Slackware 12.1 and Wireless Network: Almost There!!
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Slackware 12.1 and Wireless Network: Almost There!!
Hi,
I am so close to having wireless networking set up under Slackware 12.1 that it is a little infuriating that I cannot finish the job :-) The problem is that although I can start the wireless connection manually from a script I cannot place the settings 'formally' in the normal manner.
The wireless chip is a Broadcom Corporation BCM4312 802.11a/b/g (rev 01) and I have downloaded and installed the Broadcom firmware from Linux Wireless. I have cleaned out the /etc/rc.d/rc.wireless.conf and the total file contents are:
Just make sure you fulfill the dependencies, apply the patches and read the instructions and you'll be managing your wireless connections with ease in no time at all.
Just make sure you fulfill the dependencies, apply the patches and read the instructions and you'll be managing your wireless connections with ease in no time at all.
But I am so close now! I have managed to get the connection set but I am having some trouble with automatically getting a dhcp address.
i been silently lurking here as i have found slackware's wifi configuration a bit of a mystery, i have debian lenny running wifi great but i been a slackware user for years (just new to wifi) and i am going to give wicd a shot, thanks mRgOBLIN
This problem keeps coming up with Broadcom cards (especially the 4312) and mac80211. Other threads have suggested that it's a timing issue, but in any event, these cards seem to need a bit of manual intervention.
i tried wicd and it did not work, what i did do though that worked perfectly was add my info to /etc/rc.d/rc.inet1.conf using a static IP and the nameserver IP#s in to /etc/resolv.conf since this PC is the only wireless in the house, the rest are wired and the router wants to put the wireless on the first IP address...
Well I have achieved success of a sort and I thought I would post my solution here for the record; it is a bit of a hack but it seems to guarantee when I turn the laptop on there is a wireless network waiting for me.
So for the BCM4312 (rev 01) under Slackware 12.1 I followed the following steps:
1. Downloaded the appropriate firmware (broadcom-wl-4.80.53.0) and fwcutter tool (b43-fwcutter-011) and loaded these as per the directions on Linux Wireless.
2. Altered only /etc/rc.d/rc.inet1.conf wih the following (after futzing around in my ignorance with other config files):
And now wlan0 coughs into life every boot, although I suspect that on some boots it coughs into life twice :-) I would still dearly love a neater solution to this but what I am doing works on this computer.
Edit: Actually running dhcpcd twice at times caused wlan0 to become non-responsive so I spent another hour or two on this in /etc/rc.d/rc.local:
Code:
if [ -e /etc/dhcpc/dhcpcd-wlan0.pid ]; then
echo "---> dhcpcd-wlan0.pid already exists! <---"
else
/home/andrew/scripts/wireless.sh
fi
Andrew
Last edited by andrew.46; 05-05-2008 at 06:46 AM.
Reason: Still wasting time on this :-)
I am afraid that I abandoned my attempts at getting wireless to run effectively on this laptop:
Quote:
Originally Posted by dugan
What happens if you revert your rc.inet1.conf and rc.wireless.conf to the default ones, and only run your shell script? Does wireless work then?
And made a choice to run slackware on my desktop and an 'easier' distro on my laptop. It was fascinating investigating all of this but I have time constraints.
Maybe when I have some extended leave I will return ...
I am afraid that I abandoned my attempts at getting wireless to run effectively on this laptop:
And made a choice to run slackware on my desktop and an 'easier' distro on my laptop. It was fascinating investigating all of this but I have time constraints.
Maybe when I have some extended leave I will return ...
Andrew
Andrew,
Please report back your results with whatever other distro you choose. I think that the problem you are experiencing is related to the kernel and not to Slackware. There are many problems with broadcom cards on recent kernels (2.6.23 and later, I believe), both using ndiswrapper and native drivers. You might also try Slack 12.0, which uses an earlier kernel that does not have these problems.
Your steps 1 and 2, which are quite simple, should be enough to get wireless working on Slackware.
So let us know if you get it working on another distro with a 2.6.23 or later kernel.
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