HOWTO: Dell Inspiron E1505 Wireless (Broadcom 1390 WLAN)

[paperdiesel]

when i do the modprobe command, nothing happens. is there supposed to be some sort of message?

and when i do the iwlist command, i get the following:

lo Interface doesn't support scanning.

eth0 Interface doesn't support scanning.

sit0 Interface doesn't support scanning.


and thanks for the help so far.

Basically, you need to start all the way over. Let's try this again:

sudo rmmod ndiswrapper
sudo ndiswrapper -e bcmwl5
sudo apt-get remove ndiswrapper-utils

Now go to the directory where you downloaded and installed ndiswrapper from sourceforge, and do this MULTIPLE TIMES:

sudo make uninstall

When you start seeing the same output over and over, REBOOT NOW.

Now do this in the ndiswrapper directory:

sudo make
sudo make install

Now go to the DRIVERS directory where you extracted the dell drivers (you ARE using a Dell Inspiron E1505, right??):

sudo ndiswrapper -i bcmwl5.inf
sudo ndiswrapper -l
sudo modprobe ndiswrapper
sudo iwlist scanning

That should get you going.

[ILoveLily]

I never said you were dumb. In fact, I admire anyone willing to try to get a non-native wireless card to work under linux.

The problem with you using this how-to is that you're going to be using Dell's drivers, which are specifically designed to work on DELL laptops. Even if you have the same chipset (Broadcom), that's no guarantee that the entire NIC is the same (bus interface, memory management, etc), nor is it any indication whether or not DELL drivers will work on your NON-DELL laptop. I would suggest you go to the ndiswrapper list page to find out more about support with your laptop manufacturer and wireless drivers.

If you're getting an error when trying to load Dell wireless drivers on your non-Dell laptop, then there's not much I can do to help.

Well, it's odd because it literally says Dell 1390 WLAN. And I used the driver you provided (the R213123123123213213.EXE) one on Arch Linux. It's up and running beautifully. That's so weird.

[arthur_kalm]

Hmm I followed the guide but I get no scan results... this is very strange because there are several wireless networks around my area. I guess I'll go back to Dapper

[pyros]

hmm. Ok, so this is my first odyssey with ndiswrapper.

Just for the record: I am not trying this on a model 1505, but 1501; the card is the same, dell (broadcom) 1390; the windows driver downloads from the dell site are the same; there are three unsecured and one secured access point available in my area; I was referred to this thread by another 1501 owner, who successfully followed your guide;

I, however, have not been so lucky.

everything goes swimmingly, until I run sudo iwlist scanning. I get a message for each interface that they don't support scanning. I've tried this with the driver that is listed in the tutorial, as well as the updated driver that was released on the 15th with the same results. I've included the output (after running sudo make uninstall and rebooting) from my last run in the hopes that what I'm doing wrong will be obvious to others.

username@hostname:~$ cd ndiswrapper-1.28/
username@hostname:~/ndiswrapper-1.28$ sudo make
Password:
make -C driver
make[1]: Entering directory `/home/username/ndiswrapper-1.28/driver'
make -C /lib/modules/2.6.17-10-generic/build SUBDIRS=/home/username/ndiswrapper-1.28/driver
make[2]: Entering directory `/usr/src/linux-headers-2.6.17-10-generic'
  LD      /home/username/ndiswrapper-1.28/driver/built-in.o
  CC [M]  /home/username/ndiswrapper-1.28/driver/crt.o
  CC [M]  /home/username/ndiswrapper-1.28/driver/hal.o
  CC [M]  /home/username/ndiswrapper-1.28/driver/iw_ndis.o
  CC [M]  /home/username/ndiswrapper-1.28/driver/loader.o
  CC [M]  /home/username/ndiswrapper-1.28/driver/ndis.o
  CC [M]  /home/username/ndiswrapper-1.28/driver/ntoskernel.o
  CC [M]  /home/username/ndiswrapper-1.28/driver/ntoskernel_io.o
  CC [M]  /home/username/ndiswrapper-1.28/driver/pe_linker.o
  CC [M]  /home/username/ndiswrapper-1.28/driver/pnp.o
  CC [M]  /home/username/ndiswrapper-1.28/driver/proc.o
  CC [M]  /home/username/ndiswrapper-1.28/driver/rtl.o
  CC [M]  /home/username/ndiswrapper-1.28/driver/wrapmem.o
  CC [M]  /home/username/ndiswrapper-1.28/driver/wrapndis.o
  CC [M]  /home/username/ndiswrapper-1.28/driver/wrapper.o
  CC [M]  /home/username/ndiswrapper-1.28/driver/usb.o
  CC [M]  /home/username/ndiswrapper-1.28/driver/divdi3.o
  LD [M]  /home/username/ndiswrapper-1.28/driver/ndiswrapper.o
  Building modules, stage 2.
  MODPOST
  CC      /home/username/ndiswrapper-1.28/driver/ndiswrapper.mod.o
  LD [M]  /home/username/ndiswrapper-1.28/driver/ndiswrapper.ko
make[2]: Leaving directory `/usr/src/linux-headers-2.6.17-10-generic'
make[1]: Leaving directory `/home/username/ndiswrapper-1.28/driver'
make -C utils
make[1]: Entering directory `/home/username/ndiswrapper-1.28/utils'
gcc -g -Wall -I../driver -o loadndisdriver loadndisdriver.c
make[1]: Leaving directory `/home/username/ndiswrapper-1.28/utils'
username@hostname:~/ndiswrapper-1.28$ sudo make install
make -C driver install
make[1]: Entering directory `/home/username/ndiswrapper-1.28/driver'
make -C /lib/modules/2.6.17-10-generic/build SUBDIRS=/home/username/ndiswrapper-1.28/driver
make[2]: Entering directory `/usr/src/linux-headers-2.6.17-10-generic'
  Building modules, stage 2.
  MODPOST
make[2]: Leaving directory `/usr/src/linux-headers-2.6.17-10-generic'
echo /lib/modules/2.6.17-10-generic/misc
/lib/modules/2.6.17-10-generic/misc
mkdir -p /lib/modules/2.6.17-10-generic/misc
install -m 0644 ndiswrapper.ko /lib/modules/2.6.17-10-generic/misc
/sbin/depmod -a 2.6.17-10-generic -b /
make[1]: Leaving directory `/home/username/ndiswrapper-1.28/driver'
make -C utils install
make[1]: Entering directory `/home/username/ndiswrapper-1.28/utils'
install -D -m 755 loadndisdriver /sbin/loadndisdriver
install -D -m 755 ndiswrapper /usr/sbin/ndiswrapper
install -D -m 755 ndiswrapper-buginfo /usr/sbin/ndiswrapper-buginfo

NOTE: Windows driver configuration file format has changed since 1.5. You must re-install Windows drivers if they were installed before.
make[1]: Leaving directory `/home/username/ndiswrapper-1.28/utils'
mkdir -p -m 0755 /usr/share/man/man8
install -m 644 ndiswrapper.8 /usr/share/man/man8
install -m 644 loadndisdriver.8 /usr/share/man/man8
username@hostname:~/ndiswrapper-1.28$ cd ../DRIVER/
username@hostname:~/DRIVER$ ls
bcm43xx64.cat  bcm43xx.cat  bcmwl564.sys  bcmwl5.inf  bcmwl5.sys
username@hostname:~/DRIVER$ sudo ndiswrapper -i bcmwl5.inf
installing bcmwl5 ...
username@hostname:~/DRIVER$ ndiswrapper -l
installed drivers:
bcmwl5          driver installed, hardware (14E4:4328) present 
username@hostname:~/DRIVER$ sudo modprobe ndiswrapper
username@hostname:~/DRIVER$ sudo iwlist scanning
lo        Interface doesn't support scanning.

eth0      Interface doesn't support scanning.

eth1      Interface doesn't support scanning : No such device

sit0      Interface doesn't support scanning.

username@hostname:~/DRIVER$

Thanks for the guide and any help you can give.

[paperdiesel]

hmm. Ok, so this is my first odyssey with ndiswrapper.

Just for the record: I am not trying this on a model 1505, but 1501; the card is the same, dell (broadcom) 1390; the windows driver downloads from the dell site are the same; there are three unsecured and one secured access point available in my area; I was referred to this thread by another 1501 owner, who successfully followed your guide;

I, however, have not been so lucky.

everything goes swimmingly, until I run sudo iwlist scanning. I get a message for each interface that they don't support scanning. I've tried this with the driver that is listed in the tutorial, as well as the updated driver that was released on the 15th with the same results. I've included the output (after running sudo make uninstall and rebooting) from my last run in the hopes that what I'm doing wrong will be obvious to others.

username@hostname:~$ cd ndiswrapper-1.28/
username@hostname:~/ndiswrapper-1.28$ sudo make
Password:
make -C driver
make[1]: Entering directory `/home/username/ndiswrapper-1.28/driver'
make -C /lib/modules/2.6.17-10-generic/build SUBDIRS=/home/username/ndiswrapper-1.28/driver
make[2]: Entering directory `/usr/src/linux-headers-2.6.17-10-generic'
  LD      /home/username/ndiswrapper-1.28/driver/built-in.o
  CC [M]  /home/username/ndiswrapper-1.28/driver/crt.o
  CC [M]  /home/username/ndiswrapper-1.28/driver/hal.o
  CC [M]  /home/username/ndiswrapper-1.28/driver/iw_ndis.o
  CC [M]  /home/username/ndiswrapper-1.28/driver/loader.o
  CC [M]  /home/username/ndiswrapper-1.28/driver/ndis.o
  CC [M]  /home/username/ndiswrapper-1.28/driver/ntoskernel.o
  CC [M]  /home/username/ndiswrapper-1.28/driver/ntoskernel_io.o
  CC [M]  /home/username/ndiswrapper-1.28/driver/pe_linker.o
  CC [M]  /home/username/ndiswrapper-1.28/driver/pnp.o
  CC [M]  /home/username/ndiswrapper-1.28/driver/proc.o
  CC [M]  /home/username/ndiswrapper-1.28/driver/rtl.o
  CC [M]  /home/username/ndiswrapper-1.28/driver/wrapmem.o
  CC [M]  /home/username/ndiswrapper-1.28/driver/wrapndis.o
  CC [M]  /home/username/ndiswrapper-1.28/driver/wrapper.o
  CC [M]  /home/username/ndiswrapper-1.28/driver/usb.o
  CC [M]  /home/username/ndiswrapper-1.28/driver/divdi3.o
  LD [M]  /home/username/ndiswrapper-1.28/driver/ndiswrapper.o
  Building modules, stage 2.
  MODPOST
  CC      /home/username/ndiswrapper-1.28/driver/ndiswrapper.mod.o
  LD [M]  /home/username/ndiswrapper-1.28/driver/ndiswrapper.ko
make[2]: Leaving directory `/usr/src/linux-headers-2.6.17-10-generic'
make[1]: Leaving directory `/home/username/ndiswrapper-1.28/driver'
make -C utils
make[1]: Entering directory `/home/username/ndiswrapper-1.28/utils'
gcc -g -Wall -I../driver -o loadndisdriver loadndisdriver.c
make[1]: Leaving directory `/home/username/ndiswrapper-1.28/utils'
username@hostname:~/ndiswrapper-1.28$ sudo make install
make -C driver install
make[1]: Entering directory `/home/username/ndiswrapper-1.28/driver'
make -C /lib/modules/2.6.17-10-generic/build SUBDIRS=/home/username/ndiswrapper-1.28/driver
make[2]: Entering directory `/usr/src/linux-headers-2.6.17-10-generic'
  Building modules, stage 2.
  MODPOST
make[2]: Leaving directory `/usr/src/linux-headers-2.6.17-10-generic'
echo /lib/modules/2.6.17-10-generic/misc
/lib/modules/2.6.17-10-generic/misc
mkdir -p /lib/modules/2.6.17-10-generic/misc
install -m 0644 ndiswrapper.ko /lib/modules/2.6.17-10-generic/misc
/sbin/depmod -a 2.6.17-10-generic -b /
make[1]: Leaving directory `/home/username/ndiswrapper-1.28/driver'
make -C utils install
make[1]: Entering directory `/home/username/ndiswrapper-1.28/utils'
install -D -m 755 loadndisdriver /sbin/loadndisdriver
install -D -m 755 ndiswrapper /usr/sbin/ndiswrapper
install -D -m 755 ndiswrapper-buginfo /usr/sbin/ndiswrapper-buginfo

NOTE: Windows driver configuration file format has changed since 1.5. You must re-install Windows drivers if they were installed before.
make[1]: Leaving directory `/home/username/ndiswrapper-1.28/utils'
mkdir -p -m 0755 /usr/share/man/man8
install -m 644 ndiswrapper.8 /usr/share/man/man8
install -m 644 loadndisdriver.8 /usr/share/man/man8
username@hostname:~/ndiswrapper-1.28$ cd ../DRIVER/
username@hostname:~/DRIVER$ ls
bcm43xx64.cat  bcm43xx.cat  bcmwl564.sys  bcmwl5.inf  bcmwl5.sys
username@hostname:~/DRIVER$ sudo ndiswrapper -i bcmwl5.inf
installing bcmwl5 ...
username@hostname:~/DRIVER$ ndiswrapper -l
installed drivers:
bcmwl5          driver installed, hardware (14E4:4328) present 
username@hostname:~/DRIVER$ sudo modprobe ndiswrapper
username@hostname:~/DRIVER$ sudo iwlist scanning
lo        Interface doesn't support scanning.

eth0      Interface doesn't support scanning.

eth1      Interface doesn't support scanning : No such device

sit0      Interface doesn't support scanning.

username@hostname:~/DRIVER$

Thanks for the guide and any help you can give.

Finally... someone who is polite! And you even provided error output. I'm happy to help. Let's start here:

Reboot your machine. Once it's up, then go to a terminal and type:

sudo modprobe ndiswrapper
sudo iwlist scanning
dmesg
cat /var/log/syslog

Give me all of the console output and ONLY the relevant rows from your log files (dmesg and /var/log/syslog). Let's see what's up.

[cab1024]

Hello, I just got an Inspiron e1505 but can't get WiFi to work.

Everything seems to work fine until the end of Step 4. When I enter this command:
sudo modprobe ndiswrapper

Nothing happens.

Here's what I have:

chuck@chuck-laptop:~/DRIVER$ sudo ndiswrapper -l
installed drivers:
bcmwl5 driver installed, hardware (14E4:4324) present (alternate driver: bcm43xx)
chuck@chuck-laptop:~/DRIVER$ sudo modprobe ndiswrapper
chuck@chuck-laptop:~/DRIVER$

The WiFi light does not come on and the test step 5 gives me the following errors:

chuck@chuck-laptop:~/DRIVER$ sudo iwlist scanning
lo Interface doesn't support scanning.

eth0 Interface doesn't support scanning.

eth1 Interface doesn't support scanning : No such device

sit0 Interface doesn't support scanning.


Any advice? I'm stuck in XP having moved from Mac unless this starts working.

[pyros]

After woring in tech support for a few years, you have a whole differnt perspective of those who do it for free.

I have tried to include any relevant entries, and tried to err on the side of caution, so I'm sure I've included things that weren't.

with the sudo'd comands:

username@hostname:~$ sudo modprobe ndiswrapper
password:
username@hostname:~$ sudo iwlist scanning
lo        Interface doesn't support scanning.

eth0      Interface doesn't support scanning.

eth1      Interface doesn't support scanning : No such device

sit0      Interface doesn't support scanning.

username@hostname:~$

dmesg:

[17179875.236000] bcm43xx: Error: Microcode "bcm43xx_microcode5.fw" not available or load failed.
[17179998.856000] bcm43xx: Error: Microcode "bcm43xx_microcode5.fw" not available or load failed.

syslog

Nov 27 09:40:40 hostname kernel: [17179604.164000] ieee80211_crypt: registered algorithm 'NULL'
Nov 27 09:40:40 hostname kernel: [17179604.172000] ieee80211: 802.11 data/management/control stack, git-1.1.13
Nov 27 09:40:40 hostname kernel: [17179604.172000] ieee80211: Copyright (C) 2004-2005 Intel Corporation <jketreno@linux.intel.com>
Nov 27 09:40:57 hostname NetworkManager: <information>^Istarting... 
Nov 27 09:40:57 hostname firmware_helper[4352]: main: error loading '/lib/firmware/bcm43xx_microcode5.fw' for device '/class/firmware/0000:05:00.0' with driver 'bcm43xx'
Nov 27 09:40:57 hostname kernel: [17179624.668000] bcm43xx: Error: Microcode "bcm43xx_microcode5.fw" not available or load failed.
Nov 27 09:41:01 hostname NetworkManager: <information>^Ieth1: Device is fully-supported using driver 'bcm43xx'. 
Nov 27 09:41:01 hostname NetworkManager: <information>^Inm_device_init(): waiting for device's worker thread to start 
Nov 27 09:41:01 hostname firmware_helper[4506]: main: error loading '/lib/firmware/bcm43xx_microcode5.fw' for device '/class/firmware/0000:05:00.0' with driver 'bcm43xx'
Nov 27 09:41:01 hostname kernel: [17179628.404000] bcm43xx: Error: Microcode "bcm43xx_microcode5.fw" not available or load failed.
Nov 27 09:41:01 hostname NetworkManager: <information>^Inm_device_init(): device's worker thread started, continuing. 
Nov 27 09:41:01 hostname NetworkManager: <information>^INow managing wireless (802.11) device 'eth1'. 
Nov 27 09:41:01 hostname NetworkManager: <information>^IDeactivating device eth1. 
Nov 27 09:41:04 hostname NetworkManager: <information>^Ieth0: Device is fully-supported using driver 'b44'. 
Nov 27 09:41:04 hostname NetworkManager: <information>^Inm_device_init(): waiting for device's worker thread to start 
Nov 27 09:41:04 hostname NetworkManager: <information>^Inm_device_init(): device's worker thread started, continuing. 
Nov 27 09:41:04 hostname NetworkManager: <information>^INow managing wired Ethernet (802.3) device 'eth0'. 
Nov 27 09:41:04 hostname NetworkManager: <information>^IDeactivating device eth0. 
Nov 27 09:41:04 hostname dhcdbd: message_handler: message handler not found under /com/redhat/dhcp/eth0 for sub-path eth0.dbus.get.reason
Nov 27 09:41:04 hostname NetworkManager: <information>^IWill activate wired connection 'eth0' because it now has a link. 
Nov 27 09:41:04 hostname NetworkManager: <information>^ISWITCH: no current connection, found better connection 'eth0'. 
Nov 27 09:41:04 hostname dhcdbd: message_handler: message handler not found under /com/redhat/dhcp/eth0 for sub-path eth0.dbus.get.reason
Nov 27 09:41:04 hostname NetworkManager: <information>^IWill activate connection 'eth0'. 
Nov 27 09:41:04 hostname NetworkManager: <information>^IDevice eth0 activation scheduled... 
Nov 27 09:41:04 hostname NetworkManager: <information>^IActivation (eth0) started... 
Nov 27 09:41:04 hostname NetworkManager: <information>^IActivation (eth0) Stage 1 of 5 (Device Prepare) scheduled... 
Nov 27 09:41:04 hostname NetworkManager: <information>^IActivation (eth0) Stage 1 of 5 (Device Prepare) started... 
Nov 27 09:41:04 hostname NetworkManager: <information>^IActivation (eth0) Stage 2 of 5 (Device Configure) scheduled... 
Nov 27 09:41:04 hostname NetworkManager: <information>^IActivation (eth0) Stage 1 of 5 (Device Prepare) complete. 
Nov 27 09:41:04 hostname NetworkManager: <information>^IActivation (eth0) Stage 2 of 5 (Device Configure) starting... 
Nov 27 09:41:04 hostname NetworkManager: <information>^IActivation (eth0) Stage 2 of 5 (Device Configure) successful. 
Nov 27 09:41:04 hostname NetworkManager: <information>^IActivation (eth0) Stage 3 of 5 (IP Configure Start) scheduled. 
Nov 27 09:41:04 hostname NetworkManager: <information>^IActivation (eth0) Stage 2 of 5 (Device Configure) complete. 
Nov 27 09:41:04 hostname NetworkManager: <information>^IActivation (eth0) Stage 3 of 5 (IP Configure Start) started... 
Nov 27 09:41:04 hostname NetworkManager: <information>^IUpdating allowed wireless network lists. 
Nov 27 09:41:04 hostname NetworkManager: <WARNING>^I nm_dbus_get_networks_cb (): error received: org.freedesktop.NetworkManagerInfo.NoNetworks - There are no wireless networks stored.. 
Nov 27 09:41:05 hostname NetworkManager: <information>^IActivation (eth0) Beginning DHCP transaction. 
Nov 27 09:41:05 hostname NetworkManager: <information>^IActivation (eth0) Stage 3 of 5 (IP Configure Start) complete. 
Nov 27 09:41:05 hostname NetworkManager: <information>^IDHCP daemon state is now 12 (successfully started) for interface eth0 
Nov 27 09:41:05 hostname NetworkManager: <WARNING>^I nm_device_802_11_wireless_scan (): could not trigger wireless scan on device eth1: No such device 
Nov 27 09:41:06 hostname NetworkManager: <information>^IDHCP daemon state is now 1 (starting) for interface eth0
Nov 27 09:41:07 hostname dhclient: DHCPREQUEST on eth0 to 255.255.255.255 port 67
Nov 27 09:41:07 hostname dhclient: DHCPACK from 192.168.2.1
Nov 27 09:41:07 hostname NetworkManager: <information>^IDHCP daemon state is now 4 (reboot) for interface eth0 
Nov 27 09:41:07 hostname NetworkManager: <information>^IActivation (eth0) Stage 4 of 5 (IP Configure Get) scheduled... 
Nov 27 09:41:07 hostname NetworkManager: <information>^IActivation (eth0) Stage 4 of 5 (IP Configure Get) started... 
Nov 27 09:41:07 hostname dhcdbd: message_handler: message handler not found under /com/redhat/dhcp/eth0 for sub-path eth0.dbus.get.host_name
Nov 27 09:41:07 hostname dhcdbd: message_handler: message handler not found under /com/redhat/dhcp/eth0 for sub-path eth0.dbus.get.domain_name
Nov 27 09:41:07 hostname dhcdbd: message_handler: message handler not found under /com/redhat/dhcp/eth0 for sub-path eth0.dbus.get.nis_domain
Nov 27 09:41:07 hostname dhcdbd: message_handler: message handler not found under /com/redhat/dhcp/eth0 for sub-path eth0.dbus.get.nis_servers
Nov 27 09:41:07 hostname NetworkManager: <information>^IRetrieved the following IP4 configuration from the DHCP daemon: 
Nov 27 09:41:07 hostname NetworkManager: <information>^I  address 192.168.2.9 
Nov 27 09:41:07 hostname NetworkManager: <information>^I  netmask 255.255.255.0 
Nov 27 09:41:07 hostname NetworkManager: <information>^I  broadcast 192.168.2.255 
Nov 27 09:41:07 hostname NetworkManager: <information>^I  gateway 192.168.2.1 
Nov 27 09:41:07 hostname NetworkManager: <information>^I  nameserver 192.168.2.1 
Nov 27 09:41:07 hostname NetworkManager: <information>^I  nameserver 65.32.5.75 
Nov 27 09:41:07 hostname NetworkManager: <information>^IActivation (eth0) Stage 5 of 5 (IP Configure Commit) scheduled... 
Nov 27 09:41:07 hostname NetworkManager: <information>^IActivation (eth0) Stage 4 of 5 (IP Configure Get) complete. 
Nov 27 09:41:07 hostname NetworkManager: <information>^IActivation (eth0) Stage 5 of 5 (IP Configure Commit) started... 
Nov 27 09:41:07 hostname dhclient: bound to 192.168.2.9 -- renewal in 34066 seconds.
Nov 27 09:41:08 hostname NetworkManager: <information>^IDHCP returned name servers but system has disabled dynamic modification! 
Nov 27 09:41:08 hostname NetworkManager: <information>^IActivation (eth0) successful, device activated. 
Nov 27 09:41:08 hostname NetworkManager: <information>^IActivation (eth0) Finish handler scheduled. 
Nov 27 09:41:08 hostname NetworkManager: <information>^IActivation (eth0) Stage 5 of 5 (IP Configure Commit) complete. 
Nov 27 09:41:08 hostname ntpdate[4765]: step time server 82.211.81.145 offset 0.000605 sec
Nov 27 09:41:18 hostname kernel: [17179645.776000] eth0: no IPv6 routers present
Nov 27 09:41:25 hostname firmware_helper[4792]: main: error loading '/lib/firmware/bcm43xx_microcode5.fw' for device '/class/firmware/0000:05:00.0' with driver 'bcm43xx'
Nov 27 09:41:25 hostname kernel: [17179652.328000] bcm43xx: Error: Microcode "bcm43xx_microcode5.fw" not available or load failed.
Nov 27 09:41:30 hostname NetworkManager: <WARNING>^I nm_device_802_11_wireless_scan (): could not trigger wireless scan on device eth1: No such device 
Nov 27 09:41:50 hostname kernel: [17179676.896000] bcm43xx: Error: Microcode "bcm43xx_microcode5.fw" not available or load failed.
Nov 27 09:41:50 hostname firmware_helper[4802]: main: error loading '/lib/firmware/bcm43xx_microcode5.fw' for device '/class/firmware/0000:05:00.0' with driver 'bcm43xx'
Nov 27 09:41:54 hostname NetworkManager: <WARNING>^I nm_device_802_11_wireless_scan (): could not trigger wireless scan on device eth1: No such device 
Nov 27 09:42:14 hostname firmware_helper[4814]: main: error loading '/lib/firmware/bcm43xx_microcode5.fw' for device '/class/firmware/0000:05:00.0' with driver 'bcm43xx'
Nov 27 09:42:14 hostname kernel: [17179701.536000] bcm43xx: Error: Microcode "bcm43xx_microcode5.fw" not available or load failed.
Nov 27 09:42:19 hostname NetworkManager: <WARNING>^I nm_device_802_11_wireless_scan (): could not trigger wireless scan on device eth1: No such device 
Nov 27 09:42:20 hostname kernel: [17179707.264000] ndiswrapper version 1.28 loaded (preempt=no,smp=yes)
Nov 27 09:42:20 hostname kernel: [17179707.396000] usbcore: registered new driver ndiswrapper
Nov 27 09:42:39 hostname firmware_helper[4857]: main: error loading '/lib/firmware/bcm43xx_microcode5.fw' for device '/class/firmware/0000:05:00.0' with driver 'bcm43xx'
Nov 27 09:42:39 hostname kernel: [17179726.172000] bcm43xx: Error: Microcode "bcm43xx_microcode5.fw" not available or load failed.
Nov 27 09:42:43 hostname NetworkManager: <WARNING>^I nm_device_802_11_wireless_scan (): could not trigger wireless scan on device eth1: No such device 
Nov 27 09:43:03 hostname firmware_helper[4871]: main: error loading '/lib/firmware/bcm43xx_microcode5.fw' for device '/class/firmware/0000:05:00.0' with driver 'bcm43xx'
Nov 27 09:43:03 hostname kernel: [17179750.708000] bcm43xx: Error: Microcode "bcm43xx_microcode5.fw" not available or load failed.
Nov 27 09:43:08 hostname NetworkManager: <WARNING>^I nm_device_802_11_wireless_scan (): could not trigger wireless scan on device eth1: No such device 
Nov 27 09:45:08 hostname firmware_helper[4925]: main: error loading '/lib/firmware/bcm43xx_microcode5.fw' for device '/class/firmware/0000:05:00.0' with driver 'bcm43xx'
Nov 27 09:45:08 hostname kernel: [17179875.236000] bcm43xx: Error: Microcode "bcm43xx_microcode5.fw" not available or load failed.
Nov 27 09:45:12 hostname NetworkManager: <WARNING>^I nm_device_802_11_wireless_scan (): could not trigger wireless scan on device eth1: No such device 
Nov 27 09:47:12 hostname firmware_helper[4990]: main: error loading '/lib/firmware/bcm43xx_microcode5.fw' for device '/class/firmware/0000:05:00.0' with driver 'bcm43xx'
Nov 27 09:47:12 hostname kernel: [17179998.856000] bcm43xx: Error: Microcode "bcm43xx_microcode5.fw" not available or load failed.
Nov 27 09:47:15 hostname NetworkManager: <WARNING>^I nm_device_802_11_wireless_scan (): could not trigger wireless scan on device eth1: No such device

[paperdiesel]

Hello, I just got an Inspiron e1505 but can't get WiFi to work.

Everything seems to work fine until the end of Step 4. When I enter this command:
sudo modprobe ndiswrapper

Nothing happens.

Here's what I have:

chuck@chuck-laptop:~/DRIVER$ sudo ndiswrapper -l
installed drivers:
bcmwl5 driver installed, hardware (14E4:4324) present (alternate driver: bcm43xx)
chuck@chuck-laptop:~/DRIVER$ sudo modprobe ndiswrapper
chuck@chuck-laptop:~/DRIVER$

The WiFi light does not come on and the test step 5 gives me the following errors:

chuck@chuck-laptop:~/DRIVER$ sudo iwlist scanning
lo Interface doesn't support scanning.

eth0 Interface doesn't support scanning.

eth1 Interface doesn't support scanning : No such device

sit0 Interface doesn't support scanning.


Any advice? I'm stuck in XP having moved from Mac unless this starts working.

Cab,

Try this:

Reboot your machine. BEFORE it starts loading linux, go in to your BIOS setup. Scroll down to the entry that says Wireless. You'll see a section that says something about the Wifi / bluetooth hotkey. Try setting that so that the wifi is always on, and the hotkey is disabled.

I'm wondering if you're set up correctly, but the wifi hotkey is defaulting to off. Switch that BIOS setting and report back.

[paperdiesel]

dmesg:

[17179875.236000] bcm43xx: Error: Microcode "bcm43xx_microcode5.fw" not available or load failed.
[17179998.856000] bcm43xx: Error: Microcode "bcm43xx_microcode5.fw" not available or load failed.

syslog

Nov 27 09:41:18 hostname kernel: [17179645.776000] eth0: no IPv6 routers present
Nov 27 09:41:25 hostname firmware_helper[4792]: main: error loading '/lib/firmware/bcm43xx_microcode5.fw' for device '/class/firmware/0000:05:00.0' with driver 'bcm43xx'
Nov 27 09:41:25 hostname kernel: [17179652.328000] bcm43xx: Error: Microcode "bcm43xx_microcode5.fw" not available or load failed.
Nov 27 09:41:30 hostname NetworkManager: <WARNING>^I nm_device_802_11_wireless_scan (): could not trigger wireless scan on device eth1: No such device 
Nov 27 09:41:50 hostname kernel: [17179676.896000] bcm43xx: Error: Microcode "bcm43xx_microcode5.fw" not available or load failed.
Nov 27 09:41:50 hostname firmware_helper[4802]: main: error loading '/lib/firmware/bcm43xx_microcode5.fw' for device '/class/firmware/0000:05:00.0' with driver 'bcm43xx'
Nov 27 09:41:54 hostname NetworkManager: <WARNING>^I nm_device_802_11_wireless_scan (): could not trigger wireless scan on device eth1: No such device 
Nov 27 09:42:14 hostname firmware_helper[4814]: main: error loading '/lib/firmware/bcm43xx_microcode5.fw' for device '/class/firmware/0000:05:00.0' with driver 'bcm43xx'
Nov 27 09:42:14 hostname kernel: [17179701.536000] bcm43xx: Error: Microcode "bcm43xx_microcode5.fw" not available or load failed.
Nov 27 09:42:19 hostname NetworkManager: <WARNING>^I nm_device_802_11_wireless_scan (): could not trigger wireless scan on device eth1: No such device 
Nov 27 09:42:20 hostname kernel: [17179707.264000] ndiswrapper version 1.28 loaded (preempt=no,smp=yes)
Nov 27 09:42:20 hostname kernel: [17179707.396000] usbcore: registered new driver ndiswrapper
Nov 27 09:42:39 hostname firmware_helper[4857]: main: error loading '/lib/firmware/bcm43xx_microcode5.fw' for device '/class/firmware/0000:05:00.0' with driver 'bcm43xx'
Nov 27 09:42:39 hostname kernel: [17179726.172000] bcm43xx: Error: Microcode "bcm43xx_microcode5.fw" not available or load failed.
Nov 27 09:42:43 hostname NetworkManager: <WARNING>^I nm_device_802_11_wireless_scan (): could not trigger wireless scan on device eth1: No such device 
Nov 27 09:43:03 hostname firmware_helper[4871]: main: error loading '/lib/firmware/bcm43xx_microcode5.fw' for device '/class/firmware/0000:05:00.0' with driver 'bcm43xx'
Nov 27 09:43:03 hostname kernel: [17179750.708000] bcm43xx: Error: Microcode "bcm43xx_microcode5.fw" not available or load failed.
Nov 27 09:43:08 hostname NetworkManager: <WARNING>^I nm_device_802_11_wireless_scan (): could not trigger wireless scan on device eth1: No such device 
Nov 27 09:45:08 hostname firmware_helper[4925]: main: error loading '/lib/firmware/bcm43xx_microcode5.fw' for device '/class/firmware/0000:05:00.0' with driver 'bcm43xx'
Nov 27 09:45:08 hostname kernel: [17179875.236000] bcm43xx: Error: Microcode "bcm43xx_microcode5.fw" not available or load failed.
Nov 27 09:45:12 hostname NetworkManager: <WARNING>^I nm_device_802_11_wireless_scan (): could not trigger wireless scan on device eth1: No such device 
Nov 27 09:47:12 hostname firmware_helper[4990]: main: error loading '/lib/firmware/bcm43xx_microcode5.fw' for device '/class/firmware/0000:05:00.0' with driver 'bcm43xx'
Nov 27 09:47:12 hostname kernel: [17179998.856000] bcm43xx: Error: Microcode "bcm43xx_microcode5.fw" not available or load failed.
Nov 27 09:47:15 hostname NetworkManager: <WARNING>^I nm_device_802_11_wireless_scan (): could not trigger wireless scan on device eth1: No such device

Pyros,

First, go in to your BIOS and set your wireless hotkey to always on / key disabled (see my previous post to Cab). If that still doesn't do the trick, I would look in your /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist file and make sure that you have the line

blacklist bcm43xx

in there without anything before or after it on that same line. It looks to me like your system is trying to load the broken and useless bcm43xx drivers that come default with ubuntu.

[arthur_kalm]

It worked!!! How do I take back my vote?

It seems that even though I don't get scan results (very strange), I can still connect to networks...

I thought it didn't work because iwlist scan gives me no scan results. Why is this?