Unable to connect to wireless network Broadcom BMC3412(?) Arch linux

phpeter · 12-23-2010, 06:04 PM

Hey guys, I installed Arch on Sunday, and haven't been able to get the wireless card working. I've installed the correct drivers with fwcutter, and went through the steps with iwconfig, but when I tried obtaining an IP address with dhcpcd, it times out. Also, I installed wicd, which tries to connect but says Unable to get IP address. As it says in the title, I'm using Arch linux and my wireless chip is a Broadcom BCM4312.

Thanks in advance!
Peter

Drakeo · 12-23-2010, 06:43 PM

type dmesg and look for any errors.

phpeter · 12-23-2010, 06:50 PM

Thanks for the reply!

I got this:

Code:

b43-phy0: Loading firmware version 478.104 (2008-07-01 00:50:23)
r8169 0000:07:00.0: eth0: link down
b43-phy0 ERROR: Fatal DMA error: 0x00000800, 0x00000000, 0x00000000, 0x00000000, 0x00000000, 0x00000000
b43-phy0 ERROR: This device does not support DMA on your system. It will now be switched to PIO.
b43-phy0: Controller RESET (DMA error) ...
b43-phy0: Loading firmware version 478.104 (2008-07-01 00:50:23)
b43-phy0: Controller restarted

syg00 · 12-23-2010, 07:09 PM

One trusts that is actually BCM4312 - correct information is imperative.
The Arch wiki has excellent doco for things like this. It also links to wireless.kernel.org to ensure you can;
a) identify your card correctly (and completely), and
b) get the right module.

You may need to blacklist the default module - all in the wiki.

phpeter · 12-23-2010, 08:17 PM

I followed the instructions on the wiki, but now when I try to use iwconfig to connect I get this:

Code:

Error for wireless request "Set Encode" (8B2A) :
      SET failed on device eth1 ; Invalid argument.

And when I try using wicd it still says "Connection Failed: Unable to Get IP Address".

syg00 · 12-23-2010, 10:05 PM

I think I have an Arch build that I had to doctor for Broadcom. Will be the New Year before I get back into the office - I'll have a look then.

Hangdog42 · 12-24-2010, 07:06 AM

Maybe give the sta driver a go? The 4312 is one of the supported chipsets.

phpeter · 12-25-2010, 10:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by syg00

I think I have an Arch build that I had to doctor for Broadcom. Will be the New Year before I get back into the office - I'll have a look then.

I installed that and it works perfectly! Thanks!

phpeter · 01-01-2011, 04:57 PM

Okay, so now wicd only connects once every 10+ boots! D:

business_kid · 01-01-2011, 05:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by phpeter

I followed the instructions on the wiki, but now when I try to use iwconfig to connect I get this:

Code:

Error for wireless request "Set Encode" (8B2A) :
      SET failed on device eth1 ; Invalid argument.

And when I try using wicd it still says "Connection Failed: Unable to Get IP Address".

FWIW, that error comes up even when you connect properly using the b43 OSS driver

phpeter · 01-01-2011, 05:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by business_kid

FWIW, that error comes up even when you connect properly using the b43 OSS driver

Thanks, I was wondering, because wicd would connect perfectly, and I would still get that error.

Any thought on my problem? It only connect every 10 or more boots, and when it does connect, I can't connect to any other network or disconnect then reconnect. I get the error message "Unable to get IP address."

Hangdog42 · 01-02-2011, 08:20 AM

Quote:

Any thought on my problem? It only connect every 10 or more boots, and when it does connect, I can't connect to any other network or disconnect then reconnect. I get the error message "Unable to get IP address."

Have a look at the log files and see if there is better info there on what might be going wrong.

phpeter · 01-02-2011, 05:29 PM

Um, where would I find the log files XD Thanks

business_kid · 01-03-2011, 03:11 AM

I have the b43 driver working fine on my 4312 with no issues, except the random error.
Gotchas were the need for firmware, broadcom's driver also blacklists b43 and you need ssb (Sonics Sil;icon Backplane). I have this line in /etc/modprobe/d/wifi.conf
getting the firmware is tricky
install b43 /sbin/modprobe ssb; /sbin/modprobe b43; /sbin/modprobe btusb
Follow this, & make sure you get one stage right before proceeding.
http://www.linuxwireless.org/en/users/Drivers/b43

Hangdog42 · 01-03-2011, 06:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by phpeter

Um, where would I find the log files XD Thanks

Most of them are in /var/log, so I'd start there. The output of the dmesg command is also useful.