Member Avatar for sneekula

I have an HP DV9000 notebook with Vista, and created a Knoppix 6.1 live Linux Flashcard. I can boot it up and select Linux, but the 'wirless' switch will not activate, even so physically it is in the on position. It almost looks like there is a software( HP Wireless Assistant) override. There is a little LED on the 'wireless' switch that will go from red to blue, if the wireless works. Vista will turn it blue, but Linux is not sending the right code to the lousy switch.

Does anybody have experience with this goofy HP setup?

  • 3 Contributors
  • 2 Replies
  • 222 Views
  • 2 Days Discussion Span
  • Latest Post Latest Post by Xlphos

Dani AI

Generated

’s DV9000 symptom (LED on in Vista, not in Knoppix) fits a common Linux pattern where the laptop’s WMI/ACPI interface and the kernel rfkill layer disagree about the radio state. Useful first checks are to see rfkill’s view, which kernel module is driving the hotkey, and live kernel messages while toggling the switch:

rfkill list
lsmod | grep -i wmi
dmesg -w | grep -i rfkill

The rfkill subsystem is the canonical place to diagnose soft vs hard blocks. (android.googlesource.com)

On many HP models the driver that exposes the hardware switch is hp-wmi / hp_wireless; when it misreports the radio state unloading or blacklisting that module removes the mistaken hard/soft block. A typical quick test (run from a root shell on the live system) is:

lsmod | grep -i hp
sudo modprobe -r hp_wmi    # or try hp-wmi if that name is used
sudo rfkill unblock all
rfkill list

If unloading the module restores wireless, make the change persistent by blacklisting the offending module in /etc/modprobe.d/. Note that blacklisting hp_wmi/hp-wireless can disable some HP-specific hotkeys and LED behavior; weigh that trade-off. The hp-wmi driver’s presence and the community-recommended modprobe/remove approach are documented in kernel sources and longstanding Ubuntu/Debian guidance. (sources.debian.org)

Finally: this thread started with Knoppix 6.1 (released Feb 25, 2009), which uses a very old kernel and firmware set. Several hp-wmi/rfkill bugs were fixed in later kernels (notably fixes landed in late 2022), so using a modern live image or a distro with a newer kernel will often eliminate the problem without blacklisting. If the module unload doesn’t help, the block may be genuinely hardware/BIOS-level and further BIOS/firmware updates or vendor drivers may be needed. (patchwork.ozlabs.org)

Additional context: ’s workaround (letting NetworkManager manage the radio) is a valid short-term approach, and ’s observation that some distros ignore the physical switch aligns with the hp-wmi/rfkill interaction described above.

Recommended Answers

All 2 Replies

Member Avatar for sillyboy

yep, my hp laptop (w/ ubuntu) behaves similarly. I just use the network manager to take care of the wireless enabling/disabling and don't bother with the switch.

Member Avatar for Xlphos

I also have a HP laptop and mine is the same, but the wireless card still works though. Ubuntu doesn't take notice of the switch position after all most laptops are designed with windows in mind.

Be a part of the DaniWeb community

We're a friendly, industry-focused community of developers, IT pros, digital marketers, and technology enthusiasts meeting, networking, learning, and sharing knowledge.