WiFi doesn't work - Broadcom BCM4318

[chili555]

This IS a great thread and I'd like to jump in with my issue if I may.
Acer Aspire 4520 AMD64x2 with Qiana "Mate" running nicely on it (clean install at present... for the umpteenth time!) which I THOUGHT had a Broadcom wireless adapter but as it turns out this is not so (thanks to what I learned reading through this topic.)
Had Mint 16 Cinnamon working flawlessly prior to this but had issues getting 17 to load from live CD so installed Maya 13 Cinnamon, Maya being a LTD. Wired and wireless both worked without any issues. Tried 17 again after reading about booting from live CD in compatability mode, which was the ticket and loaded NVIDIA drivers post install. (Anyone else with this issue, it was very painless).
But wifi just does not work!

Code: Select all

lspci -nn

shows two entries that have me completely baffled as to how to proceed:

Code: Select all

00:0a.0 Ethernet controller [0200]: NVIDIA Corporation MCP67 Ethernet [10de:054c] (rev a2)

and the next

Code: Select all

07:00.0 Ethernet controller [0200]: Qualcom Atheros AR242x / AR542x Wireless Network Adapter (PCI-Express) [168c:001c] (rev 01)

Is the Atheros a dual function NIC for both wired and wireless, or is that my wireless card and the NVIDIA is the one giving me wired connectivity???

How do I tell what driver(s) I need for my adapter, or if my issue is a driver issue at all???

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

cheers,
Muk

Since you have an Atheros wireless device and this thread is titled 'Broadcom,' I suggest you start your own new thread.

Your driver is ath5k. It should be included in all recent Mint versions.

[Muk]

Hmmm, okay, thanks chili555.
I guess I was hoping you'd just wave your magic wand and it'd be all fixed up .

I'll putter around a bit more since I think it's more of a problem with the loose nut between the keyboard and the chair that is messing things up more than anything but if worse comes to worse I'll start a new thread.

Thanks very much for the response!

[mhenriday]

Muk, unless I am very much deceived, the NVIDIA Corporation MCP67 Ethernet is your wired card, while the AR542x Wireless Network Adapter. You might find this thread - http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2160177 on the Ubuntu fora helpful....

Henri

[RayJ]

I suggest you check here: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2214110

Post back if you need more help.

Massive vote of thanks to chili555. As a total newbie I thrashed around trying various fixes - to no avail (and I suspect introducing a few bugs of my own en-route) So! Do like the man says : follow chili555's instructions 'To The Letter' on the unbuntu forum.

Key point for me : Clean Install! (I re-installed Mint 17 Cinnamon with 4 partions( / /boot /home & swap) then follow the guide; re-boot and Bingo!

My only problem then was my hidden SSID was not detected. Quick check found this clever chap's advice:

Re: Mint 12 KDE final, can't connect to hidden SSID

Postby Pariah on Mon Feb 06, 2012 1:31 am

with the magic words being :-
2. Type the following: sudo iwlist wlan0 scan essid YOURHIDDENSSIDHERE

(Thanks to Pariah too!)

Basically the command to 'register' my hidden SSID brought an instant connection. Job done - and maybe 15 yrs of 'Device Manager' and 'Control Panel' have not been entirely wasted. I look forward to converting all my machines to dual boot and keep those LiveUSBs handy for my friends too.

Thanks chili555!

RayJ