HP dv6000z & Broadcom 4328 endless hours of research! Install & configure in minutes!

[adamos]

I wanted to post this so I can help other people with the installation of the wireless card.
my specs: HP DV6000z, amd x2 TL56, 2gb ram, nvidia 6150, BROADCOM 4321AG draft n(4328 chipset)

First off to install Ubuntu 7.04(as of 6/9/08 I did a fresh install of Ubuntu 8.04 and it still works) you need to press F6 in the first screen when you boot and type noapic and then press enter to start installing. (Skip this step for Ubuntu 8.04)
I have a dual boot configuration so I had to configure my partitions. I put manual instead of automatic and I deleted the previous Linux partitions. I created a new 20gb ext3 and set / for mountpoint. after this i created another partition of 350mb for swap. The installation finished flawlessly. NOTE: if you don't put noapic, the computer will freeze after a while and you will get the message from GRUB fatal error. I learned the hard way

** If you tried to compile / install ndiswrapper and you failed go here to uninstall it. This tutorial is intended for a fresh install. **

WIRELESS CONFIGURATION
*Don't use the crappy drivers from HP. THEY DONT WORK. I used dell's drivers.(weird)*

CODE:

sudo apt-get update sudo apt-get install build-essentials sudo apt-get install linux-headers-`uname -r`

wget http://ftp.us.dell.com/network/R151517.exe

now go to System/Administration/Synaptic Package Manager *(I am doing this step because most of the people cannot compile the damn ndiswrapper. it happened to me)*

search for ndiswrapper - from the results shown select ndiswrapper-common & ndiswrapper-utils-1.9 and install them.

sudo -s
echo blacklist bcm43xx >> /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist
exit

after this you need to reboot!

go to the directory that you downloaded the R151517.exe
unzip -a R151517.exe
cd DRIVER
sudo ndiswrapper -i bcmwl5.inf
sudo ndiswrapper -l

*you should get a message that the driver is present and hardware found*

sudo ndiswrapper -m
sudo modprobe ndiswrapper
sudo -s
echo ndiswrapper >> /etc/modules
exit

sudo iwlist scanning ** BINGO ** wlan0 works!

Now go to System/Administration/Network Tools - select the Wireless interface and configure your settings. Select the essid and put your password. In the connection setting where it says configuration put automatic configuration (DHCP) ** For Ubuntu 8.04 look at the bottom how to do the final step **

do a reboot now and you are all set!
open firefox to check if it works. It it doesnt - I did in terminal sudo modprobe ndiswrapper and I reconfigured the setting and it worked.


Some users noted that they have to restart after the final step to get the wi-fi working.


for any further assistance email or pm me

*** I NOTICED THAT SOMETIMES THE DEVICE STOPS WHEN YOU RESTART ***

here is the solution: sudo ifconfig wlan0 up

*** 4/16 I upgraded to 7.10 with sudo apt-get dist-upgrade and wireless still works..***
*** 4/28 I upgraded to 8.04 and wireless still works! ***
sometimes when you switch between wireless networks you have to do a sudo /etc/init.d/networking restart

*** 6/11 For Ubuntu 8.04 fresh installations - After you finish the whole procedure go to System - Administration - Network and configure your wireless settings. I tested it on WPA2 Personal and works like a charm.

*** I will make the how-to in a bash script to automate the process(maybe in two weeks). I am very busy with my job setting up new servers. If anyone wants to contribute pm me! ***

Thanks,
Adam

[manro]

Thanks adamos!

Just to let you (and the rest of the folks) know that this works on my HP dv9946us that have a Broadcom 4328 (rev03) chip and is running Guisty i386 distribution.

The only issue I found was that if I stop broadcasting my ssid Guisty do not connect to my network (I previously configure my connection with my ssid of course)

Thank a lot buddy! ...trying to make this card work was driving me crazy!

Best regards,
Manro

[adamos]

no problem my friend, this card was a pain in the *** to configure.. but my research worked

[manro]

Originally Posted by adamos no problem my friend, this card was a pain in the *** to configure.. but my research worked

Man, it really do!

Regards,
Manro

[DeadToad]

It was such a pain in the Azz that I uninstalled Ubuntu 7.10 and went back to Vista.

[EXCiD3]

:'( Nooooooooo!!!! Not another Windows user! :'(

Haha, if you want a good running install just use Feisty. Gutsy is crap for the moment, not matter what they say, its not as reliable as Feisty is.

[ebsmith1515]

I have a couple problems, but it seems like I am really close. When I run the iwlist scan it looks fine, and I see names of wireless networks that I know should be there, but when I go to network tools and select the wireless interface (yes it is there), the configure button is grayed out. And I can't get it to do anything wirelessly.

[ebsmith1515]

Well I actually just rebooted for about the fourth time and it decided to work. And I didn't even have to configure it. So it works now. (I'm posting ths message unplugged . Thank you very much. This worked great for my BCM4321 card.

[adamos]

as i stated in my write up i had to reboot twice.. but as soon as it starts thats it
also, gutsy = bad experience for me. i am staying with feisty for a while


Adam

[o.besner]

I can't believe someone finally found how to use a 4321 with Ubuntu.

Thanks alot !