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Post subject: Broadcom Wireless Trouble
 Posted: Apr 22, 2008 - 01:35 AM
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Joined: Mar 13, 2007
Posts: 30
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| I just updated my PC to sidux Nyx, official release, and I am trying to get my broadcom wireless wifi card to connect to the web, but no success. The driver seems to be installed but I just can't get connected using Linux. I did connect to the web using Windows XP so I know the hardware works. I don't know how to configure Ceni or use resolvconf. Anyone have any suggestions? |
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Post subject: Re: Broadcom Wireless Trouble
Posted: Apr 22, 2008 - 10:52 AM
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Joined: Apr 22, 2008
Posts: 1
Status: Offline
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ICU_RN wrote:
I just updated my PC to sidux Nyx, official release, and I am trying to get my broadcom wireless wifi card to connect to the web, but no success. The driver seems to be installed but I just can't get connected using Linux. I did connect to the web using Windows XP so I know the hardware works. I don't know how to configure Ceni or use resolvconf. Anyone have any suggestions?
There are two ways of getting the Broadcom cards to work in sidux:
1. Using the native Linux drivers b43 or bcm43xx (that's the current default)
In sidux set up a wired ethernet connection using Ceni from KMenu>Internet>Ceni (Internet access is required to download proprietory driver firmware), open a console as root and run
apt-get install bcm43xx-fwcutter b43-fwcutter
Reboot and run Ceni to configure the wireless interface wlan0 which should now be recognized.
2. Using a Windows driver via ndiswrapper
In sidux set up a wired ethernet connection and download the Windows XP driver appropriate for your Broadcom card. E.g. you can get it from the support webpage of your laptop maker or from your Windows installation or from
http://ndiswrapper.sourceforge.net/joom ... id,list_b/
You need the .inf, .sys and .cat files, all in one folder.
Open a console as root and run
ndiswrapper -i /path_to_driver_folder/drivername.inf [this sets up the Windows driver, needs to be done only once]
ndiswrapper -l [you should get the message: xxxxxx : driver installed ... device (xxxx:xxxx) present]
rmmod ndiswrapper
rmmod b43
rmmod b43legacy
rmmod bcm43xx
rmmod b44
rmmod ohci_hcd
rmmod ssb
modprobe ndiswrapper [WiFi light comes on as the ndiswrapper kernel module is loaded and the driver is installed]
Then run Ceni to configure the wireless interface wlan0. You should be connected. If not, check with # route -n whether there is a route to WAN through the default gateway. If there isn't, as root run
route add default gateway IP_address_of_your_gateway
Method #1 doesn't seem to work well on my system (bcm4311, using WPA-TSK). E.g. a full system upgrade that involved a mere 75 MB of upgrades and run via the smxi script took 2 hours, and downloading the Jave runtime environment (around 35 MB) took more than half an hour, with DL speeds of between 1 and 10 Kb/sec. Similarly, rendering webpages is very sluggish. Method #2, on the other hand, provides fairly snappy internet access. |
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Post subject: RE: Re: Broadcom Wireless Trouble
Posted: Apr 22, 2008 - 03:11 PM
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Joined: Mar 24, 2007
Posts: 16
Status: Offline
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I think option 1 is funny. For some people, a wired connection is just not possible (at University, for instance, where the dorms are only provided wireless Internet). (Believe me, there are situations like this.) It presents a conundrum such as:
Person 1: "How do I get my Internet connection going?"
Person 2: "Just 'apt-get install' your firmware for your wireless card."
Person 1: "But my Internet's not working to begin with."
Person 2: (silence)
There really needs to be a way that people can download a package/script from a friend's computer or a computer at work or something where they just copy it over to their sidux install and run it. |
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Post subject:
Posted: Apr 22, 2008 - 03:21 PM
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Joined: Mar 13, 2007
Posts: 30
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| Thanks RobF, I will try suggestion #1. I tried using Ceni but have problems using the DHCP option. For example, the default submask setting is 255.255.255.255 but should be 255.255.255.0. How can I change this number. Anyway, I will post what the Ceni program says once I configure it and perhaps someone can help me trouble shoot. I have spent many months trying to get this wifi card to work. Thanks for your prompt reply! |
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Post subject:
Posted: Apr 22, 2008 - 04:48 PM
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Joined: Nov 30, 2007
Posts: 35
Location: California
Status: Offline
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ICU_RN wrote:
Thanks RobF, I will try suggestion #1.
If your machine is relatively new and has a draft-N Wifi chip, like the BCM4328, then you will need to go with method #2, as the Linux native (b43) driver does not yet support the newer chips. |
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Post subject: Re: RE: Re: Broadcom Wireless Trouble
Posted: Apr 22, 2008 - 08:30 PM
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Team Member
Joined: Nov 24, 2006
Posts: 1857
Location: w3
Status: Offline
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daves wrote:
I think option 1 is funny. For some people, a wired connection is just not possible (at University, for instance, where the dorms are only provided wireless Internet). (Believe me, there are situations like this.) It presents a conundrum such as:
Person 1: "How do I get my Internet connection going?"
Person 2: "Just 'apt-get install' your firmware for your wireless card."
Person 1: "But my Internet's not working to begin with."
Person 2: (silence)
There really needs to be a way that people can download a package/script from a friend's computer or a computer at work or something where they just copy it over to their sidux install and run it.
That's exactly what you should do: Download the firmware package(s) you need, copy them over to the installed systems and install them there.
Greetings,
Chris |
_________________
64bit stuff for sidux
development is life - code.zikula.org
an operating system must operate - sidux.com
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Post subject: RE: Re: RE: Re: Broadcom Wireless Trouble
Posted: Apr 23, 2008 - 12:39 AM
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Joined: Apr 21, 2008
Posts: 7
Status: Offline
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| I have a new Dell 1721 with the new 4328 chip. I have loaded the driver with ndiswrapper and it is listed as installed and present however I am unable to configure it. It does not show in ceni or sidux control center network configuration. I just uninstalled from ndiswrapper and am trying method 2 but when I type mmod in the root console it says unknown command. Any ideas? |
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Post subject: RE: Re: RE: Re: Broadcom Wireless Trouble
Posted: Apr 23, 2008 - 12:43 AM
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Joined: Apr 21, 2008
Posts: 7
Status: Offline
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| Also when I type ndiswrapper -l it shows that it is using an alternate driver and ssb. Is this the problem? |
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Post subject: RE: Re: RE: Re: Broadcom Wireless Trouble
Posted: Apr 23, 2008 - 12:45 AM
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Joined: Dec 01, 2006
Posts: 735
Status: Offline
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Quote:
I just uninstalled from ndiswrapper and am trying method 2 but when I type mmod in the root console it says unknown command. Any ideas?
Ya, mmod isn't a command. Did you want modprobe to load modules or rmmod to unload?
And two, of course, you need to be root. |
_________________
"Cool was never cool until the cool guys at Cool industries developed a cool new product: Cool."
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Post subject:
Posted: Apr 23, 2008 - 12:54 AM
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Joined: Mar 13, 2007
Posts: 30
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| Is there any other linux tool to use besides Ceni to configure the wifi card? |
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Post subject: RE: Re: RE: Re: Broadcom Wireless Trouble
Posted: Apr 23, 2008 - 12:57 AM
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Joined: Apr 21, 2008
Posts: 7
Status: Offline
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ok..if mmod isn't a command then why is it mentioned as part of the code? I am root.. This is what ndiswrapper returns:
root@mainserver:~# ndiswrapper -l
bcmwl6 : driver installed
device (14E4:4328) present (alternate driver: ssb)
and this is from sidux control center:
Host/Kernel/OS "mainserver" running Linux 2.6.24-2.6.24.5.slh.1-sidux-amd64 x86_64 [ sidux 2008-01 Νυξ - kde-full - (200804120109) ]
CPU Info (1) AMD Turion 64 X2 Mobile TL-60 512 KB cache flags( sse3 nx lm svm ) clocked at [ 2000.000 MHz ]
(2) AMD Turion 64 X2 Mobile TL-60 512 KB cache flags( sse3 nx lm svm ) clocked at [ 2000.000 MHz ]
Videocard ATI RS690M [Radeon X1200 Series] X.Org 1.4.0.90 [ 1440x900@60.0hz ]
Network cards Broadcom BCM4328 802.11a/b/g/n
Broadcom BCM4401-B0 100Base-TX
Processes 108 | Uptime 59min | Memory 172.2/1761.2MB | HDD ATA SAMSUNG HM250JI Size 250GB (4%used) | Client Shell wrapper | Infobash v3.01
The system sees the card but I cannot configure it. What is the problem? |
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Post subject: Re: RE: Re: RE: Re: Broadcom Wireless Trouble
Posted: Apr 23, 2008 - 02:34 AM
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Joined: Nov 30, 2007
Posts: 35
Location: California
Status: Offline
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IamNobody wrote:
Also when I type ndiswrapper -l it shows that it is using an alternate driver and ssb. Is this the problem?
That is indeed the problem. Your computer must also have a Broadcom-controlled wired Ethernet port. The b44 driver that controls it will also grab the WiFi chip, blocking ndiswrapper's access to it. This is a bug that cropped up with the 2.6.24 kernel, and apparently, due to hostility towards ndiswrapper's violations of the GPL license, the kernel developers have no intention of fixing this. They basically want to force everyone off of ndiswrapper over time with the new kernels. So bottom line, you need to remove the b44 driver (and lose your wired Ethernet port), or don't use ndiswrapper. |
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Post subject: RE: Re: RE: Re: RE: Re: Broadcom Wireless Trouble
Posted: Apr 23, 2008 - 05:30 AM
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Joined: Apr 21, 2008
Posts: 7
Status: Offline
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| Thank you RuralRob. Would going to an earlier kernel then 2.6.24 allow me to use both wired and wireless? I only really need wireless but would like to have the wired connection as a backup. |
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Post subject: Re: RE: Re: RE: Re: RE: Re: Broadcom Wireless Trouble
Posted: Apr 23, 2008 - 07:34 AM
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Joined: Nov 30, 2007
Posts: 35
Location: California
Status: Offline
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IamNobody wrote:
Thank you RuralRob. Would going to an earlier kernel then 2.6.24 allow me to use both wired and wireless? I only really need wireless but would like to have the wired connection as a backup.
Using a 2.6.23 kernel will solve the problem. My Dell Vostro laptop (with Broadcom Wifi and Ethernet) is still running with 2.6.23.16, after I ran into the problem upgrading to 2.6.24. I'm not sure if there is still an easy way to roll back to a 2.6.23 kernel (doing an "apt-cache search 2.6.23" shows nothing available). So you might have to re-install sidux from one of last year's ISO releases. |
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Post subject: RE: Re: RE: Re: RE: Re: RE: Re: Broadcom Wireless Trouble
Posted: Apr 23, 2008 - 08:57 AM
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Joined: Apr 21, 2008
Posts: 7
Status: Offline
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| Thanks again RuralRob! You've been a big help! |
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