In two words: dhcp_client sucks !

And now the long story…

Since the upgrade to Mandriva 2008.1, wifi stopped working on my laptop. I tried to install the 2008.1 on several machines. I tried to connect on different access points. I lowered security on the access point. I tried eveything. On desperation, I even tried to boot Windows to check that hardware was ok ! And the only log I had was this:

SIOCETHTOOL: Operation not supported

After all these tests, I was convinced that the problem had something to do with the distribution itself. Maybe a firmware issue or a bad combination of packages…

Then came the 2009.0 release. I though that an upgrade will cure my malediction. Indeed. Nothing new on wireless side. My wifi was still broken. Until I came across a tip on a random forum (I don’t remember which one) suggesting that dhcp_client could be the culprit.

So I replaced it by dhcpcd, and against all expectations, it worked !

And to not be annoyed by dhcp_client in the future, it’s wise to definitely remove it:

urpmi dhcp_client