wireless on Compaq R3000 & opensuse 10.3

Dee_61 · 10-06-2007, 11:43 AM

Hi!

I will try to explain what is my problem here, so please bear with me.

Another lady at work gave me her old laptop when she bought a new one.

Ok, so it had windows on it (boo) and I wiped it out and installed opensuse 10.3 on it. So far everything works great, I'm using it right now. But it will not run the wireless thing. It sees it, it says it's there but it just will not work. So I plugged in a wire for now and that works fine.

I really, really need to wireless to work, it's uber important to me.
I don't know what to do though. I've never done wireless on Linux but I've always heard it's really hard to make work. I can see that.

I know that my wireless AP works and that the laptop wireless works because when it still had windows on it I could get on my lan and it also saw all the neighbors too and I could get on the neighbors that have open wireless. So I KNOW it works.

I'm sooo frustrated with this that I just don't know what to do now.
Can someone please offer some suggestions please?

I'm not totally stupid (I installed OpenSuse 10.3 by myself!) but I just don't anything about what makes it tick, ya know?

I did some reading and and found some things to type in that tells me what my hardware is. This is what I got from that,

Code:

02:02.0 Network controller: Broadcom Corporation BCM4303 802.11b Wireless LAN Controller (rev 02)

and

Code:

64: udi = '/org/freedesktop/Hal/devices/pci_14e4_4301'
  pci.product = 'BCM4303 802.11b Wireless LAN Controller'
  pci.subsys_vendor = 'Hewlett-Packard Company'
  info.bus = 'pci'
  pci.device_protocol = 0 (0x0)
  info.udi = '/org/freedesktop/Hal/devices/pci_14e4_4301'
  pci.linux.sysfs_path = '/sys/devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:14.4/0000:02:02.0'
  pci.subsys_product_id = 4851 (0x12f3)
  linux.subsystem = 'pci'
  info.vendor = 'Broadcom Corporation'
  info.subsystem = 'pci'
  pci.product_id = 17153 (0x4301)
  pci.vendor = 'Broadcom Corporation'
  info.product = 'BCM4303 802.11b Wireless LAN Controller'
  linux.hotplug_type = 2 (0x2)
  linux.sysfs_path = '/sys/devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:14.4/0000:02:02.0'
  pci.vendor_id = 5348 (0x14e4)
  info.parent = '/org/freedesktop/Hal/devices/pci_1002_4342'
  info.linux.driver = 'bcm43xx'
  pci.subsys_vendor_id = 4156 (0x103c)
  pci.device_class = 2 (0x2)
  pci.device_subclass = 128 (0x80)

Code:

<6>bcm43xx: Chip ID 0x4301, rev 0x0
  <6>bcm43xx: Number of cores: 5
  <6>bcm43xx: Core 0: ID 0x812, rev 0x2, vendor 0x4243
  <6>bcm43xx: Core 1: ID 0x80d, rev 0x0, vendor 0x4243
  <6>bcm43xx: Core 2: ID 0x806, rev 0x2, vendor 0x4243
  <6>bcm43xx: Core 3: ID 0x807, rev 0x1, vendor 0x4243
  <6>bcm43xx: Core 4: ID 0x804, rev 0x3, vendor 0x4243
  <6>bcm43xx: PHY connected
  <6>bcm43xx: Detected PHY: Analog: 0, Type 1, Revision 4
  <6>bcm43xx: Detected Radio: ID: 2205017f (Manuf: 17f Ver: 2050 Rev: 2)
  <6>bcm43xx: Radio turned off
  <6>bcm43xx: Radio turned off

Code:

<6>SoftMAC: Associate: Scanning for networks first.
  <6>SoftMAC: Associate: failed to initiate scan. Is device up?
  <6>bcm43xx: set security called, .level = 0, .enabled = 0, .encrypt = 0
  <6>eth1: link up, 100Mbps, full-duplex, lpa 0x45E1
  <3>bcm43xx: Error: Microcode "bcm43xx_microcode2.fw" not available or load failed.
  <3>bcm43xx: core_up for active 802.11 core failed (-2)
  <3>bcm43xx: Error: Microcode "bcm43xx_microcode2.fw" not available or load failed.
  <3>bcm43xx: core_up for active 802.11 core failed (-2)
  <6>SoftMAC: Associate: Scanning for networks first.
  <6>SoftMAC: Associate: failed to initiate scan. Is device up?
  <6>bcm43xx: set security called, .level = 0, .enabled = 0, .encrypt = 0
  <6>SoftMAC: Unable to find matching network after scan!
  <6>bcm43xx: set security called, .level = 0, .enabled = 0, .encrypt = 0
  <6>eth1: link up, 100Mbps, full-duplex, lpa 0x45E1
  <3>bcm43xx: Error: Microcode "bcm43xx_microcode2.fw" not available or load failed.
  <3>bcm43xx: core_up for active 802.11 core failed (-2)
  <3>bcm43xx: Error: Microcode "bcm43xx_microcode2.fw" not available or load failed.
  <3>bcm43xx: core_up for active 802.11 core failed (-2)
  <6>SoftMAC: Associate: Scanning for networks first.
  <6>SoftMAC: Associate: failed to initiate scan. Is device up?
  <6>bcm43xx: set security called, .level = 0, .enabled = 0, .encrypt = 0

Code:

23: PCI 202.0: 0282 WLAN controller
  [Created at pci.301]
  UDI: /org/freedesktop/Hal/devices/pci_14e4_4301
  Unique ID: rBUF.+WzsZ9iaww4
  Parent ID: qscc.S+4MMSCCLf5
  SysFS ID: /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:14.4/0000:02:02.0
  SysFS BusID: 0000:02:02.0
  Hardware Class: network
  Model: "Hewlett-Packard Company BCM4303 802.11b Wireless LAN Controller"
  Vendor: pci 0x14e4 "Broadcom"
  Device: pci 0x4301 "BCM4303 802.11b Wireless LAN Controller"
  SubVendor: pci 0x103c "Hewlett-Packard Company"
  SubDevice: pci 0x12f3 
  Revision: 0x02
  Driver: "bcm43xx"
  Driver Modules: "bcm43xx"
  Device File: eth0
  Features: WLAN
  Memory Range: 0xe8200000-0xe8201fff (rw,non-prefetchable)
  IRQ: 19 (no events)
  HW Address: xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx
  Link detected: no
  WLAN channels: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
  WLAN frequencies: 2.412 2.417 2.422 2.427 2.432 2.437 2.442 2.447 2.452 2.457 2.462
  WLAN bitrates: 1 2 5.5 11
  WLAN encryption modes: WEP40 WEP104 TKIP CCMP
  WLAN authentication modes: open sharedkey wpa-psk wpa-eap
  Module Alias: "pci:v000014E4d00004301sv0000103Csd000012F3bc02sc80i00"
  Driver Info #0:
    Driver Status: bcm43xx is active
    Driver Activation Cmd: "modprobe bcm43xx"
  Config Status: cfg=no, avail=yes, need=no, active=unknown
  Attached to: #19 (PCI bridge)

That's the limits of my skill level..

I am not a hacker or a geek, my skills are very basic.
I sure would be very grateful if someone could tell me what to do to make this thing work!

Thank you!

Dee_61 · 10-06-2007, 03:27 PM

Oh, I also got this from reading another post,

Quote:

ChikaDee:/etc/X11 # iwconfig
lo no wireless extensions.

eth1 no wireless extensions.

eth0 IEEE 802.11b ESSID:off/any Nickname:"Broadcom 4301"
Mode:Managed Access Point: Invalid
RTS thr:off Fragment thr:off
Encryption key:off
Link Quality=0/100 Signal level=0 dBm Noise level=0 dBm
Rx invalid nwid:0 Rx invalid crypt:0 Rx invalid frag:0
Tx excessive retries:0 Invalid misc:0 Missed beacon:0

ChikaDee:/etc/X11 #

Beads · 10-06-2007, 03:47 PM

Hello Dee_61, I just installed openSuse 10.3 on my hp zv5000 laptop, and am having the exact same problem. I, also, KNOW everything works as this is simply an upgrade from 10.2, when all worked just fine. I now have approx. 6 hours in troubleshooting this. Very frustrating! I did, however have a more solid report from kwifimanager after installing ndiswrapper as the driver module. My wireless device is also an BCM43xx. I'm hoping someone out there can tell us both what in the world is missing. I even turned off my WEP on both my wireless router, and my device settings just in case encryption was the culprit. To no avail. If I find a solution, I will be quick to let you know. Until then, we pray........

lambchops468 · 10-06-2007, 10:47 PM

same here...suse 10.2 ..... a wonder on the intel 3945 with ipw3945 driver...worked perfectly, dare I say better than windows with knetworkmanager.

clean install 10.3 and it doesn't work...noticed they also included another driver iwl3945

garg...i still have to troubleshoot gave up last night.

i think networkmanager is broken in 10.3, but i'll have to try command line functions before saying that.

Kahless · 10-06-2007, 11:21 PM

Their are two ways for you to get this working. The first, is using the native kernel driver, which is the bcm43xx module. The second would be to use ndiswrapper.

To use the bcm43xx way (highly recommended) you need to download the windows driver, and use a tool called bcm43xx-fwcutter to cut the drivers firmware out of the windows driver.

This should be the clue you need, if you cant get it to work, ill grab one of my opensuse laptops from downstairs and give you more detail on the procedure, but it should go like:

use yast to install bcm43xx-fwcutter
download windows driver and unzip
user bcm43xx-fwcutter to install firmware form windows driver

Once this is done, you should have full wireless support, including monitor mode

Beads · 10-07-2007, 05:30 PM

Lambchops468, I believe you are correct in reference to NetworkManager in Suse 10.3. When using knetworkmanager, I can see all of the wireless routers in my area, some WEP protected, others not. When I select an unencrypted address, NetworkManager responds with "cannot connect". It's broken.

Archoniam · 10-07-2007, 06:12 PM

Myehehe. I believe all you need to do is:
1. Check your System > Administration > Services or w/etf it is.
2. See if NetworkManager and NetworkManagerDispatcher or stuff like that is on and if not, turn it on.
3. Restart.
4. Hit t3h wireless button and search for networks. Everyone has their RF kill switch on for some reason.... XD
Hope that helps, as that's how I've gotten my wireless to work countless times!

For KDE you go to the control center and go search for services. Hit services. Go to it and do steps 2 , 3 and 4 for GNOME.

Dee_61 · 10-08-2007, 03:47 AM

Wow.. It's been a stress filled weekend.

I did the fwcutter thing. I downloaded the latest drivers from Compaq directly.
Ran the fwcutter and it generated some new files and put them in a directory named firmware.

But now what?

In a konsole as root I can type modprobe bcm43xx and the wireless *sort of* starts working. The little blue light comes on but it's really dim.

There's a little graph thingy that's just totally messed up. I don't understand it, it says there's no networks but it shows a signal and signal strength and stuff.
I don't know how to describe it.
It's stupid because it says it's out of range but the base is only 6 feet away and there ARE others around that work fine when this thing was running windows.

I can right click on the tray and there's another program, I think it's knetwork or something like that and it sees my wifi and it tries to connect to it but it fails.
It also does not see the other wifi's that I KNOW are in the neighborhood and open.

Just to be sure, I tried setting my wifi base to totally open and still no luck.
I don't like leaving it that way so I went back to locking it down.
I also made sure that I set all the same lock methods on the wifi base and the laptop..

Here's a screenshot of the goofy thing.
http://img128.imageshack.us/img128/4...apshot2ln0.png

I just don't know what to do... I'm soooo confused and burnt out...

Thanks..

pnellesen · 10-08-2007, 03:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dee_61

Just to be sure, I tried setting my wifi base to totally open and still no luck.
I don't like leaving it that way so I went back to locking it down.
I also made sure that I set all the same lock methods on the wifi base and the laptop..

This may or may not be relevant here, but when you're "totally open" and "Locked down", does that include broadcasting your essid? I spent an entire day this past weekend dealing with a very similar problem after I installed OpenSUSE 10.3. After MUCH time on Google and here, I discovered that apparently the version of wpa_supplicant that's part of 10.3 does NOT work well with hidden networks. The ONLY way I could get my wireless to work was by un-hiding my network. I've still got WPA encryption and MAC address filtering enabled, but until I set my router to broadcast the essid, I simply could not connect.

I haven't investigated this any further, so I can't say with 100% certainty that it's not a problem with ndiswrapper or the drivers I'm using, but I did NOT have this problem with OpenSUSE 10.2, it was only after doing the update to 10.3 that this happened.

Beads · 10-09-2007, 08:05 AM

Nah, my router is open and broadcasting. Still cannot connect. It's obvious networkmanager is broken in 10.3. When I enable it, I can't even use my ethernet cable straight from a router! On my machines, networkmanager is not enabled by default, and eth0 (ethernet cable interface on my machines) works fine. Enable networkmanager, and bam! Nothing. Computer starts to fumble, and finally freezes. Yay! I really hope the programming team can fix this quick. I can't imagine why anyone changed anything since it all worked fine in 10.2.....

lambchops468 · 10-09-2007, 08:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pnellesen

This may or may not be relevant here, but when you're "totally open" and "Locked down", does that include broadcasting your essid? I spent an entire day this past weekend dealing with a very similar problem after I installed OpenSUSE 10.3. After MUCH time on Google and here, I discovered that apparently the version of wpa_supplicant that's part of 10.3 does NOT work well with hidden networks. The ONLY way I could get my wireless to work was by un-hiding my network. I've still got WPA encryption and MAC address filtering enabled, but until I set my router to broadcast the essid, I simply could not connect.

I haven't investigated this any further, so I can't say with 100% certainty that it's not a problem with ndiswrapper or the drivers I'm using, but I did NOT have this problem with OpenSUSE 10.2, it was only after doing the update to 10.3 that this happened.

What wireless card?

SUSE implemented the new iwl (open intel wireless driver) for the 3945, and it doesn't work with hidden networks, BUT does work with suspend reliably.
in the YAST network manager thingie change the driver to ipw3945

======EDIT======REFER to this link FOR 3945 and myabe 4965: https://bugzilla.novell.com/show_bug.cgi?id=308895
(this bug report is only for x86-64....are all of you on 64bit?)
at the bottom of the page shows that a workaround is ifup option in YAST

apparently the problem is even on ubuntu....this might take a while.

pnellesen · 10-09-2007, 09:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lambchops468

What wireless card?...
REFER to this link FOR 3945 and myabe 4965: https://bugzilla.novell.com/show_bug.cgi?id=308895
(this bug report is only for x86-64....are all of you on 64bit?)
at the bottom of the page shows that a workaround is ifup option in YAST

apparently the problem is even on ubuntu....this might take a while.

I'm using 32 bit, with a "Dell Wireless 1390" mini-pci card (my laptop's a Dell Inspiron 1501.) Right now I'm using ndiswrapper with the WinXP drivers that came on the system, but I was having the problem using the Broadcom driver/firmware as well (without ndiswrapper.) I have not yet tried the "Traditional" method of starting up, though - I'll give that a shot as well.

----------------------------------
UPDATE: Looks like my particular problem was, indeed, NetworkManager - I changed my Network setup method in YaST to use ifup, and that appeared to work. Thanks for the link, we may want to consider making this thread a sticky? I spent an awful lot of time over the weekend trying to figure out what the heck had changed between 10.2 and 10.3...

----------------------------------
UPDATE #2: This method would NOT work with ndiswrapper loading the Broadcom drivers - I could only get it to work with the bcm43xx kernel module. Now on to figuring out how to make it all work automatically...

----------------------------------
UPDATE #3: Finally got this working on bootup. A bit of a hack, but it works. Basically, I added the following 3 lines to my /etc/boot.local script:

ifdown wlan0
iwconfig wlan0 essid [my essid here]
ifup wlan0

I'd much rather use NetworkManager, but until I see somewhere that the various "hidden network" issues have been resolved (take a look at the bugzilla link lambchops468 posted above) I'll stick to this method.

Dee_61 · 10-10-2007, 02:31 AM

I still can not at all get my wireless Compaq working..

The little blue light is on but it's real dim. Nothing I can do or click on will make it connect to my WAP. I know 100% without a doubt that the WAP is good as I connected to it with a different laptop running windows.

Help??!!!!

Beads · 10-10-2007, 07:33 AM

Still working on it. Cannot get a connection to my WAP either. Have great signal, however on knetworkmanager GUI. iwconfig reports the same radio rf levels, so I believe what knetworkmanager is reporting. I scrapped NetworkManager. That is completely borked. This was all done with ndiswrapper, so I'll now attempt pnelleson's advice to run the bcm43xx driver out of the box this evening.

Beads · 10-10-2007, 11:53 AM

pnelleson: You suggested earlier we make this a sticky. Let's. There are so many machines with the bcm43xx chipset out there; and as I browse other forums, all are having the same lamentations. Can we get a mod to do this? As a contributor, can you do this? At least, I think it was you....