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DELL LATITUDE D600 brodcom wireless problem HELP!

Hi i am new at FC6 and linux. I am trying to get my wireless card to run it is a BCM4306 i am also running a 2.6.20-1.2948.fc6 kernel. i have a minPCI card. i am afraid that if i install the wrong thing it will be mess up forever and i will have to start over. if it is not a big deal i would realy like a step by step answer ty.:)

good news! the bcm43xx kernel driver supports your card! we should be able to get it working relatively easily. don't worry, we won't screw up your system! :-D
1) Lets see if the kernel is using the correct wireless driver
Open a terminal and type:

Code:

su

enter the root password

lsmod | grep bcm43xx

let's get that out of the way before we go any further, ok? :-D
--drew

ok so this is what i got and thanks for the help. It says Usage: lsmod. In the list (for the command lsmod)i got module bcm43xx size 419937 Used by 0 :) thanks so much

no problem man, we're not all jerks! now that we know that the kernel is using the right driver, there are some additional steps to take.
1) Install the bcm43xx-fwcutter package
In a terminal

Code:

su

enter root password

yum install bcm43xx-fwcutter

2) use the bcm43xx-fwcutter tool to inject the bcm43xx driver with the bits to run YOUR specific card
2a) download this firmware fileto your /home/username folder
3)Run this command
In a terminal...

Code:

bcm43xx-fwcutter -w /lib/firmware /home/username/bcmwl5.sys

if there are no errors, then
4) get the driver working!

Code:

rmmod bcm43xx

modprobe bcm43xx

and check to see if the card is working (it should be)
if not, then go ahead and reboot, and check again.
If STILL not, then we'll try some more fun stuff!
:-D
--drew

]# bcm43xx-fwcutter -w /lib/firmware /home/root/bcmw15.sys
Cannot open input file /home/root/bcmw15.sys

i think this is bad.

nope, you put the number "1" instead of the letter "l". they look almost identical.
so, its not "bcm""fifteen", its "bcmWL5", just without the capital letters.
make sense? :-D
--drew

ok it did not work

[root@localhost ~]# yum install bcm43xx-fwcutter
Loading "installonlyn" plugin
Setting up Install Process
Setting up repositories
Reading repository metadata in from local files
Parsing package install arguments
Nothing to do
[root@localhost ~]# bcm43xx-fwcutter -w /lib/firmware /home/root/bcmwl5.sys
Cannot open input file /home/root/bcmwl5.sys
[root@localhost ~]# bcm43xx-fwcutter -w /lib/firmware /home/root/bcmwl5.sys
Cannot open input file /home/root/bcmwl5.sys
[root@localhost ~]# bcm43xx-fwcutter -w /lib/firmware /root/bcmwl5.sys

filename : bcmwl5.sys
version : 3.20.23.0
MD5 : 1b1cf5e962c15abca83d1ef2b3906e2f
microcodes : 2 4 5
pcms : 4

microcode : 2
revision : 0x00e9
patchlevel : 0x002a
date : 2003-05-12
time : 20:52:06

microcode : 4
revision : 0x00e9
patchlevel : 0x002a
date : 2003-05-12
time : 20:52:10

microcode : 5
revision : 0x00e9
patchlevel : 0x002a
date : 2003-05-12
time : 20:52:12

extracting bcm43xx_microcode2.fw ...
extracting bcm43xx_microcode4.fw ...
extracting bcm43xx_microcode5.fw ...
extracting bcm43xx_pcm4.fw ...
extracting bcm43xx_initval01.fw ...
extracting bcm43xx_initval03.fw ...
extracting bcm43xx_initval05.fw ...
extracting bcm43xx_initval06.fw ...
extracting bcm43xx_initval07.fw ...
extracting bcm43xx_initval09.fw ...
extracting bcm43xx_initval10.fw ...
[root@localhost ~]# rmmod bcm43xx
[root@localhost ~]# modprobe bcm43xx
[root@localhost ~]#

that is every thing i did. did i do it right?

yes, that is correct. I'm sorry, I gave you some bad instructions. looks like you figured it out though! Lets check the installation to make sure its working:

Code:

su

password

modprobe bcm43xx

iwconfig -a

and just post that. That'll tell me the name of your wireless card and if the driver is working. Then we can go about setting it up.
Once again, sorry about the confusing instructions earlier... sometimes I just don't think straight!
:-D
--drew

lol i hoped that we got it but

[root@localhost ~]# modprobe bcm43xx
[root@localhost ~]# iwconfig -a
-a No such device

[root@localhost ~]#

bummer

dear God I am really losing it. I was giving you the option you'd use if you were using a different command. do

Code:

su

password

iwconfig

I think the gods of linux are not happy with me: I've been posting from a windows box, because I wasn't near mine at the time. Normally I always check the commands I tell people to issue.... I've got my box back now though. If you're willing to try again, I'll not do something that stupid again!
:-(
--drew

ok i got [root@localhost ~]# iwconfig
lo no wireless extensions.

eth1 IEEE 802.11b/g ESSID:"R" Nickname:"localhost.localdomain"
Mode:Managed Frequency=2.457 GHz Access Point: Invalid
RTS thr:off Fragment thr:off
Encryption key:5089-6641-32 Security mode:open
Link Quality=0/100 Signal level=-256 dBm Noise level=-256 dBm
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.

hell ya man i am willing to try again. dont worry about it. i am glad i am getting any help at all. i should of been able to figure that out that command iwconf.

great! the whole eth1 bit means that your thing should be set up properly. Now, we have one of two routes to take:
1) the GUI way, which I don't know a ton about :-(
2) the CLI way, which is distribution-agnostic.

So, lets see if we can get the Command Line Interface way working, and in the meantime I'll download fc6, and see if I can't fix it so you don't have to mess with the command line to get connected.
1) now that we suspect everything is working fine, lets see if we can connect
first, make sure you are close to a wireless access point, and that if you need to push a switch or something to enable wireless, that you have done that.

Code:

su

password

iwlist eth1 scan

if a) you are in range of a network and
b) your card is set up properly
then we should see something like this

Quote:

eth1 Scan completed :
Cell 01 - Address: xx:xx:xx:xx
ESSID:"networkname"
Protocol:IEEE 802.11g
Mode:Managed
Frequency:2.462 GHz (Channel 11)
Quality:53/100 Signal level:-62 dBm Noise level:-96 dBm
Encryption key:on
Bit Rates:1 Mb/s; 2 Mb/s; 5.5 Mb/s; 6 Mb/s; 9 Mb/s
11 Mb/s; 12 Mb/s; 18 Mb/s; 24 Mb/s; 36 Mb/s
48 Mb/s; 54 Mb/s
Extra:bcn_int=100
Extra:atim=0

If you see some kind of message like that, take note of the "ESSID" and move on to step 2!

2) connect to network

Code:

iwconfig eth1 essid ESSID_from_earlier

if no error messages, then good!

To continue, we need to know a bit about the network you are trying to connect to. Is there encryption? If so what kind? Post back and let me know.
:-D
--drew

[root@localhost ~]# iwlist eth1 scan
eth1 Interface doesn't support scanning : No such device

i am 3 feet from my rouder (wireless is on) but i am conected with my lan card now.
i dont get it in my admin settings i can go to network and it sees the wifi card but is says Determining IP information for eth1... failed; no link present. Check cable?

dang it.
I don't feel like screwing around with the bcm43xx driver. Its still under development and all. So, lets resort to the other ugly hack the we broadcom owners resort to: ndiswrapper. I wanted to try bcm43xx cause it was supposed to work, but oh well.
Here we go.
1) just to make sure we're doing everything right, post the output of

Code:

su

password

lspci -v

2) we need to install the application ndiswrapper
2a) check if its installed already. do

Code:

which ndiswrapper

if it returns output, then skip to step 3
2b) try

Code:

yum install ndiswrapper

2c) if 2b fails, download the rpm for ndiswrapper from here. put it in /home/YOURusername,notROOT/
2c1) rpm --install /home/placeYOUputRPM/*.rpm
3) We'll do three when you post the output of lspci -v

:-D Never fear, we WILL get this!!
--drew
PS it took me like 2 months to get my first wireless connection up and running. not that it will take that long :-D , just saying that it doesn't always work as planned.

k man here it all is

[root@localhost ~]# lspci -v
00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation 82855PM Processor to I/O Controller (rev 03)
Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0
Memory at e0000000 (32-bit, prefetchable) [size=128M]
Capabilities: [e4] Vendor Specific Information
Capabilities: [a0] AGP version 2.0

00:01.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82855PM Processor to AGP Controller (rev 03) (prog-if 00 [Normal decode])
Flags: bus master, 66MHz, fast devsel, latency 32
Bus: primary=00, secondary=01, subordinate=01, sec-latency=32
I/O behind bridge: 0000c000-0000cfff
Memory behind bridge: fc000000-fdffffff
Prefetchable memory behind bridge: e8000000-efffffff

00:1d.0 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801DB/DBL/DBM (ICH4/ICH4-L/ICH4-M) USB UHCI Controller #1 (rev 01) (prog-if 00 [UHCI])
Subsystem: Intel Corporation Latitude D400
Flags: bus master, medium devsel, latency 0, IRQ 11
I/O ports at bf80 [size=32]

00:1d.1 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801DB/DBL/DBM (ICH4/ICH4-L/ICH4-M) USB UHCI Controller #2 (rev 01) (prog-if 00 [UHCI])
Subsystem: Intel Corporation Latitude D400
Flags: bus master, medium devsel, latency 0, IRQ 11
I/O ports at bf40 [size=32]

00:1d.2 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801DB/DBL/DBM (ICH4/ICH4-L/ICH4-M) USB UHCI Controller #3 (rev 01) (prog-if 00 [UHCI])
Subsystem: Intel Corporation Latitude D400
Flags: bus master, medium devsel, latency 0, IRQ 11
I/O ports at bf20 [size=32]

00:1d.7 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801DB/DBM (ICH4/ICH4-M) USB2 EHCI Controller (rev 01) (prog-if 20 [EHCI])
Subsystem: Dell Latitude D600
Flags: bus master, medium devsel, latency 0, IRQ 11
Memory at f4fffc00 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=1K]
Capabilities: [50] Power Management version 2
Capabilities: [58] Debug port

00:1e.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801 Mobile PCI Bridge (rev 81) (prog-if 00 [Normal decode])
Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0
Bus: primary=00, secondary=02, subordinate=0a, sec-latency=32
I/O behind bridge: 0000d000-0000efff
Memory behind bridge: f6000000-fbffffff
Prefetchable memory behind bridge: 30000000-39ffffff

00:1f.0 ISA bridge: Intel Corporation 82801DBM (ICH4-M) LPC Interface Bridge (rev 01)
Flags: bus master, medium devsel, latency 0

00:1f.1 IDE interface: Intel Corporation 82801DBM (ICH4-M) IDE Controller (rev 01) (prog-if 8a [Master SecP PriP])
Subsystem: Intel Corporation Latitude D400
Flags: bus master, medium devsel, latency 0, IRQ 11
I/O ports at 01f0 [size=8]
I/O ports at 03f4 [size=1]
I/O ports at 0170 [size=8]
I/O ports at 0374 [size=1]
I/O ports at bfa0 [size=16]
Memory at 3a000000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=1K]

00:1f.5 Multimedia audio controller: Intel Corporation 82801DB/DBL/DBM (ICH4/ICH4-L/ICH4-M) AC'97 Audio Controller (rev 01)
Subsystem: Dell Unknown device 011d
Flags: bus master, medium devsel, latency 0, IRQ 5
I/O ports at b800 [size=256]
I/O ports at bc40 [size=64]
Memory at f4fff800 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=512]
Memory at f4fff400 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=256]
Capabilities: [50] Power Management version 2

00:1f.6 Modem: Intel Corporation 82801DB/DBL/DBM (ICH4/ICH4-L/ICH4-M) AC'97 Modem Controller (rev 01) (prog-if 00 [Generic])
Subsystem: Conexant Unknown device 5422
Flags: bus master, medium devsel, latency 0, IRQ 5
I/O ports at b400 [size=256]
I/O ports at b080 [size=128]
Capabilities: [50] Power Management version 2

01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: ATI Technologies Inc Radeon R250 [Mobility FireGL 9000] (rev 01) (prog-if 00 [VGA])
Subsystem: Dell Unknown device 011d
Flags: bus master, VGA palette snoop, stepping, 66MHz, medium devsel, latency 32, IRQ 11
Memory at e8000000 (32-bit, prefetchable) [size=128M]
I/O ports at c000 [size=256]
Memory at fcff0000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=64K]
[virtual] Expansion ROM at fc000000 [disabled] [size=128K]
Capabilities: [58] AGP version 2.0
Capabilities: [50] Power Management version 2

02:00.0 Ethernet controller: Broadcom Corporation NetXtreme BCM5702X Gigabit Ethernet (rev 02)
Subsystem: Dell Unknown device 8126
Flags: bus master, 66MHz, medium devsel, latency 64, IRQ 11
Memory at faff0000 (64-bit, non-prefetchable) [disabled] [size=64K]
Expansion ROM at 38000000 [disabled] [size=64K]
Capabilities: [40] PCI-X non-bridge device
Capabilities: [48] Power Management version 2
Capabilities: [50] Vital Product Data
Capabilities: [58] Message Signalled Interrupts: 64bit+ Queue=0/3 Enable-

02:01.0 CardBus bridge: O2 Micro, Inc. OZ711EC1 SmartCardBus Controller (rev 20)
Subsystem: Dell Unknown device 011d
Flags: bus master, stepping, slow devsel, latency 168, IRQ 11
Memory at f6000000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=4K]
Bus: primary=02, secondary=03, subordinate=06, sec-latency=176
Memory window 0: 30000000-33fff000 (prefetchable)
Memory window 1: 3c000000-3ffff000
I/O window 0: 0000d000-0000d0ff
I/O window 1: 0000d400-0000d4ff
16-bit legacy interface ports at 0001

02:01.1 CardBus bridge: O2 Micro, Inc. OZ711EC1 SmartCardBus Controller (rev 20)
Subsystem: Dell Unknown device 011d
Flags: bus master, stepping, slow devsel, latency 168, IRQ 11
Memory at f6001000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=4K]
Bus: primary=02, secondary=07, subordinate=0a, sec-latency=176
Memory window 0: 34000000-37fff000 (prefetchable)
Memory window 1: 40000000-43fff000
I/O window 0: 0000d800-0000d8ff
I/O window 1: 0000dc00-0000dcff
16-bit legacy interface ports at 0001

02:03.0 Network controller: Broadcom Corporation BCM4306 802.11b/g Wireless LAN Controller (rev 03)
Subsystem: Dell Wireless 1350 WLAN Mini-PCI Card
Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 32, IRQ 5
Memory at fafee000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=8K]

[root@localhost ~]#