Re: Help setting up Broadcom WiFi on a Dell Inspiron 1501 laptop
Thanks, that is a very helpful page. I send a response to your earlier email to the list, and I'm going to do the same with this. On Thursday, August 24, 2017 12:12:47 PM Wim Michels wrote: > Hi, > > have a look at this webpage: > > https://wiki.debian.org/WiFi/HowToUse > > for usefull info. > > On Wednesday, 23 August at 21:40, rhkra...@gmail.com wrote: > >On Sunday, August 20, 2017 03:00:28 PM Wim Michels wrote: > >> Hi, > >> all you need to install is the package: > >> > >> firmware-b43-installer > >> > >> from 'contrib' to get BCM4311 chip to work. > > > >Thanks, that worked!
Re: Help setting up Broadcom WiFi on a Dell Inspiron 1501 laptop
On Wednesday, August 23, 2017 03:40:07 PM rhkra...@gmail.com wrote: > On Sunday, August 20, 2017 03:00:28 PM Wim Michels wrote: > > Hi, > > all you need to install is the package: > > > > firmware-b43-installer > > > > from 'contrib' to get BCM4311 chip to work. > > Thanks, that worked! Just wanted to add one thing--that worked for me in Wheezy, but not in Jessie. It's possible that I did something wrong while in Jessie (I might have typed nonfree instead of non-free in /etc/apt/sources.list). I haven't tried to reinstall Jessie to retry--I plan to live with Wheezy (unless I get very ambitious in the near future. Oh, and I meant to send / keep this on the list, so sending to the list. > > I do need to learn more about how wireless networking and/or Network > Manager work, but I did get connected. > > I did have to reboot after doing the install (as it didn't work before I > rebooted, using about the same things that did work after the reboot). I > suppose if I knew more I might have avoided the reboot, maybe by stopping > and restarting some network related service. (But, this was a new > install, and rebooting did not cause any problems.) > > Thanks again! > > Aside: There were, iirc, three other methods I was thinking of trying to > get it to work (all basically headed in the same direction)--I have some > notes about those in my off-line wiki-like thing and may try experimenting > with those sometime (but, probably not ;-)
Re: Help setting up Broadcom WiFi on a Dell Inspiron 1501 laptop
Thanks to all who replied! I found enough clues here to (1) find ucode5.fw, and (2) to start to develop the enthusiasm to make another attempt. It may be a few days though. Thanks again! Oh, but don't be surprised if I have some followup questions ;-) On Friday, August 18, 2017 04:29:13 PM Celejar wrote: > On Fri, 18 Aug 2017 12:56:28 -0400 > rhkra...@gmail.com wrote: > > ... > > >* All of the Linuxes somehow indicated that I had to load some other > >files > > > > to get the Broadcom working. I eventually realized they were talking > > about firmware that has to be installed on the card. > > Yes, you'll need firmware. > > > I think all of them (or at least Wheezy, iirc, identified those files as > > b43/ucode5.fw and b43-open/ucode5.fw. (Are those two different files, > > and, do I need both or either??). So far, I have not located those > > files anywhere, either using google or searching the (Wheezy) packages > > (including contrib and non-free). > > There is Broadcom's own [proprietary] firmware, and (possibly?) an open > source version. I don't know the state of the OSS version, but the last > time I looked into it, it wasn't entirely stable / reliable. Just use > Broadcom's, unless you know what you're doing and / or have strong > ideological / moral views on the subject. > > Broadcom's version is definitely not included in Debian, even in > non-free. There is, however, the firmware cutter utility and package, > which can download and extract the firmware for and put it in the right > place. Just follow the instructions here: > > http://linuxwireless.org/en/users/Drivers/b43/#Ubuntu.2FDebian > > > I downloaded some packages from the Wheezy repository (after adding > > contrib and non-free): > > > > The downloaded packages: > > firmware-b43-installer version 1:015-14.1 > > That's the one that you want. > > > firmware-brcm80211 version 0.36+wheezy.1 > > I don't think you want / need this one. Again, just follow the > directions here: > > http://linuxwireless.org/en/users/Drivers/b43/ > https://wireless.wiki.kernel.org/en/users/drivers/b43 > > > There were other packages I could have downloaded and tried, but didn't, > > so far. > > > > Those packages provided me with (among other files): > > > > /lib/firmware/brcm/bcm43xx-0.fw > > /lib/firmware/brcm/bcm43xx_hdr-0.fw > > b43-fwcutter > > ... > > > The main questions: So, where do I go from here? Is ucode5.fw an > > obsolete file name? Or maybe that is the name for the Broadcom > > proprietary stuff but what I've found are open source replacements? Is > > ucode5.fw in one of the other Debian packages for Broadcom? Has anyone > > ever got WiFi working with Wheezy and this Broadcom device? > > So what's the problem? Does the card work? Is the driver module > inserted into the kernel? What does dmesg say when you insert it? > [Try "modprobe -r b43" followed by "modprobe b43" and see what dmesg > says.] > > ... > > >* Somewhere I found a blurb that identified it as a "Broadcom Wireless > >1390 > > > > WLAN Mini card" > > Marketing name, not particularly important for us. > > >* Using =lspci -vnn -d 14e4:=, I get the following information: > > PCI-ID Supported? Chip ID Modes PHY version Alternative > > 14e4:4311 yes BCM4311 b/g G wl > > That's what we need - see here: > > http://linuxwireless.org/en/users/Drivers/b43/#Supported_devices > > > IIUC, that means I can use the non-legacy driver (and Wheezy package) > > Correct. > > >* The tag on the bottom of the computer identifies the WiFi device as > > > > BRCM94311MCG, FCC ID: QDS-BRCM1020 > > Not important. > > [I used to use Broadcom wireless, not necessarily this exact card, but > something similar. I haven't had a machine with one for years, but the > instructions are good, and they work when followed.] > > Celejar
Re: Help setting up Broadcom WiFi on a Dell Inspiron 1501 laptop
On Fri, 18 Aug 2017 12:56:28 -0400 rhkra...@gmail.com wrote: ... >* All of the Linuxes somehow indicated that I had to load some other files > to get the Broadcom working. I eventually realized they were talking about > firmware that has to be installed on the card. Yes, you'll need firmware. > I think all of them (or at least Wheezy, iirc, identified those files as > b43/ucode5.fw and b43-open/ucode5.fw. (Are those two different files, and, > do I > need both or either??). So far, I have not located those files anywhere, > either using google or searching the (Wheezy) packages (including contrib and > non-free). There is Broadcom's own [proprietary] firmware, and (possibly?) an open source version. I don't know the state of the OSS version, but the last time I looked into it, it wasn't entirely stable / reliable. Just use Broadcom's, unless you know what you're doing and / or have strong ideological / moral views on the subject. Broadcom's version is definitely not included in Debian, even in non-free. There is, however, the firmware cutter utility and package, which can download and extract the firmware for and put it in the right place. Just follow the instructions here: http://linuxwireless.org/en/users/Drivers/b43/#Ubuntu.2FDebian > I downloaded some packages from the Wheezy repository (after adding contrib > and non-free): > > The downloaded packages: > firmware-b43-installer version 1:015-14.1 That's the one that you want. > firmware-brcm80211 version 0.36+wheezy.1 I don't think you want / need this one. Again, just follow the directions here: http://linuxwireless.org/en/users/Drivers/b43/ https://wireless.wiki.kernel.org/en/users/drivers/b43 > There were other packages I could have downloaded and tried, but didn't, so > far. > > Those packages provided me with (among other files): > > /lib/firmware/brcm/bcm43xx-0.fw > /lib/firmware/brcm/bcm43xx_hdr-0.fw > b43-fwcutter ... > The main questions: So, where do I go from here? Is ucode5.fw an obsolete > file > name? Or maybe that is the name for the Broadcom proprietary stuff but what > I've found are open source replacements? Is ucode5.fw in one of the other > Debian packages for Broadcom? Has anyone ever got WiFi working with Wheezy > and this Broadcom device? So what's the problem? Does the card work? Is the driver module inserted into the kernel? What does dmesg say when you insert it? [Try "modprobe -r b43" followed by "modprobe b43" and see what dmesg says.] ... >* Somewhere I found a blurb that identified it as a "Broadcom Wireless > 1390 > WLAN Mini card" Marketing name, not particularly important for us. >* Using =lspci -vnn -d 14e4:=, I get the following information: > > PCI-ID Supported? Chip ID Modes PHY version Alternative > 14e4:4311 yes BCM4311 b/g G wl That's what we need - see here: http://linuxwireless.org/en/users/Drivers/b43/#Supported_devices > IIUC, that means I can use the non-legacy driver (and Wheezy package) Correct. >* The tag on the bottom of the computer identifies the WiFi device as > BRCM94311MCG, FCC ID: QDS-BRCM1020 Not important. [I used to use Broadcom wireless, not necessarily this exact card, but something similar. I haven't had a machine with one for years, but the instructions are good, and they work when followed.] Celejar
Re: Help setting up Broadcom WiFi on a Dell Inspiron 1501 laptop
On Fri, Aug 18, 2017 at 12:56:28PM -0400, rhkra...@gmail.com wrote: > >... > > Other information: > >* WiFi works fine in Vista > > Identification: > >* Using =lspci -vnn -d 14e4:=, I get the following information: > > PCI-ID Supported? Chip ID Modes PHY version Alternative > 14e4:4311 yes BCM4311 b/g G wl > > > Thanks! > Maybe this package can help? it is for a BCM4311 chipset (debian testing) $ apt-cache show broadcom-sta-common Package: broadcom-sta-common Source: broadcom-sta Version: 6.30.223.271-7 Installed-Size: 33 Description-en: Common files for the Broadcom STA Wireless driver Broadcom STA is a binary-only device driver to support the following IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n wireless network cards: BCM4311-, BCM4312-, BCM4313-, ^^^ Greetings
Help setting up Broadcom WiFi on a Dell Inspiron 1501 laptop
I've decided to ask for help, even though I haven't exhausted all the things I might try on my own--I'm getting too old for this s%#@ This is, in addition to being a request for help, sort of a brain dump, which might even help me realize where I am and find a way forward. Overview: I got a Dell Inspiron 1501 at an estate sale for a very good price, and would like give it to a friend, but would like to have Linux working on it so she can at least consider using Linux. As far as her needs are concerned, if it doesn't work on WiFi it is no good to her. (Aside--Ignore this unless you're very bored: It came with Vista installed, but no password or recovery disk. That was a whole other oddyssey, but I finally managed to get the password by writing to the author of Ophcrack with the NT hash of the password. I had downloaded several different Vista install / recovery ISOs and none of them would boot, the closest I got was a message that said "Bootmgr is missing" even though I could plainly see a bootmgr on the DVD. (I also learned (I think) that although a Linux install can boot from a USB pendrive, apparently (iiuc), a Windows install / recovery disk cannot (but I can't be entirely sure of that because I never got a Windows recovery / install DVD to boot, either.)) Linuxes I have tried: I've tried to install Linuxmint 17.3 and 18.1, and Debian Wheezy and Jessie--all seem to have about the same problem (discussed further below). The laptop currently has only 1 GB of memory and a fairly slow (1.7 or so GHz) dual core processor, so I'm not sure how well it will work with anything newer. (The memory is expandable to either 2 or 4 GB (forget which, atm), and I will probably upgrade it when I have a Linux working with WiFi.) Other "plans": I have ordered a USB WiFi dongle (from eBay / Taiwan, ordered when I thought the WiFi "card" was not included with the laptop). When I get it, I could consider disabling the internal Broadcom device (is it easily physically removable?) and utilizing the dongle. Of course, the delivery of that could be a month or more away. What I think I've learned about the Inspiron, Broadcom, and Linux: * Somebody on this list fairly recently mentioned the problems with Broadcom WiFi devices and i inferred from what they said that LinuxMInt 17.3 might be the easiest Linux distro to get it working, which is why I tried it. * All of the Linuxes somehow indicated that I had to load some other files to get the Broadcom working. I eventually realized they were talking about firmware that has to be installed on the card. I think all of them (or at least Wheezy, iirc, identified those files as b43/ucode5.fw and b43-open/ucode5.fw. (Are those two different files, and, do I need both or either??). So far, I have not located those files anywhere, either using google or searching the (Wheezy) packages (including contrib and non-free). I downloaded some packages from the Wheezy repository (after adding contrib and non-free): The downloaded packages: firmware-b43-installer version 1:015-14.1 firmware-brcm80211 version 0.36+wheezy.1 There were other packages I could have downloaded and tried, but didn't, so far. Those packages provided me with (among other files): /lib/firmware/brcm/bcm43xx-0.fw /lib/firmware/brcm/bcm43xx_hdr-0.fw b43-fwcutter Using the -l option of b43-fwcutter, I see the following (exactly the same for either of the 2 fw files): root@s19:~# b43-fwcutter -l /lib/firmware/brcm/bcm43xx_hdr-0.fw b43-fwcutter version 015 Extracting firmware is possible from these binary driver files. Please read http://linuxwireless.org/en/users/Drivers/b43#devicefirmware b43legacy wl_apsta.o 295.14 e08665c5c5b66beb9c3b2dd54aa80cb3 b43 wl_apsta.o 351.126 9207bc565c2fc9fa1591f6c7911d3fc0 b43 wl_apsta_mimo.o 351.126 722e2e0d8cc04b8f118bb5afe6829ff9 b43 wl_apsta_mimo.o 410.2160 cb8d70972b885b1f8883b943c0261a3c b43 wl_apsta.o 478.104 bb8537e3204a1ea5903fe3e66b5e2763 b43 wl_prebuilt.o 508.1084 490d4e149ecc45eb1a91f06aa75be071 b43 wl_apsta.o 508.1107 f06c8aa30ea549ce21872d10ee9a7d48 b43 wl_apsta.o 508.10872 e413c0017b99195f3231201c53f314d1 b43 wl_apsta.o 508.154 023fafbe4918e384dd531a046dbc03e8 b43 wl_apsta.o 644.1001 68f38d139b1f69f3ea12393fb645c6f9 b43 wl_apsta.o 666.2 e1b05e268bcdbfef3560c28fc161f30e The main questions: So, where do I go from here? Is ucode5.fw an obsolete file name? Or maybe that is the name for the Broadcom proprietary stuff but what I've found are open source replacements? Is ucode5.fw in one of the other Debian packages for Broadcom? Has
