*SOLVED* Linksys WMP54GS adapter help

[spaddack]

I am currently on a wired connection and have been trying to set up my wireless PCI adapter in Mint 10 (Julia). I began by searching the forums and found a couple threads that were about my card and looked helpful... First, http://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.p ... GS#p352190, but this perplexed me as it claims he got his card working with drivers from a different chipset manufacturer. This did not work for me.

Next, I tried http://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.p ... GS#p330130 and was led to https://help.ubuntu.com/community/WifiD ... t%20access. An lspci command informed me that the pci id of my card is 4318, so I followed the instructions under the "Installing b43 drivers - with internet access" on the ubuntu site from the link I posted.

The problem is that, although the instructions seem to cover installing firmware, after installing b43-fwcutter my syslog informs me that although the driver loaded, the firmware is missing, and I must go to http://wireless.kernel.org/en/users/Dri ... AC8-Debian and follow its instructions to install my firmware.

I get lost because that site basically instructs me to do the same thing as the ubuntu site, and then offers a link to the ubuntu site saying its intructions work equally well.

I am frustrated because it seems like the user in the thread I linked to above followed these same instructions and got his card to work, but I did not. Any ideas what went wrong?

Included are excerpts from the /usr/lib/linuxmint/mintWifi/mintWifi.py command and my syslog.

mintWifi command

I. scanning WIFI PCI devices...
-- Broadcom Corporation BCM4318 [AirForce One 54g] 802.11g Wireless LAN Controller (rev 02)
==> PCI ID = 14e4:4318 (rev 02)
* II. querying ndiswrapper...
-------------------------
* III. querying iwconfig...
lo no wireless extensions.

eth0 no wireless extensions.

wlan1 IEEE 802.11bg ESSID:off/any
Mode:Managed Access Point: Not-Associated Tx-Power=0 dBm
Retry long limit:7 RTS thr:off Fragment thr:off
Encryption key:off
Power Management:off

from syslog AFTER running b43-fw-cutter (as proposed by the two aforementioned websites)

samuel-desktop kernel: [28960.058144] b43-phy0: Broadcom 4318 WLAN found (core revision 9)
...
samuel-desktop kernel: [28960.255123] Broadcom 43xx driver loaded [ Features: PL, Firmware-ID: FW13 ]
...
Feb 5 00:26:03 samuel-desktop kernel: [28960.302003] udev[2207]: renamed network interface wlan0 to wlan1
Feb 5 00:26:03 samuel-desktop NetworkManager[1009]: <warn> (wlan1): firmware may be missing.
Feb 5 00:26:03 samuel-desktop NetworkManager[1009]: <info> (wlan1): deactivating device (reason: 2).
Feb 5 00:26:03 samuel-desktop kernel: [28960.428727] b43-phy0 ERROR: Firmware file "b43/ucode5.fw" not found
Feb 5 00:26:03 samuel-desktop kernel: [28960.428732] b43-phy0 ERROR: Firmware file "b43-open/ucode5.fw" not found
Feb 5 00:26:03 samuel-desktop kernel: [28960.428735] b43-phy0 ERROR: You must go to http://wireless.kernel.org/en/users/Dri ... cefirmware and download the correct firmware for this driver version. Please carefully read all instructions on this website.
*____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________*
EDIT: I solved my problem by:
-making sure the driver was not blacklisted in /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf,
-running

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sudo apt-get install b43-fwcutter

-finding the firmware-b43-installer package in Synaptic Package Manager and installing it with default options

This has been my very first dabbling with Linux. To anyone that might be struggling with installing a wireless adapter, I want to share what I learned along the way:
1. lspci command. This will reveal to you the chipset of the card in your system; before starting this project I was unaware that there would be a difference from the "chipset" of the card and the maker (broadcom vs. Linksys)

2. I was instructed by the aforementioned websites to run the lspci command with -vnn attached to it. This revealed to me the pci-id of my wireless card and was important in selecting the right driver for the card.

3. Make sure to check the NDISwrapper project wiki (http://sourceforge.net/apps/mediawiki/n ... =Main_Page) to see if you need to go that route...I found myself frustrated that the link to the proper driver for another one of my pci adapters was broken and the directions were vague...but it might help for other cards.

4. I had no idea that my other card (WMP54GS) was supported by linux until I ran a search for it in these forums. I assumed I would have to use NDISwrapper for it as well, since it does have a listing for a WMP54GS, but it is listed in the NDISwrapper wiki as "(rev 03)", whereas the lspci command showed me that my card is "(rev 02)". So little distinctions like that are important, I think. I suggest searching the model of your card in a few places, such as forums like this one, to gain information about it.

5. The websites I mentioned in my first posting-- https://help.ubuntu.com/community/WifiD ... t%20access and http://wireless.kernel.org/en/users/Dri ... AC8-Debian are probably a good place to start for anyone else with a Broadcom card.

Feel free to email me at samuel.paddack@gmail.com for any more information.

[spaddack]

Anyone else have a WMP54GS card that can help me out?

[willie42]

do you not have a broadcom wireless card in your computer? are you wanting to add that one?

[TBABill]

I think maybe the fact you have b43 and bcm43xx both loading could be an issue? Not positive but possible. Easy way to know...

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gksudo gedit /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf

and add this to the end

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blacklist bcm43xx

Then do the following just to be sure you are configured/installed properly

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sudo apt-get install b43-fwcutter

Then

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gksudo gedit /etc/modules

and add the following to the end of that file

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b43

then save and restart.

Still may need to blacklist other things if you have messed with configuration beyond what is posted. If it's not working after this can you paste the contents of /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf and the output of

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lsmod

[spaddack]

do you not have a broadcom wireless card in your computer? are you wanting to add that one?

I do have a Broadcom wireless card in my computer, it's a Linksys WMP54GS (pci). I'm trying to install the kernel module and firmware to use the card.

[spaddack]

I think maybe the fact you have b43 and bcm43xx both loading could be an issue? Not positive but possible. Easy way to know...

Code: Select all

gksudo gedit /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf

and add this to the end

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blacklist bcm43xx

Then do the following just to be sure you are configured/installed properly

Code: Select all

sudo apt-get install b43-fwcutter

Then

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gksudo gedit /etc/modules

and add the following to the end of that file

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b43

then save and restart.

Still may need to blacklist other things if you have messed with configuration beyond what is posted. If it's not working after this can you paste the contents of /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf and the output of

Code: Select all

lsmod

While following your instructions I noticed a really dumb mistake on my part; I had b43 blacklisted from back when I was using NDISwrapper on a different adapter. I removed that and ssb from the blacklist, then followed the rest of your instructions, but after a restart the Network Manager applet still tells me that the wireless "device is not ready (firmware missing)"

Contents of /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf

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# This file lists those modules which we don't want to be loaded by
# alias expansion, usually so some other driver will be loaded for the
# device instead.

# evbug is a debug tool that should be loaded explicitly
blacklist evbug

# these drivers are very simple, the HID drivers are usually preferred
blacklist usbmouse
blacklist usbkbd

# replaced by e100
blacklist eepro100

# replaced by tulip
blacklist de4x5

# causes no end of confusion by creating unexpected network interfaces
blacklist eth1394

# snd_intel8x0m can interfere with snd_intel8x0, doesn't seem to support much
# hardware on its own (Ubuntu bug #2011, #6810)
blacklist snd_intel8x0m

# Conflicts with dvb driver (which is better for handling this device)
blacklist snd_aw2

# causes failure to suspend on HP compaq nc6000 (Ubuntu: #10306)
blacklist i2c_i801

# replaced by p54pci
blacklist prism54

# replaced by b43 and ssb.
blacklist bcm43xx

# most apps now use garmin usb driver directly (Ubuntu: #114565)
blacklist garmin_gps

# replaced by asus-laptop (Ubuntu: #184721)
blacklist asus_acpi

# low-quality, just noise when being used for sound playback, causes
# hangs at desktop session start (Ubuntu: #246969)
blacklist snd_pcsp

# ugly and loud noise, getting on everyone's nerves; this should be done by a
# nice pulseaudio bing (Ubuntu: #77010)
blacklist pcspkr

# EDAC driver for amd76x clashes with the agp driver preventing the aperture
# from being initialised (Ubuntu: #297750). Blacklist so that the driver
# continues to build and is installable for the few cases where its
# really needed.
blacklist amd76x_edac

Output of lsmod command

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Module                  Size  Used by
nls_utf8                1453  1 
isofs                  34218  1 
nls_iso8859_1           4657  1 
nls_cp437               6375  1 
vfat                   10954  1 
fat                    56244  1 vfat
dm_crypt               13381  0 
binfmt_misc             7984  1 
snd_hda_codec_realtek   299533  1 
arc4                    1497  2 
snd_hda_intel          26019  2 
b43                   187931  0 
snd_hda_codec         100919  2 snd_hda_codec_realtek,snd_hda_intel
snd_hwdep               6660  1 snd_hda_codec
snd_pcm                89104  2 snd_hda_intel,snd_hda_codec
snd_seq_midi            5932  0 
snd_rawmidi            22207  1 snd_seq_midi
snd_seq_midi_event      7291  1 snd_seq_midi
snd_seq                57512  2 snd_seq_midi,snd_seq_midi_event
mac80211              266657  1 b43
ppdev                   6804  0 
snd_timer              23850  2 snd_pcm,snd_seq
snd_seq_device          6912  3 snd_seq_midi,snd_rawmidi,snd_seq
cfg80211              170293  2 b43,mac80211
parport_pc             30086  1 
snd                    64117  13 snd_hda_codec_realtek,snd_hda_intel,snd_hda_codec,snd_hwdep,snd_pcm,snd_rawmidi,snd_seq,snd_timer,snd_seq_device
led_class               3393  1 b43
edac_core              46822  0 
k8temp                  4064  0 
edac_mce_amd            9387  0 
soundcore               1240  1 snd
snd_page_alloc          8588  2 snd_hda_intel,snd_pcm
i2c_nforce2             6155  0 
lp                     10201  0 
parport                37032  3 ppdev,parport_pc,lp
dm_raid45              75026  0 
xor                     4709  1 dm_raid45
btrfs                 506518  0 
zlib_deflate           21866  1 btrfs
crc32c                  3007  1 
libcrc32c               1268  1 btrfs
nouveau               568848  2 
ttm                    68212  1 nouveau
drm_kms_helper         32836  1 nouveau
usbhid                 42062  0 
hid                    84678  1 usbhid
usb_storage            50372  1 
drm                   206161  4 nouveau,ttm,drm_kms_helper
forcedeth              55649  0 
firewire_ohci          24679  0 
firewire_core          54327  1 firewire_ohci
i2c_algo_bit            6208  1 nouveau
crc_itu_t               1739  1 firewire_core
ssb                    46169  1 b43
pata_amd               12050  1 
sata_nv                23770  2 

Thanks for the help so far; hope we can get to the bottom of this.

[TBABill]

Could try

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sudo apt-get install b43-fwcutter

That's the firmware that works with the driver.

[spaddack]

Could try

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sudo apt-get install b43-fwcutter

That's the firmware that works with the driver.

As a matter of fact Bill, thats where I started. The websites I mentioned earlier instructed me to install the same package. However, they mention configuration of the package, and I did none of that (it seemingly installed correctly, without any prompts). Even so, after the installation of b43-fwcutter I still got messages in my logfile claiming that the firmware for my device was not present (see log excerpts posted above)

****In the middle of this post I ran a search for "b43" in the Synaptic Package Manager and installed the firmware-b43-installer package just for giggles, and it seems like the firmware is now recognized. The NetworkManager applet automatically found my network and I have successfully connected. I'm not really sure what's different about the firmware-b43-installer package from the b43-fwcutter one but it got my card working. Thanks again to everyone for the help.

[TBABill]

VERY interesting. I'm glad you found this. I went to http://wiki.debian.org/bcm43xx to verify just for my own knowledge. Apparently the B43-fwcutter no longer gets the firmware so that requires an additional step, which is what you did by installing the firmware-b43-installer. Lesson learned here and glad you figured it out on your own. It's always great to have personal victories and you'll never forget now!

[PaulC37]

This thread saved my evening of irritation, Thanks everyone for contributing!