HowTo: Broadcom 4311 in 5 minutes with ndiswrapper/WPA for fresh Feisty installs

[Jamie Jackson]

This thread is read only, see this thread

Edit: Since I originally posted this I've also added support for other devices, so it now supports the BCM4306, BCM4310, BCM4311, BCM4312, BCM4318, and BCM4328
Edit 2: Update (Oct 2007): Gutsy Gibbon (*Ubuntu 7.10) has native support (via the restricted driver manager) that actually works, so this guide isn't strictly necessary for Gutsy. However, Gutsy's native support isn't capable of quite the same bandwidth as this ndiswrapper solution. Further, it doesn't seem to work for everyone. Fortunately, this guide also appears to be compatible with Gutsy.
Edit 3: Update (Apr 26 2008): This howto works with Hardy Heron (*Ubuntu 8.04) for many users. I've added some Hardy-specific commands that workaround an outstanding (ssb) module loading bug. Note, this howto still doesn't work for some Hardy users, for reasons we haven't fully hashed out yet, but almost certainly related to the ssb issue. Hardy users, please refrain from voting until this is worked out, but feel free to make thread posts.

I created a quick howto for myself, since I've had to install this card a few times. This howto works well for fresh installs of Feisty (and Gutsy, and Hardy), and requires no compiled packages. (This means simple apt-get installs only for most people, but there are ndiswrapper compilation instructions for those who need it.)

BCM43xx HowTo.

This should take less than 5 minutes.

Please report your results here or on the wiki. Others benefit from detailed feedback, so you get bonus points if you provide all of the following:

HARDY Users, Before Following the Wiki: (I need this to try to develop a module-reloading script, since Hardy users ideally should use a custom module reloader for their particular hardware.)

• Modules and Dependencies: lsmod

All Users, After Following the Wiki

• Machine Brand and Model
• Wireless Brand and Model (please post the whole line): lspci | grep Broadcom
• Wireless Chipset: lspci -n | grep '14e4:43'
• Ubuntu Version: lsb_release -d
• Kernel / Architecture: uname -mr
• Any extra boot options you might be using (e.g., noacpi, irqpoll, etc.)
• Whether or not you had to compile NDISWrapper
• Which version of Step 2 you used
• If you're on Hardy, whether you had to apply the "Hardy Bug Fix" workaround or not

Good luck,
Jamie

[maxdaemon]

It worked for me, thank you so much, that took days to do in Edgy. I had to reboot several times after following the instructions before it actually connected and I could browse the internet, but it's great now.

[Jamie Jackson]

Glad to hear it, thanks for the feedback!

[fredj]

That is interesting but it seems to depend upon having an internet connection so that you can
download some software. How would this work for people who only have a wireless connection
that doesn't work?

[kevdog]

Why is this statment needed??

sudo cp /etc/ndiswrapper/bcmwl5/XXXX:XXXX.5.conf /etc/ndiswrapper/bcmwl5/.conf

I didnt use this method to install my driver, but did install ndiswrapper according the instructions posted at the sourceforge website: http://ndiswrapper.sourceforge.net/j...,installation/

There was no mention of this step. I know I didnt do this step and everything is working for me!

[Jamie Jackson]

Originally Posted by kevdog Why is this statment needed?? I didnt use this method to install my driver, but did install ndiswrapper according the instructions posted at the sourceforge website: http://ndiswrapper.sourceforge.net/j...,installation/ There was no mention of this step. I know I didnt do this step and everything is working for me!

Hmm, I don't want any extraneous steps in there. If I get a chance, I'll start clean and try it without that step. I'll scrap it if I don't need it either. (Or unless someone tells me why it's necessary.)

Thanks,
Jamie

[Jamie Jackson]

Originally Posted by fredj That is interesting but it seems to depend upon having an internet connection so that you can download some software. How would this work for people who only have a wireless connection that doesn't work?

I plug in an ethernet cable until I've got it set it up, so I don't have instructions for how to do it offline. Maybe someone else can help with that.

[Jamie Jackson]

Originally Posted by kevdog Why is this statment needed?? I didnt use this method to install my driver, but did install ndiswrapper according the instructions posted at the sourceforge website: http://ndiswrapper.sourceforge.net/j...,installation/ There was no mention of this step. I know I didnt do this step and everything is working for me!

It turns out it's part of a step that I didn't fully flesh out, so I've removed it. I've read that some people can't get this card to work with Linksys routers when Afterburner (a proprietary Broadcom extension) is enabled (as it is by default).

I'll have to play with a Linksys router when I get a chance, and try it with and without Afterburner. If this makes a difference, I'll add that step back in with the disabling instructions. In the meantime let me know if my instructions fail for Linksys routers, and try disabling Afterburner as described a bit down the page here

[johnaaronrose]

I have a Dell Inspiron 1501 with the 1390 mini card. I've tried a few variants of getting it to work using ndiswrapper:
using the sp33008.exe in the https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Wi...eisty_No-Fluff tutorial;
using Wicd in the http://wicd.sourceforge.net/wiki/doku.php?id=faq;
using R151517.EXE in this tutorial.

All of them result in Ubuntu Feisty (either Network Manager or Wicd as appropriate) being able to to see the network but no joy in using Swiftfox or Evolution.

My guess is that it's to do with wpa (see attached archive 1390TxtFiles.tar.gz). Help please!

lspci output
00:00.0 Host bridge: ATI Technologies Inc RS480 Host Bridge (rev 10)
00:01.0 PCI bridge: ATI Technologies Inc RS480 PCI Bridge
00:05.0 PCI bridge: ATI Technologies Inc Unknown device 5a37
00:06.0 PCI bridge: ATI Technologies Inc RS480 PCI Bridge
00:12.0 SATA controller: ATI Technologies Inc SB600 Non-Raid-5 SATA
00:13.0 USB Controller: ATI Technologies Inc SB600 USB (OHCI0)
00:13.1 USB Controller: ATI Technologies Inc SB600 USB (OHCI1)
00:13.2 USB Controller: ATI Technologies Inc SB600 USB (OHCI2)
00:13.3 USB Controller: ATI Technologies Inc SB600 USB (OHCI3)
00:13.4 USB Controller: ATI Technologies Inc SB600 USB (OHCI4)
00:13.5 USB Controller: ATI Technologies Inc SB600 USB Controller (EHCI)
00:14.0 SMBus: ATI Technologies Inc SB600 SMBus (rev 13)
00:14.1 IDE interface: ATI Technologies Inc SB600 IDE
00:14.2 Audio device: ATI Technologies Inc SB600 Azalia
00:14.3 ISA bridge: ATI Technologies Inc SB600 PCI to LPC Bridge
00:14.4 PCI bridge: ATI Technologies Inc SB600 PCI to PCI Bridge
00:18.0 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] K8 [Athlon64/Opteron] HyperTransport Technology Configuration
00:18.1 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] K8 [Athlon64/Opteron] Address Map
00:18.2 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] K8 [Athlon64/Opteron] DRAM Controller
00:18.3 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] K8 [Athlon64/Opteron] Miscellaneous Control
01:05.0 VGA compatible controller: ATI Technologies Inc RS482 [Radeon Xpress 200M]
05:00.0 Network controller: Broadcom Corporation Dell Wireless 1390 WLAN Mini-PCI Card (rev 01)
08:00.0 Ethernet controller: Broadcom Corporation BCM4401-B0 100Base-TX (rev 02)
08:01.0 Generic system peripheral [0805]: Ricoh Co Ltd R5C822 SD/SDIO/MMC/MS/MSPro Host Adapter (rev 19)
08:01.1 System peripheral: Ricoh Co Ltd Unknown device 0843 (rev 01)

lspci -n output:
00:00.0 0600: 1002:5950 (rev 10)
00:01.0 0604: 1002:5a3f
00:05.0 0604: 1002:5a37
00:06.0 0604: 1002:5a38
00:12.0 0106: 1002:4380
00:13.0 0c03: 1002:4387
00:13.1 0c03: 1002:4388
00:13.2 0c03: 1002:4389
00:13.3 0c03: 1002:438a
00:13.4 0c03: 1002:438b
00:13.5 0c03: 1002:4386
00:14.0 0c05: 1002:4385 (rev 13)
00:14.1 0101: 1002:438c
00:14.2 0403: 1002:4383
00:14.3 0601: 1002:438d
00:14.4 0604: 1002:4384
00:18.0 0600: 1022:1100
00:18.1 0600: 1022:1101
00:18.2 0600: 1022:1102
00:18.3 0600: 1022:1103
01:05.0 0300: 1002:5975
05:00.0 0280: 14e4:4311 (rev 01)
08:00.0 0200: 14e4:170c (rev 02)
08:01.0 0805: 1180:0822 (rev 19)
08:01.1 0880: 1180:0843 (rev 01)

/etc/modules:
# /etc/modules: kernel modules to load at boot time.
#
# This file contains the names of kernel modules that should be loaded
# at boot time, one per line. Lines beginning with "#" are ignored.

fuse
lp
ndiswrapper

/etc/network/interfaces:
auto lo
iface lo inet loopback

auto eth0
iface eth0 inet dhcp

auto eth1
iface eth1 inet dhcp

auto wlan0
iface wlan0 inet dhcp


/etc/modprobe.d/blacklist:
# This file lists those modules which we don't want to be loaded by
# alias expansion, usually so some other driver will be loaded for the
# device instead.

# evbug is a debug tool that should be loaded explicitly
blacklist evbug

# these drivers are very simple, the HID drivers are usually preferred
blacklist usbmouse
blacklist usbkbd

# replaced by e100
blacklist eepro100

# replaced by tulip
blacklist de4x5

# causes no end of confusion by creating unexpected network interfaces
blacklist eth1394

# snd_intel8x0m can interfere with snd_intel8x0, doesn't seem to support much
# hardware on its own (Ubuntu bug #2011, #6810)
blacklist snd_intel8x0m

# causes failure to suspend on HP compaq nc6000 (Ubuntu: #10306)
blacklist i2c_i801

# buggy driver causes kernel BUG on load (Ubuntu: #78255, #88430)
blacklist r818x
blacklist r8187

# broadcom 1390
blacklist bcm43xx


/etc/ndiswrapper:
alias eth1 ndiswrapper
alias wlan0 ndiswrapper


/etc/default/wpasupplicant:
ENABLED=0


/var/log/syslog & dmesg relevant parts are in an attached archive (1390TxtFiles.tar.gz).

[reuben]

I had a compiled ndiswrapper installed (and no longer working) on my HP laptop with this card. I followed the instructions on the No-Fluff howto, after completely removing (make uninstall, rmmod, etc) the previous. However, now when I try the modprobe line, I get:

> sudo modprobe ndiswrapper
FATAL: Module ndiswrapper not found.

What's going wrong? I will try the full-fluff, when I get a second, but I'd rather use the No-Fluff.

Thanks