Disable Broadcom, Enable Atheros

[ernieg92]

I have a HP Pavillion ze2315us laptop which I have tried (unsuccessfully) to get the on-board wirless to work. I've tried ndiswrapper, the proprietary Broadcomm firmware, and other hints. I get a light on the button and can set an IP address, but no connection. A Google search indicates this is not uncommon.

I have a D-Link WNA-1330 wireless PCMCIA card. When I booted up after installing it, I was (of course) given the "restricted modules" message and I chose to enable the atheros driver. It went through the process of connecting and got to like 90% but then errored out (couldn't acquire IP address - because I run static IPs only).

So, I want to DISABLE the broadcomm all together (as in Kubuntu doesn't even see it) and then "reset" the networking so I can either give the D-link card a static IP or turn DHCP on for my router (and then later I assign static).

1. How do I disable the Broadcomm device (make invisible to Kubuntu)?
2. How can I reset the Knetworkmanager so that it will go through the setup process again with the D-Link card?

Thanks!

[lingenfr]

Re: Disable Broadcom, Enable Atheros

I would suggest that you go in the bios and turn it off. Reboot and watch your screen. I expect it will say "press <del> to enter setup" or similar. If you look around the menus once you get in to setup, you should find an option to turn the wireless off.

I have many broadcom cards. All work. I expect you gave up too soon, but maybe yours is some unique chip that has a problem. Good luck.

[ernieg92]

Re: Disable Broadcom, Enable Atheros

I have many broadcom cards. All work. I expect you gave up too soon, but maybe yours is some unique chip that has a problem. Good luck.

I've worked on this, off and on, for over a year. I've tried fresh installs of several Linux distros. Most will usually identify it and turn the radar on -- but no connection. I've googled this issue and found, for this particular laptop, wireless is difficult (or near impossible) to set up.

It is most likely a driver/hardware issue because of my mainboard. It is, from what I've found out, a 64-bit board using 32-bit parts. A tech at one of the computer shops (he's been spot-on 99% of the time) said that HP was saving money -- they could put a 32-bit Sempron in or a 64-bit Turion and use the same board/hardware.

Anyway, I'm gonna let it go. I've got an alternative solution IF I need to use this laptop with Linux.

Thanks anyway.