No Way Know How

bluetooth's a bugger. I've not used it for ages, and figure it's eating my battery up most of the time. https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Power_management#Bluetooth used systemctl enable rfkill-block@bluetooth.service to try to remedy. I'm writing this down because as soon as I forget this I'll want to play a game with my 8bitdo or link the laptop to the bluetooth speaker or something. i guess it's just a matter of systemctl disable the same service and maybe restarting it? [2017-02-12 EDIT] This didn't work - or didn't persist past reboots/updates, whatever. So frustrating. I just used systemctl stop bluetooth.service but I don't know if that actually kills the hardware process and stops battery drain of it just stops a management daemon. More reading required, but not right now.

LD_PRELOAD='/usr/$LIB/libstdc++.so.6 /usr/$LIB/libgcc_s.so.1 /usr/$LIB/libxcb.so.1 /usr/$LIB/libgpg-error.so' /usr/bin/steam on xps I don't pretend to understand it

OK, got netctl-auto handling my wifi as per the instructions on the nrtctl page in the Arch wiki (see last post for link). I also added a new service as described here: https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/netctl#Problems_with_netctl-auto_on_resume to handle automatic reconnection on resume from suspend. All good. Then I had a nice time adding some lines to .conkyrc to display relevant information about the network connection (when up). So now I think I have everything I need. The next ball-ache started when I started trying to add a netctl profile for the eduroam service at work. Not only could I not get this working, in the process of trying I somehow managed to stop my previously functional netctl-auto service from doing it's thing. *sigh*. Anyway, long story short: after trying all kinds of start/stop enable/disable I found that netctl start [profile] worked fine, it just wouln't work automatically. I found this forum post: https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopi...

xps suddenly started having wifi problems. something weird with NetworkManager and the brcmfmac driver/kernel module. p2p_disc error and the network interface wlp58s0 already assigned and nonsense like that. After fucking around for ages I thought I'd identified the issue as being a conflict between netctl and NM, but I've tried disabling netctl and it doesn't seem to resolve the problem with NM. netctl does, however, work perfectly for me, but it's not that useful for logging on to random networks when I'm out and about - the whole point of the xps. so, I'vebeen all round the houses, even trying to get rid of NM completely (can't becuase it's a cinnamon dependency *sigh*) and use systemd.networkd with the wpa_gui  (which is promising, but I can't get to work. I've also mesed about hiding .conf files and creating test ones at /etc/wpa_supplicant /etc/systemd/network, so look out for those if you're looking at this in the future!) my c...

I noted way back when that I'd got the wireless Pixma 535 Canon printer working easily with packages from the AUR - I never took note of the ACTUAL packages. Needed to install it on the xps. cnijfilter-mx530series for the driver simple-scan for the frontend. Works off the bad. FAB!

1) Upgrade bios to A04 (Store the update binary in /boot/efi or on a USB flash drive and use the F12 key during bootup to update). 2) Download linux headers and broadcom-wl driver module tarball to another computer and transfer to the XPS by usb/flashcard. I assume I need to install these in the live arch environment to give me access to the internet, then go to step 3), continue installation, and remember to install the drivers in chroot as well... I am not going to use the broadcom-wl-dkms as I don't fancy the potential hassle and don't expect to be upgrading the kernel super-often (though maybe in Arch I'll be obliged to). See the broadcom arch wiki page for more info and troubleshooting. There's useful stuff on the article's discussion page, too. I should say *potentially* useful stuff. Tip: Broadcom users: If wifi-menu and iwlist scan fail after driver installation and reboot, try disabling "Wireless Switch" control in the BIOS. Tip...

Here's the first thing : "Regarding the WiFi adapter choices, both cards do work in Arch, but the Dell DW1560 requires a proprietary kernel module that is not well-supported, whereas the Intel 7265 is supported by the mainline kernel." Guess which one I have coming? That's right, the one that needs the proprietary kernel module. Seems like it can be easily replaced, though: "This card is generally available as an aftermarket purchase for those wishing to replace the Broadcom wireless in their laptop. In direct comparison with the Broadcom module, the Intel module has a 2-3 times wider reception range and way higher throughput, making it an worthwhile upgrade should you decide to do so. It's important to mention that said Intel module exists as both a WLAN standalone and WLAN/Bluetooth combination module. Both work, so it's your decision if you are willing to pay extra to get Bluetooth support or not." Good stuff. Here it is , if I wan...