Linux Mint Forums

I now realize this is the proper forum for my previous Newbie Forum post. Can an editor please remove it from that forum? Here is the post:

I have an HP 6735 laptop with a Broadcom 5787 chip. If I install Ubuntu 12.10 on it, once in a while the wireless works on the fresh install (maybe once out of three tries), but when I install all the updates the wireless disappears on restart. WIth Mint 13 (my much preferred distro) the wireless never shows up, before or after update. (note added since the initial Newbie Forum post: I think the proper driver for this chip is Tg3, which I believe both Ubuntu and Mint 13 have. If this is correct, how do I point the wireless to the Tg3 driver?) When I run Clems Command for Mint WiFi
the return is as follows - please advise. Thanks!

mint@mint-HP-Compaq-6735b ~ $ sudo /usr/lib/linuxmint/mintWifi/mintWifi.py
[sudo] password for mint:
-------------------------
* I. scanning WIFI PCI devices...
-------------------------
* II. querying ndiswrapper...
-------------------------
* III. querying iwconfig...
lo no wireless extensions.

eth0 no wireless extensions.

-------------------------
* IV. querying ifconfig...
eth0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 64:31:50:79:e3:c7
inet addr:192.168.1.103 Bcast:192.168.1.255 Mask:255.255.255.0
inet6 addr: fe80::6631:50ff:fe79:e3c7/64 Scope:Link
UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1
RX packets:319570 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:179686 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
RX bytes:458019515 (458.0 MB) TX bytes:13819041 (13.8 MB)
Interrupt:16

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:152 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:152 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:0
RX bytes:16187 (16.1 KB) TX bytes:16187 (16.1 KB)

-------------------------
* V. querying DHCP...
Rather than invoking init scripts through /etc/init.d, use the service(8)
utility, e.g. service smbd reload

Since the script you are attempting to invoke has been converted to an
Upstart job, you may also use the reload(8) utility, e.g. reload smbd
RTNETLINK answers: File exists
-------------------------
* VI. querying nslookup google.com...
Server: 208.254.148.69
Address: 208.254.148.69#53

Non-authoritative answer:
Name: google.com
Address: 74.125.225.105
Name: google.com
Address: 74.125.225.100
Name: google.com
Address: 74.125.225.98
Name: google.com
Address: 74.125.225.97
Name: google.com
Address: 74.125.225.104
Name: google.com
Address: 74.125.225.110
Name: google.com
Address: 74.125.225.103
Name: google.com
Address: 74.125.225.99
Name: google.com
Address: 74.125.225.102
Name: google.com
Address: 74.125.225.101
Name: google.com
Address: 74.125.225.96
Angler1
Level 1


Posts: 1
Joined: Wed Nov 07, 2012 2:23 pm
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Broadcom 5787 (indeed using tg3 driver) is a wired network chip, not wireless.

If you want a post to be removed, please click the ! sign to report it to the moderators.

Thank you, AlberP ! I followed your advice to remove the post from the Newbie Forum. Also thanks for straightening me out on the wired chip. What command will help on determining the wireless chip? Or better how should I proceed to get wireless?

Please tell us what type of HP laptop you have. And please run these commands in terminal, and post the output:

Thank you. This is an HP 6735b laptop with a 2.6GHz dual core Athlon X2 processor with 4 GB RAM.
the lspci command yields
mint@mint-HP-Compaq-6735b ~ $ lspci
00:00.0 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] RS780 Host Bridge
00:01.0 PCI bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] RS780/RS880 PCI to PCI bridge (int gfx)
00:04.0 PCI bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] RS780/RS880 PCI to PCI bridge (PCIE port 0)
00:05.0 PCI bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] RS780/RS880 PCI to PCI bridge (PCIE port 1)
00:07.0 PCI bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] RS780 PCI to PCI bridge (PCIE port 3)
00:09.0 PCI bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] RS780/RS880 PCI to PCI bridge (PCIE port 4)
00:11.0 SATA controller: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] nee ATI SB7x0/SB8x0/SB9x0 SATA Controller [AHCI mode]
00:12.0 USB controller: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] nee ATI SB7x0/SB8x0/SB9x0 USB OHCI0 Controller
00:12.1 USB controller: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] nee ATI SB7x0 USB OHCI1 Controller
00:12.2 USB controller: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] nee ATI SB7x0/SB8x0/SB9x0 USB EHCI Controller
00:13.0 USB controller: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] nee ATI SB7x0/SB8x0/SB9x0 USB OHCI0 Controller
00:13.1 USB controller: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] nee ATI SB7x0 USB OHCI1 Controller
00:13.2 USB controller: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] nee ATI SB7x0/SB8x0/SB9x0 USB EHCI Controller
00:14.0 SMBus: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] nee ATI SBx00 SMBus Controller (rev 3a)
00:14.2 Audio device: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] nee ATI SBx00 Azalia (Intel HDA)
00:14.3 ISA bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] nee ATI SB7x0/SB8x0/SB9x0 LPC host controller
00:14.4 PCI bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] nee ATI SBx00 PCI to PCI Bridge
00:14.5 USB controller: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] nee ATI SB7x0/SB8x0/SB9x0 USB OHCI2 Controller
00:18.0 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] Family 11h Processor HyperTransport Configuration (rev 40)
00:18.1 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] Family 11h Processor Address Map
00:18.2 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] Family 11h Processor DRAM Controller
00:18.3 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] Family 11h Processor Miscellaneous Control
00:18.4 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] Family 11h Processor Link Control
01:05.0 VGA compatible controller: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] nee ATI RS780M/RS780MN [Mobility Radeon HD 3200 Graphics]
02:00.0 Ethernet controller: Broadcom Corporation NetLink BCM5787M Gigabit Ethernet PCI Express (rev 02)
0a:06.0 FireWire (IEEE 1394): LSI Corporation FW322/323 (rev 70)
mint@mint-HP-Compaq-6735b ~ $

lsusb yields
mint@mint-HP-Compaq-6735b ~ $ lsusb
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 003 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 004 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 005 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 006 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 007 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 002 Device 002: ID 04f2:b059 Chicony Electronics Co., Ltd CKF7037 HP webcam
Bus 006 Device 002: ID 03f0:171d Hewlett-Packard Bluetooth 2.0 Interface [Broadcom BCM2045]
mint@mint-HP-Compaq-6735b ~ $

Recall an Ubuntu 12.10 install sometimes gave a working wireless (maybe one out of three tries) before getting updates,but updating killed the wireless. I think I have pretty clsoe to the same drivers in Mint 13?

Thank you for the help.

I did not want to complicate the message originally. In actuality I have several of these laptops I am trying to prepare for donation. I thought they were all the same. But running lspci on the Ubuntu machine says there is a BCM 4312 network controller present. While the Mint output which you requested seems not to have any Network?

Please look at that output and advise. I deeply apologize if I have wasted your time. I would not have seen this (if I am right) without your guidance. Angler1

If Ubuntu would only detect the 4312 card one out of three tries, I assume that it's a faulty card.

Else you could try installing the kernel updates from Synaptic Package Manager: Status > Installed (upgradeable), then right-click linux-image and linux-headers to mark them for upgrading.

The 4312 needs a driver, but to install that, the card first has to be detected. When you can get the card to show up in lspci or inxi -N output, you can install the firmware-b43-lpphy-installer package from Software Manager (using a wired internet connection).

Actually, my dad has also had a 6735b (the laptop's system board died, which seems to be a common problem on the 6735b). He had a Broadcom 4322. That one requires the STA driver (from Additional Drivers), instead of b43.

Thank you, AlbertP, these tools give me insight as to how to proceed. For example, I switched the Network cards between the Ubuntu machine (lspci reads the card) and the Mint machine (Does not see card). The Ubuntu machine continues to see a BCM 4312 card and the Mint machine continues not to see a card. Next I will install Mint on the Ubuntu machine and run lspci. (Yes, these 6735b HP laptops have history of bad motherboards, with a prime contributor being an overheating graphic chip.) I will report in a day or two. Angler1

Thank you Albert. I now have wireless following your advice that lspci command in terminal revealed the presence of a Broadcom 4312 wireless card, and then installation of "firmware-b43-lpphy-installer" driver per your response. I was beating my head against the wall before your analysis.

The only discordant note: when I cloned the now active hard drive with Clonezilla, the cloned drive did not show wireless connections when booted in the same laptop. It gave a "no network connection" message. When the broken network icon was left clicked, under the grayed out Wireless Networks was the line "device not ready (firmware missing)". Uninstalling and reinstalling the driver package had no effect. Any thoughts on this?

Thanks again, Angler1