BCM94311MCG wlan mini-PCI on Elyssa

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MagnusB
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BCM94311MCG wlan mini-PCI on Elyssa

Post by MagnusB »

Due to a bug inherited from Ubuntu (think it is caused by ssb &/or b43) using this card you will not get up a wireless device on Elyssa/Hardy. Well, fear not there is a simple solution, but it involves some use of the terminal, so be prepared (it also requires you to run a few sudo commands, so starting with sudo su - wouldn't be a bad idea):
First things first, let us get that wireless device up and running:

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echo -e '\n#hardy ssb bug-fix\nrmmod b43\nrmmod b44\nrmmod ssb\nrmmod ndiswrapper\nmodprobe ndiswrapper\nmodprobe ssb\nmodprobe b44' | sudo tee -a /etc/init.d/rc.local
This is for Elyssa ONLY, Daryna does not need this step!
You can reboot now, to see if you got the wireless up and running, but you still need to set up ndiswrapper, so we should really wait for it. First you need to blacklist a few modules (not all are necessary, but best not to take any chances):

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nano /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist
and add these lines AS IS:u
# BroadCom wireless ndiswrapper
blacklist ssb
blacklist b43
blacklist bcm43xx
bcm43xx should be blacklisted in Hardy, you can check if it is blacklist already if you want to.
Next step is to set ndiswrapper to be loaded at boot:

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nano /etc/modules
and add ndiswrapper to the bottom of that list.
Next, check your version of ndiswrapper:

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ndiswrapper -v
If that returns an error code, ndiswrapper is not properly installed. It should also be greater than 1.50, as some versions below has caused some kernel panics with this card. Elyssa should come with 1.52, so I will not post any instructions on how to compile ndiswrapper, though if you need them, just ask me :)
Next we will configure ndiswrapper:
First you need the windows inf and sys files, get em here and extract them:

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tar -xzvf WLANBroadcom.tar.gz

Then we are ready to install the windows driver:

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cd WLAN*
ndiswrapper -i bcmwl5.inf
After that, just check that it installed ok:

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ndiswrapper -l
(that is the only command that does not require root in this how to) That should return something like
bcmwl5 : driver installed
device (14E4:4311) present (alternate driver: bcm43xx)
This means the driver is correctly installed, and the device is detected (and since bcm43xx/b43 does not work, we have blacklisted that).
Next, just use:

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ndiswrapper -m
And you should be ready to do a reboot and connect to the wireless network of your choice :) If you have any questions, do not hesitate to ask em here.
Notes:
- Change nano to the texteditor of your choice: GEdit in GNOME, kwrite/kate in KDE and mousepad in XFCE.
- ALL commands, except the first and ndiswrapper -l and the tar command, needs root access, if you do not run sudo su- at the start, add sudo in front of em.
Sources:
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=769990
This guide also work for Daryna/Ubuntu 7.10/8.04. Both for 7.10 and Daryna the first step (involving echo) is NOT NEEDED!
Last edited by LockBot on Wed Dec 28, 2022 7:16 am, edited 2 times in total.
Reason: Topic automatically closed 6 months after creation. New replies are no longer allowed.
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You're not drunk if you can lie on the floor without holding on.
--Dean Martin
Husse

Re: BCM94311MCG wlan mini-PCI on Elyssa

Post by Husse »

Thanks - I've added a link to this in the wifi wiki
nickoljt

Re: BCM94311MCG wlan mini-PCI on Elyssa

Post by nickoljt »

I've been unable to ever successfully get wireless working with any Linux distro on a Compaq Presario F565CA which has this 4311 wireless card. I've followed all the guides and unfortunately nobody has been able to help, until I found this spanish language website with a similar laptop. The solution was to use the new compat-wireless kernel modules and the b43-fwcutter. The b43-fwcutter is in the repositories, but I had to compile the compat-wireless kernel modules manually.

check the site out for instructions (translated through google):

http://translate.google.ca/translate?u= ... n&ie=UTF-8

The only problem I have now is loading the b43 module on boot, i get symbol errors. A work around is to manually run the command from the wireless-compat source code directory: sudo make load

I'll try and post complete instructions once I have some time. (compat-wireless packages would be useful to avoid the need to build the modules, but I must admit I didn't spend much time looking for them.)
nomadxp1

Re: BCM94311MCG wlan mini-PCI on Elyssa

Post by nomadxp1 »

I have been fighting with the wireless on my gateway laptop..everything else worked perfect except that....I looked on here instead of asking around..there was the answer..in now works perfectly...this has got to be the best distro yet...I have tried others over the years..non are like this...THANK you for your help,Nomadxp1
MagnusB
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Posts: 1252
Joined: Sun Nov 18, 2007 12:39 pm
Location: Norway

Re: BCM94311MCG wlan mini-PCI on Elyssa

Post by MagnusB »

Seems you are not copying the entire command. Press on select all on the code box and past it into a terminal window (use shift+insert to paste in a terminal)
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You're not drunk if you can lie on the floor without holding on.
--Dean Martin
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