[Solved] Getting really confused about setting up broadcom wireless

darver · 2011-12-03 07:24:30

Hello,
I tried following the wireless guide and broadcom wireless pages, but got lost in the steps somewhere/have no idea what I'm doing. My PCI-ID is [14e4:432b] 4322. The broadcom guide pointed me here which said I could use the b43 driver. I am trying to manually connect to my network as suggested by the wireless wiki, but couldn't figure it out. I also don't know if I was supposed to blacklist some other driver. ip link recognizes a wireless interface but I don't know where I'm making a mistake

The last things I attempted I got this:

 [gulliver@myhost ~]$ iwlist wlan0 scan
wlan0     Failed to read scan data : Network is down
[gulliver@myhost ~]$ ip link set wlan0 up
RTNETLINK answers: Operation not permitted

Last edited by darver (2011-12-10 02:02:07)

Strike0 · 2011-12-03 09:34:40

The error your code shows just appears because you have to use sudo (root/administrative) permissions for it.

So add sudo before and try again, following the manual guide:
https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Wi … nual_setup
Maybe this tool helps you, if the card is detected correctly:
https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Netcfg#wifi-select
If your device works with the b43 driver, it is suggested you blacklist the b43legacy driver (https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Br … Fb43legacy). Getting the right way for the driver may be a bit trial and error though. You may be able to connect at first, but have connection drops later - which is a sign to look at driver possibilities / blacklisting again then.

Gusar · 2011-12-03 09:47:19

Your card indeed works with the b43 driver, but you also need firmware. So if you haven't already, install b43-firmware from AUR. Then, as Strike0 said, those commands need to be run as root. I too would advise you use wifi-select though, it's a very neat little tool that will run all the necessary commands for you.

darver · 2011-12-03 23:11:12

Sorry for taking so long to get back, I installed wifi-select, blacklisted b43legacy, and ran as root (which I had realized was stupid and that I posted the wrong code) with root it says

 [gulliver@myhost b43-firmware-latest]$ sudo ip link set wlan0 up
RTNETLINK answers: Operation not supported

Also, wifi-select says

[gulliver@myhost b43-firmware-latest]$ sudo wifi-select
 > No interface parameter specified and no $WIRELESS_INTERFACE in /etc/rc.conf

Last edited by darver (2011-12-03 23:12:26)

Gusar · 2011-12-03 23:15:39

b43-firmware, not b43-firmware-latest!

darver · 2011-12-03 23:28:05

oh no! okay is there a way to make sure that I delete all parts of that package? Will the b43-firmware-latest be in conflict with my attempt to install the normal b43-firmware package? I tried to remove with pacman -R but it couldn't find the package

error: 'b43-firmware-latest': target not found

Last edited by darver (2011-12-03 23:56:15)

bananagranola · 2011-12-06 06:10:00

I'm not sure if this is resolved, and sorry if it is.

If pacman -R doesn't find b43-firmware-latest, I don't think it's installed. How did you install it from the AUR?

darver · 2011-12-07 03:31:27

No, I haven't resolved my problem, but thanks for the concern. I followed the instructions for installing packages on the AUR wiki after downloading base-devel. Downloaded tarball, extracted, ran makepkg, then installed using pacman. I think I checked to see if I could remove b43-firmware with pacman -R but I don't think it could find it. I don't know what the package name could have changed to. But then again I don't fully remember if I actually proceeded with that idea. I will have to check again.

Strike0 · 2011-12-07 17:51:36

darver wrote:

I don't know what the package name could have changed to. But then again I don't fully remember if I actually proceeded with that idea. I will have to check again.

Pacman has a logfile in /var/log/pacman.log You can check there:

less /var/log/pacman.log | grep firmware

darver · 2011-12-09 05:58:58

 [gulliver@myhost etc]$ less /var/log/pacman.log | grep firmware
[2011-10-26 20:31] installed linux-firmware (20110822-1)
[2011-12-01 15:52] upgraded linux-firmware (20110822-1 -> 20111101-1)
[2011-12-03 15:03] Running 'pacman -U b43-firmware-latest-5.100.138-1-x86_64.pkg.tar.xz'
[2011-12-03 15:32] Running 'pacman -U b43-firmware-5.10.56.27.3-2-x86_64.pkg.tar.xz'
[2011-12-03 15:33] Running 'pacman -R b43-firmware-latest'
[2011-12-03 15:48] Running 'pacman -R b43-firmware-latest'
[2011-12-03 15:50] Running 'pacman -Rdd b43-firmware-latest/'
[2011-12-03 15:55] Running 'pacman -R b43-firmware-latest'
[2011-12-04 15:03] Running 'pacman -U b43-firmware-5.10.56.27.3-2-x86_64.pkg.tar.xz'
[gulliver@myhost etc]$

I thought my attempts at removing b43-firmware-latest were overkill but it didn't work because I get this

 [gulliver@myhost etc]$ dmesg | grep firmware
[    9.743635] b43-phy0 ERROR: YOUR FIRMWARE IS TOO NEW. Support for firmware 598 and up requires kernel 3.2 or newer. You have to install older firmware or upgrade kernel.
[    9.743714] b43-phy0 ERROR: You must go to http://wireless.kernel.org/en/users/Drivers/b43#devicefirmware and download the correct firmware for this driver version. Please carefully read all instructions on this website.
[ 1453.863474] b43-phy0 ERROR: YOUR FIRMWARE IS TOO NEW. Support for firmware 598 and up requires kernel 3.2 or newer. You have to install older firmware or upgrade kernel.
[ 1453.863481] b43-phy0 ERROR: You must go to http://wireless.kernel.org/en/users/Drivers/b43#devicefirmware and download the correct firmware for this driver version. Please carefully read all instructions on this website.
[ 2097.423430] b43-phy0 ERROR: YOUR FIRMWARE IS TOO NEW. Support for firmware 598 and up requires kernel 3.2 or newer. You have to install older firmware or upgrade kernel.
[ 2097.423436] b43-phy0 ERROR: You must go to http://wireless.kernel.org/en/users/Drivers/b43#devicefirmware and download the correct firmware for this driver version. Please carefully read all instructions on this website.
[ 2329.093388] b43-phy0 ERROR: YOUR FIRMWARE IS TOO NEW. Support for firmware 598 and up requires kernel 3.2 or newer. You have to install older firmware or upgrade kernel.
[ 2329.093394] b43-phy0 ERROR: You must go to http://wireless.kernel.org/en/users/Drivers/b43#devicefirmware and download the correct firmware for this driver version. Please carefully read all instructions on this website.
[ 2329.293389] b43-phy0 ERROR: YOUR FIRMWARE IS TOO NEW. Support for firmware 598 and up requires kernel 3.2 or newer. You have to install older firmware or upgrade kernel.
[ 2329.293397] b43-phy0 ERROR: You must go to http://wireless.kernel.org/en/users/Drivers/b43#devicefirmware and download the correct firmware for this driver version. Please carefully read all instructions on this website.
[ 2329.463373] b43-phy0 ERROR: YOUR FIRMWARE IS TOO NEW. Support for firmware 598 and up requires kernel 3.2 or newer. You have to install older firmware or upgrade kernel.
[ 2329.463379] b43-phy0 ERROR: You must go to http://wireless.kernel.org/en/users/Drivers/b43#devicefirmware and download the correct firmware for this driver version. Please carefully read all instructions on this website.
[ 2359.876719] b43-phy0 ERROR: YOUR FIRMWARE IS TOO NEW. Support for firmware 598 and up requires kernel 3.2 or newer. You have to install older firmware or upgrade kernel.
[ 2359.876725] b43-phy0 ERROR: You must go to http://wireless.kernel.org/en/users/Drivers/b43#devicefirmware and download the correct firmware for this driver version. Please carefully read all instructions on this website.
[ 4818.929788] b43-phy0 ERROR: YOUR FIRMWARE IS TOO NEW. Support for firmware 598 and up requires kernel 3.2 or newer. You have to install older firmware or upgrade kernel.
[ 4818.929794] b43-phy0 ERROR: You must go to http://wireless.kernel.org/en/users/Drivers/b43#devicefirmwarae and download the correct firmware for this driver version. Please carefully read all instructions on this website.

(is there a policy against posting fat blocks of code?)
So how would one go about removing my too new firmware? Also, do I need to specify b43 and ssb in my modules section in rc.conf?

Gusar · 2011-12-09 09:55:30

If you installed the firmware manually instead of using the package, just delete /lib/firmware/b43. Then install b43-firmware using the package, so pacman will know about it.

darver · 2011-12-09 11:19:51

I deleted lib/firmware/b43 and removed the b43 and ssb modules, but I'm still getting the same error message as above. When I use pacman -R am I supposed to be able to use the autocomplete (tab) feature to complete the name of the package? If so, I can't seem to find any b43 package.

bananagranola · 2011-12-09 22:01:23

b43's not a package in pacman. It's a driver that should've come with your kernel. EDIT: After you get it working, you do NOT have to put it in your modules array in rc.conf. (My bad.)

When you uninstalled b43-firmware-latest, did pacman complain? Or did it say that the uninstall went fine?

When you try "modprobe b43" (after you've installed the b43-firmware package with pacman) what does it say?

Last edited by bananagranola (2011-12-10 00:56:02)

Gusar · 2011-12-09 22:09:01

bananagranola wrote:

you do have to put it in your modules array in rc.conf

No you don't. It loads automatically.

darver · 2011-12-10 01:37:22

What about b43-firmware? I just assumed it was a form of package because it was installed with pacman and what not. Since I don't have it working yet, should I put it in? I didn't uninstall b43-firmware-latest with pacman. I just tried deleting it from /lib/firmware. I get no errors or any other explicit output from pacman or when modprobing. I did try dmesg which still gives me an error but only one as opposed to my previous attempt.

 [gulliver@myhost b43-firmware]$ dmesg | grep firmware
[    9.738501] b43-phy0 ERROR: You must go to http://wireless.kernel.org/en/users/Drivers/b43#devicefirmware and download the correct firmware for this driver version. Please carefully read all instructions on this website.

darver · 2011-12-10 01:39:02

Just tried wifi-select and it worked. I'm still curious about that error. Thank you so much for helping me!

Last edited by darver (2011-12-10 01:46:06)

bananagranola · 2011-12-10 01:58:22

Great! Could you label the post solved? (Just edit your first post.)

darver · 2011-12-10 02:01:48

So you don't know about that error? Well, I guess it's just a minor niggle but will do. Really quick- What automatic network configuration do you use/recommend?

bananagranola · 2011-12-10 05:07:19

I'm guessing the error has to do with your installation of b43-firmware-latest...but it's odd that it works fine with netcfg. I'd give pacman -R'ing b43-firmware-latest and pacman -S'ing b43-firmware a try. Beyond that, I'm not quite sure. I'm fairly new at this too... But the forums were super helpful when I was installing the first time, and I didn't want to be a useless lump in the Arch community. Hope I didn't confuse you or make things worse.

I generally don't have a problem with netcfg, its menu at boot, and wifi-select on my laptop. If you'd like something a little more user-friendly, I also like networkmanager with its tray applet on my desktop. For some odd reason, wicd has never worked for me; I'm not sure why, and since networkmanager worked fine, I never really looked into it.

Last edited by bananagranola (2011-12-10 05:10:31)

Strike0 · 2011-12-10 08:29:56

Great that it works now for starters. And yes your package issue is a minor, since the try to load it does not do much harm as the log shows.
You might also try

pacman -Qm

to list packages you installed manually. Maybe that helps you with identifying whats left installed from your tries.

As for which helper program: Now that is works have a look at the wiki which has a comparison of the network-tools' features. Yet why not stick to wifi-select for the time being.

edit: add words

Last edited by Strike0 (2011-12-10 09:35:41)

darver · 2011-12-11 06:38:22

Thanks for the suggestions. You have all been very helpful! Strike0-I'll try it, but what did you mean in your edit?

Strike0 · 2011-12-11 08:30:02

With the edit comment I just meant that I added something to my text. Specifically I forgot the hyphen in the code box and I think I added the last sentence also. So the "edit" was just supposed to clarify what I did. Obviously such is more important if one changes a post after someone has responded already to it. then it is helpful in order not to create confusion along the thread. Peace :-)

Arch Linux

#1 2011-12-03 07:24:30

[Solved] Getting really confused about setting up broadcom wireless

#2 2011-12-03 09:34:40

Re: [Solved] Getting really confused about setting up broadcom wireless

#3 2011-12-03 09:47:19

Re: [Solved] Getting really confused about setting up broadcom wireless

#4 2011-12-03 23:11:12

Re: [Solved] Getting really confused about setting up broadcom wireless

#5 2011-12-03 23:15:39

Re: [Solved] Getting really confused about setting up broadcom wireless

#6 2011-12-03 23:28:05

Re: [Solved] Getting really confused about setting up broadcom wireless

#7 2011-12-06 06:10:00

Re: [Solved] Getting really confused about setting up broadcom wireless

#8 2011-12-07 03:31:27

Re: [Solved] Getting really confused about setting up broadcom wireless

#9 2011-12-07 17:51:36

Re: [Solved] Getting really confused about setting up broadcom wireless

#10 2011-12-09 05:58:58

Re: [Solved] Getting really confused about setting up broadcom wireless

#11 2011-12-09 09:55:30

Re: [Solved] Getting really confused about setting up broadcom wireless

#12 2011-12-09 11:19:51

Re: [Solved] Getting really confused about setting up broadcom wireless

#13 2011-12-09 22:01:23

Re: [Solved] Getting really confused about setting up broadcom wireless

#14 2011-12-09 22:09:01

Re: [Solved] Getting really confused about setting up broadcom wireless

#15 2011-12-10 01:37:22

Re: [Solved] Getting really confused about setting up broadcom wireless

#16 2011-12-10 01:39:02

Re: [Solved] Getting really confused about setting up broadcom wireless

#17 2011-12-10 01:58:22

Re: [Solved] Getting really confused about setting up broadcom wireless

#18 2011-12-10 02:01:48

Re: [Solved] Getting really confused about setting up broadcom wireless

#19 2011-12-10 05:07:19

Re: [Solved] Getting really confused about setting up broadcom wireless

#20 2011-12-10 08:29:56

Re: [Solved] Getting really confused about setting up broadcom wireless

#21 2011-12-11 06:38:22

Re: [Solved] Getting really confused about setting up broadcom wireless

#22 2011-12-11 08:30:02

Re: [Solved] Getting really confused about setting up broadcom wireless

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