Broadcom problems

[1richard]

Upon initial install the wireless broadcom worked with out a problem, I upgraded and now it changed the wireless from eth0 to wlan0 and it will not see the wireless, can someone tell me which file to change to get it back to eth0 as that is what network manager sees?? help. Thanks in advance

[integr8e]

Re: Broadcom problems

I believe it should be /etc/network/interfaces

[kubicle]

Re: Broadcom problems

Upon initial install the wireless broadcom worked with out a problem, I upgraded and now it changed the wireless from eth0 to wlan0 and it will not see the wireless, can someone tell me which file to change to get it back to eth0 as that is what network manager sees?? help. Thanks in advance

Technically it should be wlan0, as eth refers to wired connections (in practice, there should be no difference)

You should be able to set the device name in /etc/udev/rules.d/70-persistent-net.rules, but it should make no difference in knetworkmanager, but it doesn't hurt to try.

Things to check:
1. If you're using a firewall, make sure dhcp is enabled for wlan0 interface

2. Which driver are you using for your broadcom wlan? I think bcm43xx driver support was dropped recently, replaced by the newer b43 driver/firmware for broadcom chips...so if you have bcm43xx-fwcutter installed, try removing it and install b43-fwcutter instead.

(The logs should provide information/error messages on why the network fails, you can view the logs for relevant information with ksystemlog or with the command dmesg)

[lingenfr]

Re: Broadcom problems

2. Which driver are you using for your broadcom wlan? I think bcm43xx driver support was dropped recently, replaced by the newer b43 driver/firmware for broadcom chips...so if you have bcm43xx-fwcutter installed, try removing it and install b43-fwcutter instead.

Thanks for the advice kubicle. I had the same annoyance and didn't know where to go since iftab is no longer used. The downside of your method here is that the kernel driver will only get you 11Mbs with broadcom based cards whereas ndiswrapper will get 54Mbs. I have several linksys devices that use broadcom chips.

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If you follow these instructions, you should be in good shape.

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Wi...eisty_No-Fluff

Unless you are using wpa, don't complete the last command in Step 3.

DO NOT COMPILE NDISWRAPPER FROM SOURCE. If the instructions don't work, that is not the problem. Follow the instructions to the letter and I will be glad to assist you further if that doesn't work for you. Post any errors.

Hopefully your computer also has a wired connection that you can use to download. If not, you will need the alternate CD or better yet the DVD. Once you get connected, I would suggest that you replace k/networkmanager with wicd. You will save yourself a lot of heartache and frustration. You can find more info here:

http://wicd.sourceforge.net/download.php

Make sure you read and follow the directions on that page and follow the link to get the systray icon working. Good luck.

[1richard]

Re: Broadcom problems halfway solved

I tried the new broadcom driver b43 and I can now connect to the internet, but network manager does not see it nor does the wireless light come on, But wlassistant sees all the wireless networks and I can connect to all of them It is still listed as wlan0_rename in iwconfig

[lingenfr]

Re: Broadcom problems

Follow my instructions to replace k/networkmanager with wicd and kubicle's instructions to change to wlan0.

[kubicle]

Re: Broadcom problems

The downside of your method here is that the kernel driver will only get you 11Mbs with broadcom based cards whereas ndiswrapper will get 54Mbs.

I'm not sure that's the case anymore, the b43 driver happily connects at 54Mbs here (well, knetworkmanager reports it at 54Mbs, haven't actually benchmarked the speed)...That said, ndiswrapper with the win drivers may still offer better performance/signal.

Feel free to use whichever suits your needs/preferences.

I tried the new broadcom driver b43 and I can now connect to the internet, but network manager does not see it

This might be because knetworkmanager doesn't like any manual configurations in /etc/network/interfaces, anything more than 'auto <interface_name>' seems to confuse it.

Of course you can use wicd as lingenfr suggested.

nor does the wireless light come on

Yup, that's probably a bug in b43 (the lights worked on bcm43xx)...this does not seem to have any effects performance...I assume it'll be fixed eventually.

[kostiagol]

Re: Broadcom problems

I have other problem:
wireless sometimes drops out, but KNetworkManager shows a good connection even it if I turn off manually (wireless knob on my laptop)
Why is that?
And that's not all.
A month ago wireless totally disappeared lspci couldn't find broadcom, windows didn't find it, google didn't helped
I carried laptop back to the store, they fixed the problem by changing motherboard(thats what they said)
I reinstalled Hardy fourth release, almost ewerything worked fine( except Ricoh webcam- that is not supported in Kubuntu).
and this morning, wireless disappeared again!
Now I think thats a problem is not in motherboard? maybe linux somehow turns it off?
Pleease help

[sablougle]

Re: Broadcom problems

I use a braocom based wifi as well. When I boot the live CD I can access my wpa2 encrypted wireless, after install I can't. Any ideas as to how to make it work?

[ventper]

Re: Broadcom problems

wow, after TONS of reading n installs i finally post on this forum.

well..
Broadcom Corporation BCM94311MCG wlan mini-PCI (rev 01)
Intel 945GM/GMS/940GML Express Chipset
compaq v5208TU, 1.24GB ram, 40GB HD

wireless has been my bane since i began with kubuntu/linux on a friend's advice.

first installs were with Gutsy
couldn't for the life of me get fw-cutter to rip firmware after 2 frustrating months.
the key ingredient i was missing from
http://linuxwireless.org/en/users/Drivers/b43 was: Note: You need to have a compiler and headers for libc installed.

so i used these:
sudo apt-get install libc6-dev
sudo apt-get install build-essential

and OMG, suddenly i was able to use 'make' to create the fw-cutter and then following
the guide on linuxwireless.org it put the firmware into b43.

which i thought would be that until powernowd generated some error.
this is AFTER the updates via Adept Updater.

so, after that install and fware copying all done via hardline
i thought it was time to copy the directory onto usb for later use.

cuz after updates, battery disappears and Kubu 8.04 2.6.24-8-generic updated to 2.6.24-11-generic and BORKED again.

as of now i'm writing this online with copied fware to /lib/firmware/2.6.24-8-generic/b43

update went thru, i removed Powernowd, but battery again has disappeared.

gonna reboot, see how it goes..

addendum:
knetworkmanager is workin jus' like you'd think it should.
after i copied the firmware into the directory mentioned above
my wireless button lights up, SUCH a sweet sight i gottatellya.

then i right-click KNetworkManager and i see a list of available
networks
clicked on the strength bar on the right of that pop-up and she connects..
WHAT a FEELIN' that was.

<pls forgive da gushing> been a frustrating 2months.


**after reboot**
boots up to login np, then desktop loads
battery exists again, no wireless.
cd /lib/firmware/2.6.24-11-generic
sudo mkdir b43
sudo cp YOUR_FIRMWARE_LOCATION_PATH/*.* /lib/firmware/2.6.24-11-generic/b43

and voila! light comes on wireless button again,
KNetworkManager gets busy and connects me automatically..
life is good.