Comprehensive ndiswrapper troubleshooting guide

[husky55]

I have read this thread and really enjoyed the wonderful knowledge and generosity of the haves to the haves not i.e. the expert vs. the ignorant like me.

So I decided to share this story.

I did not have a problem until Christmas, when I was seduced by this ndiswrapper thread.

I originally installed Ubuntu 8.10 to my test computer. Well, it was working fine. so I installed it on my gaming desktop and it also was running fine. I used the ethernet connection so internet connection was not a problem. I was so amazed at the new and improved Ubuntu over the many variants of Red Hats I tried over the years. I had a terrible time even to get USB to work back then.

So I decided to install Ubuntu to my laptop, knowing fully well that wireless is going to be my problem.

But no, Ubuntu recognizes my Dell wireless 1500 draft N card with Broadcom chipset, so I installed the driver with Hardware Drivers from System>Admin.

Keyed in my WPA pw and it connects to my repeater bridge with no problem.

I cannot tel you how happy I was, because in the past, I gave up on Linux and its many varieties because I could not make wireless to work.

So flushed with enthusiasm, I installed ndwrapper and then the Dell windows drivers. Everything was going so well until Christmas day, when I reboot the laptop and now no network connection. No more dancing network icons, jut a static dead wireless.

So I spent all Christmas day and night and this morning install and reinstall drivers and now my wireless network is dead as a door nail. I tried a ton of things but nothing doing. Somehow ndiswrapper and Dell windows drivers for the Dell wireless 1500 minicard kill my wireless and I cannot restore my Ubuntu to its previous state.

I am thinking that my love affair with Ubuntu is fast approaching its end just when I got MP3 and Youtube playing beautifully with Ubuntu. But now no wifi means no internet except tethered to a cat5 cord. And that is not an option.


I know this is all my fault because I did not leave well enough alone but being and engineer, I had to keep trying. It's just my nature.




P.S.

I have now lost my ethernet also. At this point I removed ndiswrapper and installed the Ubuntu b43xx driver.

chan@ubuntu:~$ lshw -C Network
WARNING: you should run this program as super-user.
*-network
description: Network controller
product: BCM4328 802.11a/b/g/n
vendor: Broadcom Corporation
physical id: 0
bus info: pci@0000:0b:00.0
version: 01
width: 64 bits
clock: 33MHz
capabilities: bus_master cap_list
configuration: driver=b43-pci-bridge latency=0 module=ssb
*-network UNCLAIMED
description: Ethernet controller
product: BCM4401-B0 100Base-TX
vendor: Broadcom Corporation
physical id: 0
bus info: pci@0000:03:00.0
version: 02
width: 32 bits
clock: 33MHz
capabilities: bus_master cap_list
configuration: latency=64
*-network DISABLED
description: Ethernet interface
physical id: 1
logical name: pan0
serial: ce:1b:8e:df:30:fb
capabilities: ethernet physical
configuration: broadcast=yes driver=bridge driverversion=2.3 firmware=N/A multicast=yes
chan@ubuntu:~$ sudo ///etc/init.d/networking restart
[sudo] password for chan:
* Reconfiguring network interfaces... [ OK ]

[pytheas22]

husky55: I'm not positive what's going on, but it looks like your wireless card is currently being driven by the b43 driver. Try running these commands to switch to the ndiswrapper driver, since you say that the wireless was working under ndiswrapper until yesterday:

sudo modprobe -r b43 b44 ssb ndiswrapper
sudo modprobe ndiswrapper
sudo ifconfig wlan0 up

Does it work now? If not, please tell me the output of:

ndiswrapper -l
cat /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist
dmesg | grep -e ndis -e wlan -e b43 -e b44 -e ssb -e adio
sudo iwlist scan

[husky55]

Thanks for giving the directions on what to do.

I am sorry if I was not clear in my post. Everything was working fine with the B43 driver, the Ubuntu default for broadcom chipset. Since I have a Draft N wifi card and a draft N wifi setup, I tried to use ndiswrapper (3 components as listed) to install the Dell Windows 1500 wifi card drivers (these drivers are working real well in the windows XP side of the laptop). The result was disaster. Something is stopping the network from working, i.e. the computer icon for the network at the top right of the screen do not spin to attempt to connect.

In addition I lost my ethernet connection for the Ubuntu. Nothing wrong with WinXP side of the same machine. I tested my network and it's working fine.

I did run the codes posted.

sudo modprobe -r b43 b44 ssb ndiswrapper return nothing

sudo modprobe ndiswrapper return nothing

sudo ifconfig wlan0 up return no such device

I have lost the ethernet and wireless and have trouble posting from the laptop. I am using a desktop to post this.

I ran:

ndiswrapper -l result nothing

cat /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist I removed #replaced by b43 and ssb
blacklist bcm43xx


dmesg | grep -e ndis -e wlan -e b43 -e b44 -e ssb -e adio
sudo iwlist scan

output:


chan@ubuntu:~$ dmesg | grep -e wlan -e b43 -e b44 -e ssb -e adio
[ 3.196388] b43-pci-bridge 0000:0b:00.0: PCI INT A -> GSI 16 (level, low) -> IRQ 16
[ 3.196397] b43-pci-bridge 0000:0b:00.0: setting latency timer to 64
[ 3.264114] ssb: Sonics Silicon Backplane found on PCI device 0000:0b:00.0
[ 3.322390] b44: disagrees about version of symbol ssb_device_is_enabled
[ 3.322393] b44: Unknown symbol ssb_device_is_enabled
[ 3.322521] b44: disagrees about version of symbol ssb_pcicore_dev_irqvecs_enable
[ 3.322523] b44: Unknown symbol ssb_pcicore_dev_irqvecs_enable
[ 3.322702] b44: disagrees about version of symbol ssb_bus_may_powerdown
[ 3.322704] b44: Unknown symbol ssb_bus_may_powerdown
[ 3.322786] b44: disagrees about version of symbol ssb_dma_free_consistent
[ 3.322789] b44: Unknown symbol ssb_dma_free_consistent
[ 3.323058] b44: disagrees about version of symbol ssb_pcihost_register
[ 3.323060] b44: Unknown symbol ssb_pcihost_register
[ 3.323328] b44: disagrees about version of symbol ssb_dma_alloc_consistent
[ 3.323330] b44: Unknown symbol ssb_dma_alloc_consistent
[ 3.323474] b44: disagrees about version of symbol ssb_dma_set_mask
[ 3.323476] b44: Unknown symbol ssb_dma_set_mask
[ 3.323765] b44: disagrees about version of symbol ssb_device_enable
[ 3.323767] b44: Unknown symbol ssb_device_enable
[ 3.324088] b44: disagrees about version of symbol ssb_driver_unregister
[ 3.324090] b44: Unknown symbol ssb_driver_unregister
[ 3.324312] b44: disagrees about version of symbol __ssb_driver_register
[ 3.324314] b44: Unknown symbol __ssb_driver_register
[ 3.324446] b44: disagrees about version of symbol ssb_bus_powerup
[ 3.324448] b44: Unknown symbol ssb_bus_powerup
[ 3.324811] b44: disagrees about version of symbol ssb_clockspeed
[ 3.324814] b44: Unknown symbol ssb_clockspeed
[ 3.324933] b44: disagrees about version of symbol ssb_dma_translation
[ 3.324936] b44: Unknown symbol ssb_dma_translation
[ 12.769365] b44: disagrees about version of symbol ssb_device_is_enabled
[ 12.769368] b44: Unknown symbol ssb_device_is_enabled
[ 12.769503] b44: disagrees about version of symbol ssb_pcicore_dev_irqvecs_enable
[ 12.769505] b44: Unknown symbol ssb_pcicore_dev_irqvecs_enable
[ 12.769688] b44: disagrees about version of symbol ssb_bus_may_powerdown
[ 12.769690] b44: Unknown symbol ssb_bus_may_powerdown
[ 12.769777] b44: disagrees about version of symbol ssb_dma_free_consistent
[ 12.769779] b44: Unknown symbol ssb_dma_free_consistent
[ 12.770061] b44: disagrees about version of symbol ssb_pcihost_register
[ 12.770063] b44: Unknown symbol ssb_pcihost_register
[ 12.770337] b44: disagrees about version of symbol ssb_dma_alloc_consistent
[ 12.770339] b44: Unknown symbol ssb_dma_alloc_consistent
[ 12.770490] b44: disagrees about version of symbol ssb_dma_set_mask
[ 12.770492] b44: Unknown symbol ssb_dma_set_mask
[ 12.770785] b44: disagrees about version of symbol ssb_device_enable
[ 12.770788] b44: Unknown symbol ssb_device_enable
[ 12.771105] b44: disagrees about version of symbol ssb_driver_unregister
[ 12.771107] b44: Unknown symbol ssb_driver_unregister
[ 12.771337] b44: disagrees about version of symbol __ssb_driver_register
[ 12.771339] b44: Unknown symbol __ssb_driver_register
[ 12.771483] b44: disagrees about version of symbol ssb_bus_powerup
[ 12.771485] b44: Unknown symbol ssb_bus_powerup
[ 12.771938] b44: disagrees about version of symbol ssb_clockspeed
[ 12.771941] b44: Unknown symbol ssb_clockspeed
[ 12.772079] b44: disagrees about version of symbol ssb_dma_translation
[ 12.772082] b44: Unknown symbol ssb_dma_translation
[ 13.506836] b43-phy0: Broadcom 4321 WLAN found
[ 13.556037] b43-phy0 ERROR: FOUND UNSUPPORTED PHY (Analog 5, Type 4, Revision 1)
[ 13.556068] b43: probe of ssb0:0 failed with error -95

At this stage, I do not know what to do. But since it's the holidays, I will say that I have had nothing in Ubuntu worth saving, so this is just a very painful learning experience. I guess I could start with a new fresh install of Ubuntu.

My only hope was to restore the Ubuntu to it's original install.

[pytheas22]

husky55: although b43 may not support 11n mode yet (they're working on it, I believe), there's a driver called 'wl' that should. It's a closed-source driver released by Broadcom and should support your 4328 card. If you're on Ubuntu 8.10, go to System>Administration>Hardware Drivers and you should see an option to enable the "Broadcom STA Wireless Driver." Check that box.

If you're on 8.04, see this thread for instructions on installing the wl driver.

On 8.10, you should also be able to load 'wl' manually by typing:

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

If you do that and type 'sudo iwlist scan', do you see a list of wireless networks?

As for the ethernet breaking, it looks like the problem described in this thread from a few weeks ago, which was caused by a bad kernel update. Applying system updates should fix it, according to that thread. The broken ethernet therefore appears to be an issue totally independent from the broken wireless, although I'm sure that your bad luck in having both these problems coincide has made you worry that a much larger disaster has occurred to wipe out your networking entirely. But actually things don't seem to be that bad; it's just an unfortunate coincidence that the ethernet and wireless broke at the same time.

Of course, you can't apply updates if you currently have no way of getting online. But if you choose to boot into an older kernel at the grub boot screen (choose one lower on the list), your ethernet may work there, which would allow you to apply updates. If you can't get the wireless going, I would give this a shot.

On the other hand, if you really don't have anything important on your Ubuntu system, it only takes 30 minutes to reinstall, so you could always go with that. And use the 'wl' driver from the start this time.

Either way, I'm happy to help you straighten out the wireless and ethernet with your existing system, or to get the 'wl' driver working on a new install.

[etherealethel]

Hello again, yes i tried your suggestion re. wicd, and it now sees the Thomson network, but when I enter the WEP key it spends ages trying to connect but no joy. It seems to get stuck at the 'obtaining IP address' stage.

Also, when installing wicd i get a message 'the Network Manager Applet could not find some of the required resources. It cannot continue' but then when I click OK it appears to have installed wicd OK..?

[husky55]

@pytheas22,

I will do as suggested. On another note, I did follow your troubleshooting guide and it was better than some graduate courses I took in another life.

Frankly, please consider writing as book about networking and wireless. Linux needs it.

Besides the politics and description of Baltimore in the HBO series the Wire, I had no idea , it's also a Linux paradise.

Happy Holidays,

[husky55]

Hey pytheas22,

I got my wireless back. You are a genius. I still don't know how I messed it up, but I have a Fedora Red Hat Linux Bible of 2" thick book and it does not even begin to understand my problem, much less to solve it.

I kept doing the B43 driver and the Dell driver and they don't work. I am so happy you told me about the Broadcom STA driver. I would have sworn that I did install that baby before with disastrous results.

As far as my ethernet, may be after the holidays you will have some suggestions.

Many thanks again,

[pytheas22]

etherealethel: I googled around for a while and the consensus with your card (PCI ID 0846:6a00) seems to be that it won't work with ndiswrapper with networks that are encrypted. I think that's what it comes down to.

Since no security is not an option for you, I think the best strategy at this point would be to try switching back to the rtl8187 driver, which is the one that Ubuntu would have used for your card by default. I know you said that you were able seemingly to connect under that driver but could not load web pages, but that could be something simple to fix.

So my recommendation would be that you follow these steps to revert to the rtl8187 driver:

1. open up your blacklist file by typing:

sudo gedit /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist

and remove any lines that read 'blacklist rtl8187' or similar. Add to the file this line:

blacklist ndiswrapper

Then save and close the file.

2. reboot
3. after rebooting, your card should be brought up under the rtl8187 driver and you should be able to connect using wicd (or Network Manager if you reinstalled it...although it may not hurt to see if this card performs any better under wicd). If it doesn't seem to be working, try typing:

sudo modprobe rtl8187

and wait a few seconds to see if you can connect then. If it still doesn't work, please just skip to the bottom of these instructions and post the information requested there.

4. connect to your network. Once you've been connected but are unable to load web pages, please post the output of:

lshw -C Network
dmesg | grep -e rtl -e wlan -e ndis
ifconfig
wget google.com
host google.com
cat /etc/resolv.conf
wget 209.85.171.100

Hopefully this will lead to any easy solution. From what I read, your card should work under the rtl8187 driver even on secured networks.

Also, when installing wicd i get a message 'the Network Manager Applet could not find some of the required resources. It cannot continue' but then when I click OK it appears to have installed wicd OK..?

Don't worry about this; it always says this when you install wicd. Unfortunately, it's nothing that would help troubleshoot your problem.

I will do as suggested. On another note, I did follow your troubleshooting guide and it was better than some graduate courses I took in another life.

Frankly, please consider writing as book about networking and wireless. Linux needs it.

Besides the politics and description of Baltimore in the HBO series the Wire, I had no idea , it's also a Linux paradise.

Thanks for the kind words. I actually don't know very much about networking or Linux, really. In my real life I'm a PhD student studying eighteenth-century France, which means that the only books I could ever write are on stuff like Louis XIV, which would unfortunately not be very helpful to many Ubuntu users. But maintaining this thread is a good means of procrastinating from my real work, and if it helps some people get ndiswrapper working, all the better

EDIT: also just saw that you got your wireless working again; glad to hear it. If the ethernet doesn't get fixed by Ubuntu updates, let me know...

[husky55]

@pytheas22,

So I got my wireless back. But then I had to restart to get back into Wiindows. After Windows, I returned to Ubuntu for a restart and there we go again. The Broadcom STA Wireless Drive is Activated as before but Not in Use.

So back to the terminal I go and use the magic code:

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

And again the wireless works.

My question is what do I have to do to get this wireless driver activated and in use as part of the boot up process. I switched between Ubuntu and WinXP many times during the day. It gets pretty annoying to have to go to the terminal to type in the code every time.

Thanks,



My output:

chan@ubuntu:~$ lshw -C Network
WARNING: you should run this program as super-user.
*-network
description: Wireless interface
product: BCM4328 802.11a/b/g/n
vendor: Broadcom Corporation
physical id: 0
bus info: pci@0000:0b:00.0
logical name: eth1
version: 01
serial: 00:16:cf:89:3b:ff
width: 64 bits
clock: 33MHz
capabilities: bus_master cap_list ethernet physical wireless
configuration: broadcast=yes driver=wl ip=192.168.1.72 latency=0 module=wl multicast=yes wireless=IEEE 802.11
*-network UNCLAIMED
description: Ethernet controller
product: BCM4401-B0 100Base-TX
vendor: Broadcom Corporation
physical id: 0
bus info: pci@0000:03:00.0
version: 02
width: 32 bits
clock: 33MHz
capabilities: bus_master cap_list
configuration: latency=64
*-network DISABLED
description: Ethernet interface
physical id: 1
logical name: pan0
serial: da:9f:c0:fa:8f:4f
capabilities: ethernet physical
configuration: broadcast=yes driver=bridge driverversion=2.3 firmware=N/A multicast=yes

My Ethernet, broadcom chipset is Unclaimed and Disabled.My wireless is working with the magic code. If I blacklist b43 b44 and ssb will that do it? How do I install wl automatically?

Thanks again,

[DaleFarrell]

Whoa. You say ndiswrapper will not validate encrypted connections? I was advised to disable fwcutter and use just the ndiswrapper. I did that and I can only connect wirelessly to an unencrypted access point. I have bcmwl5 drivers installed. Dale.