[SOLVED] Actually installing a .tar.gz. Broadcom BCM4312
Linux - NewbieThis Linux forum is for members that are new to Linux.
Just starting out and have a question?
If it is not in the man pages or the how-to's this is the place!
Notices
Welcome to LinuxQuestions.org, a friendly and active Linux Community.
You are currently viewing LQ as a guest. By joining our community you will have the ability to post topics, receive our newsletter, use the advanced search, subscribe to threads and access many other special features. Registration is quick, simple and absolutely free. Join our community today!
Note that registered members see fewer ads, and ContentLink is completely disabled once you log in.
If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us. If you need to reset your password, click here.
Having a problem logging in? Please visit this page to clear all LQ-related cookies.
Get a virtual cloud desktop with the Linux distro that you want in less than five minutes with Shells! With over 10 pre-installed distros to choose from, the worry-free installation life is here! Whether you are a digital nomad or just looking for flexibility, Shells can put your Linux machine on the device that you want to use.
Exclusive for LQ members, get up to 45% off per month. Click here for more info.
Sorry if this sounds stupid, but I'm new. I found out ( By reading other posts on here) that I need a driver to work with my Broadcom BCM4312 Network Connector on my Dell Inspiron 1525 Laptop. I have already extracted the tarball, but I don't know what to do to actually install the driver. I am running Ubuntu 10.04.1 LTS, with Windows dual booting.
Can you tell us what you read that lead you to the conclusion that you should take this approach? If not can you tell us exactly what you downloaded and from where?
Dear evo2,
I came to this conclusion after looking on some posts (Although I was not a member when I found it, so I can't find it again
-_-) So for that, I am sorry. I will switch over to Ubuntu right now and save all the outputs from the commands.
lo no wireless extensions.
eth0 no wireless extensions.
wlan0 IEEE 802.11bg ESSID:off/any
Mode:Managed Access Point: Not-Associated Tx-Power=0 dBm
Retry long limit:7 RTS thr:off Fragment thr:off
Power Management:off
There you go! The driver I am trying to install is:hybrid-portsrc-x86_32-v5.60.48.36.tar.gz
I got it off of Broadcom's Website.
it seems you already have the driver installed as part of your kernel and the device is recognized (output of iwconfig shows wlan0).
Although it seems I didn't suggest the correct argument to grep in the lspci command. Could you try the following just to confirm what the device is?
Code:
lspci | grep -iE 'broadcom|wireless'
The only thing that you may be missing is the firmware. To find out if you have it installed you can search in synaptic, or perhaps on the command line do something like:
Code:
dpkg -l '*b43*'
I think the package that you want should be called something like firmware-b43-installer
Are you able to get this machine on the net using the wired ethernet? If so you might find that easier than having to boot back and forth between Ubunutu and Windows while trying to get the wireless up and running.
As far as I can tell you should not need to download/install anything directly from the broadcom website.
jetso@jetso-laptop:~$ dpkg -l '*b43*'
No packages found matching *b43*.
I hope this helps. I think the latter means that the firmware is not installed. Would the firmware have come with driver I downloaded, or do I need to download a seperate thing?
See the link in post #8, the official ubuntu.com instructions that will answer all your questions. b43 is *not* the correct driver for your card in Ubuntu 10.04, and must be removed (modprobe -r) for your card to function correctly.
Install the b43/STA hybrid drivers/firmware from the restricted repository using the Synaptic Package Manager and search for the bcmwl-kernel-source package and install or in a terminal issue the following commands:
Under the desktop menu System > Administration > Hardware Drivers, the drivers can be activated for use.
Note: A computer restart may be required before using the wifi card.
LiveCD/LiveUSB
For temporary use with the LiveCD and LiveUSB environments, simply use the Synaptic Package Manager to search for and install the bcmwl-kernel-source package. Refer to Step 1 and Step 2 of the instructions above.
Step 3.
Instead of a computer restart, in a terminal issue the following commands:
If you do not have any other means of internet access on your computer, you will have to install bcmwl-kernel-source package from the restricted folder under ../pool/restricted/b/bcmwl on the Ubuntu install media. This may be done in the following manner depending on the installation media used:
CDROM/DVD
Step 1.
Install the bcmwl-kernel-source package using the Synaptic Package Manager. First select Add CD-ROM from the edit menu to enable the install media as a package repository, then click on Reload to refresh the available packages list, ignore any internet/download errors. Now search for the bcmwl-kernel-source package and install.
Step 2.
Under the desktop menu System > Administration > Hardware Drivers, the drivers can be activated for use.
Note: A computer restart may be required before using the wifi card.
LiveCD/LiveUSB
For temporary use with the LiveCD and LiveUSB environments, simply use the Synaptic Package Manager to search for and install the bcmwl-kernel-source package. Refer to Step 1 and Step 2 of the CDROM/DVD instructions above.
Step 3.
Instead of a computer restart, in a terminal issue the following commands:
Okay, so after some thinking, I realized what the instructions were telling me. I inserted the disc I originally used to install Ubuntu, and loaded synaptic. I went to where you said Edit>Add Cd-Rom. When I did this, every time, even though it was in the computer, it said "E: Failed to mount Cd-Rom" So after trying that a thousand time, I just went to the location of the bcmwl file on the disc. When I got there, it showed the bcmwl file, as a .deb, which I know is easier to install. When I clicked install in looked like it was installing it, when An error message and alot of lines of code popped up saying that it was already installed. Thinking that it actually was already installed, I went to Hardware drivers, hoping it would show up, but it didn't. This is getting very frustrating for me, so it probably is for you too, and for that, I'm sorry.
Last edited by Slightly Disoriented; 09-22-2010 at 05:34 PM.
These instructions are for someone with ethernet, which I do not have . I'm sorry, but I don't (and can't) have ethernet for up to another week. Do you know of any way to get it without ethernet? Thanks,
LinuxQuestions.org is looking for people interested in writing
Editorials, Articles, Reviews, and more. If you'd like to contribute
content, let us know.