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Thread: Broadcom Corporation BCM4318 (Wireless) driver??

  1. #1
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    Broadcom Corporation BCM4318 (Wireless) driver??

    I recently installed Ubuntu linux on my Gateway PC, but the PC can pick up the wireless card but not show any access points. I ran "Hardware Testing" and learned that the card is a "Broadcom Corporation BCM4318 [AirForce One 54g] 802.11g Wireless LAN Controller (rev 02)" I have tried to use ndiswrapper but I struck no gold. If someone can tell me how to use Ndiswrapper or a good alternative, The help would be greatly appreciated. (The computer has internet access now, but I don't want to carry the tower up 2 flights of stairs every time I want to download somthing xD.

    Thanks in advance,
    Simitra.

    EDIT: BTW I am running 8.10 Hardy Heron.

  2. #2
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    Re: Broadcom Corporation BCM4318 (Wireless) driver??

    I think that b43 (the driver being used by default for your card) may not support your particular chipset well. bcm43xx (an older driver) should work better, from what I gather from Google. Therefore ndiswrapper shouldn't be necessary (it would probably still work, but it would be preferable to have bcm43xx). Try following these steps to get the card working under bcm43xx (I'm assuming that you can plug into a wired connection for these steps; if that's impossible, please let me know):

    1. blacklist b43 driver and ndiswrapper:

    Code:
    sudo -s
    echo 'blacklist b43' >> /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist
    echo 'blacklist b43legacy' >> /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist
    echo 'blacklist b43 ssb' >> /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist
    echo 'blacklist ssb' >> /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist
    echo 'ndiswrapper' >> /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist
    2. install bcm43xx firmware:
    Code:
    sudo apt-get install bcm43xx-fwcutter
    You should be prompted to download and install the firmware automatically when you run this command. Say yes.

    3. reboot and you should have working wireless. If it still won't work, please open up a terminal (Applications>Accessories menu), run these commands, and post the output here:
    Code:
    iwlist scan
    lshw -C Network
    lspci -nn

  3. #3
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    Re: Broadcom Corporation BCM4318 (Wireless) driver??

    Tried this to fix my problem but did not seem to work.Here is the output as requested:

    lspci -nn
    00:00.0 Host bridge [0600]: ATI Technologies Inc RS690 Host Bridge [1002:7910]
    00:01.0 PCI bridge [0604]: ATI Technologies Inc RS690 PCI to PCI Bridge (Internal gfx) [1002:7912]
    00:07.0 PCI bridge [0604]: ATI Technologies Inc RS690 PCI to PCI Bridge (PCI Express Port 3) [1002:7917]
    00:12.0 SATA controller [0106]: ATI Technologies Inc SB600 Non-Raid-5 SATA [1002:4380]
    00:13.0 USB Controller [0c03]: ATI Technologies Inc SB600 USB (OHCI0) [1002:4387]
    00:13.1 USB Controller [0c03]: ATI Technologies Inc SB600 USB (OHCI1) [1002:4388]
    00:13.2 USB Controller [0c03]: ATI Technologies Inc SB600 USB (OHCI2) [1002:4389]
    00:13.3 USB Controller [0c03]: ATI Technologies Inc SB600 USB (OHCI3) [1002:438a]
    00:13.4 USB Controller [0c03]: ATI Technologies Inc SB600 USB (OHCI4) [1002:438b]
    00:13.5 USB Controller [0c03]: ATI Technologies Inc SB600 USB Controller (EHCI) [1002:4386]
    00:14.0 SMBus [0c05]: ATI Technologies Inc SBx00 SMBus Controller [1002:4385] (rev 14)
    00:14.1 IDE interface [0101]: ATI Technologies Inc SB600 IDE [1002:438c]
    00:14.2 Audio device [0403]: ATI Technologies Inc SBx00 Azalia [1002:4383]
    00:14.3 ISA bridge [0601]: ATI Technologies Inc SB600 PCI to LPC Bridge [1002:438d]
    00:14.4 PCI bridge [0604]: ATI Technologies Inc SBx00 PCI to PCI Bridge [1002:4384]
    00:18.0 Host bridge [0600]: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] K8 [Athlon64/Opteron] HyperTransport Technology Configuration [1022:1100]
    00:18.1 Host bridge [0600]: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] K8 [Athlon64/Opteron] Address Map [1022:1101]
    00:18.2 Host bridge [0600]: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] K8 [Athlon64/Opteron] DRAM Controller [1022:1102]
    00:18.3 Host bridge [0600]: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] K8 [Athlon64/Opteron] Miscellaneous Control [1022:1103]
    01:05.0 VGA compatible controller [0300]: ATI Technologies Inc RS690 [Radeon X1200 Series] [1002:791e]
    02:00.0 Ethernet controller [0200]: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL8111/8168B PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet controller [10ec:8168] (rev 01)
    03:06.0 Network controller [0280]: Broadcom Corporation BCM4318 [AirForce One 54g] 802.11g Wireless LAN Controller [14e4:4318] (rev 02)
    03:07.0 FireWire (IEEE 1394) [0c00]: VIA Technologies, Inc. IEEE 1394 Host Controller [1106:3044] (rev c0)

    iwlist scan
    lo Interface doesn't support scanning.

    eth0 Interface doesn't support scanning.

    sudo lshw -C Network
    *-network
    description: Ethernet interface
    product: RTL8111/8168B PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet controller
    vendor: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd.
    physical id: 0
    bus info: pci@0000:02:00.0
    logical name: eth0
    version: 01
    serial: 00:1d:60:77:9e:29
    size: 100MB/s
    capacity: 1GB/s
    width: 64 bits
    clock: 33MHz
    capabilities: pm vpd msi pciexpress bus_master cap_list ethernet physical tp 10bt 10bt-fd 100bt 100bt-fd 1000bt-fd autonegotiation
    configuration: autonegotiation=on broadcast=yes driver=r8169 driverversion=2.2LK duplex=full ip=10.0.0.34 latency=0 link=yes module=r8169 multicast=yes port=twisted pair speed=100MB/s
    *-network
    description: Network controller
    product: BCM4318 [AirForce One 54g] 802.11g Wireless LAN Controller
    vendor: Broadcom Corporation
    physical id: 6
    bus info: pci@0000:03:06.0
    version: 02
    width: 32 bits
    clock: 33MHz
    capabilities: bus_master
    configuration: driver=b43-pci-bridge latency=64 module=ssb

    Any help would be much appreciated.

  4. #4
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    Re: Broadcom Corporation BCM4318 (Wireless) driver??

    You may consider trying the experimental broadcom driver... http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=880218

  5. #5
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    Re: Broadcom Corporation BCM4318 (Wireless) driver??

    You may consider trying the experimental broadcom driver... http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=880218
    This may work too; I don't know what the status of the latest b43 code is, but if it purports to support all Broadcom chipsets, then it would probably work for you (is there any way to find out for sure if this code will support BCM4318 reliably?).

    Otherwise, soan, it looks like the driver that you installed yesterday (bcm43xx) is not driving your card for some reason because it's being pushed out by b43. Please try running this code and post the output:
    Code:
    sudo rmmod b43
    sudo rmmod b43legacy
    sudo rmmod ssb
    sudo rmmod ndiswrapper
    sudo rmmod bcm43xx
    sudo modprobe bcm43xx
    sudo ifconfig eth1 up
    iwlist eth1 scan
    It should manually force the removal of the competing modules, and make your wireless work.

  6. #6
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    Re: Broadcom Corporation BCM4318 (Wireless) driver??

    Quote Originally Posted by pytheas22 View Post
    This may work too; I don't know what the status of the latest b43 code is, but if it purports to support all Broadcom chipsets, then it would probably work for you (is there any way to find out for sure if this code will support BCM4318 reliably?).

    Otherwise, soan, it looks like the driver that you installed yesterday (bcm43xx) is not driving your card for some reason because it's being pushed out by b43. Please try running this code and post the output:
    Code:
    sudo rmmod b43
    sudo rmmod b43legacy
    sudo rmmod ssb
    sudo rmmod ndiswrapper
    sudo rmmod bcm43xx
    sudo modprobe bcm43xx
    sudo ifconfig eth1 up
    iwlist eth1 scan
    It should manually force the removal of the competing modules, and make your wireless work.
    This actually isn't based on the b43 driver. It's a driver produced by Broadcom.

  7. #7
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    Re: Broadcom Corporation BCM4318 (Wireless) driver??

    This actually isn't based on the b43 driver. It's a driver produced by Broadcom.
    Wait, I'm confused. I thought Broadcom hated Linux and that's why the bcm43xx/b43 project has spent so long reverse-engineering drivers through a Chinese wall. And you say that Broadcom has released a Linux driver? Is the source open and if so is it under the GPL or what? I hadn't heard anything about this; if you could provide a link to more information, I'd appreciate it.

    Also, you say in your guide, "This driver is being introduced in hardy, but the GUI to enable it in Jockey is not yet ready. It should support all of the Broadcom A/B/G adapters and some of the Broadcom N adapters." Do you mean Intrepid, not Hardy? I thought the Ubuntu policy was not to push out updates other than security and major bug fixes once a version of Ubuntu has been released?

    If I can get more information on what the deal is with this driver from Broadcom, I might try it for my bcm4306 card, but I'm very confused now because I hadn't heard anything about this.

  8. #8
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    Re: Broadcom Corporation BCM4318 (Wireless) driver??

    Quote Originally Posted by pytheas22 View Post
    Wait, I'm confused. I thought Broadcom hated Linux and that's why the bcm43xx/b43 project has spent so long reverse-engineering drivers through a Chinese wall. And you say that Broadcom has released a Linux driver? Is the source open and if so is it under the GPL or what? I hadn't heard anything about this; if you could provide a link to more information, I'd appreciate it.
    Yes it is a broadcom released driver: http://www.broadcom.com/support/802.11/linux_sta.php
    It's not very open yet, but they are working on making it more open, and working with the right people to do so. It's living in LRM until it's more open.

    Also, you say in your guide, "This driver is being introduced in hardy, but the GUI to enable it in Jockey is not yet ready. It should support all of the Broadcom A/B/G adapters and some of the Broadcom N adapters." Do you mean Intrepid, not Hardy? I thought the Ubuntu policy was not to push out updates other than security and major bug fixes once a version of Ubuntu has been released?
    Actually it went out the door at Hardy launch but only supported 2 of the newer cards that were critical for a Dell platform.. This revision of it supports more cards.

    If I can get more information on what the deal is with this driver from Broadcom, I might try it for my bcm4306 card, but I'm very confused now because I hadn't heard anything about this.
    Yeah it hasn't been very vocalized as of yet. Now that more cards are supported, this is why I'm trying to get some more feedback on it.

  9. #9
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    Re: Broadcom Corporation BCM4318 (Wireless) driver??

    Well I should mention, the 4318 that this thread is about actually isn't advertised as "supported", but it's possible that it does work. The driver is advertised to support 4311, 4312, 4321, and 4322

  10. #10
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    Re: Broadcom Corporation BCM4318 (Wireless) driver??

    Wow, very interesting. Do you have any idea why Broadcom finally decided to release this? I knew they had Linux drivers all along, since something needs to be driving the Broadcom chips in wireless routers that run Linux, but my sense had always been that Broadcom was extremely uncooperative with the Linux community and refused to release any kind of drivers publicly. I hope they didn't decide to release these drivers now just to screw over the bcm43xx/b43 people who have spent so long tediously reverse-engineering stuff, by negating all of their efforts.

    Also, is there any reason why we should want to use Broadcom's drivers instead of those of the b43 project? After all, b43 is pretty close to supporting every chipset with the basic features, and I think that advanced stuff is supposed to be on the way. I'd think that until Broadcom releases the full source of its drivers, b43 would be preferable. I understand why we should at least test Broadcom's drivers to see how well they work, but is there anything you can say about projected future plans, at least on Ubuntu? Are we going to abandon b43 in favor of Broadcom's driver, and if so are we going to make sure that Broadcom makes the drivers free?

    When I get a chance I'll see about using Broadcom's driver on my bcm4306 chip and let you know if it works (I know they don't say anything about supporting 4306).

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