archlinux - tricky wifi configuration

For some reason I cannot explain, the wireless adapter in my old laptop Compaq Presario V3000 gets both Soft and Hard blocked. As a result, the connection to a wireless access point is not possible either using # wifi-menu or # netctl.

The solution:

1. Check whether the wireless lan is blocked:

# rfkill list


2. In case it is hard blocked, then unblock it:

# rfkill unblock wifi

3. Run the wifi-menu, connect to the wlan and generate the profile (/etc/netctl/<profile_name>)

4. Make the netctl auto start at boot:

# netctl enable <profile_name>

To run all these commands, maybe it's necessary to install some packages:

- rfkill
- wpa_supplicant
- wpa_supplicant_gui
- iw
- wireless_tools
- dialog


References:
- https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Wireless_network_configuration#Rfkill_caveat

ubuntu 16.04 LTS - old crap cheap USB mouse issue

I've been testing several linux distributions in my old laptop - HP Pavilion dv6 - and I was stuck with one curious case involving an old crap cheap USB mouse.

During ubuntu installation (running live cd) the mouse works just fine, no problems whatsoever. It can be plug - unplugged many times and it just works. However, after completing the installation on the hard disk and boot, the USB mouse no longer works.

After looking into this matter in google, the solution was to remove gnome-software package, which is related to the ubuntu software center.

Another possible solution was:

# sudo rmmod usbhid
# sudo modprobe usbhid

However it is just a temporary solution and must be executed after reboot, for example.


References:
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1277837
- http://askubuntu.com/questions/763511/usb-mouse-not-working-after-installing-ubuntu-16-04-persistent-fix
- http://askubuntu.com/questions/763511/usb-mouse-not-working-after-installing-ubuntu-16-04-persistent-fix
- http://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/95842/how-can-i-see-dmesg-output-as-it-changes
- http://www.cyberciti.biz/faq/rhel-redhat-centos-kernel-usb-reset-high-speed-ehci_hcd/