How to list firmware?

business_kid · 10-14-2018, 07:12 AM

/Background
I tried the 'heads-0.4<blah>' distro, which is remarkably like tails, except is uses no closed source stuff at all at all. First casualty was my wifi firmware (in fact, basically ALL firmware). This is my wifi:

Code:

02:00.0 Network controller: Qualcomm Atheros AR9485 Wireless Network Adapter (rev 01)

/End Background

How can I find the firmware this loads? There's a few firmware versions and revisions for this wifi card

lspci -vv doesn't mention it
lsusb doesn't find it, unsurprisingly.
It only puts a single line in the logs. Nothing about firmware which it definitely uses.
I got lost in the kernel source. I confess to not regularly reading kernel sources.

I think loading firmware is a kernel option tails may not have set

I intend to loop mount the cd, copy the files, make some needed adjustments, and repackage that as an iso, and burn my compromised heads iso just to try it. Running without wifi is an 'appalling vista'. I eitherneedf to relocate, decrepit as I am, or grab 20 metres of cat5, run it out the window and in my front door :-//.

I am not worried about security, because if some dweeb manages to detect what cpu atheros uses, and bothers to write a hack to breach the linux security of a card found in 0.002% of PCs worldwide, and manages to upload the nothing I have on my box, he deserves to get in for wasting his life, doesn't he? He probably doesn't understand english anyhow.

fatmac · 10-14-2018, 02:11 PM

No need to run 20 meters of cable, just use something like a pair of TP-LINK Powerline Adapters, it's what I use if I have to use a cat5 connection.

To find out what firmware you're using.

Code:

dmesg | grep firmware

business_kid · 10-15-2018, 04:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fatmac

No need to run 20 meters of cable, just use something like a pair of TP-LINK Powerline Adapters, it's what I use if I have to use a cat5 connection.

To find out what firmware you're using.

Code:

dmesg | grep firmware

Thanks for the reply.
Ok, I'll remember that on the cat5. I don't like cat5 generally.

On the firmware, no dice

Code:

bash-4.4$ sudo dmesg |grep firmware
[22156.358868] usb 1-1.2: device firmware changed

I know the Realtek nic and the Qualcomm wifi use firmware, because the driver docs say as much. The Broadcomm wifi I had in another box was specific about errors, but it loaded three files, and only complained about the first one it couldn't find. As you see, my nics are being coy. The only thing anything like a nic on the usb is a Qualcomm AR3012 Bluetooth Controller. I imagine that's separate from the AR9485 pci wifi nic.

The point is a bit moot, anyhow. After bitching about everyone else not laying their source out,they appear not to be publishing their own kernel source! I'm getting this sort of thing when I boot heads

Code:

Oct 14 13:12:37 heads kernel: [   87.038664] 0000:01:00.0: Missing Free firmware (non-Free firmware loading is disabled)
Oct 14 13:12:37 heads kernel: [   87.042217] r8169 0000:01:00.0: Direct firmware load for /*(DEBLOBBED)*/ failed with error -2
Oct 14 13:12:37 heads kernel: [   87.044353] r8169 0000:01:00.0 eth0: unable to load firmware patch /*(DEBLOBBED)*/ (-22)
Oct 14 13:12:37 heads kernel: [   87.061252] r8169 0000:01:00.0 eth0: link down

and kernel patching/unpatching clearly seems necessary.

rokytnji · 10-15-2018, 08:42 AM

With lshw installed. This helps me a little . Not sure if this is what you are looking for though.

Code:

lshw -C network

fatmac · 10-15-2018, 01:52 PM

Don't know how Tails/Head use firmware, but you could look for a /lib/firmware directory to see what is included, that's where they're usually kept.

business_kid · 10-16-2018, 04:33 AM

I did. Enough firmware in tails, basically nothing in heads. Tails is ok, if you want to run off a usb and not make a footprint. It is surprised & disappointed if you want to mount a disk, but it does.

Heads is tails like; But I realised I had to roll back on the firmware, and they don't appear to supply a kernel source. After bitching about everyone else not providing source, that's a bit rich.