6.7.1 DVD Weakest Link

[luther]

     a23@1bc ~ $ sudo dmesg | grep b43
    
[    1.603646] b43-pci-bridge 0000:06:02.0: PCI INT A -> GSI 21 (level, low) -> IRQ 21
    
[   17.642924] b43-phy0: Broadcom 4318 WLAN found (core revision 9)
    
[   17.751656] Registered led device: b43-phy0::radio
    
a23@1bc ~ $ 

[luther]

1:2

a23@1bc ~ $ lsmod
Module                  Size  Used by
usbhid                 41704  0 
hid                    77084  1 usbhid
binfmt_misc            13213  1 
parport_pc             32111  0 
dm_crypt               22463  0 
ppdev                  12849  0 
snd_usb_audio          91410  0 
snd_atiixp             19400  1 
arc4                   12473  2 
snd_atiixp_modem       18624  0 
snd_hwdep              13274  1 snd_usb_audio
snd_usbmidi_lib        24388  1 snd_usb_audio
snd_ac97_codec        105614  2 snd_atiixp,snd_atiixp_modem
ac97_bus               12642  1 snd_ac97_codec
snd_pcm                80244  4 snd_usb_audio,snd_atiixp,snd_atiixp_modem,snd_ac97_codec
snd_seq_midi           13132  0 
b43                   296610  0 
snd_rawmidi            25269  2 snd_usbmidi_lib,snd_seq_midi
mac80211              257001  1 b43
snd_seq_midi_event     14475  1 snd_seq_midi
hp_wmi                 13418  0 
snd_seq                51291  2 snd_seq_midi,snd_seq_midi_event
joydev                 17322  0 
sparse_keymap          13666  1 hp_wmi
pcmcia                 39671  0 
snd_timer              28659  2 snd_pcm,snd_seq
snd_seq_device         14110  3 snd_seq_midi,snd_rawmidi,snd_seq
cfg80211              156212  2 b43,mac80211
psmouse                73312  0 
tifm_7xx1              12898  0 
snd                    55295  13 snd_usb_audio,snd_atiixp,snd_hwdep,snd_atiixp_modem,snd_usbmidi_lib,snd_ac97_codec,snd_pcm,snd_rawmidi,snd_seq,snd_timer,snd_seq_device
yenta_socket           27230  0 
tifm_core              15040  1 tifm_7xx1
pcmcia_rsrc            18292  1 yenta_socket
serio_raw              12990  0 
pcmcia_core            21505  3 pcmcia,yenta_socket,pcmcia_rsrc
k8temp                 12872  0 
soundcore              12600  1 snd
i2c_piix4              13095  0 
snd_page_alloc         14073  3 snd_atiixp_modem,snd_atiixp,snd_pcm
shpchp                 32345  0 
lp                     13349  0 
parport                36746  3 parport_pc,ppdev,lp
dm_raid45              88410  0 
xor                    21860  1 dm_raid45
btrfs                 527341  0 
zlib_deflate           26594  1 btrfs
libcrc32c              12543  1 btrfs
radeon                896428  2 
ttm                    65184  1 radeon
drm_kms_helper         40745  1 radeon
firewire_ohci          31504  0 
usb_storage            43946  2 
drm                   180037  4 radeon,ttm,drm_kms_helper
8139too                23208  0 
ssb                    45942  1 b43
video                  18951  0 
sdhci_pci              13623  0 
firewire_core          56138  1 firewire_ohci
uas                    17676  0 
pata_atiixp            12968  1 
8139cp                 22497  0 
i2c_algo_bit           13184  1 radeon
ati_agp                13202  0 
sdhci                  22720  1 sdhci_pci
crc_itu_t              12627  1 firewire_core
a23@1bc ~ $

2:2

a23@1bc ~ $ sudo dmesg | grep b43
[sudo] password for xXx: 
[    1.603646] b43-pci-bridge 0000:06:02.0: PCI INT A -> GSI 21 (level, low) -> IRQ 21
[   17.642924] b43-phy0: Broadcom 4318 WLAN found (core revision 9)
[   17.751656] Registered led device: b43-phy0::radio
a23@1bc ~ $

[utu]

@ luther & Werner

luther and I seem to have complementary wifi experiences:

My laptop has a Broadcom 4315 which requires a wl driver
and blacklisting of b43 and ssb drivers. Knoppix does this
automatically; Mint makes it a chore for me to get wl installed.

luther's rig uses a Broadcom 4318 which apparently works
just fine on Mint 11 using both b43 AND ssb; this appears to
be a problem for luther and others in Knoppix.

So, at this point, I think luther may need to do the following with
his Knoppix setup:
1. remove and blacklist the wl module & un-blacklist b43 and ssb, if necessary;
2. obtain or create b43 and ssb modules, if necessary;
3. install b43 and ssb modules; and possibly,
4. update initramfs.

If all this is a correct (and necessary) description of where we are,
then we need to feed this back to Klaus K.

[luther]

Dear Knoppix Hackers:

I'm happy to beta test your distro,
but suggest KK review this stuff,
since Werner, utu and myself are
stumped:

b43 module, size 296,610 used by 0
ssb module, size 045,942 used by 1 b43

1) remove & blacklist wl module
2) un-blacklist b43 and ssb
3) obtain or create b43 & ssb modules
4) install b43 & ssb modules
5) update initramfs
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Excellent replies!
luther

[utu]

The ball still in our court to demonstrate my conjecture
or come up with something better.
Who do we know with a Broadcom 4318 that might accept this challenge?

[luther]

The ball still in our court to demonstrate my conjecture
or come up with something better.
Who do we know with a Broadcom 4318 that might accept this challenge?

Dear utu:

For starters, anyone with a hp pavilion dv8000 notebook.

Also, please enlighten me on "initramfs"?

Once I understand the theory behind your conjecture,
expect to see a posted demo.
THX
luther

[utu]

The only additional 'theory' required is described in the man pages for
modprobe (to add or remove kernel modules; also defines how blacklists work)
and update-initramfs (to do just that).

update-initramfs may only be necessary for liveusb/livecd situations, to
correct for an original initrd to include additional necessary modules
not in the original, such as missing wifi driver(s).

[luther]

@ luther & Werner

luther and I seem to have complementary wifi experiences:

My laptop has a Broadcom 4315 which requires a wl driver
and blacklisting of b43 and ssb drivers. Knoppix does this
automatically; Mint makes it a chore for me to get wl installed.

luther's rig uses a Broadcom 4318 which apparently works
just fine on Mint 11 using both b43 AND ssb; this appears to
be a problem for luther and others in Knoppix.

So, at this point, I think luther may need to do the following with
his Knoppix setup:
1. remove and blacklist the wl module & un-blacklist b43 and ssb, if necessary;
2. obtain or create b43 and ssb modules, if necessary;
3. install b43 and ssb modules; and possibly,
4. update initramfs.

If all this is a correct (and necessary) description of where we are,
then we need to feed this back to Klaus K.

Dear utu:
Is this the conf causing the problem that needs mods?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GNU nano 2.2.4 File: /etc/modprobe.d/broadcom-sta-common.conf

# wl module from Broadcom conflicts with ssb
# We must blacklist the following modules:
blacklist b44
blacklist b43legacy
blacklist b43
blacklist brcm80211
blacklist brcmsmac
blacklist ssb
install wl /sbin/modprobe --ignore-install wl $CMDLINE_OPTS
~~~~~~~~~~~~

How would you remove and blacklist wl module?
I can think of several, that might NOT work.

Also, how would you UN-blacklist b43 and ssb?
Logic tells me a hash is all that is needed for each.

Finally, I'm sure you have updated-initramfs before.
What SYNTAX did you use?
I'd prefer to use something that is tried-and-true.

Kind Regards,
luther

[utu]

@ luther

I would sneak up on this in the following way:

1. With your Knoppix, do an lsmod just like you did for Mint.

2. See what wifi drivers are there to start with and remove them all:
as root, modprobe -r wl, then modprobe -r b43, then modprobe -r ssb
then do another lsmod to make sure they're gone.

3. Now, put back the drivers we think you need, ssb & b43:
with modprobe -a ssb and modprobe -a b43
then do another lsmod to see if ssb and b43 are there all right.

4. Find the network gui and see if things are starting to act like they do in Mint.
If you get this far successfully, then you've proved the drivers we chose are
right for the 4318.

The next question will be: does what you've done so far survive a reboot?
Probably not. Then we'll discuss blacklisting and initramfs (or some alternative).

Get back to us on your progress.

[luther]

@ luther

I would sneak up on this in the following way:

1. With your Knoppix, do an lsmod just like you did for Mint.

2. See what wifi drivers are there to start with and remove them all:
as root, modprobe -r wl, then modprobe -r b43, then modprobe -r ssb
then do another lsmod to make sure they're gone.

3. Now, put back the drivers we think you need, ssb & b43:
with modprobe -a ssb and modprobe -a b43
then do another lsmod to see if ssb and b43 are there all right.

4. Find the network gui and see if things are starting to act like they do in Mint.
If you get this far successfully, then you've proved the drivers we chose are
right for the 4318.

The next question will be: does what you've done so far survive a reboot?
Probably not. Then we'll discuss blacklisting and initramfs (or some alternative).

Get back to us on your progress.

Dear utu:
Report exceeds posting buffer, but can be found here:
www.mninter.net/~pfourier/utu_mod1.zip

Summary:
b43 module gets installed, But where?

HTH
luther