Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Wireless problems - Acer Aspire 5000 series/Broadcom

Collapse
This topic is closed.
X
X
Collapse
 
  • Page of 1
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts
Previous template Next
    #1

    Wireless problems - Acer Aspire 5000 series/Broadcom

    I'm about to pull my hair out fooling with this. I cannot seem to get wireless working at all in 9.04 on my Acer Aspire 5000 series laptop. It has a Broadcom BCM4318 wireless card. I can't even get the wireless card to come on (there's a button on the front that you can push and it will light up when it's on).

    This used to work in Ubuntu 8.04 and when I upgraded to 9.04, the card worked but wouldn't connect to WPA. I decided to do a clean install and went with Kubuntu this time but the card doesn't work at all now.

    Any help would be appreciated.
    Tags: None
    • Top
    • Bottom
    #2
    Re: Wireless problems - Acer Aspire 5000 series/Broadcom

    Heh I know exactly what you need to make this work.

    http://fourlovesfour.blogspot.com/2008/05/setting-up-broadcom-b43-wireless-with.html"] Follow this link [/url]

    It features step-by-step instructions. Just a warning, I would definitely have access to either a computer with internet access, and a way of transferring files over to your Linux install, or just a way to hard-wire the computer for internet access, just temporarily. That tutorial requires you to download some install files, updates, and a program or two to help compile the files.

    Basically, from my understanding, Broadcom has no Linux driver, but Linux has a way of working with the files. The process is something along the lines of downloading their proprietary driver, extracting certain files from it, and then Linux is able to recognize those files.

    Just a hint also, the 1st link didnt work for me, to download bwfcutter, so i had to manually download it and transfer it over from another computer. Not sure if the link is down or if it was just my experience.

    I'm a noob to Kubuntu/linux myself so if I didn't help I'm sure someone on these forums will be able to.

    Best of luck,
    kanwar07

    PS: Make sure you enable your wireless card from within your BIOS. If you are not sure how to do this, read the owner's manual or Google around for a FAQ for your BIOS.

    PSS: This is also assuming you are using at least a newer version of Kubuntu (7.04+). I think the tutorial is written using 8.04, so you should be fine. It says UBUNTU but all the commands work for me. I have a very similar card (I think Broadcom BCM4380) or something.
    • Top
    • Bottom

    Comment

      #3
      Re: Wireless problems - Acer Aspire 5000 series/Broadcom

      Just a small update: Later last night, I checked some of the options in the software download area, I guess opening up some repositories and a new hardware driver for the Broadcom card showed up. Something called fwcutter. I installed that and now the wireless card will come on (the lighted button now works). But it still doesn't see any networks. Before I follow that procedure above, should I do something to get rid of that driver I downloaded last night?

      And when is Ubuntu/Kubuntu going to get this wireless thing fixed? It seems like this is the number one problem people have every time a new version comes out.
      • Top
      • Bottom

      Comment

        #4
        Re: Wireless problems - Acer Aspire 5000 series/Broadcom

        You may find this helpful

        https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+question/68970. You will see that fwcutter is the right way to go.



        • Top
        • Bottom

        Comment

          #5
          Re: Wireless problems - Acer Aspire 5000 series/Broadcom

          Ok, I got the wireless working with the link kanwar07 provided (though the one The Liquidator posted was helpful as well). Thanks to you both.

          Only problem, I've currently got wicd as my network manager and it doesn't seem to be working with WPA encryption on my router. So what's another network manager I perhaps should use that will allow me to connect to it? The wireless card connects fine with an unsecured wireless router near me whose signal I'm able to pick up.
          • Top
          • Bottom

          Comment

            #6
            Re: Wireless problems - Acer Aspire 5000 series/Broadcom

            I may be wrong here but imagine it's a config issue.

            If you can see your router click on it. That will reveal an advanced settings button which when you click it will enable you to configure your WPA encryption.

            Also within there you will see a bewildering array of wpa supplicant options. wext is the general default.

            • Top
            • Bottom

            Comment

              #7
              Re: Wireless problems - Acer Aspire 5000 series/Broadcom

              Originally posted by The Liquidator
              I may be wrong here but imagine it's a config issue.

              If you can see your router click on it. That will reveal an advanced settings button which when you click it will enable you to configure your WPA encryption.

              Also within there you will see a bewildering array of wpa supplicant options. wext is the general default.

              Yeah, I enabled WPA encryption in the advanced settings. Even tried both version (passphrase or preshared key). Neither work. If I used ndiswrapper, it attempts a connection then quickly quits trying and doesn't connect. Same with all the others except wext. With wext it will try for a few minutes to connect then stop without connecting.
              • Top
              • Bottom

              Comment

                #8
                Re: Wireless problems - Acer Aspire 5000 series/Broadcom

                Fwcutter is a necessary program to extract the drivers from Broadcom's proprietary driver install file, so definitely don't delete that.

                I'm not quite sure what issue you are having as far as the WEP support...once I did that link and followed those steps, I was able to configure everything just fine. Try connecting to the network on a Windows install, and double check your settings. Write down your network key, the encryption type, and make sure your router has the firewall and other protection configured properly.

                I don't think I'll be of much help since I'm still learning myself, but I'm sure someone on these forums will be able to advise you further.
                • Top
                • Bottom

                Comment

                  #9
                  Re: Wireless problems - Acer Aspire 5000 series/Broadcom

                  Well, a crazy thing happened...it just started working under wext. I'd tried it a dozen times before and it wouldn't connect but now it is. So now I'm on my way to learning Kubuntu.
                  • Top
                  • Bottom

                  Comment

                    #10
                    Re: Wireless problems - Acer Aspire 5000 series/Broadcom

                    Awesome thats great news. Just a piece of advice that I always do...write down EVERYTHING that you did to fix the problem. That way, in the future, you have a guide to reference instead of having to post on the forums and wait for a response...

                    Best of luck to you in learning Kubuntu!
                    • Top
                    • Bottom

                    Comment

                      #11
                      Re: Wireless problems - Acer Aspire 5000 series/Broadcom

                      Wicd news

                      Glad you got it working. I'm sure you'll find it worth the effort.

                      • Top
                      • Bottom

                      Comment

                      Previous template Next
                      Working...
                      X