[SOLVED] New to Linux Struggling With Wireless

[notyourbuddy]

Re: New to Linux Struggling With Wireless

dpkg -l | grep STA

ii bcmwl-kernel-source         5.100.82.38+bdcom-0ubuntu3         Broadcom 802.11 Linux STA 
wireless driver source

dpkg -l | grep b43

[wizard10000]

Re: New to Linux Struggling With Wireless

There are pieces missing

Try this -

sudo apt-get install b43-fwcutter firmware-b43-installer wireless-tools broadcom-sta-source broadcom-sta-common module-assistant

Some of that you may already have installed, but the b43 firmware installer is missing. Let's make sure you've got all the right pieces.

cheers -

[notyourbuddy]

Re: New to Linux Struggling With Wireless

Oki doki that step is complete: :P

dpkg -l | grep STA

ii bcmwl-kernel-source         5.100.82.38+bdcom-0ubuntu3         Broadcom 802.11 Linux STA wireless driver source
ii broadcom-sta-common         5.60.48.36-3                Common files for the Broadcom STA Wireless driver
ii broadcom-sta-source         5.60.48.36-3                Source for the Broadcom STA Wireless driver

dpkg -l | grep b43

ii b43-fwcutter             1:013-3                  Utility for extracting Broadcom 43xx firmware
ii firmware-b43-installer        4.150.10.5-5                Installer package for firmware for the b43 driver

[wizard10000]

Re: New to Linux Struggling With Wireless

So does it work now?

[notyourbuddy]

Re: New to Linux Struggling With Wireless

Edit: Can skip this post but make sure to read the next one

That answer would be a resounding no.

To double check I just now rebooted into Kubuntu and for no reason whatsoever a wired connection that was working flawlessly for the last day+ has decided to give me the 1-finger salute. >

iwconfig and ifconfig are only showing the loopback. eth0 apparently got lonely and ran off in search of a more competent user.

sudo lshw -C network now returns UNCLAIMED.

*-network UNCLAIMED
 description: Network controller
 product: BCM4311 802.11b/g WLAN
 vendor: Broadcom Corporation
 physical id: 0
 bus info: pci@0000:0c:00.0
 version: 01
etc blah blah blah
*network UNCLAIMED
 description: Ethernet controller
 product: BCM4401-B0 100Base-TX
 vendor: Broadcom Corporation
 physical id: 0
 bus info: pci@0000:02:00.0
 version: 02
etc blah blah blah

I've been diddling around in XP today... but that shouldn't affect my Linux install in any way shape or form right? What the $#%@

lspci -v now shows no kernel driver in use: for my ethernet.. but it still recognizes the hardware...

laspci -v from a few days ago:

02:00.0 Ethernet controller: Broadcom Corporation BCM4401-B0 100Base-TX (rev 02)
    Subsystem: Dell Inspiron E1405
    Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 64, IRQ 17
    Memory at ef9fe000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=8K]
    Capabilities: <access denied>
    Kernel driver in use: b44
    Kernel modules: b44

versus now

02:00.0 Ethernet controller: Broadcom Corporation BCM4401-B0 100Base-TX (rev 02)
    Subsystem: Dell Inspiron E1405
    Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 64, IRQ 17
    Memory at ef9fe000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=8K]
    Capabilities: <access denied>
===>***This line is missing*** <===
    Kernel modules: b44

Is there a way to manually load in the driver? Could that also be the solution to my wireless woes? Just manually load in the proper driver somehow? Or perhaps finding a hammer and just slamming the keyboard a few times might be the solution at this point? [yes thats right.. i finally busted out the double sad face]

0c:00.0 Network controller: Broadcom Corporation BCM4311 802.11b/g WLAN (rev 01)
       Subsystem: Dell Wireless 1390 WLAN Mini-Card
       Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 17
       Memory at efdfc000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=16k]
       Capabilities: <access denied>
  ===> *** whats the right driver... b43?? *** <===     
       Kernel modules: wl, ssb <== still only showing wl and ssb is that normal?

[notyourbuddy]

Re: New to Linux Struggling With Wireless

Yes.. why yes it is working . Wired and wireless!!

Thanks wizard10000 I surely would have given up, uninstalled, and gone back to XP days ago if you hadn't kept guiding me along. I guess on the bright side of all this headache...it resulted in a quick crash course in Linux. But now...I think I'll go find a nice spot, sit back, and finally explore and enjoy Kubuntu for a while

modprobe b44 <=== turned the wired back on obviously
modprobe b43 <=== flipped on the wireless

also added those two lines to etc/modules to get them to load on startup.

[wizard10000]

Re: [SOLVED] New to Linux Struggling With Wireless

Excellent!

You're correct - making sure the driver loaded after all the proper bits were installed would have been the last piece of the puzzle and you nailed that one all by yourself - good on you

I still don't know why this didn't just load properly after running --> Additional Drivers but this should have been a whole lot more painless than it was. I used a BCM4312 card in my netbook for a couple years and once you installed the restricted driver the thing just worked every time.

I'm glad you got it working - *and* got the wired side and the XP thing fixed. If there's anything else we can do please don't hesitate to holler.

cheers -