Member Avatar for chris5126

Hi guys,

Im running debian (lenny) and have just installed my wireless network card and want to configure it using the lovely gui network manager in gnome but it seems to have disapeared from my menu. I have checked that it isnt deselected in menu options but it isnt there have tried reinstalling network-mangaer-gnome and network-manager but no luck. Is there a command to run it from the command line i have tried nm-applet but that didnt work.

thanks in advance for any help.

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by ml2mst

Dani AI

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Brief diagnosis and practical checks to get the GNOME network applet back (builds on observations from , , , and but adds concrete troubleshooting steps).

First principles: the applet only shows wireless scans when NetworkManager is running and is actually allowed to manage the wireless interface. Common blockers are: NetworkManager service not running, the interface configured in /etc/network/interfaces (so NM ignores it), missing driver/firmware or rfkill soft-block, or the GNOME notification area is missing so the applet is hidden.

Quick checks and commands (run as root or with sudo):

# service / process checks (Debian Lenny / SysV and modern systemd)
sudo /etc/init.d/network-manager status
sudo /etc/init.d/network-manager restart       # Lenny
sudo systemctl status NetworkManager           # modern Debian
sudo systemctl restart NetworkManager
ps aux | grep -E 'NetworkManager|nm-applet'
# interface, driver and scan checks
cat /etc/network/interfaces
grep -i managed /etc/NetworkManager/NetworkManager.conf || true
ip link show
iwconfig
sudo iwlist scan
dmesg | egrep -i 'firmware|wlan|wifi|ath|iwl'
rfkill list

Actionable fixes

  • If /etc/network/interfaces contains wlan/eth entries, comment them out (leave only loopback) so NetworkManager can manage the device, then restart NetworkManager.
  • If NetworkManager is not running, start/restart it with the appropriate command for the init system.
  • If the kernel log shows missing firmware or no driver bound, install the correct firmware package or the appropriate kernel module.
  • If rfkill shows the device blocked, unblock it.
  • Ensure the desktop has a Notification Area / system tray enabled (nm-applet needs that to display).
  • Check for conflicting managers (wicd, other KDE tools) and remove one to avoid conflicts.

Final checklist: service running, interface not statically managed in /etc/network/interfaces, firmware/driver present, not rfkill-blocked, and a notification area to show the applet. These steps will restore the GUI list of access points in the normal GNOME applet behavior.

Recommended Answers

All 6 Replies

Member Avatar for jbennet

go into administration and choose network

Member Avatar for ggfuzzy

I tried James' suggestion...instead of the nice gui with all the available wireless networks, I see a gui titled "Network settings" that just lists my wireless and ethernet connections. At this point it doesn't look anything like what I was expecting...any ideas? I'm running the latest Debian on a Dell Inspiron laptop with a Netgear pcmcia card.

Member Avatar for nsindian

you should have an icon on the top toolbar that has a monitor icon -- click this and enter your password. this is the network manager gui. it's minimal but it's a gui that lets you add hosts, change network connections settings, etc ...

Member Avatar for ggfuzzy

you should have an icon on the top toolbar that has a monitor icon -- click this and enter your password. this is the network manager gui. it's minimal but it's a gui that lets you add hosts, change network connections settings, etc ...

Thank you for taking the time to respond. Hmmm...under Gnome (the default desktop manager which I'm currently running) I'm not seeing a monitor icon in either the top or bottom toolbars. The top contains the menus "Applications", "Places", and "Desktop" along with icons for Evolution and Epiphany (on the left side). The right side of the top menu bar has a battery icon (power), a network plug icon (wired network), the time, a speaker icon and a window chooser icon. The wired network icon doesn't open the network manager gui...it just shows the current status of the wired network.

If I follow the menu options Applications->Debian->Apps->System and open the program "Network Admin" I get a basic gui like you're describing (entitled "Network Settings"). However, it doesn't have the nice interface to see available wireless access points like Network Manager is supposed to have. Any other ideas?

Member Avatar for ggfuzzy

go into administration and choose network

James, I tried your suggestion...it brings me to the same basic gui (entitled "Network settings") that I described earlier. My connections are listed and I can change their properties, but I don't get access to a list of available wireless access points.

Here's a link to the download site for NetworkManager that shows what I'm expecting to see:
http://linux.softpedia.com/get/System/Networking/NetworkManager-6451.shtml

It appears like I should be able to click on the network plug icon and see the list of available wireless networks, but all I see is information relating to the wired network.

Member Avatar for ml2mst

Hi Chris,

I've had the same problem and solved it using the Knetworkmanager (yes I'm running GNOME - not KDE).

I tried WiFiRadar and Rutilt, neither established a connection. Knetworkmanager however did the job.

HTH

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