[SOLVED]No wireless network found

[hakiza]

Hi!
I'm in need of some help. I run Kubuntu 9.10 on a Dell inspiron 1520 laptop. I have installed wicd. Wired connection works pretty well. But the wicd network manager cannot detect wireless connection. I get this message: "No wireless network found". I will appreciate some help. Step by step please, I am new to linux.

[bobcollard]

Re: No wireless network found

Hi!
I'm in need of some help. I run Kubuntu 9.10 on a Dell inspiron 1520 laptop. I have installed wicd. Wired connection works pretty well. But the wicd network manager cannot detect wireless connection. I get this message: "No wireless network found". I will appreciate some help. Step by step please, I am new to linux.

Try this link for specific instructions : http://dimitar.me/?p=728
Most Dell laptops have Broadcom cards and use Broadcom drivers for wifi.

[GreyGeek]

Re: No wireless network found

Since you have wicd installed you must be using a wired connection from the back of your wireless router.

Install Synaptic;

sudo apt-get install synaptic

Once it is installed, run it and search for b43-fwcutter. Install that. During it's install it will look into your broadcom chip and cut out the firmware (fw-cutter), creating a wireless driver for your chip. Your wireless chip light should come on and wicd should be able to scan and see it. If it doesn't then you may have to reboot to get your wireless chip turned on by HAL.

[hakiza]

Re: No wireless network found

Thanks guys, I appreciate! Instructions given by GreyGeek seemed simple; I followed them but get the same result: "No wireless network found".

Right now I am trying the instructions in url given by bobcollard. I have downloaded the tar and saved it into hybrid_wl directory. But there is a problem. Here is what I get:

hakiza@hakizadatorn:~$ cd hybrid_wl
hakiza@hakizadatorn:~/hybrid_wl$ ls
hybrid-portsrc-x86_32-v5.10.91.9.3.tar.gz
hakiza@hakizadatorn:~/hybrid_wl$ tar xzf hybrid-portsrc.x86_32-v5.10.91.9.3.tar.gz
tar: hybrid-portsrc.x86_32-v5.10.91.9.3.tar.gz: Cannot open: No such file or directory
tar: Error is not recoverable: exiting now
tar: Child returned status 2
tar: Exiting with failure status due to previous errors
hakiza@hakizadatorn:~/hybrid_wl$

What am I doing wrong?

[hakiza]

Re: No wireless network found

I am sorry! I have discovered the mistake: "tar xzf hybrid-portsrc-x86_32-v5.10.91.9.3.tar.gz" instead of "tar xzf hybrid-portsrc.x86_32-v5.10.91.9.3.tar.gz". You are great!

[hakiza]

Re: No wireless network found

I am at step 3 (3: Remove any other drivers for the Broadcom wireless.) in README.txt
There is a problem. I get the following:

hakiza@hakizadatorn:~$ lsmod | grep "b43\|ssb\|wl"
ssb 35300 1 b44
hakiza@hakizadatorn:~$ rmmod ssb
ERROR: Module ssb is in use by b44
hakiza@hakizadatorn:~$

It seems that b44 is related to wired connection. I wonder if b44 can work properly without the module ssb (if I manage to remove the module ssb).

[GilGib]

Re: No wireless network found

To install broadcom Drivers go to applications-system-hardware drivers.
I had problems with the b43-fwcutter driver so under hardware drivers I uninstalled the b43 driver
and installed the sta driver.

[hakiza]

Re: No wireless network found

To GilGib. Even "Broadcom STA wireless driver" activated (the wiFi indicator lamp is on now), wireless networks cannot be detected. I still have that message "No wireless networks found".

[GreyGeek]

Re: No wireless network found

Apparently your Inspiron 1520 doesn't contain a broadcom wireless, like the second post assumed.

It seems that the 1520 can contain either an Intel 3945ABG wireless controller, or the 4965AGN or the Dell 1390/1490, which are harder to get working.

First, let's find out for sure what is in your box. In a Konsole issue:

sudo lshw

and post the results back here. Here is what my hardware listing shows:

*-network
description: Wireless interface
product: Wireless WiFi Link 5100
vendor: Intel Corporation
physical id: 0
bus info: pci@0000:05:00.0
logical name: wmaster0
version: 00
serial: 00:16:ea:4d:58:aa
width: 64 bits
clock: 33MHz
capabilities: bus_master cap_list logical ethernet physical wireless
configuration: broadcast=yes driver=iwlagn ip=192.168.1.101 latency=0 multicast=yes wireless=IEEE 802.11abgn
resources: irq:31 memory:d1900000-d1901fff

Once we find out what is REALLY inside your PC then we can set about determining what to do about getting it connected via wireless.

EDIT: Oh, I forgot, IF your 1520 has a mechanical switch that turns the wireless chip on or off make sure it is turned on.

[hakiza]

Re: No wireless network found

I went to: Application->System->Hardware drivers and activated the "Broadcom STA wireless driver", but still there is no wireless networks detection.

Hire is the output:

*-network
description: Wireless interface
product: BCM4328 802.11a/b/g/n
vendor: Broadcom Corporation
physical id: 0
bus info: pci@0000:0c:00.0
logical name: eth2
version: 03
serial: 00:1e:4c:78:27:01
width: 64 bits
clock: 33MHz
capabilities: pm msi pciexpress bus_master cap_list ethernet physical wireless
configuration: broadcast=yes driver=wl0 driverversion=5.10.91.9 latency=0 multicast=yes wireless=IEEE 802.11abgn
resources: irq:17 memory:fe8fc000-fe8fffff memory:f0000000-f00fffff(prefetchable)

*-network
description: Ethernet interface
product: BCM4401-B0 100Base-TX
vendor: Broadcom Corporation
physical id: 0
bus info: pci@0000:03:00.0
logical name: eth0
version: 02
serial: 00:1d:09:b3:db:55
size: 100MB/s
capacity: 100MB/s
width: 32 bits
clock: 33MHz
capabilities: pm bus_master cap_list ethernet physical mii 10bt 10bt-fd 100bt 100bt-fd autonegotiation
configuration: autonegotiation=on broadcast=yes driver=b44 driverversion=2.0 duplex=full ip=192.168.0.64 latency=64 link=yes multicast=yes port=twisted pair speed=100MB/s
resources: irq:17 memory:fe5fe000-fe5fffff

[GreyGeek]

Re: No wireless network found

OK. The 4328 has not been reverse engineered yet, as far as i know. This link shows how to use ndiswrapper in opensuse to create a driver using Windows drivers for the 4328.

http://www.susegeek.com/wireless/bro...-opensuse-110/

I'll explain how to do it in Kubuntu.

Ndiswrapper is in the repository. Install ndisgtk, which will give you a front end to the ndiswrapper utilty and also bring in the two ndiswrapper files.

The 4328 drivers are here: http://myspamb8.googlepages.com/R151517-pruned.zip

In a konsole:
sudo apt-get purge remove b43-fwcutter

su to root:
sudo su -
then issue:
echo “blacklist bcm43xx” >> /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf.
(Note: that line was is in blacklist.conf by default)

Copy the unzip file to a subdirectory in your home acct, say ~/b4312drivers.

cd into that directory. Issue

ndiswrapper -i bcmwl5.inf
ndiswrapper -m
modprobe ndiswrapper

close kconsole.

Run wicd and set up your wireless.

I have never run ndisgtk. I suspect it will allow you to graphically point to the files in ~/b4312drivers and then do all the steps I listed above automatically.

[hakiza]

Re: No wireless network found

Hi!
Here is what I get:

:~/b4312drivers$ ndiswrapper -i bcmwl5.inf
couldn't create /etc/ndiswrapper/bcmwl5: Permission denied at /usr/sbin/ndiswrapper-1.9 line 194.
:~/b4312drivers$

I wonder if I should use "sudo ndiswrapper -i bcmwl5.inf"

[Snowhog]

Re: No wireless network found

Yes. That's why GreyGeek told you:

In a konsole:
sudo apt-get purge remove b43-fwcutter  

su to root:
sudo su -
then issue:

The sudo su - command changes you from your user to root for execution of the commands that follow.

[hakiza]

Re: No wireless network found

I have done all the steps. Now when I run the wicd I still get "No wireless networks found". How can I do the set up?

[GreyGeek]

Re: No wireless network found

My previous laptop, a Gateway m675prr, used a 4306 chip and the bcwml5.inf & sys files installed perfectly with ndiswrapper. When he switched to KK 9.04 the b43-fwcutter worked equally well.

I believe there is something you are not telling us about what you are doing.

When you do each of the steps I recommended you would get feed-back of one sort or another, but you do not mention any. You need to tell us what the responses by the system were at each step so if a step gave you a problem we could identify it. As it is, saying that you "did the steps" but still get the "No wireless networks found" message means your wireless is not active. Therefore, you did not perform the steps correctly.

Just installing b43-fwcutter using Synaptic should have shown, IF you had opened the "Details" panel and read the progress taking place, that it would have either performed the install correctly or displayed an error msg if it didn't. If the install succeeded then either the chip light would have come on, or you would have had to reboot, but either way your wireless would show networks, IF there are wireless networks transmitting essid info. "sudo iwlist scanning" would have shown any networks in the area, including yours, IF your wireless is broadcasting an essid.
You report neither, and in failing to report exactly what is happening you render our aid worthless.