Latest Hardy update killed my Dell wireless

[UnrulyGrrl99]

I was trying to get my wireless card (Dell 1395) working on my Dell XPS 1530 over the last few days with no luck. Before the latest update to Hardy, I could see the wireless interface, scan for networks, etc. After the update, the "wifi" light is out on the laptop. I found these errors in dmesg:

[ 160.750103] wl: Unknown symbol wlc_get
[ 160.750263] wl: Unknown symbol wf_channel2mhz
[ 160.750288] wl: Unknown symbol wlc_isr
[ 160.750326] wl: Unknown symbol wlc_set
[ 160.750372] wl: Unknown symbol wlc_statsupd
[ 160.750409] wl: Unknown symbol bcm_bprintf
[ 160.750521] wl: Unknown symbol wlc_dpc
[ 160.750578] wl: Unknown symbol wlc_chipmatch
[ 160.750618] wl: Unknown symbol wlc_reset
[ 160.750688] wl: Unknown symbol wlc_sendpkt
[ 160.750744] wl: Unknown symbol wlc_intrsrestore
[ 160.750768] wl: Unknown symbol wlc_init
[ 160.750794] wl: Unknown symbol bcm_parse_tlvs
[ 160.750890] wl: Unknown symbol wlc_down
[ 160.750928] wl: Unknown symbol wlc_iovar_getint
[ 160.750964] wl: Unknown symbol wlc_iovar_setint
[ 160.750999] wl: Unknown symbol wlc_up
[ 160.751062] wl: Unknown symbol bcm_qdbm_to_mw
[ 160.751087] wl: Unknown symbol bcm_mkiovar
[ 160.751118] wl: Unknown symbol wlc_intrsoff
[ 160.751143] wl: Unknown symbol bcm_mw_to_qdbm
[ 160.751182] wl: Unknown symbol wlc_intrsupd
[ 160.751206] wl: Unknown symbol wlc_ioctl
[ 160.751240] wl: Unknown symbol wf_mhz2channel
[ 160.751264] wl: Unknown symbol wlc_intrson
[ 160.751288] wl: Unknown symbol wlc_attach
[ 160.751336] wl: Unknown symbol wlc_iovar_op
[ 160.751360] wl: Unknown symbol wlc_detach
[ 160.751392] wl: Unknown symbol pktsetprio


When I try loading the "wl" module by hand (via modprobe), I get this error message:
"FATAL: Error inserting wl (/lib/modules/2.6.24-19-generic/volatile/wl.ko): Unknown symbol in module, or unknown parameter (see dmesg)

I found an older message about a problem with this card and that installing "bcm43xx-fwcutter" fixed it. I tried that and it did not help.

this is the relevant lspci entry, if that matters:
0b:00.0 Network controller: Broadcom Corporation BCM4310 USB Controller (rev 01)


Has anyone else seen this since the latest Hardy updates?
or ever? any suggestions?

thanks

[Franc88]

I have a Dell 1525 and also lost my wireless connection when I updated to latest update. I still see the driver in hardware manager and is check off enabled but under Status says "Not In Use".

I tried to reinstall wifi driver using b43-fwcutter but no luck. I tried to boot from a prior update version and still the same.

Anyone have any ideas with a fix or workaround? Seems to me the latest update screwed up the wifi driver from broadcom. Is this the ubuntu community's way of getting back at broadcom for that stock backdating scandal?:confused:

[Johnny1111]

Greetings, folks!

New to Ubuntu, coming from Fedora 9.

I too have the same problem--I have a Dell Inspirion 1720 with the Dell 1395 Wireless minicard. Everything worked perfectly (the reason why I switched to Ubuntu), but after the updates done July 2-4 I too have no wifi. When I click on the network indicator in the upper right hand corner of the screen, there is not even an option for wireless. Hardware Drivers shows a check in the enable box, but there is a red dot to the right with the words "Drive not in use." Please help!

Thanks in advance!

[Beto]

Same problem here with a Dell XPS M1530 and the regular Wireless card.
In restricted drivers appears as enabled but with a red light as not in use.

Somebody help!! Please!!

Regards,

[stats]

I have a 1395 card and got it working using ndiswrapper.
1.
echo blacklist bcm43xx | sudo tee -a /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist
2.
sudo apt-get install ndiswrapper-common ndiswrapper-utils-1.9 ndisgtk
3.
search for the dell 1395 windows XP (NOT Vista) drivers on www.dell.com and download it
4 unzip <name of the file you downloaded>
5. System -> Administration -> Windows Wireless Drivers -> Install New Driver -> open bcmwl5.inf from DRIVER_US folder of the place you unzipped the windows driver to
6.
sudo modprobe ndiswrapper
7. Check if wireless works now. If it does add the word 'ndiswrapper' to the end of /etc/modules so that it loads automatically

[Franc88]

3.
search for the dell 1395 windows XP (NOT Vista) drivers on www.dell.com and download it
4 unzip <name of the file you downloaded>
5. System -> Administration -> Windows Wireless Drivers -> Install New Driver -> open bcmwl5.inf from DRIVER_US folder of the place you unzipped the windows driver to

I'm not sure how to unzip/run an exe file in linux. Everytime I try to double click on it, it gives an error.

EDIT: Got the .exe working by installing Wine.

The driver is now installed using ndiswrapper and now working again. Thanks.

[friendofpugs]

Is there any other way of doing this besides the above solution? I'm a newb and it looks complicated. What's going on in the above steps? Will they eventually tweak the kernel or should I try the above? Thanks.:confused:

[stats]

the changes above are totally safe. you will not mess up your kernel/ your linux install. just follow the steps and you should be fine. try it, its quite easy.
@franc88: i did mean unzip the exe. its a self-extracting archive.
just do
unzip <name of file.exe>
in the terminal, and it will unzip it.

[Franc88]

the changes above are totally safe. you will not mess up your kernel/ your linux install. just follow the steps and you should be fine. try it, its quite easy.
@franc88: i did mean unzip the exe. its a self-extracting archive.
just do
unzip <name of file.exe>
in the terminal, and it will unzip it.

The driver that I found for the WinXP OS was an .exe and not a .zip. It was an 89meg download for a simple driver which was unbelievable. So you mean to say that running:

unzip <delldriver.exe>

in terminal will unzip and execute the .exe? I'll have to try that next time.

None the less, I was able to install the driver after I was able to run the .exe. :)

[perl1011]

the changes above are totally safe. you will not mess up your kernel/ your linux install. just follow the steps and you should be fine. try it, its quite easy.
@franc88: i did mean unzip the exe. its a self-extracting archive.
just do
unzip <name of file.exe>
in the terminal, and it will unzip it.

Um...yeah, safety is good, but seriously, this is way too complicated. I'm totally new to this, but wanted to try Ubuntu when I got my new Dell laptop. I don't even understand half of all this stuff or even what a kernel is. Does this mean I have to go back to windows? :( (sigh)

[niiiick]

I have a 1395 card and got it working using ndiswrapper.
1.
echo blacklist bcm43xx | sudo tee -a /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist
2.
sudo apt-get install ndiswrapper-common ndiswrapper-utils-1.9 ndisgtk
3.
search for the dell 1395 windows XP (NOT Vista) drivers on www.dell.com and download it
4 unzip <name of the file you downloaded>
5. System -> Administration -> Windows Wireless Drivers -> Install New Driver -> open bcmwl5.inf from DRIVER_US folder of the place you unzipped the windows driver to
6.
sudo modprobe ndiswrapper
7. Check if wireless works now. If it does add the word 'ndiswrapper' to the end of /etc/modules so that it loads automatically

confirmed to work on inspiron 1525. thanks!

[PinkFloyd102489]

I fixed mine earlier using a Guide in the Wiki on an Inspiron 1720, bcm4328. Had to change the order in which some of the modules loading, putting the ndiswrapper module before the ssd module.

Otherwise, it works fine. :)

[superm1]

In an effort to better understand this problem, can someone with this problem post the following information:

1)
lspci -nn2)
dpkg -l | grep linux-restricted3)
uname -a4)
dmesg | grep wl

[superm1]

For a pre-emptive (proper) solution, please activate hardy-proposed. This should be copied into hardy-updates soon too.

https://bugs.edge.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux-restricted-modules-2.6.24/+bug/243930

[friendofpugs]

Um...yeah, safety is good, but seriously, this is way too complicated. I'm totally new to this, but wanted to try Ubuntu when I got my new Dell laptop. I don't even understand half of all this stuff or even what a kernel is. Does this mean I have to go back to windows? :( (sigh)

The problem is being resolved as I type: https://bugs.edge.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux-restricted-modules-2.6.24/+bug/243930. Long story short - they fixed the bug and are moving the patch into the update stream, so the automatic updates should fix the kernel very soon, in a few days at the latest. Hence, I'm waiting for it myself instead of messing around with the above solution.
BTW, be sure to have automatic updates enabled in Ubuntu. Once the patch comes through, it will fix itself. :)
One thing you've got to remember with Ubuntu (and Linux in general) is that this is a community-wide endeavor w/o the backing of mega corporations, so you've got to be patient and give things time. IMHO, it's a small price to pay for a fantastic OS that's super secure and has ton's of free quality programs.
Just give it some time.

[ikrit42]

I have a 1395 card and got it working using ndiswrapper.
1.
echo blacklist bcm43xx | sudo tee -a /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist
2.
sudo apt-get install ndiswrapper-common ndiswrapper-utils-1.9 ndisgtk
3.
search for the dell 1395 windows XP (NOT Vista) drivers on www.dell.com and download it
4 unzip <name of the file you downloaded>
5. System -> Administration -> Windows Wireless Drivers -> Install New Driver -> open bcmwl5.inf from DRIVER_US folder of the place you unzipped the windows driver to
6.
sudo modprobe ndiswrapper
7. Check if wireless works now. If it does add the word 'ndiswrapper' to the end of /etc/modules so that it loads automatically

This also worked on my xps m1330- Before, Ubuntu didn't even realize my wifi card existed, now all i need to do is remember my wpa password :/

[silkstone]

I didn't have this problem but I've just run Update Manager and the new restricted module package is now available for download and installation (you don't need the hardy-proposed repo anymore).

[stats]

can confirm that the driver is in the repo
for those who installed ndiswrapper:
1.Update & upgrade using update-manager/synaptic/adept etc
2.
sudo apt-get remove ndisgtk ndiswrapper-common ndiswrapper-utils-1.9
3. Remove the ndiswrapper line from /etc/modules
4. Disable wireless from the network manager applet and then
sudo modprobe -r ndiswrapper
If it cribs about module being in use, it means you have not disabled wireless
5. Restart, if there were any kernel upgrades
6. System->Administration->Hardware Drivers
I see a wl driver here. Make sure it says enabled and is in use.

worked for me with dell 1395 on inspiron 1525

[perl1011]

One thing you've got to remember with Ubuntu (and Linux in general) is that this is a community-wide endeavor w/o the backing of mega corporations, so you've got to be patient and give things time. IMHO, it's a small price to pay for a fantastic OS that's super secure and has ton's of free quality programs.
Just give it some time.

Roger that...point taken. Overall, I think this whole subversive counterculture ;) is cool (even though I'm a dork and will likely get kicked out of forums for giving the technogeeks hives and eye cramps from rolling their eyes at me). Though...really, it's a pretty big bug, isn't it. I mean, what good is a laptop without wireless? Is this typical of Ubuntu? I'm just curious...need to set/adjust my expectations. (and keep my dual boot!) Thanks :)

[perl1011]

I didn't have this problem but I've just run Update Manager and the new restricted module package is now available for download and installation (you don't need the hardy-proposed repo anymore).

Hmmm...I just ran it, but no update for this came through. Is there something special one needs to do to get this module? Thanks...

[UnrulyGrrl99]

I just did the latest updates and all is well again! No ndis or anything had to be installed. I just waited for the updates to complete on linux-restricted-modules, ran "sudo modprobe wl" from a terminal, and the wifi light lit up. i can see/scan for all the nearby wireless networks again.

thanks to everyone for their great tips about ndis wrapper and about the early fix (hardy-proposed) a few days ago.

[superm1]

Roger that...point taken. Overall, I think this whole subversive counterculture ;) is cool (even though I'm a dork and will likely get kicked out of forums for giving the technogeeks hives and eye cramps from rolling their eyes at me). Though...really, it's a pretty big bug, isn't it. I mean, what good is a laptop without wireless? Is this typical of Ubuntu? I'm just curious...need to set/adjust my expectations. (and keep my dual boot!) Thanks :)
No this is not common, but the oversight that caused it to happen has been corrected now. It shouldn't happen in the future.

[Beto]

I still have problems that seems to be related to this.

I installed the XP drivers through ndiswrapper for a while until the bug got fixed with the latest upgrade. Then I performed the ndiswrapper uninstall procedure explained in this thread and with the latest upgrade everything went back to normal... I thought... Now, every time I power on my notebook I don't have wireless and the wl driver is checked and in red as in "not in use". I have to disable it and then re-enable it for it to work as it should... and this happens EVERY time I have to restart the notebook. It is really annoying and I don't know what to do for it to work as it did before the bug was introduced.

Any help?

Regards,
--
Beto

[superm1]

I still have problems that seems to be related to this.

I installed the XP drivers through ndiswrapper for a while until the bug got fixed with the latest upgrade. Then I performed the ndiswrapper uninstall procedure explained in this thread and with the latest upgrade everything went back to normal... I thought... Now, every time I power on my notebook I don't have wireless and the wl driver is checked and in red as in "not in use". I have to disable it and then re-enable it for it to work as it should... and this happens EVERY time I have to restart the notebook. It is really annoying and I don't know what to do for it to work as it did before the bug was introduced.

Any help?

Regards,
--
Beto
Try typing "depmod -a" after the driver is loaded and working.

[Beto]

Try typing "depmod -a" after the driver is loaded and working.

Thanks for helping but the problem is still there. I hate it!

I started ubuntu, disabled the wl driver and then I re-enabled it. The Wifi worked so I started a Terminal and typed "sudo depmod -a"

I had no messaged but just a prompt. I guess that is how depmod works. I restarted the notebook and again I didn't have the Wifi working.

Any other possible solution?

Regards,
--
Beto

[superm1]

Thanks for helping but the problem is still there. I hate it!

I started ubuntu, disabled the wl driver and then I re-enabled it. The Wifi worked so I started a Terminal and typed "sudo depmod -a"

I had no messaged but just a prompt. I guess that is how depmod works. I restarted the notebook and again I didn't have the Wifi working.

Any other possible solution?

Regards,
--
Beto
Did you by chance accidently blacklist 'wl' at some point?

Try

grep wl /etc/modprobe.d -R

If you get anything more than

/etc/modprobe.d/arch/i386:alias parport_lowlevel parport_pc
/etc/modprobe.d/arch-aliases:alias parport_lowlevel parport_pc

than you might have blacklisted it

Also, check /etc/default/linux-restricted-modules-common. Is wl listed in there as blocked?

[Beto]

Did you by chance accidently blacklist 'wl' at some point?

Try

grep wl /etc/modprobe.d -R

If you get anything more than

/etc/modprobe.d/arch/i386:alias parport_lowlevel parport_pc
/etc/modprobe.d/arch-aliases:alias parport_lowlevel parport_pc

than you might have blacklisted it

Also, check /etc/default/linux-restricted-modules-common. Is wl listed in there as blocked?


With "grep wl /etc/modprobe.d -R" I got exactly what you typed, but in the inverse order:
/etc/modprobe.d/arch-aliases:alias parport_lowlevel parport_pc
/etc/modprobe.d/arch/i386:alias parport_lowlevel parport_pc

Then I checked the linux-restricted-modules-common file and nothing looks blacklisted. This is the file:
--------------------------------------
# This file is sourced from the linux-restricted-modules-common init
# script and is used to disable the link-on-boot feature, one module
# at a time. This can be useful if you want to use hand-compiled
# versions of one or more modules, but keep linux-restricted-modules
# installed on your system, or just to disable modules you don't use
# and speed up your boot process by a second or two.
#
# Use a space-separated list of modules you wish to not have linked
# on boot. The following example shows a (condensed) list of all
# modules shipped in the linux-restricted-modules packages:
#
# DISABLED_MODULES="ath_hal fc fglrx ltm nv"
#
# Note that disabling "fc" disables all fcdsl drivers, "ltm" disables
# ltmodem and ltserial, and "nv" disables the three nvidia drivers.
# You can also name each module individually, if you prefer a subset.

DISABLED_MODULES=""
-------------------------------------------------------

Any other help?.... I'm getting crazy here!!!

Thanks!
--
Beto

[superm1]

With "grep wl /etc/modprobe.d -R" I got exactly what you typed, but in the inverse order:
/etc/modprobe.d/arch-aliases:alias parport_lowlevel parport_pc
/etc/modprobe.d/arch/i386:alias parport_lowlevel parport_pc

Then I checked the linux-restricted-modules-common file and nothing looks blacklisted. This is the file:
--------------------------------------
# This file is sourced from the linux-restricted-modules-common init
# script and is used to disable the link-on-boot feature, one module
# at a time. This can be useful if you want to use hand-compiled
# versions of one or more modules, but keep linux-restricted-modules
# installed on your system, or just to disable modules you don't use
# and speed up your boot process by a second or two.
#
# Use a space-separated list of modules you wish to not have linked
# on boot. The following example shows a (condensed) list of all
# modules shipped in the linux-restricted-modules packages:
#
# DISABLED_MODULES="ath_hal fc fglrx ltm nv"
#
# Note that disabling "fc" disables all fcdsl drivers, "ltm" disables
# ltmodem and ltserial, and "nv" disables the three nvidia drivers.
# You can also name each module individually, if you prefer a subset.

DISABLED_MODULES=""
-------------------------------------------------------

Any other help?.... I'm getting crazy here!!!

Thanks!
--
Beto
You're running me out of ideas.. ;)

OK, when you boot up, I wonder if possibly another module is loading automatically that is conflicting.

After a fresh boot, type

lsmod

and see if any of that output is a wireless driver (maybe ndiswrapper wasn't fully removed). then try to manually load wl without jockey

sudo modprobe wl

check

dmesg | tail

for any info about what happened when trying to load it. If it errors out, try to depmod once more and reload it.

[Beto]

I think we are going on the right track and you may be onto something...
When I typed "lsmod" after a fresh boot I got this:

-------------------------------
Module Size Used by
ipv6 267780 10
binfmt_misc 12808 1
rfcomm 41744 2
l2cap 25728 13 rfcomm
vboxdrv 77504 0
ppdev 10372 0
acpi_cpufreq 10796 2
cpufreq_ondemand 9740 1
cpufreq_conservative 8712 0
cpufreq_userspace 5284 0
cpufreq_stats 7104 0
freq_table 5536 3 acpi_cpufreq,cpufreq_ondemand,cpufreq_stats
cpufreq_powersave 2688 0
container 5632 0
sbs 15112 0
sbshc 7680 1 sbs
dock 11280 0
iptable_filter 3840 0
ip_tables 14820 1 iptable_filter
x_tables 16132 1 ip_tables
sbp2 24072 0
parport_pc 36260 0
lp 12324 0
parport 37832 3 ppdev,parport_pc,lp
hci_usb 16540 2
bluetooth 61156 7 rfcomm,l2cap,hci_usb
uvcvideo 58116 0
snd_hda_intel 344728 3
compat_ioctl32 2304 1 uvcvideo
videodev 29440 1 uvcvideo
snd_pcm_oss 42144 0
snd_mixer_oss 17920 1 snd_pcm_oss
v4l1_compat 15492 2 uvcvideo,videodev
v4l2_common 18304 2 uvcvideo,videodev
nvidia 7825536 36
snd_pcm 78596 2 snd_hda_intel,snd_pcm_oss
snd_page_alloc 11400 2 snd_hda_intel,snd_pcm
snd_hwdep 10500 1 snd_hda_intel
video 19856 8
output 4736 1 video
i2c_core 24832 1 nvidia
snd_seq_dummy 4868 0
sky2 47492 0
ndiswrapper 192920 0
snd_seq_oss 35584 0
snd_seq_midi 9376 0
snd_rawmidi 25760 1 snd_seq_midi
snd_seq_midi_event 8320 2 snd_seq_oss,snd_seq_midi
sdhci 19076 0
snd_seq 54224 6 snd_seq_dummy,snd_seq_oss,snd_seq_midi,snd_seq_mid i_event
snd_timer 24836 2 snd_pcm,snd_seq
snd_seq_device 9612 5 snd_seq_dummy,snd_seq_oss,snd_seq_midi,snd_rawmidi ,snd_seq
mmc_core 51460 1 sdhci
serio_raw 7940 0
wmi_acer 9644 0
battery 14212 0
snd 56996 17 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
button 9232 0
ac 6916 0
intel_agp 25492 0
shpchp 34452 0
pci_hotplug 30880 1 shpchp
dcdbas 9504 0
soundcore 8800 1 snd
iTCO_wdt 13092 0
iTCO_vendor_support 4868 1 iTCO_wdt
agpgart 34760 2 nvidia,intel_agp
evdev 13056 8
pcspkr 4224 0
psmouse 40336 0
ext3 136712 2
jbd 48404 1 ext3
mbcache 9600 1 ext3
sg 36880 0
sr_mod 17956 0
cdrom 37408 1 sr_mod
sd_mod 30720 4
pata_acpi 8320 0
usbhid 31872 0
hid 38784 1 usbhid
ata_generic 8324 0
ahci 28420 3
ata_piix 19588 0
libata 159344 4 pata_acpi,ata_generic,ahci,ata_piix
scsi_mod 151436 5 sbp2,sg,sr_mod,sd_mod,libata
ohci1394 33584 0
ieee1394 93752 2 sbp2,ohci1394
ehci_hcd 37900 0
uhci_hcd 27024 0
usbcore 146028 7 hci_usb,uvcvideo,ndiswrapper,usbhid,ehci_hcd,uhci_ hcd
thermal 16796 0
processor 36872 4 acpi_cpufreq,thermal
fan 5636 0
fbcon 42912 0
tileblit 3456 1 fbcon
font 9472 1 fbcon
bitblit 6784 1 fbcon
softcursor 3072 1 bitblit
fuse 50580 3
------------------------------------------------------------

You are right, ndiswrapper is still there but I have no idea how to get rid of it.

When typing "sudo modprobe wl" I got the wireless working and this is the "dmesg | tail" ouput:
********************
[ 54.842528] domain 0: span 03
[ 54.842530] groups: 02 01
[ 102.671281] ieee80211_crypt: registered algorithm 'NULL'
[ 102.680047] ACPI: PCI Interrupt 0000:0b:00.0[A] -> GSI 17 (level, low) -> IRQ 17
[ 102.680074] PCI: Setting latency timer of device 0000:0b:00.0 to 64
[ 102.903247] ieee80211_crypt: registered algorithm 'TKIP'
[ 102.903330] eth1: Broadcom BCM4315 802.11 Wireless Controller 5.10.18.0
[ 106.217630] ADDRCONF(NETDEV_CHANGE): eth1: link becomes ready
[ 106.267246] NET: Registered protocol family 17
[ 107.768756] eth1: no IPv6 routers present
*********************

So, what to do next?

TIA!
--
Beto

[Beto]

Hi, I tried something that worked, but as a newbie I'm not sure if this is the best solution or it might give me problems in the future.

I edited /etc/modules and added "wl" (it wasn't there) as the last module to be loaded. Now it works. Is this the best solution? at least I'm happy it is working.

Please advice.
Regards,
--
Beto

[falcon61102]

That works or if you are using ndiswrapper to load your drivers, then you would need to put that in there as well.

[Beto]

Ok, but is it a good solution or just a patch that might give problems in the future?

Regards,
--
Beto

[falcon61102]

It shouldn't give you problems in the future. That file is what modules are loaded on startup and if you are using ndiswrapper to control your wireless card, then you are going to want to start it when you start your computer. Even if you update your drivers in the future, that line in /etc/modules will continue to load ndiswrapper with the new drivers. If that's what gets it to work, then it's a good solution.

[tw0shoes]

I'm having a similar issue as everyone else here. My wireless was working but is no longer.

Output of: dmesg | tail

[ 167.363097] b43legacy-phy0 ERROR: Firmware file "b43legacy/ucode4.fw" not found or load failed.
[ 167.363110] b43legacy-phy0 ERROR: You must go to http://linuxwireless.org/en/users/Drivers/b43#devicefirmware and download the correct firmware (version 3).
[ 174.992389] b43legacy-phy0 ERROR: Firmware file "b43legacy/ucode4.fw" not found or load failed.
[ 174.992402] b43legacy-phy0 ERROR: You must go to http://linuxwireless.org/en/users/Drivers/b43#devicefirmware and download the correct firmware (version 3).
[ 182.035710] b43legacy-phy0 ERROR: Firmware file "b43legacy/ucode4.fw" not found or load failed.
[ 182.035723] b43legacy-phy0 ERROR: You must go to http://linuxwireless.org/en/users/Drivers/b43#devicefirmware and download the correct firmware (version 3).
[ 189.151080] b43legacy-phy0 ERROR: Firmware file "b43legacy/ucode4.fw" not found or load failed.
[ 189.151094] b43legacy-phy0 ERROR: You must go to http://linuxwireless.org/en/users/Drivers/b43#devicefirmware and download the correct firmware (version 3).
[ 197.187684] b43legacy-phy0 ERROR: Firmware file "b43legacy/ucode4.fw" not found or load failed.
[ 197.187696] b43legacy-phy0 ERROR: You must go to http://linuxwireless.org/en/users/Drivers/b43#devicefirmware and download the correct firmware (version 3).


I went to that website and performed
sudo /usr/share/b43-fwcutter/install_bcm43xx_firmware.sh
except that it was bcm43-fwcutter, not b43-fwcutter

Thanks

[tw0shoes]

I figured out the issue I think.
Thanks.

[clbaines]

ndiswrapper will work fine. Give it a try. The above instructions are good.

[smalldog]

Dear all, I have puchased a new Dell vostro 2 weeks ago. I am very luck, I didn't necessary to perform any upgrade. Therefore, I hadn't any experience of killing wireless LAN.
I have install a 32bit 8.04 ubuntu directly. The wireless card seems does work properly at first. Since my route is using WPA encryption. After 3 days investigation and trying by using b43, ndiswrapper and etc. I have found a way out.
Firstly, you must have identical wireless hardware as me, you can verify it as below command.
Secondly, you must avoid any driver contention - unload any wireless LAN drivers as below.

lshw -C network
*-network
description: Wireless interface
product: BCM4310 USB Controller
vendor: Broadcom Corporation
physical id: 0
bus info: pci@0000:0c:00.0
logical name: eth1
version: 01
serial: 00:1f:e1:c6:4d:4c
width: 64 bits
clock: 33MHz
capabilities: bus_master cap_list ethernet physical wireless
configuration: broadcast=yes driver=wl ip=192.168.12.101 latency=0 module=wl multicast=yes wireless=IEEE 802.11
*-network
description: Ethernet interface
product: NetLink BCM5906M Fast Ethernet PCI Express
vendor: Broadcom Corporation
physical id: 0
bus info: pci@0000:09:00.0
logical name: eth0
version: 02
serial: 00:1e:c9:08:cb:f9
width: 64 bits
clock: 33MHz
capabilities: bus_master cap_list ethernet physical
configuration: broadcast=yes driver=tg3 driverversion=3.86 latency=0 module=tg3 multicast=yes
lspci -nn | grep Broadcom
09:00.0 Ethernet controller [0200]: Broadcom Corporation NetLink BCM5906M Fast Ethernet PCI Express [14e4:1713] (rev 02)
0c:00.0 Network controller [0280]: Broadcom Corporation BCM4310 USB Controller [14e4:4315] (rev 01)
lsmod | grep wl
wl 1062164 0
ieee80211_crypt 7040 2 wl,ieee80211_crypt_tkip

lsmod | grep b43
lsmod | grep ndis

"Should report nothing"

Since the system reported that the hardware drivers (nvidia & wl) are loaded and working properly. The x-server working well, so I think the wireless LAN card should work but somewhere I must missed.
I using another desktop computer with wireless LAN installed and running kismet to monitor the activity of both my router & my laptop computer. Evertime when I try to associate to the AP, the kismet showed the frame has transmitted from my laptop. It is concluded that it must be the problem of association.
So I decide that firstly that withdraw any protection of wireless LAN.
1) No hidden SSID
2) No WEP/WPA
3) No mac filtering
Luckily, the wireless LAN is working. I order to simplify my life, I using the pre-install utility - NetworkManager to perform connection. It also working well.
After that I have tried to a big step jumping to enable all of above mentioned protection to the wireless connection, but no luck any more.
So, I do it again step by step again.
1) Enable MAC filtering on the router. - Wireless working without problem
2) Enable hidden SSID on the router - longer time for associate but OK. 3) Enable WPA on the router - using wpa_supplicant for WPA authentication, due to cannot recognize the driver wl. So I using WEP instead of WPA to encrypt my WLAN and it working well after a bit slowly authentication.

I am still trying to enhance the security to WPA. Hopefully, Broadcom can release more information on how to using their newly developed driver to let us explode the ability of the broadcom chipset.

Good luck to everyone.

[Ichido]

My 2 Dell Inspirons 1525n, with the 3945 Wireless Card, Wireless worked great until Yesterday's Updates.
Now I have two laptops without Wifi!
I suspect the "Updates" Killed both of my laptop's wifi :(

output from "dmesg | tail" from one of my 2 laptops:

[ 70.924157] sky2 eth1: enabling interface
[ 70.930385] ADDRCONF(NETDEV_UP): eth1: link is not ready
[ 73.048413] ACPI: PCI Interrupt 0000:0b:00.0[A] -> GSI 17 (level, low) -> IRQ 17
[ 73.048555] PM: Writing back config space on device 0000:0b:00.0 at offset 1 (was 100102, writing 100106)
[ 73.049623] iwl3945: Radio disabled by HW RF Kill switch
[ 73.049741] ACPI: PCI interrupt for device 0000:0b:00.0 disabled
[ 86.438315] ACPI: PCI Interrupt 0000:0b:00.0[A] -> GSI 17 (level, low) -> IRQ 17
[ 86.438458] PM: Writing back config space on device 0000:0b:00.0 at offset 1 (was 100102, writing 100106)
[ 86.439560] iwl3945: Radio disabled by HW RF Kill switch
[ 86.439678] ACPI: PCI interrupt for device 0000:0b:00.0 disabled

Can anyone help?
Thank God my Desktop is on Ethernet Cable :)

[superm1]

My 2 Dell Inspirons 1525n, with the 3945 Wireless Card, Wireless worked great until Yesterday's Updates.
Now I have two laptops without Wifi!
I suspect the "Updates" Killed both of my laptop's wifi :(

output from "dmesg | tail" from one of my 2 laptops:

[ 70.924157] sky2 eth1: enabling interface
[ 70.930385] ADDRCONF(NETDEV_UP): eth1: link is not ready
[ 73.048413] ACPI: PCI Interrupt 0000:0b:00.0[A] -> GSI 17 (level, low) -> IRQ 17
[ 73.048555] PM: Writing back config space on device 0000:0b:00.0 at offset 1 (was 100102, writing 100106)
[ 73.049623] iwl3945: Radio disabled by HW RF Kill switch
[ 73.049741] ACPI: PCI interrupt for device 0000:0b:00.0 disabled
[ 86.438315] ACPI: PCI Interrupt 0000:0b:00.0[A] -> GSI 17 (level, low) -> IRQ 17
[ 86.438458] PM: Writing back config space on device 0000:0b:00.0 at offset 1 (was 100102, writing 100106)
[ 86.439560] iwl3945: Radio disabled by HW RF Kill switch
[ 86.439678] ACPI: PCI interrupt for device 0000:0b:00.0 disabled

Can anyone help?
Thank God my Desktop is on Ethernet Cable :)
There is currently a bug in hardy-proposed and linux-backports-modules I believe. If you have it activated, remove lbm.

[Ichido]

Would you please explain your post:

There is currently a bug in hardy-proposed and linux-backports-modules I believe. If you have it activated, remove lbm.

How do I find out if the "linux-backports-modules" are Activated?
How do I remove "lbm"?
thanks

[lynchman]

I had the same problem the last few days. It was about 3 weeks since I updated - and the update killed my wireless. I updated to proposed yesterday and then I needed to manually load the wl module, and then my wireless starting working again.

[Ichido]

I had the same problem the last few days. It was about 3 weeks since I updated - and the update killed my wireless. I updated to proposed yesterday and then I needed to manually load the wl module, and then my wireless starting working again.

Can you please explain:
"I updated to proposed" and How do I manually load the "wl"?
Many thanks.

[superm1]

Can you please explain:
"I updated to proposed" and How do I manually load the "wl"?
Many thanks.
More or less:

1) Create a blacklist file in /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist-bcm43 that contains these contents
blacklist b43
blacklist ssb
blacklist b43legacy

2) Update initramfs
sudo update-initramfs -u

3) Activate hardy-proposed in System->Administration->Software Sources

4) Perform all updates (make sure you get a linux, linux-ubuntu-modules, and linux-restricted-modules update).

5) Profit

[TimDaniels]

The Duck update killed my M1330's Wi-Fi, too. Wi-Fi had been working fine (as long as it was in roaming mode) with Gutsy, but it disappeared with the Duck update. The Update Manager kept saying that my system was up-to-date until I checked "Pre-release updates" in the "Updates" tab of the Software Sources administrative utility. Then Update Manager said that there were 55 updates available. I installed those updates, restarted the system, and... nada. Wi-Fi is still not available. Do I have to do this "blacklist" stuff? Why would something have to be blacklisted to enable a driver update for Broadcom Wi-Fi?

*TimDaniels*

[deja]

I had similar problems with my M1330.

I was using NDIS wrapper, and was told the restricted drivers came out, so I uninstalled NDIS. Then I had to manually modprobe -r ndiswrapper.

I was left with the aforementioned problem of the wl driver being "active" but not "in use" in the restricted drivers panel on startup that had to be disabled and reenabled. Adding wl to the /etc/modules file fixed this.

Hope this is of some help.

[TimDaniels]

I had similar problems with my M1330.

[....] Adding wl to the /etc/modules file fixed this.

OK, checking the thread mode, I see that you're replying to me. Would you please elaborate on where to get the "wl" file?

*TimDaniels*

[bregenspan]

OK, checking the thread mode, I see that you're replying to me. Would you please elaborate on where to get the "wl" file?

*TimDaniels*

The wl file is a module/driver that you should already have if you have an up-to-date copy of Hardy (and you should definitely have if you updated to the latest proposed version).