Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Re: [BLUG] help desperately needed for wireless on Debian

Loren Serfass wrote:

> There's a completely different set of directions at
> http://www.tuxmagazine.com/node/1000167
> This approach uses ndiswrapper to translate between a windows driver
> and the operating system. I've tried installing it and I successfully
> loaded the module into the kernel. Everything went OK until the
> section entitled "Set up networking." I used the "Network Settings"
> GUI, which takes a long time but eventually says that the wireless
> interface is active. When I say "ifup eth2" to the terminal, it says
> "interface eth2 already configured." However, this doesn't solve the
> ESSID and Access Point problems, and the directions don't help.


I think you need to be using wlan0 or similar rather than eth2.

FWIW, straight Debian is a PITA to configure wireless on. I prefer the
Debian stable derivative SimplyMEPIS, that has all the desktop
enhancements baked in. Life's too short.

MEPIS is KDE. If you prefer Gnome, Ubuntu or Mint would good alternatives.

--
Mark Warner
MEPIS Linux
Registered Linux User #415318

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Re: [BLUG] help desperately needed for wireless on Debian

I should have read further initially...

On Wed, Apr 14, 2010 at 9:33 PM, Loren Serfass
<lorenserfass331@gmail.com> wrote:
>     Here are some details to explain some of the steps I've taken.
> According to linuxwireless.org, my PCMCIA card should work with a b43
> driver (my card is a Linksys WPC54G ver. 3 with a BCM4318 chipset), so
> I've followed their directions at
> http://linuxwireless.org/en/users/Drivers/b43

|Ubuntu/Debian

|In recent versions of Ubuntu and Debian, installing the b43-fwcutter
|package will handle everything for you:

|Toggle line numbers
|
| sudo apt-get install b43-fwcutter
|
|You will be asked to automatically fetch and install the firmware into
|the right location.

If this worked, then you wouldn't have the problem you have now. You
can try uninstalling and reinstalling the b43-fwcutter package. I
would check for the location of the bcm43xx_microcode5.fw file,
though. This is the firmware that it isn't seeing. The directories do
not matter if they are empty, what matters is this one file.

If this file exists in the /etc/firmware/something directory then it
isn't being seen by the kernel when it is trying to load it.
Double-check where it is looking for the file. I thought firmware was
supposed to go in "/lib/firmware" so if it is looking for it there,
but it is being stored in /etc/firmware that could be the source of
the problem. This would be odd, though, as DEB packages usually do a
good job setting things up when they have what they need.

> The b43-fwcutter program runs automatically when I install it using
> synaptic.  Afterwards, there are b43 and b43legacy folders in
> /etc/firmware/, which seems to be correct.  But the connection doesn't
> work.  I don't know how to verify that the firmware has actually been
> loaded onto the device, which the page claims is necessary.

After you install the firmware, you probably need to unload and reload
the driver so it can see that the firmware is there. Personally, I'd
just reboot, but then I distrust unloading modules. (I started using
Linux before kernel modules, though, so I may just be old-fashioned.)

>     There's a completely different set of directions at
> http://www.tuxmagazine.com/node/1000167
> This approach uses ndiswrapper to translate between a windows driver
> and the operating system.  I've tried installing it and I successfully
> loaded the module into the kernel.  Everything went OK until the
> section entitled "Set up networking."  I used the "Network Settings"
> GUI, which takes a long time but eventually says that the wireless
> interface is active.  When I say "ifup eth2" to the terminal, it says
> "interface eth2 already configured."  However, this doesn't solve the
> ESSID and Access Point problems, and the directions don't help.

Ignore the ndiswrapper stuff. If you did anything to set it up, back
it out. The ndiswrapper stuff will very likely conflict with the
native driver stuff.

Sorry I didn't read the whole thing the first time. :/ We'll get you
sorted out soon enough.

Cheers,
Steven Black

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Re: [BLUG] help desperately needed for wireless on Debian

Hi,
Right, I have a CD with windows drivers on it. The website you
sent refers to the bcm43xx-fwcutter program which "cuts" the firmware
from the windows files. I had been trying to use b43-fwcutter, which
is supposed to do something similar. The bcm43xx one is also
available on synaptic, but I get an error message when I try to
install it. The ubuntu How To that you sent remarked that
"...basically every 'no' vote and 'this didnt work for me' post comes
from a BCM4318 user...." That's my chipset. It's strange, since the
other websites I visited said that it should work.
Perhaps the problem is that I tried two different methods and
they interfered with each other?

Thanks,
Loren


On Thu, Apr 15, 2010 at 1:48 AM, Steven Black <yam655@gmail.com> wrote:
> Okay. I spoke to soon. The reason the firmware doesn't ship in the
> case is because of legal reasons. The site I mentioned doesn't
> actually link to any firmware files.
>
> This may be useful, from
> http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=1071920&mode=linear :
> | * Copy the driver from the CD that came with the Card
> | * Copy it over from your windows partition if you have access to
> it, it will be located here: /Windows/System32/Drivers/bcmwl5.sys
> | * Obtain it from here -http://sidulus.textdrive.com/bcmwl5sys.zip
> | * Get any driver for your card of any date from their website -
> use this if initially you are not successful first tome try some
> newer/older drivers
>
> You use a tool (mentioned at the page I referenced earlier) to "cut"
> the firmware out of the Windows driver.
>
> I hope this helps!
>
> Cheers,
> Steven Black
>
>
> On Wed, Apr 14, 2010 at 9:33 PM, Loren Serfass
> <lorenserfass331@gmail.com> wrote:
>> Hi,
>> I've been trying for about 12 hours to get my wireless internet
>> connection working, using my old laptop and a new PCMCIA card. I've
>> followed directions from several websites (some are listed in this
>> email), installed lots of tools, and read lots of user forums where
>> people with the similar problems are going around in circles and
>> occasionally stumbling by luck on a solution that happens to work for
>> their specific situation. Before I give up, perhaps the solution will
>> be obvious to someone in a local group.
>> In brief, the websites say my card should work, and my wireless
>> interface is now "configured" and "active." But the "link" light on
>> the card is still off, and when I try wpa_supplicant the PING fails.
>> The iwconfig command shows that there is still no ESSID and the Access
>> Point is "Invalid." When I run dmesg, it shows the following messages
>> over and over:
>> bcm43xx: Error: Microcode "bcm43xx_microcode5.fw" not available or load failed.
>> bcm43xx: core_up for active 802.11 core failed (-2)
>> I don't quite understand what these terms mean.
>> If someone could help, I would appreciate it tremendously!
>>
>> Here are some details to explain some of the steps I've taken.
>> According to linuxwireless.org, my PCMCIA card should work with a b43
>> driver (my card is a Linksys WPC54G ver. 3 with a BCM4318 chipset), so
>> I've followed their directions at
>> http://linuxwireless.org/en/users/Drivers/b43
>> The b43-fwcutter program runs automatically when I install it using
>> synaptic. Afterwards, there are b43 and b43legacy folders in
>> /etc/firmware/, which seems to be correct. But the connection doesn't
>> work. I don't know how to verify that the firmware has actually been
>> loaded onto the device, which the page claims is necessary.
>> There's a completely different set of directions at
>> http://www.tuxmagazine.com/node/1000167
>> This approach uses ndiswrapper to translate between a windows driver
>> and the operating system. I've tried installing it and I successfully
>> loaded the module into the kernel. Everything went OK until the
>> section entitled "Set up networking." I used the "Network Settings"
>> GUI, which takes a long time but eventually says that the wireless
>> interface is active. When I say "ifup eth2" to the terminal, it says
>> "interface eth2 already configured." However, this doesn't solve the
>> ESSID and Access Point problems, and the directions don't help.
>>
>> Thanks,
>> Loren
>> _______________________________________________
>> BLUG mailing list
>> BLUG@linuxfan.com
>> http://mailman.cs.indiana.edu/mailman/listinfo/blug
>>
>
> _______________________________________________
> BLUG mailing list
> BLUG@linuxfan.com
> http://mailman.cs.indiana.edu/mailman/listinfo/blug
>
_______________________________________________
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BLUG@linuxfan.com
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Re: [BLUG] help desperately needed for wireless on Debian

Okay. I spoke to soon. The reason the firmware doesn't ship in the
case is because of legal reasons. The site I mentioned doesn't
actually link to any firmware files.

This may be useful, from
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=1071920&mode=linear :
| * Copy the driver from the CD that came with the Card
| * Copy it over from your windows partition if you have access to
it, it will be located here: /Windows/System32/Drivers/bcmwl5.sys
| * Obtain it from here -http://sidulus.textdrive.com/bcmwl5sys.zip
| * Get any driver for your card of any date from their website -
use this if initially you are not successful first tome try some
newer/older drivers

You use a tool (mentioned at the page I referenced earlier) to "cut"
the firmware out of the Windows driver.

I hope this helps!

Cheers,
Steven Black


On Wed, Apr 14, 2010 at 9:33 PM, Loren Serfass
<lorenserfass331@gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi,
>     I've been trying for about 12 hours to get my wireless internet
> connection working, using my old laptop and a new PCMCIA card.  I've
> followed directions from several websites (some are listed in this
> email), installed lots of tools, and read lots of user forums where
> people with the similar problems are going around in circles and
> occasionally stumbling by luck on a solution that happens to work for
> their specific situation.  Before I give up, perhaps the solution will
> be obvious to someone in a local group.
>     In brief, the websites say my card should work, and my wireless
> interface is now "configured" and "active."  But the "link" light on
> the card is still off, and when I try wpa_supplicant the PING fails.
> The iwconfig command shows that there is still no ESSID and the Access
> Point is "Invalid."  When I run dmesg, it shows the following messages
> over and over:
> bcm43xx: Error: Microcode "bcm43xx_microcode5.fw" not available or load failed.
> bcm43xx: core_up for active 802.11 core failed (-2)
>     I don't quite understand what these terms mean.
>     If someone could help, I would appreciate it tremendously!
>
>     Here are some details to explain some of the steps I've taken.
> According to linuxwireless.org, my PCMCIA card should work with a b43
> driver (my card is a Linksys WPC54G ver. 3 with a BCM4318 chipset), so
> I've followed their directions at
> http://linuxwireless.org/en/users/Drivers/b43
> The b43-fwcutter program runs automatically when I install it using
> synaptic.  Afterwards, there are b43 and b43legacy folders in
> /etc/firmware/, which seems to be correct.  But the connection doesn't
> work.  I don't know how to verify that the firmware has actually been
> loaded onto the device, which the page claims is necessary.
>     There's a completely different set of directions at
> http://www.tuxmagazine.com/node/1000167
> This approach uses ndiswrapper to translate between a windows driver
> and the operating system.  I've tried installing it and I successfully
> loaded the module into the kernel.  Everything went OK until the
> section entitled "Set up networking."  I used the "Network Settings"
> GUI, which takes a long time but eventually says that the wireless
> interface is active.  When I say "ifup eth2" to the terminal, it says
> "interface eth2 already configured."  However, this doesn't solve the
> ESSID and Access Point problems, and the directions don't help.
>
> Thanks,
> Loren
> _______________________________________________
> BLUG mailing list
> BLUG@linuxfan.com
> http://mailman.cs.indiana.edu/mailman/listinfo/blug
>

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Re: [BLUG] help desperately needed for wireless on Debian

This would be another reason why I favor Ubuntu to Debian.

Most wireless firmware is closed source. The reasons for this are
related to FCC regulation. However, being closed source also means
Debian won't normally ship with it. (Someone please correct me if I am
wrong. -- I may well be wrong. Last time I used Debian on a laptop I
didn't use wireless.)

You need to download and install the firmware.

http://www.langerland.de/linux/bcm43xx/firmware.html

Unfamiliar with firmware? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firmware

Let us know the results with the firmware installed. :)

Cheers,
Steven Black

On Wed, Apr 14, 2010 at 9:33 PM, Loren Serfass
<lorenserfass331@gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi,
>     I've been trying for about 12 hours to get my wireless internet
> connection working, using my old laptop and a new PCMCIA card.  I've
> followed directions from several websites (some are listed in this
> email), installed lots of tools, and read lots of user forums where
> people with the similar problems are going around in circles and
> occasionally stumbling by luck on a solution that happens to work for
> their specific situation.  Before I give up, perhaps the solution will
> be obvious to someone in a local group.
>     In brief, the websites say my card should work, and my wireless
> interface is now "configured" and "active."  But the "link" light on
> the card is still off, and when I try wpa_supplicant the PING fails.
> The iwconfig command shows that there is still no ESSID and the Access
> Point is "Invalid."  When I run dmesg, it shows the following messages
> over and over:
> bcm43xx: Error: Microcode "bcm43xx_microcode5.fw" not available or load failed.
> bcm43xx: core_up for active 802.11 core failed (-2)
>     I don't quite understand what these terms mean.
>     If someone could help, I would appreciate it tremendously!
>
>     Here are some details to explain some of the steps I've taken.
> According to linuxwireless.org, my PCMCIA card should work with a b43
> driver (my card is a Linksys WPC54G ver. 3 with a BCM4318 chipset), so
> I've followed their directions at
> http://linuxwireless.org/en/users/Drivers/b43
> The b43-fwcutter program runs automatically when I install it using
> synaptic.  Afterwards, there are b43 and b43legacy folders in
> /etc/firmware/, which seems to be correct.  But the connection doesn't
> work.  I don't know how to verify that the firmware has actually been
> loaded onto the device, which the page claims is necessary.
>     There's a completely different set of directions at
> http://www.tuxmagazine.com/node/1000167
> This approach uses ndiswrapper to translate between a windows driver
> and the operating system.  I've tried installing it and I successfully
> loaded the module into the kernel.  Everything went OK until the
> section entitled "Set up networking."  I used the "Network Settings"
> GUI, which takes a long time but eventually says that the wireless
> interface is active.  When I say "ifup eth2" to the terminal, it says
> "interface eth2 already configured."  However, this doesn't solve the
> ESSID and Access Point problems, and the directions don't help.
>
> Thanks,
> Loren
> _______________________________________________
> BLUG mailing list
> BLUG@linuxfan.com
> http://mailman.cs.indiana.edu/mailman/listinfo/blug
>

_______________________________________________
BLUG mailing list
BLUG@linuxfan.com
http://mailman.cs.indiana.edu/mailman/listinfo/blug

[BLUG] help desperately needed for wireless on Debian

Hi,
I've been trying for about 12 hours to get my wireless internet
connection working, using my old laptop and a new PCMCIA card. I've
followed directions from several websites (some are listed in this
email), installed lots of tools, and read lots of user forums where
people with the similar problems are going around in circles and
occasionally stumbling by luck on a solution that happens to work for
their specific situation. Before I give up, perhaps the solution will
be obvious to someone in a local group.
In brief, the websites say my card should work, and my wireless
interface is now "configured" and "active." But the "link" light on
the card is still off, and when I try wpa_supplicant the PING fails.
The iwconfig command shows that there is still no ESSID and the Access
Point is "Invalid." When I run dmesg, it shows the following messages
over and over:
bcm43xx: Error: Microcode "bcm43xx_microcode5.fw" not available or load failed.
bcm43xx: core_up for active 802.11 core failed (-2)
I don't quite understand what these terms mean.
If someone could help, I would appreciate it tremendously!

Here are some details to explain some of the steps I've taken.
According to linuxwireless.org, my PCMCIA card should work with a b43
driver (my card is a Linksys WPC54G ver. 3 with a BCM4318 chipset), so
I've followed their directions at
http://linuxwireless.org/en/users/Drivers/b43
The b43-fwcutter program runs automatically when I install it using
synaptic. Afterwards, there are b43 and b43legacy folders in
/etc/firmware/, which seems to be correct. But the connection doesn't
work. I don't know how to verify that the firmware has actually been
loaded onto the device, which the page claims is necessary.
There's a completely different set of directions at
http://www.tuxmagazine.com/node/1000167
This approach uses ndiswrapper to translate between a windows driver
and the operating system. I've tried installing it and I successfully
loaded the module into the kernel. Everything went OK until the
section entitled "Set up networking." I used the "Network Settings"
GUI, which takes a long time but eventually says that the wireless
interface is active. When I say "ifup eth2" to the terminal, it says
"interface eth2 already configured." However, this doesn't solve the
ESSID and Access Point problems, and the directions don't help.

Thanks,
Loren
_______________________________________________
BLUG mailing list
BLUG@linuxfan.com
http://mailman.cs.indiana.edu/mailman/listinfo/blug

Friday, April 2, 2010

[BLUG] Lucid Release Party poll

The Indiana Ubuntu Local Community team is holding a release party to
celebrate the release of Ubuntu 10.04 LTS (Lucid Lynx).

Please fill out the Lucid Release Party poll at

http://doodle.com/unrngau3sewbigt2

Right now it has May 1 and May 8 as choices - more can be added if
neither date is good.

The release party will most likely be held at Fort Harrison State Park
on the East side of Indianapolis but if you'd like to suggest an
alternate location, feel free.
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