[SOLVED] wireless help

mattca · 03-06-2010, 03:37 PM

I have a new laptop with a broadcom 4312 wireless card, and I'm having a hard time getting it to work.

ifconfig and iwconfig don't seem to be aware that the device is present:

Code:

iwconfig

lo        no wireless extensions.

eth0      no wireless extensions.

ifconfig -a

eth0      Link encap:Ethernet  HWaddr 00:26:22:d9:49:d8  
          inet addr:169.254.183.224  Bcast:169.254.255.255  Mask:255.255.0.0
          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:17 

lo        Link encap:Local Loopback  
          inet addr:127.0.0.1  Mask:255.0.0.0
          UP LOOPBACK RUNNING  MTU:16436  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:0 
          RX bytes:0 (0.0 B)  TX bytes:0 (0.0 B)

so I assumed I'd have to install the driver.

but, /var/log/messages says that the driver is loaded:

Code:

Mar  6 16:13:12 darkstar kernel: Broadcom 43xx driver loaded [ Features: PMLR, Firmware-ID: FW13 ]

any ideas?

Thanks!

reed9 · 03-06-2010, 04:02 PM

You need the broadcom wl driver.

http://slackbuilds.org/repository/13.../broadcom-sta/

slackwaredanny · 03-06-2010, 04:13 PM

You need the broadcom-sta slackbuild for it to work,just grab it of slackbuilds.org or sbopkg install it with pkgtool reboot and it should work.
i have it too its not easy to compile from source on slack (my opinion) but broadcom has it availiable for download .
b43,ssb,ndiswrapper dont work for 4312 on slack or too my knowledge on any dist,there are different types of cards with the same number 4312 and i have the one with integrated bluetooth and is running slack 13 32bit but i know they are alot of treads here on the subject and onebuck had one for 64bit.
just wrote this answer in general for i know that ther is a lot of new slackware users (like my self) having trouble to get this card too work.

mattca · 03-06-2010, 05:11 PM

thanks guys, I got it working now

mattca · 03-06-2010, 07:08 PM

I think I spoke too soon.

It works, but very inconsistently. It hasn't worked on reboot once yet, and when it does work it seems to do so randomly. I can't find a pattern that makes it work each time.

I reboot, polling for DHCP times out and iwconfig is missing my essid and key & the access point is not associated.

I try setting the essid, no change in iwconfig. Same when I try setting the key. I try again, and again randomly, then it will suddenly work for no apparent reason. Oddly though, my key never shows up (always says "off"). On all my other computers, the key is displayed in iwconfig.

I'm really at a loss here, and I really hope this isn't indicative of what I can expect from this laptop

piratesmack · 03-07-2010, 03:03 AM

Try adding this to /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf

Code:

blacklist b43
blacklist ssb

Also, this card is supposed to be supported by the b43 driver in kernel 2.6.32 and later (Though it isn't working quite right for me)
http://linuxwireless.org/en/users/Drivers/b43#fw-b43-lp

andrew.46 · 03-07-2010, 03:42 AM

There seems to be a few different opinions but I can say that I have this chip as well:

Code:

root@skamandros/home/andrew# lspci | grep Broadcom
02:00.0 Ethernet controller: Broadcom Corporation BCM4401-B0 100Base-TX (rev 02)
0c:00.0 Network controller: Broadcom Corporation BCM4312 802.11a/b/g (rev 01)

and I have had it working flawlessly for quite some time (Slackware 12 and 13) with the b43 firmware + fwcutter packages from Slackbuilds.org and wicd as network manager.

All the best,

Andrew

reed9 · 03-07-2010, 04:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by andrew.46

There seems to be a few different opinions but I can say that I have this chip as well:

Code:

root@skamandros/home/andrew# lspci | grep Broadcom
02:00.0 Ethernet controller: Broadcom Corporation BCM4401-B0 100Base-TX (rev 02)
0c:00.0 Network controller: Broadcom Corporation BCM4312 802.11a/b/g (rev 01)

and I have had it working flawlessly for quite some time (Slackware 12 and 13) with the b43 firmware + fwcutter packages from Slackbuilds.org and wicd as network manager.

All the best,

Andrew

There are two different chipsets that both appear as BCM4312. You have to look at the pci id.

The 14e4:4312 is supported by the b43 driver and firmware.
The 14e4:4315 is not until 2.6.32, and need the wl driver.

mattca · 03-07-2010, 11:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by piratesmack

Try adding this to /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf

Code:

blacklist b43
blacklist ssb

Also, this card is supposed to be supported by the b43 driver in kernel 2.6.32 and later (Though it isn't working quite right for me)
http://linuxwireless.org/en/users/Drivers/b43#fw-b43-lp

Thanks, I added the above to my blacklist.conf. We'll see what happens next time I reboot.

I will say though that I checked lsmod immediately after boot and neither of those modules were listed.

[edit: you say you're using 2.6.32 and the driver isn't working quite right.. what's it doing, or not doing? I wonder if it would be less hassle than what I'm dealing with now..]

mattca · 03-07-2010, 11:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by reed9

There are two different chipsets that both appear as BCM4312. You have to look at the pci id.

The 14e4:4312 is supported by the b43 driver and firmware.
The 14e4:4315 is not until 2.6.32, and need the wl driver.

Thanks. Yeah, I have 4315:

Code:

	[root@hopper] $ lspci -vnn | grep -i broad          
04:00.0 Network controller [0280]: Broadcom Corporation BCM4312 802.11b/g [14e4:4315] (rev 01)
	Subsystem: Broadcom Corporation Device [14e4:04b5]
07:00.0 Ethernet controller [0200]: Broadcom Corporation NetLink BCM5906M Fast Ethernet PCI Express [14e4:1713] (rev 02)

So, my card is supposed to be supported by the 2.6.32 kernel.. what's the verdict? Is it worthwhile to upgrade my kernel?

I guess there's no harm in giving it a try

reed9 · 03-07-2010, 11:37 AM

I have the same chipset in my Dell Mini 9. So far I've always used the broadcom wl driver and never had trouble. That's under Arch, so it's been a variety of driver releases and kernel releases that worked under. Current kernel is 2.6.32.9, so maybe I'll give the b43 a try and see how it's doing.

mattca · 03-07-2010, 11:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by reed9

Current kernel is 2.6.32.9, so maybe I'll give the b43 a try and see how it's doing.

If you do, a report here would be most appreciated

reed9 · 03-07-2010, 12:00 PM

Just did. So far, the b43 is working fine and dandy. Obviously, it's only been a few minutes, so maybe something will crop up with heavier use. But there's no indication of trouble lurking.

Oh, I noticed that before, I had specified both the lib80211 and wl modules to load. When you're having trouble, have you seen if lib80211 was loading as well? And maybe do a depmod -a for good measure.

mattca · 03-07-2010, 01:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by reed9

Just did. So far, the b43 is working fine and dandy. Obviously, it's only been a few minutes, so maybe something will crop up with heavier use. But there's no indication of trouble lurking.

Exellent

If you start to have trouble, a report would be appreciated.

Maybe I'll try upgrading my kernel sometime soon.

Quote:

Oh, I noticed that before, I had specified both the lib80211 and wl modules to load. When you're having trouble, have you seen if lib80211 was loading as well? And maybe do a depmod -a for good measure.

Yes, the lib80211 module seems to load on boot, with the wl. This command was issued immediately after booting (with non-functioning wireless):

Code:

lsmod

Module                  Size  Used by
snd_seq_dummy           2464  0 
snd_seq_oss            29792  0 
snd_seq_midi_event      5980  1 snd_seq_oss
snd_seq                47984  5 snd_seq_dummy,snd_seq_oss,snd_seq_midi_event
snd_seq_device          6088  3 snd_seq_dummy,snd_seq_oss,snd_seq
snd_pcm_oss            37728  0 
snd_mixer_oss          14300  1 snd_pcm_oss
pcmcia                 33772  0 
pcmcia_core            32016  1 pcmcia
cpufreq_ondemand        6632  2 
speedstep_lib           3840  0 
acpi_cpufreq            7500  0 
freq_table              3420  2 cpufreq_ondemand,acpi_cpufreq
ppdev                   7200  0 
lp                      9316  0 
parport_pc             24036  0 
parport                30700  3 ppdev,lp,parport_pc
joydev                  9504  0 
fuse                   54008  1 
snd_hda_codec_conexant    19804  1 
lib80211_crypt_tkip     8572  0 
snd_hda_intel          23624  0 
snd_hda_codec          53788  2 snd_hda_codec_conexant,snd_hda_intel
uvcvideo               58184  0 
wl                   1962468  0 
snd_hwdep               6816  1 snd_hda_codec
snd_pcm                68128  3 snd_pcm_oss,snd_hda_intel,snd_hda_codec
thermal                15096  0 
videodev               38688  1 uvcvideo
intel_agp              25628  1 
snd_timer              19108  2 snd_seq,snd_pcm
processor              38600  4 acpi_cpufreq,thermal
snd                    50820  11 snd_seq_oss,snd_seq,snd_seq_device,snd_pcm_oss,snd_mixer_oss,snd_hda_codec_conexant,snd_hda_intel,snd_hda_codec,snd_hwdep,snd_pcm,snd_timer
rtc_cmos               10124  0 
video                  16492  0 
rtc_core               15992  1 rtc_cmos
agpgart                29256  1 intel_agp
v4l1_compat            13184  2 uvcvideo,videodev
thermal_sys            10756  3 thermal,processor,video
output                  2396  1 video
tg3                   109024  0 
rtc_lib                 2332  1 rtc_core
psmouse                41676  0 
i2c_i801                8784  0 
soundcore               5824  1 snd
ac                      3840  0 
battery                 9856  0 
button                  5708  0 
hwmon                   2104  1 thermal_sys
snd_page_alloc          7972  2 snd_hda_intel,snd_pcm
libphy                 17756  1 tg3
serio_raw               5024  0 
lib80211                5216  2 lib80211_crypt_tkip,wl
evdev                   9152  8 
sg                     24912  0

Any idea about lib80211_crypt_tkip? Should that be there as well?

Thanks again.

andrew.46 · 03-07-2010, 03:25 PM

Hi reed9,

Quote:

Originally Posted by reed9

The 14e4:4312 is supported by the b43 driver and firmware.
The 14e4:4315 is not until 2.6.32, and need the wl driver.

Thanks for this, I was not aware how lucky I have been:

Code:

root@skamandros/home/andrew# lspci -vnn | grep -i broad 
02:00.0 Ethernet controller [0200]: Broadcom Corporation BCM4401-B0 100Base-TX [14e4:170c] (rev 02)
0c:00.0 Network controller [0280]: Broadcom Corporation BCM4312 802.11a/b/g [14e4:4312] (rev 01)

Andrew