b43/b43legacy Troubleshooting Tips

[Primate101]

I couldn't get it to work with b43, but I managed to get ndiswrapper working again .

First, install ndiswrapper from your LiveCD. Then, put in your WMP54GS CD, and navigate to /media/cdrom#/Drivers. Type ndiswrapper -i bcmwl5.inf at the terminal.

Finally, type the following:

sudo modprobe -r b43
sudo modprobe -r b44
sudo modprobe -r ssb
sudo modprobe ndiswrapper

This makes the network manager work perfectly (it actually connects)!

Now, I'm a complete newb at Ubuntu, so could someone tell me how to do that automatically?

[Ayuthia]

I couldn't get it to work with b43, but I managed to get ndiswrapper working again .

First, install ndiswrapper from your LiveCD. Then, put in your WMP54GS CD, and navigate to /media/cdrom#/Drivers. Type ndiswrapper -i bcmwl5.inf at the terminal.

Finally, type the following:

sudo modprobe -r b43
sudo modprobe -r b44
sudo modprobe -r ssb
sudo modprobe ndiswrapper

This makes the network manager work perfectly (it actually connects)!

Now, I'm a complete newb at Ubuntu, so could someone tell me how to do that automatically?

echo -e '#Hardy ssb/ndiswrapper workaround, added' `date` '\ninstall ndiswrapper modprobe -r b43 b44 b43legacy ssb; modprobe --ignore-install ndiswrapper $CMDLINE_OPTS; modprobe ssb; modprobe b44;' | sudo tee -a /etc/modprobe.d/ndiswrapper

This comes from this link. I am not for sure if you have a Broadcom wired card or not. If you don't the b44 portion is not necessary. If you are not sure, you can leave it in there. It won't hurt anything because it will just be a module out there with nothing to do.

[luxscs]

Can the both of you post your lspci -nnm?

Here's the part relative to my wireless card:

05:00.0 "Network controller [0280]" "Broadcom Corporation [14e4]" "BCM4306 802.11b/g Wireless LAN Controller [4320]" -r03 "Linksys [1737]" "Unknown device [0015]"

I've been down the ndiswrapper route before, with no luck. In light of Primate101's success I'll give it another go next weekend.

I need to take a closer look at Joker5bb's post as well.

[Joker5bb]

Here's the part relative to my wireless card:


I've been down the ndiswrapper route before, with no luck. In light of Primate101's success I'll give it another go next weekend.

I need to take a closer look at Joker5bb's post as well.

sure guys even if you dont want to aircrack just update your kernel to 2.6.25.7 my how to is here
http://tinyshell.be/aircrackng/forum...p?topic=3602.0


b43 is better supported in that kernel!

then install like this

wget http://bu3sch.de/b43/fwcutter/b43-fwcutter-011.tar.bz2
tar xjf b43-fwcutter-011.tar.bz2
cd b43-fwcutter-011
make
cd ..

export FIRMWARE_INSTALL_DIR="/lib/firmware"
wget http://mirror2.openwrt.org/sources/b...0.10.5.tar.bz2
tar xjf broadcom-wl-4.150.10.5.tar.bz2
cd broadcom-wl-4.150.10.5/driver
sudo ../../b43-fwcutter-011/b43-fwcutter -w /lib/firmware wl_apsta_mimo.o

restart pc and your good to go no more codes are needed

[Joker5bb]

you see the major problem is

There is a known bug in b43 that is partially fixed in 2.6.25, and will
be fixed completely in 2.6.26. (It's already fixed in the
compat-wireless package.) B43 sets the transmit power and sensitivity of the card incorrectly.

[luxscs]

Ndiswrapper doesn't work for me. Started from a clean ubentu install and followed the same procedure as Primate101. No luck. I followed the more extensive procedure from alex_kent_18 (http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=766560). Still no luck.

Then I tried upgrading to 2.6.25. Other than based on Joker's advise, I read a post from somebody part of the b43 developer group, who confirmed that the 2.6.25 kernel was a lot more stable to use with these wireless drivers.
Unfortunately I don't seem to be able to get the new kernel working either.

After having gone through Joker's procedure and rebooting the machine with the 2.6.25.7 kernel, Ubuntu first seems to load fine, asking me for user and password. But after having run through the start-up procedure, at the point where the desktop is being loaded, I first get a black screen followed by a white one. And that's the end of it.

Anyway, I'm slowly but surely coming to the conclusion that configuring wireless is to large of a task for this ubuntu newbie. I think I'll spend some more energy on getting my DBV-S2 device working and sorting out MythTV, which was the initial reason for me to give linux a try!

[Joker5bb]

Ndiswrapper doesn't work for me. Started from a clean ubentu install and followed the same procedure as Primate101. No luck. I followed the more extensive procedure from alex_kent_18 (http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=766560). Still no luck.

Then I tried upgrading to 2.6.25. Other than based on Joker's advise, I read a post from somebody part of the b43 developer group, who confirmed that the 2.6.25 kernel was a lot more stable to use with these wireless drivers.
Unfortunately I don't seem to be able to get the new kernel working either.

After having gone through Joker's procedure and rebooting the machine with the 2.6.25.7 kernel, Ubuntu first seems to load fine, asking me for user and password. But after having run through the start-up procedure, at the point where the desktop is being loaded, I first get a black screen followed by a white one. And that's the end of it.

Anyway, I'm slowly but surely coming to the conclusion that configuring wireless is to large of a task for this ubuntu newbie. I think I'll spend some more energy on getting my DBV-S2 device working and sorting out MythTV, which was the initial reason for me to give linux a try!

hey man compile a new kernel is not easy task what you have now is a graphics card problem you brobably enabled the restrictive driver in the previous kernel.

[NoDecaf]

i am having a similar, but different issue. my wireless card is now on (the led was not lit until after i installed the b43 driver/firmware), however unlike some of you, i cannot see any wireless networks at all (and there are half a dozen i should be picking up).

system > administration > hardware drivers shows Broadcom B43 wireless driver checked (enabled) and "in use".

Running Hardy w/ 2.6.24-19 kernel

$ lspci -nn |grep Broadcom
00:0c.0 Network controller [0280]: Broadcom Corporation BCM4306 802.11b/g Wireless LAN Controller [14e4:4320] (rev 03)

$ sudo lshw -C network
  *-network:0             
       description: Network controller
       product: BCM4306 802.11b/g Wireless LAN Controller
       vendor: Broadcom Corporation
       physical id: c
       bus info: pci@0000:00:0c.0
       version: 03
       width: 32 bits
       clock: 33MHz
       capabilities: bus_master
       configuration: driver=b43-pci-bridge latency=64 module=ssb
  *-network:1
       description: Ethernet interface
       product: VT6102 [Rhine-II]
       vendor: VIA Technologies, Inc.
       physical id: 12
       bus info: pci@0000:00:12.0
       logical name: eth0
       version: 74
       serial: 00:03:25:14:7c:3e
       size: 100MB/s
       capacity: 100MB/s
       width: 32 bits
       clock: 33MHz
       capabilities: pm bus_master cap_list ethernet physical tp mii 10bt 10bt-fd 100bt 100bt-fd autonegotiation
       configuration: autonegotiation=on broadcast=yes driver=via-rhine driverversion=1.4.3 duplex=full ip=192.168.0.101 latency=64 link=yes maxlatency=8 mingnt=3 module=via_rhine multicast=yes port=MII speed=100MB/s
  *-network
       description: Wireless interface
       physical id: 1
       logical name: wlan0
       serial: 00:90:4b:cb:3a:b2
       capabilities: ethernet physical wireless
       configuration: broadcast=yes multicast=yes wireless=IEEE 802.11g

$ iwconfig wlan0
wlan0     IEEE 802.11g  ESSID:""  
          Mode:Managed  Frequency:2.412 GHz  Access Point: Not-Associated   
          Tx-Power=27 dBm   
          Retry min limit:7   RTS thr:off   Fragment thr=2346 B   
          Link Quality:0  Signal level:0  Noise level:0
          Rx invalid nwid:0  Rx invalid crypt:0  Rx invalid frag:0
          Tx excessive retries:0  Invalid misc:0   Missed beacon:0

~$ sudo ls /lib/firmware/b43
a0g0bsinitvals4.fw  a0g0initvals5.fw     a0g1initvals13.fw    b0g0bsinitvals4.fw  b0g0initvals4.fw    lp0initvals13.fw  ucode11.fw  ucode5.fw
a0g0bsinitvals5.fw  a0g1bsinitvals13.fw  a0g1initvals5.fw     b0g0bsinitvals5.fw  b0g0initvals5.fw    pcm4.fw           ucode13.fw
a0g0initvals4.fw    a0g1bsinitvals5.fw   b0g0bsinitvals13.fw  b0g0initvals13.fw   lp0bsinitvals13.fw  pcm5.fw           ucode4.fw

~$ sudo lsmod|grep -i -e b43 -e ssb -e bcm43xx -e ndiswrapper
b43                   144420  0 
ssb                    34308  1 b43
mac80211              165652  1 b43
led_class               6020  1 b43
input_polldev           5896  1 b43
rfkill                  8592  3 b43,rfkill_input

~$ cat /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist |grep -i -e bcm43xx -e ndiswrapper
blacklist bcm43xx

following all the troubleshooting steps everything seems to be in order, however neither network manager or wicd (having removed network manager) show any networks available.

the only thing i see that doesn't look normal is

~$ sudo dhclient -r wlan0
There is already a pid file /var/run/dhclient.pid with pid 134519072
Internet Systems Consortium DHCP Client V3.0.6
Copyright 2004-2007 Internet Systems Consortium.
All rights reserved.
For info, please visit http://www.isc.org/sw/dhcp/

wmaster0: unknown hardware address type 801
wmaster0: unknown hardware address type 801
Listening on LPF/wlan0/00:90:4b:cb:3a:b2
Sending on   LPF/wlan0/00:90:4b:cb:3a:b2
Sending on   Socket/fallback

this is driving me crazy.. any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Ayuthia]

i am having a similar, but different issue. my wireless card is now on (the led was not lit until after i installed the b43 driver/firmware), however unlike some of you, i cannot see any wireless networks at all (and there are half a dozen i should be picking up).

system > administration > hardware drivers shows Broadcom B43 wireless driver checked (enabled) and "in use".

Running Hardy w/ 2.6.24-19 kernel

$ lspci -nn |grep Broadcom
00:0c.0 Network controller [0280]: Broadcom Corporation BCM4306 802.11b/g Wireless LAN Controller [14e4:4320] (rev 03)

$ sudo lshw -C network
  *-network:0             
       description: Network controller
       product: BCM4306 802.11b/g Wireless LAN Controller
       vendor: Broadcom Corporation
       physical id: c
       bus info: pci@0000:00:0c.0
       version: 03
       width: 32 bits
       clock: 33MHz
       capabilities: bus_master
       configuration: driver=b43-pci-bridge latency=64 module=ssb
  *-network:1
       description: Ethernet interface
       product: VT6102 [Rhine-II]
       vendor: VIA Technologies, Inc.
       physical id: 12
       bus info: pci@0000:00:12.0
       logical name: eth0
       version: 74
       serial: 00:03:25:14:7c:3e
       size: 100MB/s
       capacity: 100MB/s
       width: 32 bits
       clock: 33MHz
       capabilities: pm bus_master cap_list ethernet physical tp mii 10bt 10bt-fd 100bt 100bt-fd autonegotiation
       configuration: autonegotiation=on broadcast=yes driver=via-rhine driverversion=1.4.3 duplex=full ip=192.168.0.101 latency=64 link=yes maxlatency=8 mingnt=3 module=via_rhine multicast=yes port=MII speed=100MB/s
  *-network
       description: Wireless interface
       physical id: 1
       logical name: wlan0
       serial: 00:90:4b:cb:3a:b2
       capabilities: ethernet physical wireless
       configuration: broadcast=yes multicast=yes wireless=IEEE 802.11g

~$ sudo ls /lib/firmware/b43
a0g0bsinitvals4.fw  a0g0initvals5.fw     a0g1initvals13.fw    b0g0bsinitvals4.fw  b0g0initvals4.fw    lp0initvals13.fw  ucode11.fw  ucode5.fw
a0g0bsinitvals5.fw  a0g1bsinitvals13.fw  a0g1initvals5.fw     b0g0bsinitvals5.fw  b0g0initvals5.fw    pcm4.fw           ucode13.fw
a0g0initvals4.fw    a0g1bsinitvals5.fw   b0g0bsinitvals13.fw  b0g0initvals13.fw   lp0bsinitvals13.fw  pcm5.fw           ucode4.fw

~$ sudo lsmod|grep -i -e b43 -e ssb -e bcm43xx -e ndiswrapper
b43                   144420  0 
ssb                    34308  1 b43
mac80211              165652  1 b43
led_class               6020  1 b43
input_polldev           5896  1 b43
rfkill                  8592  3 b43,rfkill_input

~$ cat /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist |grep -i -e bcm43xx -e ndiswrapper
blacklist bcm43xx

following all the troubleshooting steps everything seems to be in order, however neither network manager or wicd (having removed network manager) show any networks available.

the only thing i see that doesn't look normal is

~$ sudo dhclient -r wlan0
There is already a pid file /var/run/dhclient.pid with pid 134519072
Internet Systems Consortium DHCP Client V3.0.6
Copyright 2004-2007 Internet Systems Consortium.
All rights reserved.
For info, please visit http://www.isc.org/sw/dhcp/

wmaster0: unknown hardware address type 801
wmaster0: unknown hardware address type 801
Listening on LPF/wlan0/00:90:4b:cb:3a:b2
Sending on   LPF/wlan0/00:90:4b:cb:3a:b2
Sending on   Socket/fallback

this is driving me crazy.. any help would be greatly appreciated.

You might want to report your card to this link:
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=885173
He is one of the people who works on the b43 driver. He is looking for people with your card because he has a fix that might work for it.

[NoDecaf]

You might want to report your card to this link:
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=885173
He is one of the people who works on the b43 driver. He is looking for people with your card because he has a fix that might work for it.

ok, thanks for the tip. i will do that.