Arch Linux

arxx

Member

From: Sacramento, CA

Registered: 2009-12-06

Posts: 40

b43 setup

hey everyone ive been using the wl driver for my wireless card but i was told that b43 is now available. so i decided to make the switch.

this is my wireless card :Network controller: Broadcom Corporation BCM4312 802.11b/g (rev 01)

b43's website says its supported. so i followed the directions on their site http://linuxwireless.org/en/users/Drivers/b43

everything installed fine but b43 doesnt work.

iwconfig gets

[root@arch matt]# iwconfig
lo        no wireless extensions.

eth0      no wireless extensions.

wlan0     IEEE 802.11bg  Mode:Managed  Access Point: Not-Associated   
          Tx-Power=0 dBm   
          Retry  long limit:7   RTS thr:off   Fragment thr:off
          Encryption key:off
          Power Management:off

iwlist scan gets

[root@arch matt]# iwlist scan
lo        Interface doesn't support scanning.

eth0      Interface doesn't support scanning.

wlan0     Interface doesn't support scanning : Network is down

it says the network is down but i cant figure out how to get it up.
any suggestions
?

---

my nigga smoke with one lung. if he cough he might die, passin me trees

neofish

Member

Registered: 2010-02-13

Posts: 25

Re: b43 setup

Please don't try to use b43, it doesn't work.  I spent about a month trying to get it to work, to no avail.  I have exactly the same wireless chipset as you do, and I'm posting this from arch linux using the BCM4312.  So, how to get it working:

Install ndiswrapper 'pacman -Sy ndiswrapper'

Download and install the drivers for your wireless card (you need both files):
http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=475f … 785cc0f59e

Go to where you downloaded them, then run 'ndiswrapper -i *.inf'

Load the modules:
rmmod b43
rmmod ssb
rmmod wl
modprobe ndiswrapper

( If may need to rmmod and modprobe ndiswrapper a few times to get it to work )

Enjoy the wireless!!

s3kt0r

Member

Registered: 2009-01-20

Posts: 208

Re: b43 setup

I had a few problems with the driver, it stopped working from nowhere, but it worked before, and it works now. Going through kernel options, managed to make it work. Ndiswrapper wouldn't bring up the interface. b43 is the way for me, I have BCM4311 802.11b/g WLAN (rev 02). Now I need to press Rf-kill hardware button to turn on the device. Edit Forgot to mention, this is working on both stock and git kernels.

tail -f /var/log/everything.log

 Mar  1 02:51:14 myhost kernel: b43 ssb0:0: firmware: requesting b43/ucode13.fw
Mar  1 02:51:14 myhost kernel: b43 ssb0:0: firmware: requesting b43/b0g0initvals13.fw
Mar  1 02:51:15 myhost kernel: b43-phy0: Loading firmware version 410.2160 (2007-05-26 15:32:10)
Mar  1 02:51:15 myhost kernel: b43-phy0: Radio hardware status changed to DISABLED
Mar  1 02:51:15 myhost kernel: b43-phy0: Radio turned on by software
Mar  1 02:51:15 myhost kernel: b43-phy0: The hardware RF-kill button still turns the radio physically off. Press the button to turn it on.
Mar  1 02:51:15 myhost kernel: ADDRCONF(NETDEV_UP): wlan0: link is not ready
Mar  1 02:51:50 myhost kernel: b43-phy0: Radio hardware status changed to ENABLED
Mar  1 02:52:03 myhost kernel: b43-phy0: Loading firmware version 410.2160 (2007-05-26 15:32:10)
Mar  1 02:52:03 myhost kernel: ADDRCONF(NETDEV_UP): wlan0: link is not ready
Mar  1 02:52:24 myhost kernel: wlan0: deauthenticating from 00:1f:c6:75:4d:15 by local choice (reason=3)
Mar  1 02:52:24 myhost kernel: wlan0: direct probe to AP 00:1f:c6:75:4d:15 (try 1)
Mar  1 02:52:24 myhost kernel: wlan0: direct probe responded
Mar  1 02:52:24 myhost kernel: wlan0: authenticate with AP 00:1f:c6:75:4d:15 (try 1)
Mar  1 02:52:24 myhost kernel: wlan0: authenticated
Mar  1 02:52:24 myhost kernel: wlan0: associate with AP 00:1f:c6:75:4d:15 (try 1)
Mar  1 02:52:24 myhost kernel: wlan0: RX AssocResp from 00:1f:c6:75:4d:15 (capab=0x411 status=0 aid=1)
Mar  1 02:52:24 myhost kernel: wlan0: associated

iwconfig

lo        no wireless extensions.

eth0      no wireless extensions.

wlan0     IEEE 802.11bg  ESSID:"bruno_casa"  
          Mode:Managed  Frequency:2.462 GHz  Access Point: 00:1F:C6:75:4D:15   
          Bit Rate=1 Mb/s   Tx-Power=20 dBm   
          Retry  long limit:7   RTS thr:off   Fragment thr:off
          Power Management:off
          Link Quality=59/70  Signal level=-51 dBm  
          Rx invalid nwid:0  Rx invalid crypt:0  Rx invalid frag:0
          Tx excessive retries:0  Invalid misc:0   Missed beacon:0

lsmod | grep b43

b43                   154403  0 
mac80211              149018  1 b43
cfg80211              106663  2 b43,mac80211
led_class               1933  1 b43
ssb                    39958  1 b43
mmc_core               45164  2 b43,ssb
pcmcia                 27513  2 b43,ssb
pcmcia_core            25675  3 b43,ssb,pcmcia

Last edited by s3kt0r (2010-03-01 03:11:06)

---

box1: Arch (linux-3.17-rc5)
box2: Gentoo (linux-3.17-rc5)
wm: subtle

Rezero

Member

From: US

Registered: 2010-02-25

Posts: 30

Re: b43 setup

I struggled with b43 before finally giving in and going back to broadcom-wl from AUR. "lspci | grep Broadcom" gives me this:

0c:00.0 Network controller: Broadcom Corporation BCM4312 802.11b/g (rev 01)

The odd thing is I installed "b43-firmware-newest" from AUR and loaded the b43 module, and it worked fantastically for one or two boots. However, on the third boot, it would hang my laptop for several seconds and throw DMA errors:

b43-phy0 ERROR: Fatal DMA error: 0x00000400, 0x00000000, 0x00000000, 0x00000000, 0x00000000, 0x00000000

I tried it several times with the same results: it would work fine for a couple of boots then spew DMA errors and hang the computer after the third or fourth reboot. I would like to use b43 because wl drops the connection periodically. It would also be fun to test out aircrack

vacant

Member

From: downstairs

Registered: 2004-11-05

Posts: 816

Re: b43 setup

b43 has been working perfectly for me

# lspci|grep Broa
06:00.0 Network controller: Broadcom Corporation BCM4312 802.11b/g (rev 01)
# dmesg |grep b43
b43-pci-bridge 0000:06:00.0: PCI INT A -> GSI 17 (level, low) -> IRQ 17
b43-pci-bridge 0000:06:00.0: setting latency timer to 64
b43-phy0: Broadcom 4312 WLAN found (core revision 15)
Registered led device: b43-phy0::tx
Registered led device: b43-phy0::rx
Registered led device: b43-phy0::radio
b43 ssb0:0: firmware: requesting b43/ucode15.fw
b43 ssb0:0: firmware: requesting b43/lp0initvals15.fw
b43 ssb0:0: firmware: requesting b43/lp0bsinitvals15.fw
b43-phy0: Loading firmware version 410.2160 (2007-05-26 15:32:10)
b43-phy0: Loading firmware version 410.2160 (2007-05-26 15:32:10)
b43-phy0: Loading firmware version 410.2160 (2007-05-26 15:32:10)

I was previously using wl.
When I tried ndiswrapper it worked but signal strength was around 60% when it had been 100% for the other two. I have no idea why that would happen.

einfarben

Member

Registered: 2011-09-22

Posts: 6

Re: b43 setup

I'm also trying to get b43 working for this chipset and I think I've found that the problem I am having is not knowing where to install the firmware, since the version built into the kernel wouldn't work on first shot either.

I tried installing the firmware using this command:

b43-fwcutter -w /lib/firmware $location of driver

But i keep getting the error:

b43-phy0 ERROR: Firmware file "b43/ucode15.fw" not found
b43-phy0 ERROR: Firmware file "b43-open/ucode15.fw" not found

When I navigated to the directory /lib/firmware/b43 the ucode15.fw file is there.

Am I writing the firmware directory to the wrong location?

Edit:
I now have the firmware installed properly but still get no scan results.

Last edited by einfarben (2011-09-29 06:19:11)