Hi Everybody,

I should probably preface this by saying I'm very new to Linux , if that doesn't become obvious over the course of this post. Anyway, I recently had to replace the hard drive on my 12" 1.5 ghz Powerbook G4, and I felt that this was a perfect opportunity to begin experimenting with Linux.

I setup the system to run a dual boot with Mac OS X and Debian Etch. Unfortunately however, the Etch is not working. During the Etch boot, it goes through all its checks and passes all of them, except for one that says 802.11 core failed (-2). At this point it goes to a login, and then shortly after this the screen goes black and when it come back up a blue screen appears that says "Failed to Start X server, and it prompts me whether or not I want to see the output to diagnose the problem.

After going through these prompt screens, I go back to the command prompt, and I see an error that says something like:

##bcm43xx: Error: Microcode "bcm43xx_microcode5.fw" not available or load failed.
##bcm43xx: core_up_for_active 802.11 core failed (-2)

Anyway, if someone could kind of give me some direction on how to fix this, and explain what's going on for my own knowledge, I would really appreciate it.

Thanks!

The messages you're getting make me think you're missing the firmware for your wifi card. The driver you're using needs to load your card's firmware in order to work. Debian (being Debian) apparently doesn't provide it, since it is surely proprietary. You should google for "fwcutter" or "extracting firmware" to get an idea how to proceed from here. Look for Etch (or at least Debian)-specific answers. Some distros even provide pre-extracted firmwares, but I don't know what's the "Debian way".

You have 2 problems there. The message about bcm43xx is indeed about your wireless, but you should be able to get into X windows without the use of your wireless card.

JosipBroz is correct about the solution for the wireless, but we'll need to see the output of /var/log/Xorg.0.log to know what is happening with the graphical problem.

Peace,
JimBass

Here's what shows up when I access using that log file.


##
(EE) AIGLX: Screen 0 is not DRI capable
xkb_keycodes {include "xfree86+aliases(qwerty)"};
xkb_types {include "complete"};
xkb_compatibility {include "complete"};
xkb_symbols {include "pc(pc105)+us" };
xkb_geometery {include "pc(pc104)" };

Synaptics Device Init called
SynapticsCtrl called/
Synaptics DeviceOn called

Backtrace:
0: /usr/bin/X(xf86SigHandler+0x94) [0x1008ebe8]
1: [0x10374]
2: [0x7ff2280x]
3: /usr/lib/xorg/modules/libxaa.so(XAAFillMono8x8PatternRectsScreenOrigin+0xdc) [0xf74001c]

4:/usr/lib/xorg/modules/libxaa.so(XAAPaintWindow+0x52c) [0xf74e090]
5:/usr/bin/X [0x10138794]
6:/usr/bin/X(miWindowExposures+0x328) [0x100e05dc]
7:/usr/bin/X [0x100a96cc]
8:/usr/binX (MapWindow+0x3e4) [0x1002b6c8]
9:/usr/bin/X(InitRottWindow+0xfc) [0x1002b880]
10: /usr/bin/X(main+0x41c) [0x10025480]
11: /lib/tls/libc.so.6 [0xfc7e994]
12: /lib/tls/libc.so.6(_libc_start_main+0xb0) [0xfc7ead0]

Fatal Server Error:

Caught Signal 11. Server Aborting


##

What exactly are we looking at here?

Thanks for the input on the wireless guys. How did you all identify that as a wireless problem btw?

Ok, good questions.

The /var/log/Xorg.0.log is the log of the system GUI, the program that draws pictures instead of giving you text to look at. Xorg is the simple X window environment that acts as a base for your desktop environment (KDE, Gnome, XFCE, etc) to work on top of. That backtrace indicates that something failed badly. Which leads me to a question -

I don't know much about Macs, but I do know they used to make their own processors, and they switched to using intel processors a while ago. If you have an older Mac from when they made their own gear, you don't want to install regular Debian Etch, you need to install the ppc (nickname for power PC, which is the original Mac processor type) version. If you installed the i386 version of Debian, and you have a power PC box, you'd probably prefer the power PC (.ppc) image. Here's a link to the PPC download for Debian -
http://cdimage.debian.org/debian-cd/...pc-netinst.iso

Don't run off and just try that, find out first what processor is in your machine. If it is an intel processor, then the i386 version is correct.

It looks like the X log indicates the problem was trying to load the dri module, so comment that out of the /etc/X11/xorg.conf file.

The bcm43xx is a common wireless card type, that's like knowing the explorer is a type of Ford vehicle, very common knowledge. That would only be a problem if you're trying to connect this computer wirelessly. That has nothing to do with the graphics problem.

Write back with more questions!

Peace,
JimBass

I did download the correct install (PowerPC).


And I did a little digging, and it seems that I have a Nvidia video card and a Broadcom wireless chipset. Debian doesn't officially support these because their firmware is closed source. I think that's the root of the problems.

I followed your advice and started tried to comment out the DRI module in the Xorg.conf file using the VIM editor. Unfortunately, the Xorg is still not working. It saying something about a parsing error on the "End Section" line that immediately precedes the commented out section. I don't really see what the problem is now.

I was also wondering how I go about disabling the bcm43xx message. It keeps popping up whenever I'm trying to edit something, and I really can only tackle one problem at a time.....

Thanks for the help!

Depending on the age of your Mac, PowerPC might not be the correct built of Debian. If it has an intel processor, you'll went the i386 version. A Mac processor needs the PowerPC, an intel needs the i386 (or amd_64 if it is new and has the 64 bit processor).

The broadcom will not work without the firmware, but you can find that easily. The nvidia won't have 3D emulation without the closed source NVidia module, but it will work just fine without the closed source module. The name for the module is nv (lowercase, just nv, not nvidia) which is open source and supported by Debian. You can also get a functional GUI with the vesa module I believe.

To help, we need to be sure you have the correct version of Debian. Please write back with specifically what processor is in your computer. The command

Will tell you what processor you have from linux.

Peace,
JimBass

I think I'm good on the PowerPc issue, I found posts that confirm successful Debian Etch installations on my processor.

I was also successful in fixing the wireless issue.

One question though, what is the best way to comment out text? What is the proper syntax? If you could provide me with a simple example similar to this:

[proper commenting syntax]


code to be commented out
code to be commented out
code to be commented out

[proper commenting suntax]


Feel like I'm starting to make some progress in understanding Linux. Appreciate all the help!

Just add the # out front.

You're welcome for the help.

Peace,
JimBass