HowTo: Broadcom BCM43xx in 5 minutes with ndiswrapper/WPA for fresh installs

[Jamie Jackson]

I'm trying this procedure on my HP Pavilion dv8000 on a pretty fresh install of Hardy, but I've had no luck.

My chipset is: 06:02.0 0280: 14e4:4319 (rev 02)

I tried step 2a going off the "other bcm43xx" suggestion. After going through the whole process, and using the "lshw -C network" command, I don't have any "module" specifying ssb or ndiswrapper.
here is what it shows.
*-network:0
description: Network controller
product: BCM4311 [AirForce 54g] 802.11a/b/g PCI Express Transceiver
vendor: Broadcom Corporation
physical id: 2
bus info: pci@0000:06:02.0
version: 02
width: 32 bits
clock: 33MHz
capabilities: bus_master
configuration: driver=b43-pci-bridge latency=64 module=ssb
*-network:1
description: Ethernet interface
product: RTL-8139/8139C/8139C+
vendor: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd.
physical id: 6
bus info: pci@0000:06:06.0
logical name: eth0
version: 10
serial: 00:0f:b0:bb:ff:56
width: 32 bits
clock: 33MHz
capabilities: bus_master cap_list ethernet physical
configuration: broadcast=yes driver=8139too driverversion=0.9.28 ip=192.168.233.167 latency=128 maxlatency=64 mingnt=32 module=8139too multicast=yes
*-network
description: Wireless interface
physical id: 1
logical name: wlan0
serial: 00:14:a5:2c:71:cd
capabilities: ethernet physical wireless
configuration: broadcast=yes multicast=yes wireless=IEEE 802.11g

I tried the temporary hardy fix, it now shows the module=ndiswrapper, but I still don't have any available wireless APs.
Here is the hardy fix and the network readout after:

dan@dan-laptop:~$ sudo rmmod b43
dan@dan-laptop:~$ sudo rmmod b44
ERROR: Module b44 does not exist in /proc/modules
dan@dan-laptop:~$ sudo rmmod b43legacy
ERROR: Module b43legacy does not exist in /proc/modules
dan@dan-laptop:~$ sudo rmmod ssb
dan@dan-laptop:~$ sudo rmmod ndiswrapper
dan@dan-laptop:~$ sudo modprobe ndiswrapper
dan@dan-laptop:~$ sudo modprobe ssb
dan@dan-laptop:~$ sudo modprobe b44
dan@dan-laptop:~$ lshw -C network
WARNING: you should run this program as super-user.
*-network:0
description: Wireless interface
product: BCM4311 [AirForce 54g] 802.11a/b/g PCI Express Transceiver
vendor: Broadcom Corporation
physical id: 2
bus info: pci@0000:06:02.0
logical name: wlan0
version: 02
serial: 00:14:a5:2c:71:cd
width: 32 bits
clock: 33MHz
capabilities: bus_master ethernet physical wireless
configuration: broadcast=yes driver=ndiswrapper+bcmwl5 driverversion=1.52+Broadcom,10/12/2006, 4.100. latency=64 module=ndiswrapper multicast=yes wireless=IEEE 802.11a
*-network:1
description: Ethernet interface
product: RTL-8139/8139C/8139C+
vendor: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd.
physical id: 6
bus info: pci@0000:06:06.0
logical name: eth0
version: 10
serial: 00:0f:b0:bb:ff:56
width: 32 bits
clock: 33MHz
capabilities: bus_master cap_list ethernet physical
configuration: broadcast=yes driver=8139too driverversion=0.9.28 ip=192.168.233.167 latency=128 maxlatency=64 mingnt=32 module=8139too multicast=yes

Anything I missed? Or should have done differently? I'm pretty capable with computers, but I'm new to linux. Any help will be greatly appreciated, if I need to post more info, let me know.
-Dan

Please post the output of "lsmod"

[Jamie Jackson]

Hi Jamie,

Incredible work for fresh install. And it works perfect till I reboot the system. As soon as I reboot the system, the network manager doesn't show any wireless option at all. The lspci | grep Broadcom return nothing. iconfig returns - no wireless connections (for both lo & eth0). Worst: A fresh install after that doesn't solve the problem, if it does then again a reboot messes it up. Though wired works each time. Can you please help?

The last thing I tried was the tutorial at:
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=766560

I am positing the results of the commands:

maya@Maya-Laptop:~$ lspci | grep Broadcom
maya@Maya-Laptop:~$ iwconfig
lo        no wireless extensions.

eth0      no wireless extensions.

maya@Maya-Laptop:~$

Answers to your questions:

• Machine Brand and Model
  HP dv6361eu
• Wireless Brand and Model (please post the whole line): lspci | grep Broadcom
  Broadcom 4312 (rev 01)
• Wireless Chipset: lspci -n | grep '14e4:43'
  14e4:43
• Ubuntu Version: lsb_release -d
  8.04.01
• Kernel / Architecture: uname -mr
  2.6.24-19-generic i686
• Any extra boot options you might be using (e.g., noacpi, irqpoll, etc.)
  None
• Whether or not you had to compile NDISWrapper
  Yes
• Which version of Step 2 you used.
  Step 2b
• If you're on Hardy, whether you had to apply the "Hardy Bug Fix" workaround or not
  Yes

Okay, so "trying it temporarily" worked, but the permanent fix did not?

Please "sudo gedit /etc/modprobe.d/ndiswrapper" and comment out the line after "#Hardy ssb/ndiswrapper workaround, added..."

Then, reboot (you won't have wireless, so don't expect it), and post the output of "lsmod" I want to give you a custom string to put in /etc/modprove.d/ndiswrapper, based on what you post.

[Jamie Jackson]

I'm trying this procedure on my HP Pavilion dv8000 on a pretty fresh install of Hardy, but I've had no luck.

My chipset is: 06:02.0 0280: 14e4:4319 (rev 02)

I tried step 2a going off the "other bcm43xx" suggestion. After going through the whole process, and using the "lshw -C network" command, I don't have any "module" specifying ssb or ndiswrapper.
here is what it shows.
*-network:0
description: Network controller
product: BCM4311 [AirForce 54g] 802.11a/b/g PCI Express Transceiver
vendor: Broadcom Corporation
physical id: 2
bus info: pci@0000:06:02.0
version: 02
width: 32 bits
clock: 33MHz
capabilities: bus_master
configuration: driver=b43-pci-bridge latency=64 module=ssb
*-network:1
description: Ethernet interface
product: RTL-8139/8139C/8139C+
vendor: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd.
physical id: 6
bus info: pci@0000:06:06.0
logical name: eth0
version: 10
serial: 00:0f:b0:bb:ff:56
width: 32 bits
clock: 33MHz
capabilities: bus_master cap_list ethernet physical
configuration: broadcast=yes driver=8139too driverversion=0.9.28 ip=192.168.233.167 latency=128 maxlatency=64 mingnt=32 module=8139too multicast=yes
*-network
description: Wireless interface
physical id: 1
logical name: wlan0
serial: 00:14:a5:2c:71:cd
capabilities: ethernet physical wireless
configuration: broadcast=yes multicast=yes wireless=IEEE 802.11g

I tried the temporary hardy fix, it now shows the module=ndiswrapper, but I still don't have any available wireless APs.
Here is the hardy fix and the network readout after:

dan@dan-laptop:~$ sudo rmmod b43
dan@dan-laptop:~$ sudo rmmod b44
ERROR: Module b44 does not exist in /proc/modules
dan@dan-laptop:~$ sudo rmmod b43legacy
ERROR: Module b43legacy does not exist in /proc/modules
dan@dan-laptop:~$ sudo rmmod ssb
dan@dan-laptop:~$ sudo rmmod ndiswrapper
dan@dan-laptop:~$ sudo modprobe ndiswrapper
dan@dan-laptop:~$ sudo modprobe ssb
dan@dan-laptop:~$ sudo modprobe b44
dan@dan-laptop:~$ lshw -C network
WARNING: you should run this program as super-user.
*-network:0
description: Wireless interface
product: BCM4311 [AirForce 54g] 802.11a/b/g PCI Express Transceiver
vendor: Broadcom Corporation
physical id: 2
bus info: pci@0000:06:02.0
logical name: wlan0
version: 02
serial: 00:14:a5:2c:71:cd
width: 32 bits
clock: 33MHz
capabilities: bus_master ethernet physical wireless
configuration: broadcast=yes driver=ndiswrapper+bcmwl5 driverversion=1.52+Broadcom,10/12/2006, 4.100. latency=64 module=ndiswrapper multicast=yes wireless=IEEE 802.11a
*-network:1
description: Ethernet interface
product: RTL-8139/8139C/8139C+
vendor: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd.
physical id: 6
bus info: pci@0000:06:06.0
logical name: eth0
version: 10
serial: 00:0f:b0:bb:ff:56
width: 32 bits
clock: 33MHz
capabilities: bus_master cap_list ethernet physical
configuration: broadcast=yes driver=8139too driverversion=0.9.28 ip=192.168.233.167 latency=128 maxlatency=64 mingnt=32 module=8139too multicast=yes

Anything I missed? Or should have done differently? I'm pretty capable with computers, but I'm new to linux. Any help will be greatly appreciated, if I need to post more info, let me know.
-Dan

Try the XP drivers from the HP site (this link assumes dv8000 and not dv8000t).

It's confusing that they list two wireless drivers on the site, but try the first (most recent) one first:
Broadcom Wireless LAN Driver 05-2006 6.00 A Version: 4.12M

See this for trying a new driver.

If you get it working, please report back exactly which driver download link you used, so I can incorporate this chipset/driver into the wiki.

[Jamie Jackson]

sudo update-initramfs -u 

then restart and voila!... b43 has gone...

Salud!os

Can anyone give me some info on why this works, and a gauge for it's "hackiness?"

[MrPickle12481632]

First off, after using the commands in v0.3, it didn't carry through past the install. I also seem to be unable to add ndiswrapper to the modules anymore, due to the line of code "--ingnore-install".

One thing I'm seeing, when I run ndiswrapper -l, it shows the driver of my wireless card:

bcmwl5 : driver installed
device (14e4:4324) present (alternate driver:ssb)

Is there any way to simply remove that alternate?

[Ayuthia]

First off, after using the commands in v0.3, it didn't carry through past the install. I also seem to be unable to add ndiswrapper to the modules anymore, due to the line of code "--ingnore-install".

One thing I'm seeing, when I run ndiswrapper -l, it shows the driver of my wireless card:



Is there any way to simply remove that alternate?

The alternate driver message usually does not go away but it should cause no problems. The main concern is that it does not get loaded before ndiswrapper. Some people will need to have ssb because their wired ethernet card is also from Broadcom and uses the b44 driver. The b43 (wireless) and b44(wired) need to have ssb. However, ssb does interfere with ndiswrapper because it will grab the wireless before ndiswrapper can. That is why ssb needs to be loaded after ndiswrapper.

As for --ingnore-install, did you type it incorrectly so it is not loading ndiswrapper? If so, you can update the file:

gksu gedit /etc/modprobe.d/ndiswrapper

[Peter0Pan]

Okay, so "trying it temporarily" worked, but the permanent fix did not?

Please "sudo gedit /etc/modprobe.d/ndiswrapper" and comment out the line after "#Hardy ssb/ndiswrapper workaround, added..."

Then, reboot (you won't have wireless, so don't expect it), and post the output of "lsmod" I want to give you a custom string to put in /etc/modprove.d/ndiswrapper, based on what you post.

By any chance are you dual-booting? If so, can you try and see if you can connect on the other operating system? I know that some HP laptops have been running into problems where the motherboard overheats and causes problems with the wireless. My laptop had that problem and had to get serviced. From what I have known, if your wireless card was shown in lspci and then it disappears, it usually is a hardware problem.

Hi Ayuthia,
Well no dual boot just Ubuntu.
But what I tried was to remove Ubuntu, install XP to see if Wireless works and it did. I am back on Ubuntu now and the card is not detected on fresh install.
Overheating problem - Yes I had that but not due to wireless card but cause of the graphics card. The issue was solved by HP 5 months ago, now there is no over heating whatsoever.


Hi Jamie,
Yes temporary worked (had to apply Hardy fix). Followed the permanent steps, enjoyed wireless for sometime and restart - kaboom: no wireless internet, no wireless option in network manager, no wireless interfaces detected. Just wired. Did a fresh install just now and still no luck for wireless. Can't even follow your tutorial

The following code is in a fresh install (no configuration changes done)
Also attached is the system log in case that helps for diagnosis.

lspci result:

maya@Maya-Laptop:~$ lspci
00:00.0 RAM memory: nVidia Corporation C51 Host Bridge (rev a2)
00:00.1 RAM memory: nVidia Corporation C51 Memory Controller 0 (rev a2)
00:00.2 RAM memory: nVidia Corporation C51 Memory Controller 1 (rev a2)
00:00.3 RAM memory: nVidia Corporation C51 Memory Controller 5 (rev a2)
00:00.4 RAM memory: nVidia Corporation C51 Memory Controller 4 (rev a2)
00:00.5 RAM memory: nVidia Corporation C51 Host Bridge (rev a2)
00:00.6 RAM memory: nVidia Corporation C51 Memory Controller 3 (rev a2)
00:00.7 RAM memory: nVidia Corporation C51 Memory Controller 2 (rev a2)
00:02.0 PCI bridge: nVidia Corporation C51 PCI Express Bridge (rev a1)
00:03.0 PCI bridge: nVidia Corporation C51 PCI Express Bridge (rev a1)
00:04.0 PCI bridge: nVidia Corporation C51 PCI Express Bridge (rev a1)
00:09.0 RAM memory: nVidia Corporation MCP51 Host Bridge (rev a2)
00:0a.0 ISA bridge: nVidia Corporation MCP51 LPC Bridge (rev a3)
00:0a.1 SMBus: nVidia Corporation MCP51 SMBus (rev a3)
00:0a.3 Co-processor: nVidia Corporation MCP51 PMU (rev a3)
00:0b.0 USB Controller: nVidia Corporation MCP51 USB Controller (rev a3)
00:0b.1 USB Controller: nVidia Corporation MCP51 USB Controller (rev a3)
00:0d.0 IDE interface: nVidia Corporation MCP51 IDE (rev f1)
00:0e.0 IDE interface: nVidia Corporation MCP51 Serial ATA Controller (rev f1)
00:10.0 PCI bridge: nVidia Corporation MCP51 PCI Bridge (rev a2)
00:10.1 Audio device: nVidia Corporation MCP51 High Definition Audio (rev a2)
00:14.0 Bridge: nVidia Corporation MCP51 Ethernet Controller (rev a3)
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
05:00.0 VGA compatible controller: nVidia Corporation GeForce Go 7200 (rev a1)
07:05.0 FireWire (IEEE 1394): Ricoh Co Ltd R5C832 IEEE 1394 Controller
07:05.1 SD Host controller: Ricoh Co Ltd R5C822 SD/SDIO/MMC/MS/MSPro Host Adapter (rev 19)
07:05.2 System peripheral: Ricoh Co Ltd R5C843 MMC Host Controller (rev 0a)
07:05.3 System peripheral: Ricoh Co Ltd R5C592 Memory Stick Bus Host Adapter (rev 05)
07:05.4 System peripheral: Ricoh Co Ltd xD-Picture Card Controller (rev ff)
maya@Maya-Laptop:~$

lspci | grep Broadcom result:

maya@Maya-Laptop:~$ lspci | grep Broadcom
maya@Maya-Laptop:~$

iwlist scan result

maya@Maya-Laptop:~$ iwlist scan
lo        Interface doesn't support scanning.

eth0      Interface doesn't support scanning.
maya@Maya-Laptop:~$

iwconfig result

maya@Maya-Laptop:~$ iwconfig
lo        no wireless extensions.

eth0      no wireless extensions.
maya@Maya-Laptop:~$

lshw -C network result

maya@Maya-Laptop:~$ lshw -C network
WARNING: you should run this program as super-user.
maya@Maya-Laptop:~$

lsmod result:

maya@Maya-Laptop:~$ lsmod
Module                  Size  Used by
ipv6                  267780  10 
rfcomm                 41744  2 
l2cap                  25728  13 rfcomm
ppdev                  10372  0 
powernow_k8            16704  1 
cpufreq_conservative     8712  0 
cpufreq_powersave       2688  0 
cpufreq_stats           7104  0 
cpufreq_userspace       5284  0 
cpufreq_ondemand        9740  1 
freq_table              5536  3 powernow_k8,cpufreq_stats,cpufreq_ondemand
sbs                    15112  0 
sbshc                   7680  1 sbs
container               5632  0 
dock                   11280  0 
iptable_filter          3840  0 
ip_tables              14820  1 iptable_filter
x_tables               16132  1 ip_tables
sbp2                   24072  0 
parport_pc             36260  0 
lp                     12324  0 
parport                37832  3 ppdev,parport_pc,lp
joydev                 13120  0 
uvcvideo               58116  0 
evdev                  13056  8 
compat_ioctl32          2304  1 uvcvideo
videodev               29440  1 uvcvideo
v4l1_compat            15492  2 uvcvideo,videodev
v4l2_common            18304  2 uvcvideo,videodev
hci_usb                16540  2 
sdhci                  19076  0 
bluetooth              61156  7 rfcomm,l2cap,hci_usb
mmc_core               51460  1 sdhci
ricoh_mmc               4352  0 
agpgart                34760  0 
snd_hda_intel         344728  2 
snd_pcm_oss            42144  0 
snd_mixer_oss          17920  1 snd_pcm_oss
snd_pcm                78596  2 snd_hda_intel,snd_pcm_oss
snd_page_alloc         11400  2 snd_hda_intel,snd_pcm
snd_hwdep              10500  1 snd_hda_intel
snd_seq_dummy           4868  0 
video                  19856  0 
output                  4736  1 video
snd_seq_oss            35584  0 
serio_raw               7940  0 
snd_seq_midi            9376  0 
psmouse                40336  0 
snd_rawmidi            25760  1 snd_seq_midi
wmi_acer                9644  0 
snd_seq_midi_event      8320  2 snd_seq_oss,snd_seq_midi
snd_seq                54224  6 snd_seq_dummy,snd_seq_oss,snd_seq_midi,snd_seq_midi_event
battery                14212  0 
snd_timer              24836  2 snd_pcm,snd_seq
snd_seq_device          9612  5 snd_seq_dummy,snd_seq_oss,snd_seq_midi,snd_rawmidi,snd_seq
snd                    56996  15 snd_hda_intel,snd_pcm_oss,snd_mixer_oss,snd_pcm,snd_hwdep,snd_seq_dummy,snd_seq_oss,snd_rawmidi,snd_seq,snd_timer,snd_seq_device
ac                      6916  0 
button                  9232  0 
i2c_nforce2             7680  0 
k8temp                  6656  0 
soundcore               8800  1 snd
shpchp                 34452  0 
pci_hotplug            30880  1 shpchp
i2c_core               24832  1 i2c_nforce2
pcspkr                  4224  0 
ext3                  136712  1 
jbd                    48404  1 ext3
mbcache                 9600  1 ext3
usbhid                 31872  0 
hid                    38784  1 usbhid
sd_mod                 30720  3 
sg                     36880  0 
sr_mod                 17956  0 
cdrom                  37408  1 sr_mod
sata_nv                27528  2 
pata_amd               14212  0 
ata_generic             8324  0 
ohci1394               33584  0 
ieee1394               93752  2 sbp2,ohci1394
pata_acpi               8320  0 
ehci_hcd               37900  0 
forcedeth              51980  0 
libata                159344  4 sata_nv,pata_amd,ata_generic,pata_acpi
scsi_mod              151436  5 sbp2,sd_mod,sg,sr_mod,libata
ohci_hcd               25348  0 
usbcore               146028  6 uvcvideo,hci_usb,usbhid,ehci_hcd,ohci_hcd
thermal                16796  0 
processor              36872  4 powernow_k8,thermal
fan                     5636  0 
fbcon                  42912  0 
tileblit                3456  1 fbcon
font                    9472  1 fbcon
bitblit                 6784  1 fbcon
softcursor              3072  1 bitblit
fuse                   50580  3 
maya@Maya-Laptop:~$

[MrPickle12481632]

Actually, strange as this sounds, I removed the entire init code from the ndiswrapper file, reinstalled ndiswrapper, and went through the steps to get the temp fix in.

After that, I installed about 90-something updates that had been released since that point in time, and now it works perfectly! Did someone release a fix in the past few days?

[Jamie Jackson]

Hi Ayuthia,
Well no dual boot just Ubuntu.
But what I tried was to remove Ubuntu, install XP to see if Wireless works and it did. I am back on Ubuntu now and the card is not detected on fresh install.
Overheating problem - Yes I had that but not due to wireless card but cause of the graphics card. The issue was solved by HP 5 months ago, now there is no over heating whatsoever.


Hi Jamie,
Yes temporary worked (had to apply Hardy fix). Followed the permanent steps, enjoyed wireless for sometime and restart - kaboom: no wireless internet, no wireless option in network manager, no wireless interfaces detected. Just wired. Did a fresh install just now and still no luck for wireless. Can't even follow your tutorial

The following code is in a fresh install (no configuration changes done)
Also attached is the system log in case that helps for diagnosis.

lspci result:

maya@Maya-Laptop:~$ lspci
00:00.0 RAM memory: nVidia Corporation C51 Host Bridge (rev a2)
00:00.1 RAM memory: nVidia Corporation C51 Memory Controller 0 (rev a2)
00:00.2 RAM memory: nVidia Corporation C51 Memory Controller 1 (rev a2)
00:00.3 RAM memory: nVidia Corporation C51 Memory Controller 5 (rev a2)
00:00.4 RAM memory: nVidia Corporation C51 Memory Controller 4 (rev a2)
00:00.5 RAM memory: nVidia Corporation C51 Host Bridge (rev a2)
00:00.6 RAM memory: nVidia Corporation C51 Memory Controller 3 (rev a2)
00:00.7 RAM memory: nVidia Corporation C51 Memory Controller 2 (rev a2)
00:02.0 PCI bridge: nVidia Corporation C51 PCI Express Bridge (rev a1)
00:03.0 PCI bridge: nVidia Corporation C51 PCI Express Bridge (rev a1)
00:04.0 PCI bridge: nVidia Corporation C51 PCI Express Bridge (rev a1)
00:09.0 RAM memory: nVidia Corporation MCP51 Host Bridge (rev a2)
00:0a.0 ISA bridge: nVidia Corporation MCP51 LPC Bridge (rev a3)
00:0a.1 SMBus: nVidia Corporation MCP51 SMBus (rev a3)
00:0a.3 Co-processor: nVidia Corporation MCP51 PMU (rev a3)
00:0b.0 USB Controller: nVidia Corporation MCP51 USB Controller (rev a3)
00:0b.1 USB Controller: nVidia Corporation MCP51 USB Controller (rev a3)
00:0d.0 IDE interface: nVidia Corporation MCP51 IDE (rev f1)
00:0e.0 IDE interface: nVidia Corporation MCP51 Serial ATA Controller (rev f1)
00:10.0 PCI bridge: nVidia Corporation MCP51 PCI Bridge (rev a2)
00:10.1 Audio device: nVidia Corporation MCP51 High Definition Audio (rev a2)
00:14.0 Bridge: nVidia Corporation MCP51 Ethernet Controller (rev a3)
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
05:00.0 VGA compatible controller: nVidia Corporation GeForce Go 7200 (rev a1)
07:05.0 FireWire (IEEE 1394): Ricoh Co Ltd R5C832 IEEE 1394 Controller
07:05.1 SD Host controller: Ricoh Co Ltd R5C822 SD/SDIO/MMC/MS/MSPro Host Adapter (rev 19)
07:05.2 System peripheral: Ricoh Co Ltd R5C843 MMC Host Controller (rev 0a)
07:05.3 System peripheral: Ricoh Co Ltd R5C592 Memory Stick Bus Host Adapter (rev 05)
07:05.4 System peripheral: Ricoh Co Ltd xD-Picture Card Controller (rev ff)
maya@Maya-Laptop:~$

lspci | grep Broadcom result:

maya@Maya-Laptop:~$ lspci | grep Broadcom
maya@Maya-Laptop:~$

iwlist scan result

maya@Maya-Laptop:~$ iwlist scan
lo        Interface doesn't support scanning.

eth0      Interface doesn't support scanning.
maya@Maya-Laptop:~$

iwconfig result

maya@Maya-Laptop:~$ iwconfig
lo        no wireless extensions.

eth0      no wireless extensions.
maya@Maya-Laptop:~$

lshw -C network result

maya@Maya-Laptop:~$ lshw -C network
WARNING: you should run this program as super-user.
maya@Maya-Laptop:~$

lsmod result:

maya@Maya-Laptop:~$ lsmod
Module                  Size  Used by
ipv6                  267780  10 
rfcomm                 41744  2 
l2cap                  25728  13 rfcomm
ppdev                  10372  0 
powernow_k8            16704  1 
cpufreq_conservative     8712  0 
cpufreq_powersave       2688  0 
cpufreq_stats           7104  0 
cpufreq_userspace       5284  0 
cpufreq_ondemand        9740  1 
freq_table              5536  3 powernow_k8,cpufreq_stats,cpufreq_ondemand
sbs                    15112  0 
sbshc                   7680  1 sbs
container               5632  0 
dock                   11280  0 
iptable_filter          3840  0 
ip_tables              14820  1 iptable_filter
x_tables               16132  1 ip_tables
sbp2                   24072  0 
parport_pc             36260  0 
lp                     12324  0 
parport                37832  3 ppdev,parport_pc,lp
joydev                 13120  0 
uvcvideo               58116  0 
evdev                  13056  8 
compat_ioctl32          2304  1 uvcvideo
videodev               29440  1 uvcvideo
v4l1_compat            15492  2 uvcvideo,videodev
v4l2_common            18304  2 uvcvideo,videodev
hci_usb                16540  2 
sdhci                  19076  0 
bluetooth              61156  7 rfcomm,l2cap,hci_usb
mmc_core               51460  1 sdhci
ricoh_mmc               4352  0 
agpgart                34760  0 
snd_hda_intel         344728  2 
snd_pcm_oss            42144  0 
snd_mixer_oss          17920  1 snd_pcm_oss
snd_pcm                78596  2 snd_hda_intel,snd_pcm_oss
snd_page_alloc         11400  2 snd_hda_intel,snd_pcm
snd_hwdep              10500  1 snd_hda_intel
snd_seq_dummy           4868  0 
video                  19856  0 
output                  4736  1 video
snd_seq_oss            35584  0 
serio_raw               7940  0 
snd_seq_midi            9376  0 
psmouse                40336  0 
snd_rawmidi            25760  1 snd_seq_midi
wmi_acer                9644  0 
snd_seq_midi_event      8320  2 snd_seq_oss,snd_seq_midi
snd_seq                54224  6 snd_seq_dummy,snd_seq_oss,snd_seq_midi,snd_seq_midi_event
battery                14212  0 
snd_timer              24836  2 snd_pcm,snd_seq
snd_seq_device          9612  5 snd_seq_dummy,snd_seq_oss,snd_seq_midi,snd_rawmidi,snd_seq
snd                    56996  15 snd_hda_intel,snd_pcm_oss,snd_mixer_oss,snd_pcm,snd_hwdep,snd_seq_dummy,snd_seq_oss,snd_rawmidi,snd_seq,snd_timer,snd_seq_device
ac                      6916  0 
button                  9232  0 
i2c_nforce2             7680  0 
k8temp                  6656  0 
soundcore               8800  1 snd
shpchp                 34452  0 
pci_hotplug            30880  1 shpchp
i2c_core               24832  1 i2c_nforce2
pcspkr                  4224  0 
ext3                  136712  1 
jbd                    48404  1 ext3
mbcache                 9600  1 ext3
usbhid                 31872  0 
hid                    38784  1 usbhid
sd_mod                 30720  3 
sg                     36880  0 
sr_mod                 17956  0 
cdrom                  37408  1 sr_mod
sata_nv                27528  2 
pata_amd               14212  0 
ata_generic             8324  0 
ohci1394               33584  0 
ieee1394               93752  2 sbp2,ohci1394
pata_acpi               8320  0 
ehci_hcd               37900  0 
forcedeth              51980  0 
libata                159344  4 sata_nv,pata_amd,ata_generic,pata_acpi
scsi_mod              151436  5 sbp2,sd_mod,sg,sr_mod,libata
ohci_hcd               25348  0 
usbcore               146028  6 uvcvideo,hci_usb,usbhid,ehci_hcd,ohci_hcd
thermal                16796  0 
processor              36872  4 powernow_k8,thermal
fan                     5636  0 
fbcon                  42912  0 
tileblit                3456  1 fbcon
font                    9472  1 fbcon
bitblit                 6784  1 fbcon
softcursor              3072  1 bitblit
fuse                   50580  3 
maya@Maya-Laptop:~$

Bah! What happened to the device? "lspci | grep Broadcom" should show something. Until it does, I don't know what the heck to do.

Update: Here's a shot in the dark, and hopefully I'm wrong. Some cards get an automatic firmware update in Windows that borks them in Linux (this part, I know). This would seem to fit the clues you've provided. I'm probably wrong that this is what's happened to you, though.

[Jamie Jackson]

Actually, strange as this sounds, I removed the entire init code from the ndiswrapper file, reinstalled ndiswrapper, and went through the steps to get the temp fix in.

After that, I installed about 90-something updates that had been released since that point in time, and now it works perfectly! Did someone release a fix in the past few days?

It seems to be a moving target. Wait another week, and they'll do something to break it again.