[SOLVED] BCM4306 Firmware Missing...

Hello, recently installed and unable to use wireless. Heres a few things i've tried out, if you have any suggestions its much appreciated.

1. additional drivers, saw the listing for the broadcoms howver it doesnt list mine, also gives me an error when trying to get the package.
2. package manager for the broadcoms, didnt have my listed and when installed thinking it might have the drivers within... didnt work and gave me this error
W: Failed to fetch http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/pool/m ... 3_i386.deb
404 Not Found [IP: 91.189.92.177 80]


W: Failed to fetch http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/pool/m ... 8_i386.deb
404 Not Found [IP: 91.189.92.177 80]


W: Failed to fetch http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/pool/m ... 3_i386.deb
404 Not Found [IP: 91.189.92.177 80]


3. also found a bc4306 deb package from here
http://wiki.debian.org/bcm43xx
- tried the b43 legacy rev2, and then found out from other posts that mine was rev2... show you my lshw -c network below:

*-network:0
description: Network controller
product: BCM4306 802.11b/g Wireless LAN Controller
vendor: Broadcom Corporation
physical id: 3
bus info: pci@0000:02:03.0
version: 03
width: 32 bits
clock: 33MHz
capabilities: bus_master
configuration: driver=b43-pci-bridge latency=64
resources: irq:19 memory:dfdfe000-dfdfffff
*-network:1
description: Ethernet interface
product: 82562ET/EZ/GT/GZ - PRO/100 VE (LOM) Ethernet Controller Mobile
vendor: Intel Corporation
physical id: 8
bus info: pci@0000:02:08.0
logical name: eth0
version: 03
serial: 00:12:3f:03:a9:7a
size: 100Mbit/s
capacity: 100Mbit/s
width: 32 bits
clock: 33MHz
capabilities: pm bus_master cap_list ethernet physical tp mii 10bt 10bt-fd 100bt 100bt-fd autonegotiation
configuration: autonegotiation=on broadcast=yes driver=e100 driverversion=3.5.24-k2-NAPI duplex=full firmware=N/A ip=192.168.1.5 latency=64 link=yes maxlatency=56 mingnt=8 multicast=yes port=MII speed=100Mbit/s
resources: irq:20 memory:dfdfd000-dfdfdfff ioport:df40(size=64)
*-network DISABLED
description: Wireless interface
physical id: 2
logical name: wlan0
serial: 00:0b:7d:23:9b:7b
capabilities: ethernet physical wireless
configuration: broadcast=yes driver=b43 driverversion=3.2.0-37-generic firmware=N/A link=no multicast=yes wireless=IEEE 802.11bg



-----------------------


so still when i select the network icon on the bottom right, it still shows
wireless network
divice not ready (firmware missing)


I'm just stuck and need some help, if anyone can help me please, id really appreciate it.

Thank you.

Thank you for the response, i downloaded and added the firmware... however yet a new issue pops up..

Module could not be loaded. Error was:
FATAL: Module ndiswrapper not found.
Is the ndiswrapper module installed?

It then adds the following to the list:

bcnm43xx32
Hardware Present: No

If i close or configure network it still wont show anything under the wireless tab of Network Connections.

I went to the Package Manager to check for dniswrapper was installed and did a search under all for ndis and came up with:

ndiswrapper-source (both unchecked)
ndiswrapper-dkms (both unchecked)
ndiswrapper-utils-1.9 (both checked)
ndiswrapper-common (both checked)

Also when i click on the icon on the bottom right it still shows firmware missing under wireless network's section.

any idea ?

Thanks!

ok so kinda update, but still unable to get it to work.

so i installed the following packages.
ndiswrapper-dkms and -source

and also that previous item you had me install would still pop up as hardware found: no

but i found a different package which i had used for when i had windows..
R151519.exe containing driver bcmwl5.inf
when using that i now have the hardware found: yes also without any ndiswrapper FATAL errors.

now this is where an issue comes to play, is there a radio ui i need to access to be able to see the available wireless networks to be able to connect to?
- seems im on the right path now, just cant figure it out lol


if you didnt notice, still a unix noob ^ ^

Swarf the package I gave you is for your USB dongle with use with ndiswrapper. Your card is BCM4323! Nothing to do with our friend aetix here.

Aetix, I would like to see the result of

Code:

lspci -nn

I want to see the id of the card and in case you have 4306 rev 3, you need the b43 driver firmware.

To get that, plug an ethernet cable to get internet (or get internet from any other source i.e. a wireless USB dongle), open terminal (ctrl+alt+T) and give the following commands, the one after the other, pressing <enter> after each one:

First update your system

Code:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get dist-upgrade

Reboot and then, again in terminal give the following commands:

Code:

sudo apt-get remove --purge bcmwl-kernel-source
sudo apt-get install linux-firmware-nonfree
sudo modprobe b43

You should see the blue light of your wifi spring to life,

Other wise, I will be expecting the result of the command:

Code:

lspci -nn

Thank you for the info above, and yes, with the lspci -nn it does show rev03, so assuming its that. On the downside when i have the live version installed on my 4gig flash drive with updates on it, i max the space out for the apt-get dist-upgrade....

where would the best spot be to look at the true space on my flash drive? I was taking the route of properties of / but it shows like 20 gigs, which in my case doesnt make sense.

however when i check my partitions, i see 2 sections:
/dev/sta/1 (ext4) / = 2.53
/dev/sta/2 (extended) trees down to 5 (swap) = 1.24


Since my knowledge is so little on these OS', could someone give me a quick run down on how it works and if i were to reinstall and manually set the partition sizes, what i should make it as?

Thanks again for you guys taking the time to give a few words of advice, its much appreciated.

I thought you had the OS installed and not running it via live USB.

In case you want to get internet on the live USB, I can tell you how, without needing to update/upgrade. I just don't know if the changes will be permanent so you may need to do this procedure everytime you load Zorin via the live USB (unless you have persistent space in your USB).

So, use another computer that has internet connection and download from here the b43 firmware: http://ubuntuone.com/5AAnN2xsnkq93KiUCB0p5T
(I have uploaded it onto my ubuntu one account).
As soon as it is downloaded, copy same on a data USB stick.
Then use your zorin live USB to load Zorin OS.
Plug the data USB stick and paste the b43.tar.gz firmware file you downloaded into your home folder.
Right click on it and select "extract here". A new file will be created named "b43".
Open terminal (ctrl+alt+T) and write the following commands, the one after the other, pressing <enter> after each one:

sudo mkdir /lib/firmware/b43
sudo cp /home/$USER/b43/* /lib/firmware/b43
sudo modprobe -r b43
sudo modprobe b43

Madvinegar!

that was it right there, that last post did it! Thanks so much, gona get my new HDD in today and gona install zorin and work off that! thanks a bunch man!

Glad I helped my friend!

Hello madvinegar,

I wish to add a huge THANK YOU for your b43.tar.gz file, and the four lines of terminal code necessary to activate it. I spent a day and a half searching diligently for a solution to getting my laptop communicating online again, and while many other suggestions sounded good, yours was the only one that hit the nail on the head. What makes your assistance actually valuable is that you provided the b43 driver, and THEN, you actually provided the terminal code necessary for normal computer users to get it to work!! Without those four lines, I may still have been bumbling around figuring out how to use the b43 driver file. Most other writers on Linux forums seem to assume that everyone knows the "under the hood" tech stuff, and even when newbies ask for help, they still only provide cryptic information that leads nowhere for most of the users who need it. You went the extra mile, made it easy, and displayed a true desire to help others.

I used the Mac OS for 10 years, the Windows OS for 11 years, and then 3 years ago I switched to Linux, fed up with typical Mac/Windows issues. I chose Linux Fedora because it was the only Linux flavor I could find that recognized my Broadcom b43 wireless setup right out of the box. Then, a few months ago, I learned about Zorin and was very impressed because it came standard with stuff that just made using it easier with less tech fiddling typical of most Linux systems. I did not switch to Zorin right then, but did finally make the switch this week, figuring that I could be successful at installing the missing wireless firmware (unfortunately, Zorin 5.2 did not supply a driver for b43). Enter your post, and now I am one HAPPY Zorin user, fully functional with wireless capability once more!

If more forum experts could approach these questions for help with your mindset, I believe more folks would remain with the Linux platform. As it stands now, with quite a few forum writers basking in their own ego superiority realm of tossing out techno-mumbo jumbo to newcomers who don't understand what they are saying, a high percentage of first-time Linux users become discouraged and return to Windows.

Thanks again! You made another difference, and it is appreciated by many!

steve

When I started using linux I knew absolutely nothing about it. Even the simplest set of commands seemed to me as mumbo-jumbo.
The first problem I encountered was to activate a Broadcom BCM4311 wireless card. I was searcing through various forums, and could not understand any of the commands that members were offering. I found a post in the ubuntu forums which was so analytical and simple that made me activate my wireless card right away.
I want to do the same for others. As someone has helped me to overcome a problem, I want to help others since now I am more experienced.

I cannot say that now I am a linux guru, but I have come a long way and presently I feel very safe using just linux as my main OS. And it all started when someone helped me overcome my first linux problem. I hope it works the same way for you, and at some time in the future, you will be the one helping others.

That is the main idea of free software. We are a community.


If you want some extra advise, the thing that will help you get into things even better is actually understanding what the commands mean instead of just copying/pasting them. It is not rocket sience. I will explain what we did we the commands I gave you just to get an idea.

sudo mkdir /lib/firmware/b43 --->
we created a file with the name "b43" inside the directory /lib/firmware. This is the directory were the firmwares are stored.

sudo cp /home/$USER/b43/* /lib/firmware/b43 -->
We copied all the contents of the b43 file you extracted in your home folder inside the new b43 folder we created inside the directory /lib/firmware

sudo modprobe -r b43 -->
We unloaded the b43 driver module from the system

sudo modprobe b43 --->
We reloaded the b43 driver module into the system to make it start working.

sudo = the command we use to get root previlidges (so as the system will allow to us to make changes into the root directories).
mkdir = make directory
cp = copy
modprobe -r = remove module
modprobe = enable module


Once you start understanding the meaning of the commands, it will be extremely easy to "get" linux (and use terminal).

I am really glad that my post affected you in such a constructive way.

Yes, your description of what the commands actually mean is very helpful! I will make a text document of those explanations and keep it in the b43 folder I created for future access (contains the tar.gz file, driver, and general knowledge so that I will remember all this stuff if I do reload Linux again in the future, although, I am so happy with Zorin now that I thinks its a "keeper"). I have saved all your information on two external back-up drives just in case - it was such a challenging journey to find this "gold" that I dare not allow it to slip through my fingers again!

I have been using Linux exclusively as my only system since 2009. I figured that the full immersion model of computing would be best for me. I love challenges, and surely have been challenged along the way, and by not using a dual-boot system with Windows conveniently available to bail me out, I was forced to sink or swim. You are right about the "community" ideology. When it works, it's fantastic, and when folks like yourself genuinely try to help, it works in spades. In my three years of Linux usage, no one prior to you has taken the time to really spell things out in such detail that literally, anyone could do it. Others provide lines of code, but leave out the in-between steps that tie it all together - they assume the learner has more knowledge than he actually does. With many of the Linux gurus I've read, it seems they are too busy, or perhaps even "above" such elementary stuff, to make the information dummy proof (maybe they want to keep out newcomers, kind of like when so many of the advanced Windows users were bemoaning the days when DOS was being "dumbed down" so that it was usable to the masses as the newer and usable Windows GUIs.). Sometimes there is an elitist mentality among top level computer users, and it seems to exist even in the Linux ranks, but as users grow, so will meaningful sharing. And, when the distros supply sufficient software and firmware that the systems work out of the box, more will join Linux.

Anyway, enough of my rant - thanks again - you have saved the day for many of us still on the learning curve!

steve

Good post Steve,

MV certainly is an asset to this or any other forum!!.

I agree also what you say about when people write info that they assume that everyone else is as switched on as they are, I try to write my guides so everyone is on the same page and try to include example pics so people can get their heads round the subject matter easier!!.

Linux doesn't have to be hard if the devs use some "Common Sense" !!.

Regards Wolfman