Wireless NIC Broadcom 4312 (b43) is not being installed

**Ekeis** · 03-15-2012, 11:52 PM

Hi folks,

I've got a problem on my HP6735s: Knoppix 7.0 is not installing an appropriate driver for my wireless NIC (Broadcom Corporation BCM4312 802.11b/g LP-PHY). The complete output of lspci -v is attached. iwconfig say 'no wireless extensions'.

The wireless-NIC-LED ist blue, so the device is activated. I've tried http://wiki.debian.org/bcm43xx, but no wireless device appears in the Netzwerk-Manager-Applet.

Any links, docs or howtos appreciated. Thanks for you time.

Regards,
Oliver.

Code:

00:00.0 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] RS780 Host Bridge
    Subsystem: Hewlett-Packard Company Device 30e4
    Flags: bus master, 66MHz, medium devsel, latency 0
    Capabilities: <access denied>

00:01.0 PCI bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] RS780/RS880 PCI to PCI bridge (int gfx) (prog-if 00 [Normal decode])
    Flags: bus master, 66MHz, medium devsel, latency 64
    Bus: primary=00, secondary=01, subordinate=01, sec-latency=0
    I/O behind bridge: 00005000-00005fff
    Memory behind bridge: d4200000-d43fffff
    Prefetchable memory behind bridge: 00000000c0000000-00000000cfffffff
    Capabilities: <access denied>

00:04.0 PCI bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] RS780/RS880 PCI to PCI bridge (PCIE port 0) (prog-if 00 [Normal decode])
    Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0
    Bus: primary=00, secondary=02, subordinate=02, sec-latency=0
    I/O behind bridge: 00003000-00004fff
    Memory behind bridge: d3100000-d41fffff
    Prefetchable memory behind bridge: 00000000d0000000-00000000d0ffffff
    Capabilities: <access denied>
    Kernel driver in use: pcieport

00:07.0 PCI bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] RS780 PCI to PCI bridge (PCIE port 3) (prog-if 00 [Normal decode])
    Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0
    Bus: primary=00, secondary=03, subordinate=05, sec-latency=0
    I/O behind bridge: 00002000-00002fff
    Memory behind bridge: d2100000-d30fffff
    Prefetchable memory behind bridge: 00000000d1000000-00000000d1ffffff
    Capabilities: <access denied>
    Kernel driver in use: pcieport

00:09.0 PCI bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] RS780/RS880 PCI to PCI bridge (PCIE port 4) (prog-if 00 [Normal decode])
    Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0
    Bus: primary=00, secondary=06, subordinate=06, sec-latency=0
    Memory behind bridge: d2000000-d20fffff
    Capabilities: <access denied>
    Kernel driver in use: pcieport

00:11.0 SATA controller: ATI Technologies Inc SB7x0/SB8x0/SB9x0 SATA Controller [AHCI mode] (prog-if 01 [AHCI 1.0])
    Subsystem: Hewlett-Packard Company Device 30e4
    Flags: bus master, 66MHz, medium devsel, latency 64, IRQ 20
    I/O ports at 6018 [size=8]
    I/O ports at 6024 [size=4]
    I/O ports at 6010 [size=8]
    I/O ports at 6020 [size=4]
    I/O ports at 6000 [size=16]
    Memory at d4409000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=1K]
    Capabilities: <access denied>
    Kernel driver in use: ahci

00:12.0 USB controller: ATI Technologies Inc SB7x0/SB8x0/SB9x0 USB OHCI0 Controller (prog-if 10 [OHCI])
    Subsystem: Hewlett-Packard Company Device 30e4
    Flags: bus master, 66MHz, medium devsel, latency 64, IRQ 16
    Memory at d4408000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=4K]
    Kernel driver in use: ohci_hcd

00:12.1 USB controller: ATI Technologies Inc SB7x0 USB OHCI1 Controller (prog-if 10 [OHCI])
    Subsystem: Hewlett-Packard Company Device 30e4
    Flags: bus master, 66MHz, medium devsel, latency 64, IRQ 16
    Memory at d4407000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=4K]
    Kernel driver in use: ohci_hcd

00:12.2 USB controller: ATI Technologies Inc SB7x0/SB8x0/SB9x0 USB EHCI Controller (prog-if 20 [EHCI])
    Subsystem: Hewlett-Packard Company Device 30e4
    Flags: bus master, 66MHz, medium devsel, latency 64, IRQ 17
    Memory at d4409500 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=256]
    Capabilities: <access denied>
    Kernel driver in use: ehci_hcd

00:13.0 USB controller: ATI Technologies Inc SB7x0/SB8x0/SB9x0 USB OHCI0 Controller (prog-if 10 [OHCI])
    Subsystem: Hewlett-Packard Company Device 30e4
    Flags: bus master, 66MHz, medium devsel, latency 64, IRQ 17
    Memory at d4406000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=4K]
    Kernel driver in use: ohci_hcd

00:13.1 USB controller: ATI Technologies Inc SB7x0 USB OHCI1 Controller (prog-if 10 [OHCI])
    Subsystem: Hewlett-Packard Company Device 30e4
    Flags: bus master, 66MHz, medium devsel, latency 64, IRQ 17
    Memory at d4405000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=4K]
    Kernel driver in use: ohci_hcd

00:13.2 USB controller: ATI Technologies Inc SB7x0/SB8x0/SB9x0 USB EHCI Controller (prog-if 20 [EHCI])
    Subsystem: Hewlett-Packard Company Device 30e4
    Flags: bus master, 66MHz, medium devsel, latency 64, IRQ 19
    Memory at d4409400 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=256]
    Capabilities: <access denied>
    Kernel driver in use: ehci_hcd

00:14.0 SMBus: ATI Technologies Inc SBx00 SMBus Controller (rev 3a)
    Subsystem: Hewlett-Packard Company Device 30e4
    Flags: 66MHz, medium devsel
    Capabilities: <access denied>
    Kernel driver in use: piix4_smbus

00:14.2 Audio device: ATI Technologies Inc SBx00 Azalia (Intel HDA)
    Subsystem: Hewlett-Packard Company Device 3613
    Flags: bus master, slow devsel, latency 64, IRQ 16
    Memory at d4400000 (64-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=16K]
    Capabilities: <access denied>
    Kernel driver in use: snd_hda_intel

00:14.3 ISA bridge: ATI Technologies Inc SB7x0/SB8x0/SB9x0 LPC host controller
    Subsystem: ATI Technologies Inc SB7x0/SB8x0/SB9x0 LPC host controller
    Flags: bus master, 66MHz, medium devsel, latency 0

00:14.4 PCI bridge: ATI Technologies Inc SBx00 PCI to PCI Bridge (prog-if 01 [Subtractive decode])
    Flags: bus master, 66MHz, medium devsel, latency 64
    Bus: primary=00, secondary=80, subordinate=8f, sec-latency=64
    I/O behind bridge: 00001000-00001fff

00:14.5 USB controller: ATI Technologies Inc SB7x0/SB8x0/SB9x0 USB OHCI2 Controller (prog-if 10 [OHCI])
    Subsystem: Hewlett-Packard Company Device 30e4
    Flags: bus master, 66MHz, medium devsel, latency 64, IRQ 18
    Memory at d4404000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=4K]
    Kernel driver in use: ohci_hcd

00:18.0 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] Family 11h Processor HyperTransport Configuration (rev 40)
    Flags: fast devsel
    Capabilities: <access denied>

00:18.1 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] Family 11h Processor Address Map
    Flags: fast devsel

00:18.2 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] Family 11h Processor DRAM Controller
    Flags: fast devsel

00:18.3 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] Family 11h Processor Miscellaneous Control
    Flags: fast devsel
    Capabilities: <access denied>
    Kernel driver in use: k10temp

00:18.4 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] Family 11h Processor Link Control
    Flags: fast devsel

01:05.0 VGA compatible controller: ATI Technologies Inc RS780M/RS780MN [Mobility Radeon HD 3200 Graphics] (prog-if 00 [VGA controller])
    Subsystem: Hewlett-Packard Company Device 30e4
    Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 18
    Memory at c0000000 (32-bit, prefetchable) [size=256M]
    I/O ports at 5000 [size=256]
    Memory at d4300000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=64K]
    Memory at d4200000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=1M]
    Expansion ROM at <unassigned> [disabled]
    Capabilities: <access denied>
    Kernel driver in use: radeon

02:00.0 Ethernet controller: Marvell Technology Group Ltd. 88E8042 PCI-E Fast Ethernet Controller (rev 10)
    Subsystem: Hewlett-Packard Company Device 30e4
    Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 43
    Memory at d3100000 (64-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=16K]
    I/O ports at 3000 [size=256]
    Capabilities: <access denied>
    Kernel driver in use: sky2

06:00.0 Network controller: Broadcom Corporation BCM4312 802.11b/g LP-PHY (rev 01)
    Subsystem: Hewlett-Packard Company BCM4312 802.11b/g Wireless LAN Controller
    Physical Slot: 1
    Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 5
    Memory at d2000000 (64-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=16K]
    Capabilities: <access denied>

**klaus2008** · 03-18-2012, 10:16 PM

If you issue the command

Code:

cat /boot/config-3.2.4 | grep B43

you will get the lines

# CONFIG_B43 is not set
# CONFIG_B43LEGACY is not set

The Knoppix kernel does not support your BCM4312 wireless adaptor. There is no kernel module. Therefore downloading the firmware files and copying them to the proper place in the filesystem as described on the web page you mentioned won't help.

If you read the page "b43 and b43legacy" of the Linux Wireless web site you will find out that there exists a proprietary driver "broadcom-wl" you could try out. Don't forget to read the file README.txt on the Broadcom web page.

I hope that helps.

**utu** · 03-18-2012, 11:00 PM

Greetings, Ekeis & Klaus2008

This is disturbing news, I think.
Make sure you haven't inadvertently blacklisted wl, if that's what you need.

I've been happy with Knoppix since 6.2; I haven't seen 7.0 yet.
I have the BCM4312 and have been using the wl driver all along.
See for example, with my current 6.7.1:

Code:

knoppix@Microknoppix:~$ lspci | grep -i bcm; lsmod | grep wl
0c:00.0 Network controller: Broadcom Corporation BCM4312 802.11b/g LP-PHY (rev 01)
wl                   1936903  0

My wl has always been loaded without any hassle at all. Up til now?

If wl is needed and isn't provided automatically,
the bcmwl source is available via synaptic, BUT
it's a real hassle to install. I've complained about with Ubuntu
and all its clones.

Conversely, if you need b43, make sure that's not blacklisted.

**Ekeis** · 03-21-2012, 12:24 AM

Thanks guys, that helped me out and I solved it. The recipe was:

Get the driver from http://www.broadcom.com/support/802.11/linux_sta.php
For 32 bit: hybrid-portsrc.tar.gz
For 64 bit: hybrid-portsrc-x86_64.tar.gz

Setup dir and untar:
# mkdir hybrid_wl
# cd hybrid_wl
# tar xzf <path>/hybrid-portsrc.tar or <path>/hybrid-portsrc-x86_64.tar.gz

Patch the driver, download this patch: bc_wl_abiupdate.patch
# patch -p0 src/wl/sys/wl_linux.c < bc_wl_abiupdate.patch
# sudo make
# sudo make install
# sudo depmod
# sudo modprobe wl

Give the driver a little time to scan wireless networks, connect to your network, key in the password and your done.

Thanks and best regards,
Oliver.

http://www.mindwerks.net/2011/11/wir...12-3-2-kernel/

**utu** · 03-21-2012, 01:59 PM

@ Ekeis

I'd be interested to know if you tried using Synaptic to bring inthe bcmwl source,
and if so, how that went.
This is what I end up doing with Ubuntu-related distros.

**knopper** · 03-21-2012, 05:16 PM

Originally Posted by Ekeis

Hi folks,

I've got a problem on my HP6735s: Knoppix 7.0 is not installing an appropriate driver for my wireless NIC (Broadcom Corporation BCM4312 802.11b/g LP-PHY). The complete output of lspci -v is attached. iwconfig say 'no wireless extensions'.

The wireless-NIC-LED ist blue, so the device is activated. I've tried http://wiki.debian.org/bcm43xx, but no wireless device appears in the Netzwerk-Manager-Applet.

Any links, docs or howtos appreciated. Thanks for you time.

Regards,
Oliver.

Sorry about this, I forgot to install the broadcom-sta-modules package right after updating the kernel to 3.2.4 in the final version. But you can find the packages here (for both 32 and 64 bit this time!):

http://debian-knoppix.alioth.debian..../broadcom-sta/

If you have the debian-knoppix repository in your /etc/apt/sources.list (which should be the case when running Knoppix 7.0.0), you could also (after connecting to the internet via LAN) just type

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install broadcom-sta-modules-3.2.4
and/or
sudo apt-get install broadcom-sta-modules-3.2.4-64

to get the modules downloaded and installed. For activating the module immediately, type

sudo rmmod bcma
sudo modprobe wl

If you run Knoppix 7.0.0 from USB flash with a persistent overlay, the change will be permanent.

I'll make sure that in the upcoming public release, which will most likely contain the new kernel 3.3 already, the driver won't be missing again.

Regards
-Klaus