Please help BCM94311MCG WLAN wont detect hardware!

I have installed Ndiswrapper through the add programs function in Ubuntu, and downloaded the drivers for my card from Ndiswrappers website. And first time I got it working perfectly, found my network, and connected. However, after I shutdown my laptop, then booted up again, it wouldnt connect. So I checked the network manager, and wireless wasnt listed. So I checked Ndiswrapper and it said 'Hardware Present: No' or something along those lines.
So I reinstalled Ubuntu from scratch and started again. And the same thing happened. Im cabled in by ethernet at the moment but I really need wireless sorted out.
Im new to Linux, so some help from you guys would be awesome.
Iv read up as much as I can, and followed guides on this forum, but nothing works. So please help dudes.
Thanks for your time,
Craig.
P.S. My card is: Broadcom Corp. BCM94311MCG wLAN mini-PCI (rev 02)

Quote:

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So I checked Ndiswrapper and it said 'Hardware Present: No'

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That's pretty vague. It's hard to help with information like that. What do you mean you checked ndiswrapper?

However, if it works then doesn't work the only explanation to me is that the drivers aren't being loaded at startup. What tutorial did you read to get ndiswrapper set up? Do you recall typing 'blacklist ...' along the way? That step would tell Ubuntu not to try loading drivers for your card and leave ndiswrapper to do it.

Please be a little more specific.

Oh and also, im running Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy Heron. Fresh download just a few days ago. And fully updated the day it was installed. So the OS is all good. And apart from the networking issues, im loving it. Specialy the compiz effects. Absolutely awesome.
Anyways, help me out if you can friends.

Okay, il try my best to explain.
I added Ndiswrapper, and like the GUI version (I dunno if they are all GUI) and downloaded the driver from there website.
I didnt use the terminal at all, other than to determine what the card was. And I read a tutorial on how to find that out. Since then iv tried to do what it says on the Ndiswrapper website and unload module ssb and bcm43xx.
I ran the command to unload it, and bcm43xx worked okay, but ssb was 'in use'
Im confused because of the fact that it did work perfectly once, but then never again. Plus its listed as a card that works on Ndiswrappers list.
Sorry for being vague im a total noob man.
Thanks for tryin to help me out.
Also you said 'if it works'
well it doesnt work now. It just did once. Now when I located the inf file and click install it just says:
Hardware Present: No

Whereas last time it said Yes and detected the router.
Its a strange one.

Let me explain a bit about now ndiswrapper works:

If there's no linux driver for your hardware (in this case, wireless network chip) then it won't function correctly under linux. So you need to disable linux from trying to use its own driver. Then you use ndiswrapper, which is a program that takes a windows driver and 'wraps' it so that it works under linux.

What I suspect has happened is that there is a driver conflict. Essentially, ndiswrapper and the os are fighting over the hardware, each wanting to use their own driver.

If you can find a link to the tutorial you used, that will be helpful.

Thanks again man. I will find the link and post tomorrow. Cause its late here and im at work in 5 hours =(
But I shall post tomorrow. Thanks alot for helping me out, I didnt even realise Linux could be trying to use its own driver, I didnt even know linux came with wireless card drivers installed.
Thanks man, and il post again tomorrow

Here is a link that might help you get it set up with NDISwrapper. The original poster has the same card.

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=769990

Hey Guys,
Thanks for the responses.
Just booted the laptop up there and my Ndiswrapper says: 'Hardwae Present: Yes'
Which I asume is a good sign.
Iv got these screen shots of whats happening though.
It wont let me unlock the network manager, to configure the wireless card etc.
Attachment 74804

Attachment 74805

Attachment 74806

Attachment 74807

Dunno how this forum works but hopefully you can see them, and see my problem. Its just so messed up cause I had it connected wirelessly to my router perfectly for hours. And it had an even better signal stregnth than windows. Its wierd. Il read that tutorial, but im scared to touch my setup cause Ndiswrapper is detecting the hardware as you can hopefully see in the screenshot.

Thanks for all your help buddys.
This is an awesome friendly community. Unlike Microsoft 2 dollars a minute pakistani help-line!
Thanks Guys!

Well, if you were able to connect once before and you can't right now, it kind of points towards a module conflict. Can you open up the Terminal and post the results of:

Code:

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lsmod|grep -i -e bcm43xx -e b43 -e ssb -e wl -e ndiswrapper
lshw -C network
cat /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist*|grep -i -e bcm43xx -e b43 -e ssb -e wl -e ndiswrapper
cat /etc/modules|grep -i -e bcm43xx -e b43 -e ssb -e wl -e ndiswrapper

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The first command will tell us what modules are loaded. The second command will tell us what driver is being used. The third will tell us what modules are not supposed to load. The fourth will tell us what we want to have load.

Here is a command to try to see if you can get connected. It is a temporary command that will only last for the current session:

Code:

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sudo modprobe -r b43 b43legacy ssb bcm43xx wl ndiswrapper
sudo depmod -ae
sudo modprobe ndiswrapper

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The first command is the module remover. We will take out all the possible modules for your card. The next command will rebuild the module dependencies. The last command will load the ndiswrapper module.

Just got a connection there after setting a root password, in the users and groups options, then switched user, tried root but it wouldnt let me. So I logged in, in my account 'ubuntu' and it connected! But im scared to turn the system off cause last time it wouldnt ever connect again. Is there a way I can get it to just connect like this every time it boots like Microshit ******* does?
Thanks for the help though man, im getting there! Please just try and help me to get this permanent, and il be ubuntu forever and always! (I was gonna anyway, but Its a pain running a 15 meter ethernet to a router all the time lol)
Thanks buddy!
See ----> Attachment 74809