🚀 go-pugleaf

Toshiba T110 laptop/netbook, Ubuntu 10.04 Gnome, Dual boot with Win7 Pro.

2.8Gb memory; 3.7GB swap.

Wireless adaptor is Realtek 8191SE 802.11n; booting into kernel 2.6.32-29

Until kernel 2.6.32-28, this wireless card was not even recognised.

I can pick up wireless networks & connect to the network ok in hotels, 
airport lounges etc., but the browser fails to connect (Firefox "can't find 
the server blah blah..") and KMail, KNode do not recognise the connection.

Using Gufw, firewall configured to "Allow" all outgoing connections, 
"Reject" all incoming, no other rules.
 
ifconfig shows

wlan0     Link encap:Ethernet  HWaddr 70:1a:04:39:f4:2a  
          inet addr:10.167.33.201  Bcast:10.167.35.255  Mask:255.255.252.0
          inet6 addr: fe80::721a:4ff:fe39:f42a/64 Scope:Link
          UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST  MTU:1500  Metric:1
          RX packets:4098 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:521 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000 
          RX bytes:660059 (660.0 KB)  TX bytes:39968 (39.9 KB)
          Interrupt:17 Memory:f8310000-f8310100 

I have tried iptables -F but makes no difference.

System monitor also shows receiving & sending bytes.  Ping google.com times 
out. 

These messages in sys log:

Mar  9 02:31:30 jp-laptop kernel: [ 2138.055788] rtl8192_SetWirelessMode(), 
wireless_mode:10, bEnableHT = 1
Mar  9 02:31:30 jp-laptop connmand[1877]: wlan0 SCANNING
Mar  9 02:31:36 jp-laptop connmand[1877]: wlan0 INACTIVE
Mar  9 02:31:39 jp-laptop kernel: [ 2147.056924] rtl8192_SetWirelessMode(), 
wireless_mode:10, bEnableHT = 1
Mar  9 02:31:39 jp-laptop connmand[1877]: wlan0 SCANNING
Mar  9 02:31:45 jp-laptop connmand[1877]: wlan0 INACTIVE

Does this mean card is turning itself on and off?

Same issue running Win7 Pro; exactly same as described above, except with 
Firefox, Agent and Thunderbird.

Help desk from one hotel service provider could see the connection being 
dropped by the card from time to time, thought it may have been a router 
issue.  Rebooting the wireless router failed to help.

Hotel could connect ok with their laptop running XP. No issues for them.

I could understand maybe a Linux issue, but with Windoze doing the 
same;  is 
the card on the blink?  Or maybe something I am missing here?

Strangely enough, happened after I upgraded to kernel 2.6.32-020632 (I 
presume this was the upgrade,top kernel in the Grub list, but this kernel 
completely fails to read the wireless card) a couple of days ago, however I 
doubt if this is the issue, being same problem in Windoze?  

Or is it the problem? Or just a coincidence?

Wired Ethernet connections no issue at all.

Any clues? Any diagnostics I can run?

Or is the card ready for a warranty claim through a difficult Toshiba 
drone? 
<shudder>