BCMWL564.inf ?

While updating a few of the drivers for WinXP on my hp pavilion dv5046ea laptop (running FC5 x86_64) from the hp website:
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/s...1838989#dlc=en

after downloading an updated wireless driver for my broadcom airforce 1 card, I noticed that there was a "BCMWL564.sys" as well as a "BCMWL5.sys".

Although I've gotten the 32-bit driver to work with bcm43xx-fwcutter, I was pleased to see that it looks like hp have released a 64-bit driver. Unfortunately, there is no "BCMWL564.inf" file to go with the "BCMWL564.sys" file!

I tried using the bcmwl5.inf with the bcmwl564.sys file with fwcutter, but it just reported a "wrong MD5 checksum" error.

I think that on Windows the bcmwl5.inf is meant to service both the 64 and 32-bit .sys files, as when I browsed through the file it *did* have mention of the 64-bit .sys .

Unfortunately konqueror told me it was a binary, and editing could mess things up, so I wouldn't know how to mold the .inf file MD5 checksum to the 64-bit .sys.


I'm a bit stumped really: the 64-bit driver seems to be there, but I don't know how to extract it with bcmw43x-fwcutter. Any suggestions?
(I'm aware of the 64-bit driver at linuxloader, and would like to get the one specific for my own hardware working)

Um, it kind of sounds like your confusing a few things here. You use fwcutter to extract firmware from Windows drivers so bcm43xx works. I may be completely wrong about this, but I don't think you need to cut the firmware from a 64 bit driver to have bcm43xx work on a 64 bit system. However, fwcutter doesn't use a .inf file for anything and probably would complain if you fed it one. It should work on a .sys file, although again, I'm not sure what it would do with a 64 bit Windows driver.

Now if you are using ndiswrapper or linuxant, then you do need the .inf file (as well as the .sys file) as both of these use the Windows driver directly. However, neither ndiswrapper nor linuxant have any use for fwcutter.

So I guess the bottom line is if you could clarify what driver you're using, it would help figure out where you need to go from here.

You use fwcutter to extract firmware from Windows drivers so bcm43xx works.

Yes (but I don't think I'm confused)

I may be completely wrong about this, but I don't think you need to cut the firmware from a 64 bit driver to have bcm43xx work on a 64 bit system.

The linux kernel only comes with *support* for the bcm43xx card (i.e. it supports Windows drivers). It doesn't, to the best of my knowledge, come with bcm43xx drivers; no native drivers for bcm43xx cards have been written (yet)!

However, fwcutter doesn't use a .inf file for anything

I think it does. Although fwcutter actually acts on the .sys file, it needs a correct .inf file in the same directory in order to be able to extract the firmware. You can try it for yourself.

However, neither ndiswrapper nor linuxant have any use for fwcutter.

Correct. And I'm not using either of them. As I said, the kernel only comes with support for the drivers. It couldn't really distribute the Windows drivers or I'm guessing there'd be mega licencing issues. That's where fwcutter comes in.

So I guess the bottom line is if you could clarify what driver you're using, it would help figure out where you need to go from here.

...Did that clarify the matter?

I actually tried the bcmwl5.inf with the bcmwl5.sys today, and that didn't work either! (I assumed it would, so I hadn't actually checked). So now I think that it this bcmwl5.inf file is a generic thing from which the actual bcmwl5.inf and bcmwl564.inf are extracted on a functioning Windows system.

It was easier using the preinstalled driver from my windows partition, but I guess that's because the bcmwl5.inf was a dedicated 32-bit file rather than some crazy 32-bit 64-bit generic mix.

How I would use it to create a bcmwl564.inf file I still don't know.

The linux kernel only comes with *support* for the bcm43xx card (i.e. it supports Windows drivers). It doesn't, to the best of my knowledge, come with bcm43xx drivers; no native drivers for bcm43xx cards have been written (yet)!

That's not correct. The bcm43xx module is a native linux driver for broadcom chipsets and it need the firmware from a Windows driver, not the Windows driver itself. It has been in the kernel since 2.6.17. Their site is here. Now whether or not your distro uses the bcm43xx driver as part of their stock kernels is a completely different issue, but the fact remains that there is native Linux support for Broadcom chipsets.

I think it does. Although fwcutter actually acts on the .sys file, it needs a correct .inf file in the same directory in order to be able to extract the firmware. You can try it for yourself.

I have, many, many times. In fact I did it just now just to confirm what I thought. No .inf file is required to extract firmware from a .sys file. Again, I think you are confusing this with ndiswrapper which DOES require a .inf and .sys file.

I actually tried the bcmwl5.inf with the bcmwl5.sys today, and that didn't work either!

What did you actually do? Details man, details!

The way it has worked for me is to compile fwcutter from source, then run:

./bcm43xx_fwcutter /path/to/bcmwl5.sys
make installfw

The first step cuts the firmware from the bcmwl5.sys file and the second step copies it to /lib/firmware. If you load the bcm43xx module after that, it should pick up the firmware and be functional. However, more complete firmware can be generated using the wl_apsta.o file. There are several links to it in the README that comes with the fwcutter source code.

That's not correct. The bcm43xx module is a native linux driver for broadcom chipsets and it need the firmware from a Windows driver, not the Windows driver itself. It has been in the kernel since 2.6.17. Their site is here. Now whether or not your distro uses the bcm43xx driver as part of their stock kernels is a completely different issue, but the fact remains that there is native Linux support for Broadcom chipsets.

Hmmm. Well I've never been able to get my wireless card working in the past without using fwcutter (using Fedora Core 5 x86_64). I think.

In that case then, what is the purpose of fwcutter exactly? For those cards that, though supported, do not have their drivers in the kernel (if there is such a situation - I'm guessing at why here).

I have, many, many times. In fact I did it just now just to confirm what I thought. No .inf file is required to extract firmware from a .sys file. Again, I think you are confusing this with ndiswrapper which DOES require a .inf and .sys file

I double checked, and you are right (thank you)

[root@ashcroft254 32]# bcm43xx-fwcutter bcmwl5.sys Sorry, the input file is either wrong or not supported by bcm43xx-fwcutter. I can't find the MD5sum 114234fafec7060392195170e1c4d45e

This is the 32-bit .sys error. I think I was getting mixed up and thinking the problem was to do with a mismatch between the .inf and .sys files : "the input file is either wrong..." ; see above.

I rejected the second reason ("not supported") initially because, e.g. the 32-bit driver I tried to extract in the example above is exactly the same type as the one I'd orignially taken from my Windows partition, except updated a little and from the hp website, so I dont see why it wouldn't be supported. This is still the same hardware that I'm using, after all.

Any thoughts?
Thanks

Hmmm. Well I've never been able to get my wireless card working in the past without using fwcutter (using Fedora Core 5 x86_64). I think. In that case then, what is the purpose of fwcutter exactly? For those cards that, though supported, do not have their drivers in the kernel (if there is such a situation - I'm guessing at why here).

If you've been using bcm43xx in the past then you are right, you can't use it without using fwcutter at least once. For the reasons you outlined a post ago, the bcm43xx team can't distribute firmware without violating licenses, so they don't. That is where fwcutter comes in. By having the end user create the firmware files for bcm43xx by using fwcutter, they get around all the licensing problems.

That error message is funky. I can honestly say I've never seen it before. I know from my own experience that the bcmwl5.sys file doesn't generate a complete set of firmware files, so it could be the fwcutter is now rejecting using it. You might want to try using wl_apsta.o and see if that will generate fimware files. I keep a copy of the file here and it works well with my 4306 based card. Of course I'm using a 32 bit OS, so you may have different results.

Same problem, suse 10.2 x86_64 on core 2 duo. Dell website's link for the Dell Wireless 1500 Draft 802.11n WLAN mini Card had me downloading R140747.exe. Turns out you get this same link and download whether on 32 bit or 64.

No bcmwl564.inf file! Only the .sys file. Ndiswrapper does not like this, installing bcmwl5.inf doesn't work.

If anybody has successfully configured these new wlan cards with ndiswrapper, appreciate your step-by-step. Thank you.

Are there any .inf files in that package? I was under the impression that Windows needed them in order to install a driver properly, but maybe I'm wrong about that. Also, have you checked the ndsiwrapper wiki? They might have some advice and pointers to drivers for your rig.

So I'm getting there, driver from Broadcom.com, now issue is no wireless extension; seems wlan0 gets changed to eth0?? So "no wireless extensions". Here's the dmesg log:

ndiswrapper: driver b44amd64 (Broadcom,05/17/2006, 4.47.0.0) loaded
ACPI: PCI Interrupt 0000:03:00.0[A] -> GSI 17 (level, low) -> IRQ 177
ndiswrapper: using IRQ 177
usb 5-1: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 2
usb 5-1: new device found, idVendor=413c, idProduct=a005
usb 5-1: new device strings: Mfr=0, Product=0, SerialNumber=0
usb 5-1: configuration #1 chosen from 1 choice
hub 5-1:1.0: USB hub found
hub 5-1:1.0: 4 ports detected
wlan0: vendor: 'BRCM4401'
wlan0: ethernet device 00:15:c5:47:e0:60 using NDIS driver b44amd64, 14E4:170C.5.conf
...
wlan0 renamed to eth0
ndiswrapper: changing interface name from 'wlan0' to 'eth0'

Oh ok, Yast- network devices- the only card listed is Broadcom and had Module Name=ndiswrapper under Advanced - Hardware Details. So this must be why wlan0 gets changed over to eth0. How do I fix this? "Add" another device with Yast, called wlan0, configured how?

I'm wondering if your wired and wireless connections are getting confused here.

wlan0: vendor: 'BRCM4401'

The BCM4401 chipset is for a wired connection and is used on a number of motherboards. It uses the native linux b44 driver, which is part of the kernel and therefore in most distros.

I think we need to back up a bit here. Can you post the output of lspci and iwconfig?

Hey HangDog, Getting there, and thanks for your time.

Complete Suse 10.2 re-install, ndiswrapper package from the CD, downloaded R140747.exe from dell (Dell WLAN Network Controller), the bcmwl5.inf file is for both 32 and 64 bit, ndiswrapper(64bit) accepted. Added a wireless device using Yast (so now have 2: the original BroadCom BCM4401-bo 100Base-TX which is eth0, and the new wlan0).

"iwlist wlan0 scan" is picking up several internet connections from routers in the neighborhood. But how to get Firefox to connect to any of these...? Only the cable connection is providing any internet access, not wlan0. Tried both static IP 192.168.0.1 and then separately the automatic DHCP address setup; no wireless. Suse 10.2 on Dell 9400 C2D, here's the code:

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
# ndiswrapper -l
installed drivers:
bcmwl5 driver installed, hardware (14E4:4328) present
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
# iwconfig
lo no wireless extensions.

wlan0 IEEE 802.11g ESSIDff/any
Mode:Managed Frequency:2.462 GHz Access Point: Not-Associated
Bit Rate:130 Mb/s Tx-Power:32 dBm
RTS thr:2347 B Fragment thr:2346 B
Encryption keyff
Power Managementff
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

eth0 no wireless extensions.

sit0 no wireless extensions.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
# cat /etc/resolv.conf
### BEGIN INFO
#
# Modified_by: NetworkManager
# Process: /usr/bin/NetworkManager
# Process_id: 3187
#
### END INFO

nameserver 192.168.1.1
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
# route
Kernel IP routing table
Destination Gateway Genmask Flags Metric Ref Use Iface
192.168.1.0 * 255.255.255.0 U 0 0 0 eth0
loopback * 255.0.0.0 U 0 0 0 lo
default 192.168.1.1 0.0.0.0 UG 0 0 0 eth0
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
--- there are 3 working routers in the neighborhood (my computer has internet access via cable ethernet to the password protected router essid: AZNetwork ):
# iwlist wlan0 scan
wlan0 Scan completed :
Cell 01 - Address: 00:04:E2:CE:50:1C
ESSID:"SMC"
Protocol:IEEE 802.11g
Mode:Managed
Frequency:2.432 GHz (Channel 5)
Quality:0/100 Signal level:-87 dBm Noise level:-256 dBm
Encryption keyff
Bit Rates:1 Mb/s; 2 Mb/s; 5.5 Mb/s; 11 Mb/s; 6 Mb/s
12 Mb/s; 24 Mb/s; 36 Mb/s; 9 Mb/s; 18 Mb/s
48 Mb/s; 54 Mb/s
Extra:bcn_int=40
Extra:atim=0
Cell 02 - Address: 00:14:6C:FB:B9:10
ESSID:"AZNetwork"
Protocol:IEEE 802.11g
Mode:Managed
Frequency:2.462 GHz (Channel 11)
Quality:0/100 Signal level:-29 dBm Noise level:-256 dBm
Encryption keyn
Bit Rates:1 Mb/s; 2 Mb/s; 5.5 Mb/s; 11 Mb/s; 18 Mb/s
24 Mb/s; 36 Mb/s; 54 Mb/s; 6 Mb/s; 9 Mb/s
12 Mb/s; 48 Mb/s
Extra:bcn_int=100
Extra:atim=0
IE: WPA Version 1
Group Cipher : WEP-40
Pairwise Ciphers (1) : WEP-40
Authentication Suites (1) : PSK
Cell 03 - Address: 00:0F:B3:5E:2E:37
ESSID:"ACTIONTEC"
Protocol:IEEE 802.11g
Mode:Managed
Frequency:2.452 GHz (Channel 9)
Quality:0/100 Signal level:-76 dBm Noise level:-256 dBm
Encryption keyff
Bit Rates:1 Mb/s; 2 Mb/s; 5.5 Mb/s; 11 Mb/s; 22 Mb/s
6 Mb/s; 9 Mb/s; 12 Mb/s; 18 Mb/s; 24 Mb/s
36 Mb/s; 48 Mb/s; 54 Mb/s
Extra:bcn_int=200
Extra:atim=0
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
~thanks.

Update: using KNetworkManager, can "connect" to my router using the WPA personal password. It shows connected: the box next to AZNetwork is checked. But Firefox will not load any pages! Same for other routers in the area that are broadcasting, they show up and Knetworkmanager says connected but neither Firefox nor Konqueror can use the connection.

Then when click on Wired Connection to re-activate the ethernet cable (which has been plugged in the whole time anyway), back to OK and the internet is available again.

Update 2: Connected, first time, glass of wine! Thanks to all for help and input. Unsure what I did “right” but my theory is that KnetworkManager had to be “reset” which happened inadvertently by doing the following:

Yast – Network Devices – edited the Wireless entry, using specifically “Traditional Method with ifup”, changed static IP to 192.168.0.1, next, next, finish. But now surprisingly the KnetworkManager icon at the bottom of the screen was showing No Connection. Clicked, and it could not be turned back on. The cable ethernet not connecting either, no internet access. Stuck, so back to Yast – Network Devices – edit wlan0 but now using “User Controlled with Network Manager”. No changes made, kept hitting next until hit finish. And voila: KnetworkManager icon was now showing life again, with the available wlan routers listed. Cool. Hit “Connect to other wireless network” because my router (netgear wgr614) is password protected and needs the full dialog box, it connects. Now the real test: unplugged the ethernet cable, try Firefox bookmarks, and yes indeed, wireless connection, at last.
:-)

Congrats!

One thing to keep in mind is that if you have both a wired connection and a wireless connection active at the same time, confusion can result. I always use one or the other, but never both at the same time.