Installing a driver by hand.

stf92 · 05-29-2018, 05:09 AM

Hi: I have installed debian (debian-9.4.0-i386-DVD-1.iso) on an Acer Aspire One computer. The driver for the wi-fi controller is propietary (non-free firmware) and, so, it is not included in the distribution. However the installer asks for media containing the file (iwlwifi-3160-17.ucode) to be inserted. I have tested in several ways, including putting it into a directory called /media, with no results. So I gave up and installed instead the firmware iso image which comes with non-free distributable drivers. However I want to be able to install without recourse to internet and so (that is to install from the debian-9.4.0-i386-DVD-1.iso) I need a means to install the driver by hand. OK.

I made

Code:

root@revenge mnt]# locate iwlwifi-3160-17
/home/semoi/Downloads/iwlwifi-3160-17.ucode
/stretch/lib/firmware/iwlwifi-3160-17.ucode
/usr/lib/firmware/iwlwifi-3160-17.ucode
[root@revenge mnt]#

As you can see, the firmware installer put the driver into /lib/firmware. So, what if after installing debian-9.4.0-i386-DVD-1.iso I copy the driver to /lib/firmware and make modprobe <name of the driver>? Could it be as simple as that?

Note: I have two partitions mounted. One with Stretch and the other with Arch linux, which is the running OS at present. Hence the duplicated entries. Stretch is mounted on /stretch.

hazel · 05-29-2018, 06:38 AM

Yes, it's as simple as that. All firmware goes in /lib/firmware. That's where the kernel will look for it.

You may not need to use modprobe. I once had a laptop with a broadcom card and the kernel found and loaded the main driver by itself. Then the main driver loaded the firmware.

stf92 · 05-29-2018, 12:20 PM

Thanks. Tell me, what permissions should I give that file in /lib/firmware, that is the driver I will copy? And what utility could I use to see if things work (I have no GUI at present)? Maybe the ping command?

pan64 · 05-29-2018, 01:23 PM

I think it is not really important, but read only should be sufficient (check other files in that dir).
you can use dmesg or lsmod to check if that was picked (during boot)

AwesomeMachine · 05-29-2018, 05:01 PM

If you edit /etc/apt/sources.list and put 'non-free' at the end of your main sources line, you can use the package manager to install the firmware.

-edit, except I'm am a moron, because there's no Internet without the firmware!

stf92 · 05-29-2018, 05:16 PM

Well, I have just been able to login as root (a whole day trying to get it) and have just copied the iwlwifiIdontKnowWhat.ucode file, after creating the /lib/firmware directory. I'll see dmesg and in any case I can rm the module and modprobe it. A strange thing is I don't find the ifconfig command, but I installed from a netinst image with the firmware driver and have only a basic install (no GUI). But I do have apt-get. In the ping man page, the syntax is
ping [options] destination
What is that destination? An IP? How could I use ping to verify connectivity?

ondoho · 05-29-2018, 10:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stf92

after creating the /lib/firmware directory.

that sounds wrong.
on all systems i ever used the directory already existed.
that or /usr/lib/firmware.

Quote:

In the ping man page, the syntax is
ping [options] destination
What is that destination? An IP? How could I use ping to verify connectivity?

examples:
ping 8.8.8.8
ping goggle.com

hazel · 05-30-2018, 05:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stf92

What is that destination? An IP? How could I use ping to verify connectivity?

If you want to verify connectivity, your destination must be an ip address. If you use a domain name and you can't get through, you have no way of knowing whether it's the name resolution that is failing or the actual connection. 8.8.8.8 is a very good address to use. It's one of the Google name servers so it's always up.