[SOLVED] broadom 4311 and broadom sta driver not working
SlackwareThis Forum is for the discussion of Slackware Linux.
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.
so I was originally trying to set up my wireless using b43-fwcutter and the b43 driver from linuxwireless.org. I was not having much luck getting that to work however with my broadcom 4311 chip so I switched to using broadcom's driver which I found here.
I removed b43 modules and added modules for this driver and installed it but I still can't figure out why I can't get a connection. Below I've included relevant console outputs that I think should be able to help some of you braniacs help me figure this out.
Code:
root@darkstar:/etc/rc.d# ifconfig
eth0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:1b:24:4e:5c:11
UP BROADCAST MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1
RX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
RX bytes:0 (0.0 B) TX bytes:0 (0.0 B)
Interrupt:20 Base address:0x6000
lo Link encap:Local Loopback
inet addr:127.0.0.1 Mask:255.0.0.0
inet6 addr: ::1/128 Scope:Host
UP LOOPBACK RUNNING MTU:16436 Metric:1
RX packets:24 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:24 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:0
RX bytes:1240 (1.2 KiB) TX bytes:1240 (1.2 KiB)
root@darkstar:/etc/rc.d# iwconfig
lo no wireless extensions.
eth0 no wireless extensions.
root@darkstar:/etc/rc.d# iwlist scan
lo Interface doesn't support scanning.
eth0 Interface doesn't support scanning.
root@darkstar:/etc/rc.d# lsmod | grep "b43\|ssb\|wl"
wl 1962468 0
lib80211 5216 1 wl
root@darkstar:/etc/rc.d# dmesg | tail
b43-phy0 ERROR: You must go to http://linuxwireless.org/en/users/Drivers/b43#devicefirmware and download the latest firmware (version 4).
input: b43-phy0 as /devices/virtual/input/input17
b43 ssb0:0: firmware: requesting b43/ucode13.fw
b43-phy0 ERROR: Firmware file "b43/ucode13.fw" not found
b43-phy0 ERROR: You must go to http://linuxwireless.org/en/users/Drivers/b43#devicefirmware and download the latest firmware (version 4).
lib80211: common routines for IEEE802.11 drivers
lib80211_crypt: registered algorithm 'NULL'
wl: module license 'unspecified' taints kernel.
b43-pci-bridge 0000:03:00.0: PCI INT A disabled
usb 1-6: USB disconnect, address 3
root@darkstar:/etc/rc.d# uname -r
2.6.29.6-smp
root@darkstar:/etc/rc.d#
------EDIT 9:55 AM MST------
Below are some additional details I found. the first portion is relevant to my broadcom chip when running lspci -vn and the second part is just showing that I don't have any modules for ssb, even though my broadcom chip seems to be expecting one. I would say that is obviously a problem although I don't know how to change it..
Code:
03:00.0 0280: 14e4:4311 (rev 02)
Subsystem: 103c:1374
Flags: fast devsel, IRQ 19
Memory at b6000000 (64-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=16K]
Capabilities: [40] Power Management version 3
Capabilities: [58] Vendor Specific Information <?>
Capabilities: [e8] MSI: Enable- Count=1/1 Maskable- 64bit+
Capabilities: [d0] Express Endpoint, MSI 00
Capabilities: [100] Advanced Error Reporting
Capabilities: [13c] Virtual Channel <?>
Capabilities: [160] Device Serial Number 14-37-73-ff-ff-bc-00-1a
Capabilities: [16c] Power Budgeting <?>
Kernel modules: ssb
root@darkstar:~# lsusb
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 0c45:62c0 Microdia Sonix USB 2.0 Camera
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
root@darkstar:~# lsmod | grep "ssb"
root@darkstar:~# lsmod | grep "wl"
wl 1962468 0
lib80211 5216 1 wl
root@darkstar:~#
Last edited by R Tanner; 02-21-2010 at 10:59 AM.
Reason: adding additional code details i forgot
...
I removed b43 modules and added modules for this driver and installed it but I still can't figure out why I can't get a connection. Below I've included relevant console outputs that I think should be able to help some of you braniacs help me figure this out.
Code:
...
root@darkstar:/etc/rc.d# lsmod | grep "b43\|ssb\|wl"
wl 1962468 0
lib80211 5216 1 wl
root@darkstar:/etc/rc.d# dmesg | tail
b43-phy0 ERROR: You must go to http://linuxwireless.org/en/users/Drivers/b43#devicefirmware and download the latest firmware (version 4).
input: b43-phy0 as /devices/virtual/input/input17
b43 ssb0:0: firmware: requesting b43/ucode13.fw
b43-phy0 ERROR: Firmware file "b43/ucode13.fw" not found
b43-phy0 ERROR: You must go to http://linuxwireless.org/en/users/Drivers/b43#devicefirmware and download the latest firmware (version 4).
...
That snippet of what you posted strongly suggests (to me) that, despite your comment about removing the b43 modules, you have failed to do so. I'd suggest that you consider adding b43 and b43_phy to /etc/modules.d/blacklist-b43.conf or (since I don't use Slackware) wherever your system keeps it's module blacklists.
<edit>
It is, of course, possible that the driver you're trying to use is, in fact, a version of the b43
driver, and you just need to install the firmware specified in the message I quoted from your post.
</edit>
Looking at your prior thread, did you consider checking that the power to your wireless device was turned on? (On my laptop the wireless power switch is on the front of the case, and easily "tripped" by sliding the unit on my lap. I spent a couple of hours once trying to figure out what had gone wrong before I thought to check the switch position. In fact, , I booted Vista which popped a message that the power to the device was "off" before I thought to check.)
Last edited by PTrenholme; 02-21-2010 at 12:12 PM.
I wish that the only problem was that i need to hit the switch. that would be pretty nice.
in slackware it is /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf and i've done the following (even though it doesn't seem to be working since these modules seem to be loaded into the kernel anyways - or so thats what modprobe is telling me, right? )
You`ve been battling this for a while. If all else fails the ndiswrapper module and windows drivers will work. However, Im surprised the b43 didn`t work. You should really check the drivers at slackbuilds.org. Search for broadcom. I`m not sure but the drivers there could have modified install paths or something. The stuff there almost always works on slackware systems.
The slackbuilds site doesn`t list any dependencies for the broadcom-sta driver. Not even the firmware. So I doubt the ssb and b44 modules were needed. Are you using the huge kernel or generic?
lol not sure...i'm pretty sure the huge one..how can i tell?
in the readme for the broadcom sta driver it says i need to remove ssb, b43, all that cause it causes conflicts...thats why i added it to the blacklist and did rmmod on them
check to see what the vmlinuz symbolic link is to.
Chances are your using the huge kernel with just about everything compiled into it. You will not be able to remove or blacklist anything.
The b43 drivers will be in the kernel. You need to switch to the generic kernel
make an initrd
then use broadcom-sta driver
Last edited by mryuck; 02-21-2010 at 02:54 PM.
Reason: Pretty sure this is the problem
I just saw your old thread. The wpa supplicant is on the slackware disk in N so you may have it already.If you can you should disable security until you get connectivity. Then work on security. It makes troubleshooting easier. You might have already had the b43 driver working but the wpa issue didn`t allow connectivity.
I just saw your old thread. The wpa supplicant is on the slackware disk in N so you may have it already.If you can you should disable security until you get connectivity. Then work on security. It makes troubleshooting easier. You might have already had the b43 driver working but the wpa issue didn`t allow connectivity.
...how do i disable security, what is the wpa issue, and how would it keep me from connecting? are you referring to the fact I couldn't set the key on the wlan0? somehow i managed to completely remove wlan0 as it doesn't come up at all when i enter
Code:
iwconfig
I was trying to work with the ndiswrapper but its saying I need to download the windows driver for my wireless card and extract it but its an exe file which is unextractable. lol
You should use a generic kernel if you have one in /boot.
You need to change your symbolic links for vmlinuz, syatem.map, and config to point to their generic files in /boot if they exist.
Then make an initrd. The /boot directory has an easy readme for this.
Don`t forget to do
Code:
lilo
after making the initrd.
It is easy to do.
When you use the huge kernels everything is in kernel. Generic kernel uses mostly loadable modules.
The huge kernel is a PITA when conflicts arise.
If you do want to stay with the huge kernel you probably only needed firmware for b43. The drivers were already in the kernel.
LinuxQuestions.org is looking for people interested in writing
Editorials, Articles, Reviews, and more. If you'd like to contribute
content, let us know.
, I booted Vista which popped a message that the power to the device was "off" before I thought to check.)
