Wireless Broadcom (BCM4318 (Rev 02)) not working on AMD 64

[renrats]

Please help me figure this out! I am a complete noob to Linux, (this is my first distro) and am having serious issues with wireless. I know it's not a hardware issue, because my wireless works under Windows XP. I've tried a few of the solutions I've seen around, but none ave seemed to work. As I am a noob, there is a pretty good chance I just screwed it up. If someone would sort of lead me, it would be greatly appreciated

[Ayuthia]

From what I can tell, you should be able to use the b43 driver. This is the Linux native driver. If you want to use this, you will need to install b43-fwcutter from Synaptic or type in the terminal:
sudo aptitude install b43-fwcutter
It will ask you if you want it to get the firmware for you. If you want this, you need to make sure that you have a working internet connection. If you don't, it will get stuck.

Hope that helps.

[renrats]

Thanks for the info. Two things, I've heard that ndiswrapper is better/allows for greater connection speed. And along the way I know that I blacklisted b43-fwcutter trying to utilize ndiswrapper. So if they are the same, how does one "unblacklist" something, or I need help with the ndiswrapper method.

[agim]

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=734003

[Ayuthia]

There are mixed responses between whether one is better than the other. I have tried out both and I have not found any speed differences between the two. The best way is to try them out. If you want to try out the b43 driver, you will need to edit /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist and look for:
b43
ssb
replace it with:
#b43
#ssb
ndiswrapper
You will also have to go to /etc/modules and remove the word ndiswrapper and add the word b43.

Depending on how far you have gotten with the ndiswrapper route, you will also have to remove the modprobe removal/additions that might have been done in /etc/rc.local or update /etc/init.d/wirelessfix.sh to show the following:
#modprobe -r b44
#modprobe -r b43
#modprobe -r b43legacy
#modprobe -r ssb
#modprobe -r ndiswrapper
#modprobe ndiswrapper
#modprobe b44

If you have already started going the ndiswrapper route, I would go ahead and try it out because the steps to back out ndiswrapper will be able as difficult as setting it up.

[renrats]

Thanks for the advice. I'll go the ndiswrapper route then. Either way, I'm still having trouble. I've followed the instructions to a tee, and successfully as welllm except that I still have no wireless. I have no idea where I've gone wrong.

[Ayuthia]

Can you post the info for the following:
lspci -nn
lshw -C network
ndiswrapper -v
ndiswrapper -l
The lspci -nn is mainly for me. I just want to know if your laptop needs the b44 driver. The lshw will provide us information about your network cards and which driver they are trying to use. The ndiswrapper -v will let us know what version of ndiswrapper you are using and the ndiswrapper -l will let us know what ndiswrapper is trying to use.

Are you also using the bcmwl5 driver from your XP? Also which set of instructions are you using for installing ndiswrapper?

[renrats]

The output is as follows:

lspci -nn: lspci -nn: 01:09.0 Network controller [0280]: Broadcom Corporation BCM4318 [AirForce One 54g] 802.11g Wireless LAN Controller [14e4:4318] (rev 02)

lshw -C network: WARNING: you should run this program as super-user.
*-network
description: Wireless interface
product: BCM4318 [AirForce One 54g] 802.11g Wireless LAN Controller
vendor: Broadcom Corporation
physical id: 9
bus info: pci@0000:01:09.0
logical name: wlan0
version: 02
serial: 00:1b:fc:8f:5e:48
width: 32 bits
clock: 33MHz
capabilities: bus_master ethernet physical wireless
configuration: broadcast=yes driver=ndiswrapper+bcmwl5 driverversion=1.51+Broadcom,10/12/2006, 4.100. latency=32 module=ndiswrapper multicast=yes wireless=IEEE 802.11g

ndiswrapper -v: utils version: '1.9', utils version needed by module: '1.9'
module details:
filename: /lib/modules/2.6.24-16-generic/misc/ndiswrapper.ko
version: 1.51
vermagic: 2.6.24-16-generic SMP mod_unload

ndiswrapper -l: utils version: '1.9', utils version needed by module: '1.9'
module details:
filename: /lib/modules/2.6.24-16-generic/misc/ndiswrapper.ko
version: 1.51
vermagic: 2.6.24-16-generic SMP mod_unload
renrats@renrats:~$ ndiswrapper -l
bcmwl5 : driver installed
device (14E4:4318) present (alternate driver: ssb)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

As for the driver type in Xp, I'll have to get back to you on that one. I'm using wired Internet in Ubuntu right now. I think that these are the only two I tried:

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=766560
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/WifiDocs/Driver/bcm43xx/Feisty_No-Fluff#head-bc33832c0547766a33c3a84f13f971ca757b2851

[Ayuthia]

Ok. That looks fine. Can you do me a favor and post your lsmod info? It will list all the loaded modules. You might as well post your ifconfig and iwconfig info too, please.

EDIT:
By the way, the XP drivers might not work on yours. I forgot that you are using 64-bit.

[renrats]

Here it is. Thanks for your help.

lsmod: Module Size Used by
nls_iso8859_1 6656 1
nls_cp437 8320 1
vfat 16256 1
fat 60592 1 vfat
ipv6 311720 10
af_packet 27272 2
binfmt_misc 14860 1
rfcomm 47392 2
l2cap 28800 13 rfcomm
bluetooth 67748 4 rfcomm,l2cap
b44 33168 0
ssb 37252 1 b44
mii 7552 1 b44
ndiswrapper 244544 0
ppdev 11400 0
cpufreq_ondemand 11152 0
cpufreq_stats 8416 0
cpufreq_userspace 6180 0
cpufreq_powersave 3200 0
freq_table 6464 2 cpufreq_ondemand,cpufreq_stats
cpufreq_conservative 10632 0
video 23444 0
output 5632 1 video
container 6656 0
sbs 17808 0
sbshc 8960 1 sbs
dock 12960 0
battery 16776 0
iptable_filter 4608 0
ip_tables 24104 1 iptable_filter
x_tables 23560 1 ip_tables
ac 8328 0
parport_pc 41128 0
lp 14916 0
parport 44300 3 ppdev,parport_pc,lp
arc4 3456 0
ecb 5248 0
blkcipher 9476 1 ecb
snd_hda_intel 440408 5
snd_pcm_oss 47648 0
snd_mixer_oss 20224 1 snd_pcm_oss
snd_pcm 92168 3 snd_hda_intel,snd_pcm_oss
snd_page_alloc 13200 2 snd_hda_intel,snd_pcm
snd_hwdep 12552 1 snd_hda_intel
snd_seq_dummy 5764 0
snd_seq_oss 38912 0
snd_seq_midi 10688 0
snd_rawmidi 29856 1 snd_seq_midi
snd_seq_midi_event 10112 2 snd_seq_oss,snd_seq_midi
snd_seq 63232 6 snd_seq_dummy,snd_seq_oss,snd_seq_midi,snd_seq_mid i_event
serio_raw 9092 0
snd_timer 27912 2 snd_pcm,snd_seq
snd_seq_device 10644 5 snd_seq_dummy,snd_seq_oss,snd_seq_midi,snd_rawmidi ,snd_seq
psmouse 46236 0
snd 70856 20 snd_hda_intel,snd_pcm_oss,snd_mixer_oss,snd_pcm,sn d_hwdep,snd_seq_dummy,snd_seq_oss,snd_rawmidi,snd_ seq,snd_timer,snd_seq_device
nvidia 8858052 34
button 10912 0
i2c_nforce2 8704 0
dcdbas 11312 0
soundcore 10400 1 snd
shpchp 38172 0
pci_hotplug 34608 1 shpchp
k8temp 7680 0
evdev 14976 3
i2c_core 28544 2 nvidia,i2c_nforce2
pcspkr 4992 0
ext3 149264 1
jbd 57000 1 ext3
mbcache 11392 1 ext3
sg 41880 0
sr_mod 20132 0
cdrom 41512 1 sr_mod
sd_mod 33280 4
usb_storage 82496 3
usbhid 35168 0
hid 44992 1 usbhid
libusual 23520 1 usb_storage
sata_nv 31624 0
ata_generic 9988 0
pata_acpi 9856 0
pata_amd 16772 0
floppy 69096 0
forcedeth 55564 0
libata 176304 4 sata_nv,ata_generic,pata_acpi,pata_amd
scsi_mod 178488 5 sg,sr_mod,sd_mod,usb_storage,libata
ehci_hcd 41996 0
ohci_hcd 27524 0
usbcore 169904 7 ndiswrapper,usb_storage,usbhid,libusual,ehci_hcd,o hci_hcd
thermal 19744 0
processor 41448 1 thermal
fan 6792 0
fbcon 46336 0
tileblit 4096 1 fbcon
font 10112 1 fbcon
bitblit 7424 1 fbcon
softcursor 3712 1 bitblit
fuse 56112 3

ifconfig: eth0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:1a:a0:56:c5:c0
inet addr:192.168.1.100 Bcast:192.168.1.255 Mask:255.255.255.0
inet6 addr: fe80::21a:a0ff:fe56:c5c0/64 Scope:Link
UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1
RX packets:242902 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:240027 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
RX bytes:190820277 (181.9 MB) TX bytes:157754636 (150.4 MB)
Interrupt:253

lo Link encap:Local Loopback
inet addr:127.0.0.1 Mask:255.0.0.0
inet6 addr: ::1/128 Scope:Host
UP LOOPBACK RUNNING MTU:16436 Metric:1
RX packets:1766 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:1766 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:0
RX bytes:88300 (86.2 KB) TX bytes:88300 (86.2 KB)

wlan0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:1b:fc:8f:5e:48
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 Memory:fdefe000-fdf00000

iwconfig: lo no wireless extensions.

eth0 no wireless extensions.

wlan0 IEEE 802.11g ESSID:off/any
Mode:Managed Frequency:2.462 GHz Access Point: Not-Associated
Bit Rate:54 Mb/s Tx-Power:32 dBm
RTS thr:2347 B Fragment thr:2346 B
Power Management:off
Link Quality:0 Signal level:0 Noise level:0
Rx invalid nwid:0 Rx invalid crypt:0 Rx invalid frag:0
Tx excessive retries:0 Invalid misc:0 Missed beacon:0

[renrats]

Ok, update, I decided that it was a good idea to reinstall Ubuntu and to try all over again. And it worked, sort of. I used b43-fwcutter, and now the light shows on my wireless card, however I am still having trouble connecting to the internet. Does anyone have any idea whats going on?

[Ayuthia]

Are you using encryption? If so, you might try turning it off and see if you can connect. If not, can you post your ifconfig, iwconfig, and iwlist scan info?

[renrats]

I'm not using encryption.

ifconfig: eth0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:1a:a0:56:c5:c0
inet addr:192.168.1.103 Bcast:192.168.1.255 Mask:255.255.255.0
inet6 addr: fe80::21a:a0ff:fe56:c5c0/64 Scope:Link
UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1
RX packets:1117 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:1109 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
RX bytes:1071123 (1.0 MB) TX bytes:192094 (187.5 KB)
Interrupt:253 Base address:0x8000

lo Link encap:Local Loopback
inet addr:127.0.0.1 Mask:255.0.0.0
inet6 addr: ::1/128 Scope:Host
UP LOOPBACK RUNNING MTU:16436 Metric:1
RX packets:1910 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:1910 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:0
RX bytes:95500 (93.2 KB) TX bytes:95500 (93.2 KB)

wlan0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:1b:fc:8f:5e:48
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)

wmaster0 Link encap:UNSPEC HWaddr 00-1B-FC-8F-5E-48-00-00-00-00-00-00-00-00-00-00
UP BROADCAST RUNNING 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)

iwconfig: eth0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:1a:a0:56:c5:c0
inet addr:192.168.1.103 Bcast:192.168.1.255 Mask:255.255.255.0
inet6 addr: fe80::21a:a0ff:fe56:c5c0/64 Scope:Link
UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1
RX packets:1117 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:1109 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
RX bytes:1071123 (1.0 MB) TX bytes:192094 (187.5 KB)
Interrupt:253 Base address:0x8000

lo Link encap:Local Loopback
inet addr:127.0.0.1 Mask:255.0.0.0
inet6 addr: ::1/128 Scope:Host
UP LOOPBACK RUNNING MTU:16436 Metric:1
RX packets:1910 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:1910 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:0
RX bytes:95500 (93.2 KB) TX bytes:95500 (93.2 KB)

wlan0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:1b:fc:8f:5e:48
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)

wmaster0 Link encap:UNSPEC HWaddr 00-1B-FC-8F-5E-48-00-00-00-00-00-00-00-00-00-00
UP BROADCAST RUNNING 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)

iwlist scan: eth0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:1a:a0:56:c5:c0
inet addr:192.168.1.103 Bcast:192.168.1.255 Mask:255.255.255.0
inet6 addr: fe80::21a:a0ff:fe56:c5c0/64 Scope:Link
UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1
RX packets:1117 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:1109 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
RX bytes:1071123 (1.0 MB) TX bytes:192094 (187.5 KB)
Interrupt:253 Base address:0x8000

lo Link encap:Local Loopback
inet addr:127.0.0.1 Mask:255.0.0.0
inet6 addr: ::1/128 Scope:Host
UP LOOPBACK RUNNING MTU:16436 Metric:1
RX packets:1910 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:1910 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:0
RX bytes:95500 (93.2 KB) TX bytes:95500 (93.2 KB)

wlan0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:1b:fc:8f:5e:48
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)

wmaster0 Link encap:UNSPEC HWaddr 00-1B-FC-8F-5E-48-00-00-00-00-00-00-00-00-00-00
UP BROADCAST RUNNING 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)

[Ayuthia]

I think that you posted your ifconfig information three times instead of the iwconfig and iwlist. This is a silly question, but did you try to connect with the wired connection unplugged?

Can you also check your lshw -C network and make sure that the configuration shows:
configuration: driver=b43-pci-bridge latency=0 module=ssb

[renrats]

Yep, you're right, I did post my ifconfig info three times. I'm used to Windows, and was using Ctrl-C instead of Shift-Ctrl-C to copy. I'll repost the correct info, and add the lshw info as well:

ifconfig: eth0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:1a:a0:56:c5:c0
inet addr:192.168.1.103 Bcast:192.168.1.255 Mask:255.255.255.0
inet6 addr: fe80::21a:a0ff:fe56:c5c0/64 Scope:Link
UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1
RX packets:1117 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:1109 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
RX bytes:1071123 (1.0 MB) TX bytes:192094 (187.5 KB)
Interrupt:253 Base address:0x8000

lo Link encap:Local Loopback
inet addr:127.0.0.1 Mask:255.0.0.0
inet6 addr: ::1/128 Scope:Host
UP LOOPBACK RUNNING MTU:16436 Metric:1
RX packets:1910 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:1910 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:0
RX bytes:95500 (93.2 KB) TX bytes:95500 (93.2 KB)

wlan0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:1b:fc:8f:5e:48
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)

wmaster0 Link encap:UNSPEC HWaddr 00-1B-FC-8F-5E-48-00-00-00-00-00-00-00-00-00-00
UP BROADCAST RUNNING 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)

iwconfig: lo no wireless extensions.

eth0 no wireless extensions.

wmaster0 no wireless extensions.

wlan0 IEEE 802.11g ESSID:"linksys"
Mode:Managed Frequency:2.437 GHz Access Point: 00:1A:70:46:10:5F
Tx-Power=27 dBm
Retry min limit:7 RTS thr:off Fragment thr=2346 B
Link Quality:0 Signal level:0 Noise level:0
Rx invalid nwid:0 Rx invalid crypt:0 Rx invalid frag:0
Tx excessive retries:0 Invalid misc:0 Missed beacon:0

iwlist scan: lo Interface doesn't support scanning.

eth0 Interface doesn't support scanning.

wmaster0 Interface doesn't support scanning.

wlan0 Scan completed :
Cell 01 - Address: 00:1A:70:46:10:5F
ESSID:"linksys"
Mode:Master
Channel:6
Frequency:2.437 GHz (Channel 6)
Quality=58/100 Signal level=-52 dBm Noise level=-47 dBm
Encryption key:off
Bit Rates:1 Mb/s; 2 Mb/s; 5.5 Mb/s; 11 Mb/s; 18 Mb/s
24 Mb/s; 36 Mb/s; 54 Mb/s; 6 Mb/s; 9 Mb/s
12 Mb/s; 48 Mb/s
Extra:tsf=000001318479c286

And here is the line from lshw: configuration: driver=b43-pci-bridge latency=32 module=ssb. It all matchs up, except for the latency bit.

[Ayuthia]

Everything looks fine in that portion. We need to check our modules to make sure that there are no active modules that will conflict with the b43 module:
lsmod|grep -i -e b43 -e ssb -e bcm43xx -e ndiswrapper
You might even try changing the channel on your router just in case it is getting interference from that channel.

By the way, sorry about not responding earlier to your ndiswrapper post. I forgot to subscribe to the thread. From your last ndiswrapper post, you were close. It looked like your b44 driver triggered the ssb module which would have caused the conflict with ndiswrapper. All we needed to do was remove the b44, ssb, and ndiswrapper modules and then load ndiswrapper first then b44. But that is now another story.

[renrats]

D'oh. Oh well, as long as I get wireless...

lsmod|grep -i -e b43 -e ssb -e bcm43xx -e ndiswrapper:
b43 126760 0
rfkill 10128 3 rfkill_input,b43
mac80211 192532 1 b43
led_class 7176 1 b43
input_polldev 6928 1 b43
ssb 37252 1 b43

[Ayuthia]

Everything looks like it is configured correctly. The driver is loaded, bcm43xx is not conflicting, there is no ndiswrapper, and you are able to see access points.

We can try to do it manually from the Terminal. By the way, if you did not know, Terminal can't use control-c because it will break out of the current thing that it is executing. That is why copy is control-shift-c.

Let's try:
sudo iwconfig wlan0 essid linksys
sudo dhclient wlan0

Are you able to change the channel on your router?

[renrats]

I haven't changed the channel on the router, because right now it's very late here. So I'll post teh output from the commands, and then attack this again tomorrow.

sudo dhclient wlan0:
Internet Systems Consortium DHCP Client V3.0.6
Copyright 2004-2007 Internet Systems Consortium.
All rights reserved.
For info, please visit http://www.isc.org/sw/dhcp/

wmaster0: unknown hardware address type 801
wmaster0: unknown hardware address type 801
Listening on LPF/wlan0/00:1b:fc:8f:5e:48
Sending on LPF/wlan0/00:1b:fc:8f:5e:48
Sending on Socket/fallback
DHCPDISCOVER on wlan0 to 255.255.255.255 port 67 interval 6
DHCPDISCOVER on wlan0 to 255.255.255.255 port 67 interval 10
DHCPDISCOVER on wlan0 to 255.255.255.255 port 67 interval 15
No DHCPOFFERS received.
No working leases in persistent database - sleeping.