x86_64
CPU op-mode(s): 32-bit, 64-bit

Right now I am running VoidPup64, but if it makes a difference I can put on another one.

I don't need any help with the Acer Aspire, but I am more than happy to test something with it if need be. It already has wifi working and I might put a distro on that at a later date.

[wizard]

@progrockfrog

Have a couple of systems in that same class so yours should run any Pup with ease if it has 4gb ram or more (you forgot to specify). If you haven't tried BookwormPup64, you might find it has your wifi drivers.

wizard

[progrockfrog]

It is showing 3956836 kB

[mikewalsh]

On the computer in question, Linux Mint "Victoria" (version 21.2) which used Linux kernel 5.15 LTS.
Also on a second computer I had Cinnamon, which appears to be the same. That wifi adapter should be TL-WN725N. I could swap them if it is easier to get the other one working.

@progrockfrog :-

A-ha. A TL-WN725N? Well, why didn't you say so before..? That puts an entirely different complexion on things.

I quit Windows back in spring of 2014, at EOL for XP. I wiped XP out of my life and jumped-in at the deep-end with Ubuntu 14.04 LTS, the "Trusty Tahr".....all within 24 hrs.

I'd bought a TL-WN725N about 4 months earlier. Initially, it wouldn't work under Linux, so I ran Ethernet for a while. I kept checking it periodically, though.

"Trusty" shipped with the k3.13 kernel. Around late August/early September - just after the second 'point' upgrade, as it happened (14.04.2) - voila! The TP-Link suddenly started working again, this time under Linux. With the second point upgrade, they'd moved up to k3.14.....in which, as it turned out, support for the r8188eu chipset - used in the TL-WN725N - had been added.

The whole point being this; that particular adapter.....and they're STILL making them.....has been supported for over a decade at the present time. The sticking-point won't be the driver - I can guarantee that'll still be there - so much as whether or not your distro has the firmware for it. Unlike drivers, which MUST be compiled anew for each and every kernel release (what's known as 'kernel-specific'), firmware is "kernel-agnostic". It's not 'code', as such; just a 'data' bundle, really.

That adapter SHOULD work with almost any kernel from the last 10 years.....all the way from early 3-series up to the current late 6-series. Firmware permitting, of course..!

Will 150 MBps be enough for you? This is on the 'n' standard, as I understand it...which IS quite 'old' nowadays, since they're constantly making successive generations faster & faster, as wireless moves through 3G, 4G, the present 5G AND the next-gen 6G (for which the standard has already been published, AFAIK).

Mike.

[wizard]

@progrockfrog

It is showing 3956836 kB

That's 4gb, you're good

wizard

[progrockfrog]

@progrockfrog

It is showing 3956836 kB

That's 4gb, you're good

wizard

It's two 2gb sticks. I think getting more now would be worthwhile. Amazon is showing a lot of 2x8gb sticks for ~$15. I am not sure to what extent I want to use the computer, but it appears 4gb is on the low end and it is showing 8gb is "casual". Is 16gb over doing it? I am not speaking in terms of Puppy Linux, but wouldn't streaming Youtube and multitasking significantly improve?

I noticed on the HP computer that has Puppy Linux when it had Linux Mint it would get sluggish after some use and then I would have to restart the computer. I thought at that time (~2 years ago) I should upgrade the ram.

[ozsouth]

@progrockfrog - as Mike has stated, tl-wn725n should be supported. I have one. I booted up Voidpup64-22.02-240717 (kernel 6.6.39), inserted tl-wn725n & connected with Simple Network Setup. System used rtl8xxxu driver & rtl8188eufw.bin firmware, both part of that Voidpup version. Try Simple Network Setup (or Frisbee) to see if that helps (use right-click on taskbar Network icon to start connect wizard).

If not helpful, how did you install Voidpup? Are all these .sfs files in your installed folder: adrv, fdrv, puppy, zdrv?
fdrv contains firmware & zdrv has drivers, so are essential, even though the system can boot in crippled fashion without them.

[wizard]

@progrockfrog

Is 16gb over doing it?

Nope, if you can get 2 x 8gb, jump on it. Make sure they will work in your computer.

wizard

[progrockfrog]

I booted up Voidpup64-22.02-240717 (kernel 6.6.39), inserted tl-wn725n & connected with Simple Network Setup. System used rtl8xxxu driver & rtl8188eufw.bin firmware, both part of that Voidpup version. Try Simple Network Setup (or Frisbee) to see if that helps (use right-click on taskbar Network icon to start connect wizard).

If not helpful, how did you install Voidpup? Are all these .sfs files in your installed folder: adrv, fdrv, puppy, zdrv?
fdrv contains firmware & zdrv has drivers, so are essential, even though the system can boot in crippled fashion without them.

I don't see how I can select modules in the Simple Network Setup. Also, it only lists the Ethernet connection I am using now. When I go to the next option, Network Wizard, I can select rtl8xxu, and I get the following.

I used Ventoy to install Void pup. I have no idea where the .sfs files might be if they are. What would the "installed folder" be? I thought it just created a root and then in the tutorial videos people would put in a directory folder name. I am unclear in that area.

The Frisbee approach disconnects everything and then I get the same, only Ethernet connection.

[ozsouth]

@progrockfrog - something(s) missing. Let's do some specific diagnostics - with wireless adaptor plugged in, please run the following in terminal & post results:

1.
uname -r

2.
lspci -nn | grep etwork (that starts with lowercase 'L' & has pipe symbol in middle - usually shift + \ key)

3.
dmesg | grep irmware

[progrockfrog]

Ok, I got to move on guys. Please make an easy way to install wifi adapters like at https://ostechnix.com/install-tp-link-a ... -in-linux/ and I would love to keep it on a hard drive. I might put a Puppy Linux distro on an old Dell Inspiron, but for now the HP desktop needs to get online, back up years of stuff, and I need to manage my online accounts before they become inactive.

[robertstein]

Puppy Linux may lack built-in support for the **RTL8811AU** adapter. Try:

1. Load Driver: Run `modprobe 8812au` in the terminal.
2. Install Manually: Get **devx SFS**, download the **8812AU driver** from GitHub, compile with `make && make install`, then `modprobe 8812au`.

[rockedge]

Puppy Linux may lack built-in support for the **RTL8811AU** adapter. Try:

1. Load Driver: Run `modprobe 8812au` in the terminal.
2. Install Manually: Get **devx SFS**, download the **8812AU driver** from GitHub, compile with `make && make install`, then `modprobe 8812au`.

you might need the kernel sources SFS for that particular kernel version you are compiling the driver for.