Wireless 1390 card not working properly - Page 2

nskprasanth · 04-12-2007, 02:03 PM

WOW , that worked ..... thanks a lot joelinux

i just typed the command modprobe --remove bcm43xx and then iwconfig wlan0 scan gave the output with the avaliable cells

nskprasanth · 04-12-2007, 02:15 PM

wow , that worked with the command , Thanx a lot joelinux
modprobe --remove bcm43xx

but when i login into fc6 for the next time , i need to run the command again . is there a way to prevent this error.

cyberlog · 05-06-2007, 11:57 AM

Joe you are a crazy man, but thanks. The process is even simpler than it was described. I simply start with default FC7 config and add the driver as you described.

Wile I was thinking of the next move Network detected the driver and activate the wireless network before I could go any further.

So I confirm you suggestion 100%, and just add that all this was missing is the driver, since bcm43xx-fwcutter is available at fedora.

Thanks again.

dranas · 05-27-2007, 05:54 PM

Hey i followed your instructions to the letter and it worked. But is there a way to make it faster?

klausk · 06-09-2007, 09:47 PM

Hi, everybody,

I followed the instructions and it doesn't work. Here's my config on FC7:

Quote:

# uname -a
Linux localhost.localdomain 2.6.21-1.3194.fc7 #1 SMP Wed May 23 22:47:07 EDT 2007 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux
# lspci | grep Broadcom
09:00.0 Ethernet controller: Broadcom Corporation NetXtreme BCM5752 Gigabit Ethernet PCI Express (rev 02)
0c:00.0 Network controller: Broadcom Corporation Dell Wireless 1390 WLAN Mini-PCI Card (rev 01)
# lsmod | grep bcm
bcm43xx 437857 0
ieee80211softmac 42305 1 bcm43xx
ieee80211 42505 2 bcm43xx,ieee80211softmac
bcm43xx_mac80211 415009 0
ssb 43589 1 bcm43xx_mac80211
mac80211 153925 2 rc80211_simple,bcm43xx_mac80211
# modinfo bcm43xx
filename: /lib/modules/2.6.21-1.3194.fc7/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/bcm43xx/bcm43xx.ko
license: GPL
author: Michael Buesch
author: Stefano Brivio
author: Martin Langer
description: Broadcom BCM43xx wireless driver
srcversion: F29014CCD786A001B1A577A
alias: pci:v000014E4d00004301sv*sd*bc*sc*i*
depends: ieee80211,ieee80211softmac
vermagic: 2.6.21-1.3194.fc7 SMP mod_unload
parm: pio:enable(1) / disable(0) PIO mode (int)
parm: bad_frames_preempt:enable(1) / disable(0) Bad Frames Preemption (int)
parm: short_retry:Short-Retry-Limit (0 - 15) (int)
parm: long_retry:Long-Retry-Limit (0 - 15) (int)
parm: locale:int
parm: country:Select LocaleCode 0-11 (For travelers)
parm: noleds:Turn off all LED activity (int)
parm: fwpostfix:Postfix for .fw files. Useful for using multiple firmware image versions. (string)

I did the wl_apsta.o firmware bcm43xx-fwcutter trick to the dot with no success

:

Quote:

# iwconfig
wlan0 IEEE 802.11g ESSID:"some_ssid"
Mode:Master Frequency:2.452 GHz
Retry min limit:7 RTS thr

ff Fragment thr=2346 B
Encryption key:6D61-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-30
Link Quality:0 Signal level:0 Noise level:0
Rx invalid nwid:0 Rx invalid crypt:0 Rx invalid frag:0
Tx excessive retries:0 Invalid misc:0 Missed beacon:0

# ifconfig wlan0 up
SIOCSIFFLAGS: No such device

Do I still need the ndiswrapper or am I missing something?

JoeLinux117 · 06-11-2007, 04:58 PM

For those of you running Fedora 7 and still can't get your wireless card to work, this is what happened to me:

I upgraded to the latest kernel and Fedora 7 (2.6.21), and then my wireless card stopped working again.

I originally mentioned to do "modprobe --remove bcm43xx" and then use the ndiswrapper module, but there's some extra steps to do in Fedora 7, because they've added a few extra modules for wireless support (which in turn add more headache for those that are trying to use ndiswrapper).

Here is what I did.

First, remove all of the offending modules:

Code:

# rmmod bcm43xx
# rmmod bcm43xx_mac80211
# rmmod ieee80211softmac
# rmmod ssb
# rmmod mac80211
# rmmod rc80211_simple
# rmmod ndiswrapper

Okay, no more offending modules. I included ndiswrapper in the list just to start fresh. If you don't want to type all of that and you would rather copy and paste, just copy this:

Code:

rmmod bcm43xx; rmmod ieee80211softmac; rmmod ssb; rmmod mac80211; rmmod rc80211_simple; rmmod ndiswrapper

That should make life a little easier, I just wanted it to be easier to read up top so you're aware of exactly what I'm doing.

Next, uninstall and reinstall your driver.

Code:

# ndiswrapper -e bcmwl5 && ndiswrapper -i /home/1390_drivers/DRIVER/bcmwl5.inf

This will give ndiswrapper a fresh start.

Then, insert the ndiswrapper module again and bring up the interface:

Code:

# modprobe ndiswrapper && ifconfig eth1 up

Now, you should be able to see some cells using "iwlist eth1 scan". Just remember, change "eth1" to whatever interface name you are using. Also, when you install the driver, keep in mind that "/home/1390_drivers/DRIVER/bcmwl5.inf" is just on my system, the location may be different on your own system.

These are just the extra steps I have had to take on MY system. If this doesn't work for you, let me know and I'll try and help some more. Sorry it took so long to reply, I am a complete idiot and didn't realize that these posts were on the SECOND page. I should be slapped, and I am now thoroughly embarassed, lol.

If you want to add that script to your .bash_profile file, so that this occurs everytime you login and lessens the chance of this happening while you are trying to use the computer, copy this and paste it into your .bash_profile:

Code:

rmmod bcm43xx
rmmod bcm43xx_mac80211
rmmod ieee80211softmac
rmmod ssb
rmmod mac80211
rmmod rc80211_simple
rmmod ndiswrapper

ndiswrapper -e bcmwl5
ndiswrapper -i /home/1390_drivers/DRIVER/bcmwl5.inf

modprobe ndiswrapper

ifconfig eth1 up

Also, make sure that you add the above modules (except ndiswrapper, of course) to /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist and /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist-compat (if it exists). If you don't know how to do that, I believe I show you how to do it in an earlier post in this thread. Hope this helps, let me know!

--Joe

Learn About Linux - A World Without Windows

P.S. cyberlog, I am crazy and thank you for noticing.

JoeLinux117 · 06-11-2007, 05:02 PM

Quote:

Hi, everybody,

I followed the instructions and it doesn't work. Here's my config on FC7:
Quote:
# uname -a
Linux localhost.localdomain 2.6.21-1.3194.fc7 #1 SMP Wed May 23 22:47:07 EDT 2007 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux
# lspci | grep Broadcom
09:00.0 Ethernet controller: Broadcom Corporation NetXtreme BCM5752 Gigabit Ethernet PCI Express (rev 02)
0c:00.0 Network controller: Broadcom Corporation Dell Wireless 1390 WLAN Mini-PCI Card (rev 01)
# lsmod | grep bcm
bcm43xx 437857 0
ieee80211softmac 42305 1 bcm43xx
ieee80211 42505 2 bcm43xx,ieee80211softmac
bcm43xx_mac80211 415009 0
ssb 43589 1 bcm43xx_mac80211
mac80211 153925 2 rc80211_simple,bcm43xx_mac80211
# modinfo bcm43xx
filename: /lib/modules/2.6.21-1.3194.fc7/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/bcm43xx/bcm43xx.ko
license: GPL
author: Michael Buesch
author: Stefano Brivio
author: Martin Langer
description: Broadcom BCM43xx wireless driver
srcversion: F29014CCD786A001B1A577A
alias: pci:v000014E4d00004301sv*sd*bc*sc*i*
depends: ieee80211,ieee80211softmac
vermagic: 2.6.21-1.3194.fc7 SMP mod_unload
parm: pio:enable(1) / disable(0) PIO mode (int)
parm: bad_frames_preempt:enable(1) / disable(0) Bad Frames Preemption (int)
parm: short_retry:Short-Retry-Limit (0 - 15) (int)
parm: long_retry:Long-Retry-Limit (0 - 15) (int)
parm: locale:int
parm: country:Select LocaleCode 0-11 (For travelers)
parm: noleds:Turn off all LED activity (int)
parm: fwpostfix:Postfix for .fw files. Useful for using multiple firmware image versions. (string)

I did the wl_apsta.o firmware bcm43xx-fwcutter trick to the dot with no success :
Quote:
# iwconfig
wlan0 IEEE 802.11g ESSID:"some_ssid"
Mode:Master Frequency:2.452 GHz
Retry min limit:7 RTS thrff Fragment thr=2346 B
Encryption key:6D61-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-30
Link Quality:0 Signal level:0 Noise level:0
Rx invalid nwid:0 Rx invalid crypt:0 Rx invalid frag:0
Tx excessive retries:0 Invalid misc:0 Missed beacon:0

# ifconfig wlan0 up
SIOCSIFFLAGS: No such device

Do I still need the ndiswrapper or am I missing something?

klausk, right after you do this, type "dmesg" and show me the last few lines that pertain to your interface (wlan0). I'd like to see what output your system is providing you. Thanks.

--Joe

Learn About Linux - A World Without Windows

findepi · 08-25-2007, 07:17 PM

thanks, JoeLinux!
Especially for your service tag. For me dell provides only bcmwl6.sys which cannot be extracted by bcm43xx-fwcutter...

But following your instructions - it works perfectly!

JoeLinux117 · 09-13-2007, 09:37 AM

Hey everyone, just wanted to let you know that I'm going to be adding the information in this post in a clean tutorial on a new website I just created, Learn About Linux - A World Without Windows. I'll post the link to the tutorial into this thread shortly.

If you found my posts helpful, please don't hesitate to link to my site!

--JoeLinux

Learn About Linux - A World Without Windows

JoeLinux117 · 09-14-2007, 03:00 PM

The tutorial is up and running, look at http://www.learnaboutlinux.net/wireless_1390.htm for a tutorial about getting this pain of a card working in Linux...

--JoeLinux

Learn About Linux - A World Without Windows

linuxdummy · 01-12-2008, 05:29 PM

I went through the guide and got all the desired outputs until the "$ sudo modprobe bcm43xx" step there I get the output:
[root@localhost firmware]# sudo modprobe bcm43xx
FATAL: Module bcm43xx not found.

what did I do wrong?
Thanks

JoeLinux117 · 01-14-2008, 08:12 AM

Quote:

I went through the guide and got all the desired outputs until the "$ sudo modprobe bcm43xx" step there I get the output:
[root@localhost firmware]# sudo modprobe bcm43xx
FATAL: Module bcm43xx not found.

what did I do wrong?
Thanks

What distro (and version) are you running (Ubuntu 7.10, Fedora 8, PCLinuxOS 2007, etc.)?

It looks like you don't have the "bcm43xx" driver, but I need to know what distro you're running so I know if your distro simply is using a different version (such as b43).

Also, please post the output of uname -r, so I can see what kernel version you're running as well (because it probably won't work on kernels older than 2.6.20, because they don't properly support PCI-Express, and the "bcm43xx" driver wasn't included in mainstream at that point either).

linuxdummy · 01-15-2008, 12:45 PM

Fedora 8
sorry, forgot to mention that.

JoeLinux117 · 01-16-2008, 08:13 AM

If I remember correctly, Fedora 8 doesn't use bcm43xx. In fact, it's not even present on the standard installation. I believe it uses b43, if I'm not mistaken (Fedora 8 users please correct me?).

You can perform a simple check: modinfo b43

That should show you information about that module, if it exists. If you get some informative output, that means that the b43 module is present on your system, and that's probably what your system would prefer to use. Here's the thing: the bcm43xx module uses version 3 firmware, while the b43 module uses version 4 firmware. Give this a shot, and let me know if you need help with it. It looks like the guys at berlios have developed an automated script? It looks a little different than what I'm used to, hopefully it works better. Let me know.

linuxdummy · 01-17-2008, 02:54 PM

Thanks, and wow, if only I had that url a couple months ago.