[SOLVED] New to Linux Struggling With Wireless

[notyourbuddy]

Dell Wireless 1390 WLAN mini-card

Tried following some guides, but I've run into a little bit of a n00b wall.

Steps I've done:

1) Copied my wireless card's drivers (.sys & .inf) over from Windows into Kubuntu
2) Installed ndiswrapper (successfully)
3) Tried to install the GUI front end for ndiswrapper (failed) :-\
4) Used terminal instead to install drivers "ndiswrapper -i bcmwl5.inf" (successful)
5) "ndiswrapper -l" -> "bcmwl5 : driver installed device (14E4:4311) present (alternative driver: ssb)
6) computer restart

But still no wireless access. I click on the connections icon down in the lower right, click on "manage connections...", but the wireless tab is grayed out so I can't even attempt to manually add a connection. The only tabs not grayed out are "Wired" and "VPN".

I'm out of ideas. What do I do now? :'(

[wizard10000]

Not sure why we're trying to use ndiswrapper for a Broadcom card. Can you please open a terminal window and run

lspci -v

and then post the portion of the output that pertains to your wireless card?

thanks -

[notyourbuddy]

Thanks for replying. :)

0c:00.0 Network controller: Broadcom Corporation BCM4311 802.11b/g WLAN (rev 01)
Subsystem: Dell Wireless 1390 WLAN Mini-Card
Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 17
Memory at efdfc000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=16K]
Capabilities: <access denied>
Kernel driver in use: b43-pci-bridge
Kernel modules: wl, ssb

[wizard10000]

Cool.

This wireless card is directly supported. You should be using the Broadcom STA driver available in

KMenu --> Applications --> System --> Additional Drivers. You'll need a wired connection to install it, but running Windows drivers with ndiswrapper isn't necessary.

That *should* fix you up. Please don't hesitate to holler if you need more help.

cheers -

[neanderslob]

True that. When I made the jump to linux in 2007, one of the most important things I learned was that, in general, I didn't have to bring anything over from Windows or use any special driver hacks. This is even more true now. In order to save yourself a lot of heartache, maybe back up your drivers for safe keeping on an external and just try Kubuntu as is. It really works quite well in its own right and will save you a lot of trouble. Save that inventiveness for when you need it, sooner or later you will ;)

[notyourbuddy]

That solution sounds perfect and simple!

Unfortunately, I think I may have angered the Kubuntu gods in a past life or something as I just cannot... no matter what I do... get a wired connection to work on this computer... not even on a fresh WinXP install with all drivers updated.

Broadcom 440x 10/100 Integrated Controller
Fail - Directly connecting to cable modem
Fail - Connection to wireless router via ethernet
Fail - DHCP or static setup

I can't connect to my local network with wired let alone the Internet in either XP or Kubuntu *shrug*. Only thing I have working is wireless access (static IP) through XP. :-\

Is whats on this site: http://www.broadcom.com/support/802.11/linux_sta.php an alternative way to achieve KMenu --> Applications --> System --> Additional Drivers.? It looks a bit intimidating, but I seem to be running out of options. :(

[wizard10000]

The procedure on the Broadcom page is just a more complicated way of installing what's provided in Ubuntu ;)

I do understand that without a wired connection it's really difficult to install the wireless components, so maybe it'd be a good idea to get networking fixed before going much farther.

You can temporarily assign a static IP address to your wired network card like this - assuming your wired card is eth0:

sudo ifconfig eth0 address xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx netmask 255.255.255.0

Just plug in the static IP you want the network card to have.

Can we have some stuff to see if we can help you get your wired network going?

First, can we have the piece of

lspci -v

that deals with your wired network card? Also, the output of

sudo ifconfig

would be helpful. It'd be helpful to have that before and after you assigned a static IP to your network card.

Then - can we see the contents of /etc/network/interfaces?

cheers -

[notyourbuddy]

lspci -v

02:00.0 Ethernet controller: Broadcom Corporation BCM4401-B0 100Base-TX (rev 02)
Subsystem: Dell Inspiron E1405
Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 64, IRQ 17
Memory at ef9fe000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=8K]
Capabilities: <access denied>
Kernel driver in use: b44
Kernel modules: b44

sudo ifconfig


eth0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:15:c5:6d:93:6a
inet6 addr: fe80::215:c5ff:fe6d:936a/64 Scope:Link
UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1
RX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:119 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
RX bytes:0 (0.0 B) TX bytes:15968 (15.9 KB)
Interrupt:17

lo Link encap:Local Loopback
inet addr:127.0.0.1 Mask:255.0.0.0
inet6 addr: ::1/128 Scope:Host
UP LOOPBACK RUNNING MTU:16436 Metric:1
RX packets:291 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:291 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:0
RX bytes:22670 (22.6 KB) TX bytes:22670 (22.6 KB)


contents of interface


auto lo
iface lo inet loopback



As for setting up a static IP I think I got an error so the after output is unchanged. Did I do something wrong?


sudo ifconfig eth0 address 192.168.2.105 netmask 255.255.255.0
address: Unknown host
ifconfig: `--help' gives usage information.

[wizard10000]

No, that was my fault - sorry. Try this -

sudo ifconfig eth0 192.168.2.105 netmask 255.255.255.0

[notyourbuddy]

Mmkay ;D. Here is the after of sudo ifconfig



eth0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:15:c5:6d:93:6a
inet addr: 192.168.2.105 Bcast: 192.168.2.255 Mask:255.255.255.0
UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1
RX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:119 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
RX bytes:0 (0.0 B) TX bytes:0 (0.0 B)
Interrupt:17

lo Link encap:Local Loopback
inet addr:127.0.0.1 Mask:255.0.0.0
inet6 addr: ::1/128 Scope:Host
UP LOOPBACK RUNNING MTU:16436 Metric:1
RX packets:1496 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:1496 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:0
RX bytes:119304 (119.3 KB) TX bytes:119304 (119.3 KB)


As for the interfaces file it hasn't changed.

[wizard10000]

Networking appears to be working - can you connect to the internet with a static IP? If you can we just have to figure out why you're not getting an IP address automatically.

Since you're also not getting an IP automatically in Windows XP do you think maybe we should look at your router with a slightly jaundiced eye?

;)

edit: Also, if you can hit the internet with a static IP, try this -

sudo dhclient eth0

and post the output, please. This will broadcast a request for an IP address to your router. If your router doesn't give the machine an IP address this may take two minutes or so to return to a command prompt.

Also, I have to call it a night. I get up *really* early but there are folks who can help while I'm snoozing. I'll be back online way early in the morning, though :)

[notyourbuddy]

Yah, even with those steps the static IP setup of my wired still failed to work in Kubuntu and since it wasn't working in WinXP either I was starting to think maybe the hardware was damaged :'(


Since you're also not getting an IP automatically in Windows XP do you think maybe we should look at your router with a slightly jaundiced eye?

The rest of my computers started dropping off the network as their DHCP leases expired last night and they all failed to acquire new ones and had to be connected statically to work so indeed as you suggested the router wasn't playing nice.

Tinkered a bit with the router this morning and got DHCP working again. Wired finally started working through WinXP so crossed my fingers and gave Kubuntu a boot and surprise suprise it automatically connected to my network/internet through wired :o. I'm actually writing this reply in Kubuntu right now. Thank God! ;D

Now that wired is working I tried KMenu --> Applications --> System --> Additional Drivers. and the following automatically popped up in the Additional Drivers window.


Broadcom STA wireless driver

This package contains Broadcom 802.11 Linux STA wireless driverfor use with Broadcom's BCM4311-, BCM4312-, BCM4313-, BCM4321-,BCM4322-, BCM43224-, and BCM43225-, BCM43227- and BCM43228-basedhardware.

This driver is activated and currently in use

Sweet! But now what? In the network managment setup in the taskbar Wireless tab is still grayed out and when I unplug my wired no attempts are made to automatically connect to my wireless. I made sure my wireless hardware wasn't disabled. Even turned it off and on a few times via keyboard shortcut on my laptop. Whats the next step oh mighty and powerful Wizard of the Forum :D

[wizard10000]

Can you unplug the cable and manually connect to wireless then?

I don't use network manager so I might not be a whole lot of help here.

[notyourbuddy]

I guess my question would be, "How does one manually connect to a wireless network when no wireless networks are recognized?" ???

After the additional driver app step getting and installing the drivers for my wireless card (or whatever it was doing) I was kinda hoping Kubuntu would automatically detect any wireless networks in range, but it hasn't.

I've glanced through various settings dialogs in Kubuntu but see nothing pertaining to wireless network setup or wireless cards.

Are there any additional diagnostic steps I can run on the wireless card as to why it isn't picking up my wireless network? Are there conflicting drivers I need to blacklist or something? Do I need to manually edit network related files somewhere? :'(

iwconfig

lo no wireless extensions.

eth0 no wireless extensions.


My wireless isn't listed in the above. Guessing thats a bad thing :'(


sudo lshw -C network


*-network
description: Network controller
product: BCM4311 802.11b/g WLAN
vendor: Broadcom Corporation
physical id: 0
bus info: pci@0000:0c:00.0
version: 01
width: 32 bits
clock: 33MHz
capabilities: pm msi pciexpress bus_master cap_list
configuration: driver=b43-pci-bridge latency=0
resources: irq:17 memory:efdfc000-efdfffff
*-network
description: Ethernet interface
product: BCM4401-B0 100Base-TX
vendor: Broadcom Corporation
physical id: 0
bus info: pci@0000:02:00.0
logical name: eth0
version: 02
serial: 00:15:c5:6d:93:6a
size: 100Mbit/s
capacity: 100Mbit/s
width: 32 bits
clock: 33MHz
capabilities: pm bus_master cap_list ethernet physical mii 10bt 10bt-fd 100bt 100bt-fd autonegotiation
configuration: autonegotiation=on broadcast=yes driver=b44 driverversion=2.0 duplex=full ip=192.168.2.100 latency=64 link=yes multicast=yes port=twisted pair speed=100Mbit/s
resources: irq:17 memory:ef9fe000-ef9fffff


No logical name for my wireless card. Guessing thats also a bad thing :'(

[wizard10000]

Something still ain't quite kosher here. Can we see the output of

dpkg -l | grep STA

and

dpkg -l | grep b43

[notyourbuddy]

dpkg -l | grep STA


ii bcmwl-kernel-source 5.100.82.38+bdcom-0ubuntu3 Broadcom 802.11 Linux STA
wireless driver source


dpkg -l | grep b43

[wizard10000]

There are pieces missing :)

Try this -

sudo apt-get install b43-fwcutter firmware-b43-installer wireless-tools broadcom-sta-source broadcom-sta-common module-assistant

Some of that you may already have installed, but the b43 firmware installer is missing. Let's make sure you've got all the right pieces.

cheers -

[notyourbuddy]

Oki doki that step is complete: :P

dpkg -l | grep STA


ii bcmwl-kernel-source 5.100.82.38+bdcom-0ubuntu3 Broadcom 802.11 Linux STA wireless driver source
ii broadcom-sta-common 5.60.48.36-3 Common files for the Broadcom STA Wireless driver
ii broadcom-sta-source 5.60.48.36-3 Source for the Broadcom STA Wireless driver

dpkg -l | grep b43


ii b43-fwcutter 1:013-3 Utility for extracting Broadcom 43xx firmware
ii firmware-b43-installer 4.150.10.5-5 Installer package for firmware for the b43 driver

[wizard10000]

So does it work now?

[notyourbuddy]

Edit: Can skip this post but make sure to read the next one ;D

That answer would be a resounding no.

To double check I just now rebooted into Kubuntu and for no reason whatsoever a wired connection that was working flawlessly for the last day+ has decided to give me the 1-finger salute. >:(

iwconfig and ifconfig are only showing the loopback. eth0 apparently got lonely and ran off in search of a more competent user.

sudo lshw -C network now returns UNCLAIMED. :'(



*-network UNCLAIMED
description: Network controller
product: BCM4311 802.11b/g WLAN
vendor: Broadcom Corporation
physical id: 0
bus info: pci@0000:0c:00.0
version: 01
etc blah blah blah
*network UNCLAIMED
description: Ethernet controller
product: BCM4401-B0 100Base-TX
vendor: Broadcom Corporation
physical id: 0
bus info: pci@0000:02:00.0
version: 02
etc blah blah blah


I've been diddling around in XP today... but that shouldn't affect my Linux install in any way shape or form right? What the $#%@ :-\

lspci -v now shows no kernel driver in use: for my ethernet.. but it still recognizes the hardware...

laspci -v from a few days ago:

02:00.0 Ethernet controller: Broadcom Corporation BCM4401-B0 100Base-TX (rev 02)
Subsystem: Dell Inspiron E1405
Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 64, IRQ 17
Memory at ef9fe000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=8K]
Capabilities: <access denied>
Kernel driver in use: b44
Kernel modules: b44

versus now


02:00.0 Ethernet controller: Broadcom Corporation BCM4401-B0 100Base-TX (rev 02)
Subsystem: Dell Inspiron E1405
Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 64, IRQ 17
Memory at ef9fe000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=8K]
Capabilities: <access denied>
===>***This line is missing*** <===
Kernel modules: b44

Is there a way to manually load in the driver? Could that also be the solution to my wireless woes? Just manually load in the proper driver somehow? Or perhaps finding a hammer and just slamming the keyboard a few times might be the solution at this point? :'( :'( [yes thats right.. i finally busted out the double sad face]


0c:00.0 Network controller: Broadcom Corporation BCM4311 802.11b/g WLAN (rev 01)
Subsystem: Dell Wireless 1390 WLAN Mini-Card
Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 17
Memory at efdfc000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=16k]
Capabilities: <access denied>
===> *** whats the right driver... b43?? *** <===
Kernel modules: wl, ssb <== still only showing wl and ssb is that normal?

[notyourbuddy]

Yes.. why yes it is working ;D. Wired and wireless!!

Thanks wizard10000 I surely would have given up, uninstalled, and gone back to XP days ago if you hadn't kept guiding me along. I guess on the bright side of all this headache...it resulted in a quick crash course in Linux. But now...I think I'll go find a nice spot, sit back, and finally explore and enjoy Kubuntu for a while :D



modprobe b44 <=== turned the wired back on obviously
modprobe b43 <=== flipped on the wireless


also added those two lines to etc/modules to get them to load on startup.

[wizard10000]

Excellent!

You're correct - making sure the driver loaded after all the proper bits were installed would have been the last piece of the puzzle and you nailed that one all by yourself - good on you :)

I still don't know why this didn't just load properly after running --> Additional Drivers but this should have been a whole lot more painless than it was. I used a BCM4312 card in my netbook for a couple years and once you installed the restricted driver the thing just worked every time.

I'm glad you got it working - *and* got the wired side and the XP thing fixed. If there's anything else we can do please don't hesitate to holler.

cheers -