Slackware 14.0 + Broadcom 4311 = frustration
 

I've got an old Compaq Presario V3000 that I"m trying to set up with Slackware 14. All is well except for the wireless. It's got the Broadcom 4311 card and it has so far defeated me.

I've installed broadcom-sta from SlackBuilds and wl is installed and running in the kernel, along with lib80211 and cfg80211. Output from lspci shows the card just fine.

The problem is that the card doesn't show up as a network interface anywhere I can find. Both wicd and the KDE network config tools fail to list it. iwconfig and ifconfig only show lo and eth0.

I blacklisted a few modules (ssb, bcma and b43) in /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf. The little switch on the front that controls the wireless is in the on position. The led wireless indicator is red.

Anything I may have missed here? Any ideas?

Hello
I normally don't like it when I see someone post an alternative rather than addressing the exact fix, but in the case of Broadcom I just have to. Wifi support has improved rather dramatically in the last few years so this alternative fix may not have the massive bang for the buck that it used to but it is most certainly cost-effective if you value your time and have better things to do than mess with some manufacturers' obstinacy.

A few years ago when just sick of messing with the wifi mess, and dealing with more than one alternative OpSys lacking said support, I spent ~$30 US and got a pocket Wireless Access Point. Since NICs are very well supported everywhere and since the (or many) WAPs connect via ethernet, it instantly solved ALL my wifi issues and then some, since it can be a great mini-router on business trips, LAN parties, etc.

If this isn't for you then please just ignore this, but they really are worth at least checking out. They are vastly more sophisticated today and direct and simple to implement.

I have had the exact same problem a few days ago and resolved it, please see http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...em-4175500214/

Make really sure none of the bad modules are loaded (lsmod | grep bcma , lsmod | grep b43 , lsmod | grep ssb)

Thanks enorbet. I also thought about getting a USB wireless stick, but I really want the built in to work. I didn't notice it yesterday, but this sticky in the wireless networking section sounds promising.

http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...ux-4175434970/

I may need to use fwcutter, which I will try this evening.

Thanks beder. Yep, checked that yesterday and none of those are loaded. They are also blacklisted for good measure.

Fixed it!

I was over-thinking it. Here's what I did...

1. Install Slackware 14.1
2. During network configuration, elect to have connections managed by NetworkManager
3. Install b43-fwcutter from SlackBuilds
4. Install b43-firmware from SlackBuilds
5. Reboot

Once I did all this, the wlan0 interface showed up in NetworkManager and was automatically enabled. It found my wireless and connected just fine. Win!