11.04 Broadcom STA Wireless drivers won't activate or uninstall

[nm_geo]

Good idea josephmills..

Here we go with a little explanation. I have tested Natty 11.04 on my Dell D620 from the first Alpha and I was able to use the the STA driver at first, but kernel upgrades cause the STA driver to fail for me. So I ended up using the b43 driver as you will see.

bigdad@bigdad-Latitude-D620:~$ lspci -vnn | grep 14e4
09:00.0 Ethernet controller [0200]: Broadcom Corporation NetXtreme BCM5752 Gigabit Ethernet PCI Express [14e4:1600] (rev 02)
0c:00.0 Network controller [0280]: Broadcom Corporation BCM4311 802.11a/b/g [14e4:4312] (rev 01)

igdad@bigdad-Latitude-D620:~$ cat /etc/lsb-release
DISTRIB_ID=Ubuntu
DISTRIB_RELEASE=11.04
DISTRIB_CODENAME=natty
DISTRIB_DESCRIPTION="Ubuntu 11.04"
bigdad@bigdad-Latitude-D620:~$

bigdad@bigdad-Latitude-D620:~$ lsmod | grep b43
b43                   296610  0 
mac80211              257001  1 b43
cfg80211              156212  2 b43,mac80211
ssb                    45942  1 b43
bigdad@bigdad-Latitude-D620:~$

bigdad@bigdad-Latitude-D620:~$ dmesg | grep b43
[    1.523316] b43-pci-bridge 0000:0c:00.0: PCI INT A -> GSI 17 (level, low) -> IRQ 17
[    1.523330] b43-pci-bridge 0000:0c:00.0: setting latency timer to 64
[   14.382966] b43-phy0: Broadcom 4311 WLAN found (core revision 10)
[   14.512249] Registered led device: b43-phy0::tx
[   14.512278] Registered led device: b43-phy0::rx
[   14.512306] Registered led device: b43-phy0::radio
[   16.040057] b43-phy0: Loading firmware version 410.2160 (2007-05-26 15:32:10)
bigdad@bigdad-Latitude-D620:~$

What I have installed for my wireless:
firmware-b43-installer (please note I do not have the lpphy-installer) with14e4:4312
b43-fwcutter

[BrianB2]

I didn't mean to insult you. I have tried the steps that you listed... I even made sure I did a clean install and stayed away from the "additional drivers" area.
No, I am not the biggest ubuntu know it all out there, but I have been using it for 2 years now as my primary OS.. I have been playing with it since 2005, off an on.

I didn't intend to sound offended, either. I was just pointing out that, based on your experience, you ought to have gone through this thread to work out which diagnostic output has been requested by the most knowledgeable contributors (not me, I hasten to add), and then post all that data concisely, so it is easy for people to see whether they can help - without them having to ask the same generalised follow-up questions every time.

0c:00.0 Network controller: Broadcom Corporation BCM4311 802.11b/g WLAN (rev 01)

So it looks like you should be using the STA driver. josephmills and nm_geo's recent posts (lucky you) are asking you to run one of the diagnostic commands mentioned earlier in the thread... save them time and effort by reporting the others too, if applicable.

[BrianB2]

So what does this all mean<snip>

Thanks very much for your clear summary, Joseph. My Dell Studio 1558 is currently working fine with:

brian@bacchus:~$ lspci -vnn | grep 14e4
04:00.0 Network controller [0280]: Broadcom Corporation BCM4312 802.11b/g LP-PHY [14e4:4315] (rev 01)

brian@bacchus:~$ sudo dpkg --list | grep "b43\|bcm"
ii  bcmwl-kernel-source                   5.100.82.38+bdcom-0ubuntu3                 Broadcom 802.11 Linux STA wireless driver source
brian@bacchus:~$

brian@bacchus:~$ dmesg | grep -i broadcom
[   15.724797] eth1: Broadcom BCM4315 802.11 Hybrid Wireless Controller 5.100.82.38
brian@bacchus:~$ dmesg | grep "b43\|wl"
[   15.262173] wl 0000:04:00.0: PCI INT A -> GSI 17 (level, low) -> IRQ 17
[   15.262270] wl 0000:04:00.0: setting latency timer to 64
[12866.583572] wl 0000:04:00.0: PCI INT A disabled
[12867.893547] wl 0000:04:00.0: restoring config space at offset 0xf (was 0x100, writing 0x107)
[12867.894093] wl 0000:04:00.0: restoring config space at offset 0x4 (was 0x4, writing 0xf0500004)
[12867.894186] wl 0000:04:00.0: restoring config space at offset 0x3 (was 0x0, writing 0x10)
[12867.894367] wl 0000:04:00.0: restoring config space at offset 0x1 (was 0x100000, writing 0x100106)
[12867.903890] wl 0000:04:00.0: PCI INT A -> GSI 17 (level, low) -> IRQ 17
[12867.903984] wl 0000:04:00.0: setting latency timer to 64
brian@bacchus:~$

[josephmills]

hi there guys and girls I would just like to clear up a couple of things. If you think that you need the b43 or the b43sta, these are two different mods/drivers the first thing that you want to do is type in

lspci -vnn | grep 14e4

this is what this code will do
ls stands for list
pci stands for pci cards in the computer
-vnn stands for find the model number
grep grep is a filter so it filters out the 14e4 thats why it is in a different color
14e4 is what grep (the filter)is looking for
so ls-->+<--pci=list pci cards
lspci -vnn= list pci cards with model number
lspci -vnn | = listpci cards with model number and stop
lspci -vnn | grep = list all pci cards with a model number and filter with grep
lspci -vnn | grep 14e4 = list all pci cards with model number and a filter with grep using 14e4 for the filter.


So what does this all mean well the b43fwcutter onlyworks for the model numbers
14e4:4307
14e4:4311
14e4:4312
14e4:4318
14e4:4319
14e4:4320
14e4:5354



If you have model number
14e4:0576
14e4:4313
14e4:4315
14e4:4328
14e4:4329
14e4:432a
14e4:432b
14e4:432c
14e4:432d
14e4:4353
14e4:4357
14e4:4358
14e4:4359
14e4:435a
14e4:4727
14e4:a99d

then you are going to need the broadcom-sta-source + broadcom-sta-common

both the b43fwcutter and the b43sta use the firmware-b43-installer

If you have the model number

14e4:4301
14e4:4306
14e4:4320
14e4:4324

Then you are going to need the b43-fwcutter with the firmware-b43legacy-installer
IMPOTANT
If you have a card that reads Broadcom Corporation BCM4312 802.11b/g LP-PHY
you need the firmware-b43-lpphy-installer not the firmware-b43-installer

IMPORTANT all of these card also need the bcmwl-kerrnel-source

Ok now that we have found our card and its model number and we know what mod/driver and firmware we need. Its time to install all of it.
Important for these next steps you will need a internet connection using a cat5 cable(ethernet) or whatever as long as you are on line. If are dealing only with wireless see section installing b43fwcutter with out internet connection.

First before installing we need to remove anything that is there right now so open up synaptic package manager and type in bcm into the search bar then click on the green box's and mark for removal then press the apply button now reboot the computer
after rebooting start to install the things that you need by opening up synaptic package manger and type in bcm follow the chart above to install the correct mods/driver and firmware then reboot again is your wireless working.


If not lets do some diagnostics please open your terminal and type in

rfkill list

where rfstands for Radio frequency kill stands for umm... and list is to list all the Radio frequency
if there is a soft block or a hard block please do a

rfkill unblock all

if that wont work try

rfkill unblock wifi or rfkill unblock wlan

Now that we know that nothing is blocked lets look at your mods/drivers

lsmod | grep b43

this will ls=list-->+<--mod=mods/driver so ls+mod=list all mods | means stop and grep is the filter and b43 is what grep is looking for
do you see you mods listed it would be nice if some of the people with working wireless could post there lsmod + there model number of there card

If lsmod looks good lets move on to the firmware

dmesg | grep b43

so dmesg looks up what the linux kernel sees and grep is the filter IMPORTANT if you are useing the b43sta then you need top type in wl instead of b43

Are you geting any errors go re-install the firmware again this is the part that seems to be "the bug in the gar"

Installing b43fwcutter with out the internet connection

Ok so you have no internet connection on your Ubuntu box for what ever reason. but you need it. Well here is how to get it. These are the things that you are going to need.

1) a blank cd/dvd or a penn drive or external hard drive or some way to transfer files (phone?) whatever.

2) you are going to need another computer of some sorts to download your mods/firmware


Ok, now that you have thous two things lets move on.

download this file http://www.omattos.com/sites/default...all-fw.tar_.gz

Then transfer it over to your Ubuntu box

Now in your Ubuntu Box [computer] please make your way to your Home folder

Once you are at your home folder right click on your home folder and make a new folder and call it wireless

Now that you have made a new folder called wireless in your home directory. It is time to move the downloaded file into the new folder called wireless

Next we need to move that folder to the firmware directory to do this open your terminal and type in

sudo cp -r ~/wireless/* /lib/firmware/

Now lets double check to make sure the download made it to the firmware directory. Too do this type this into the terminal

ls /lib/firmware

Do you see it there ? Good if not it did not moved. Go back to the last step and try again. But if you do see it lets move on to the next step

Ok so now that the download is in the firmware dir we are going to have to go there. To go there open your terminal and type in.

cd /lib/firmware

Now that you have moved lets double check to make sure this next code tells us where we are in the computer file dir. This next code stands for "print working directory"

pwd

are you at /lib/firmware if so good if not go back one step

Now that we are in the firmware directory. We have to extract the download to do this type in

sudo -s

then enter your password then

tar -xzf b43-all-fw.tar_.gz

then

exit

Now it is time to reboot

sudo reboot

Do you have wireless now ? If not you did some thing wrong.
If you have some troubles please post here and some one will help you out


Well I hope that this clears some stuff up about the b43fwcutter and the b43sta and also the b43-legacy have fun with your wire less! Please don't forget if you have one of these cards and they are working please post your lsmod and dmesg with model number of the card thanks again also I would like to say that I am working on a how to install with out the internet for the b43sta but do not have the hardware for it yet I am working on it. give me a couple of days thanks again and happy wireless
Joseph

[baibhav]

Try this it solved mine
Baibhav.com.np

[jchw]

I apologise if this is off the thread but I think it may be related.

A few days ago I was trying unsuccessfully to get my wireless card to work, reading endless threads and suggestions and since then I have lost access to my USB drives. I have 4 memory sticks and all 4 work in Mint but do not work in Ubuntu.

Is it possible that in trying to get the wifi card to work I may have blacklisted my USB drives? I have an eMachines E525 laptop and use a 32G memory stick for backups to which I have now lost access. I have been trying on and off for 10 months to get the wifi working but to no avail but the USB issue is higher priority now

Here is the output to sudo modprobe usb-storage

john@john-eMachines-E525:~$ [sudo] password for john:
[sudo]: command not found
john@john-eMachines-E525:~$ WARNING: All config files need .conf: /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist, it will be ignored in a future release.
WARNING:: command not found
john@john-eMachines-E525:~$ john@john-eMachines-E525:~$

Any thought on where to go from here would be much appreciated.

[wampa78]

Thanks for you suggestion Radiotic. It worked like a charm on my d620

[zoftware]

Posts #41 thru #47 do not work for a HP Pavilion zd8000 with the BCM4306.

[josephmills]

Posts #41 thru #47 do not work for a HP Pavilion zd8000 with the BCM4306.

what I dont belive you please post and look at the trouble shooting guide on # 44 and if you read it For real you know not to put the 4306 in it place please read then comment

[virtualcourtney]

Just wanted to chime in with thanks for this thread; in particular, post #44 got me straightened out in terms of which packages I needed to go with (Broadcom 4315 here). Thanks to everyone who has helped, and especially josephmills!