[SOLVED] wifi configuration problem

helioz · 2012-01-14 09:01:22

Hi,
I use archlinux and was setting up wifi. Installed b43 firmware for broadcom wireless device.I personally think that it's because arch cannot start my device.
when i hit

[root@lappy helios]# ip link set wlan0 up
RTNETLINK answers: Operation not supported
[root@lappy helios]# ip addr
1: lo: <LOOPBACK,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 16436 qdisc noqueue state UNKNOWN 
    link/loopback 00:00:00:00:00:00 brd 00:00:00:00:00:00
    inet 127.0.0.1/8 scope host lo
    inet6 ::1/128 scope host 
       valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever
2: eth0: <BROADCAST,MULTICAST,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 1500 qdisc pfifo_fast state UP qlen 1000
    link/ether 00:23:5a:41:0b:f7 brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff
    inet 192.168.1.2/24 brd 192.168.1.255 scope global eth0
    inet6 fe80::223:5aff:fe41:bf7/64 scope link 
       valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever
3: wlan0: <BROADCAST,MULTICAST> mtu 1500 qdisc noop state DOWN qlen 1000
    link/ether 00:21:00:d4:f8:94 brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff

Any ideas what I might do? I tried a lot but found little information. Thank you.
P.S: I prefer b43 to broadcom-wl. Even a hint on what I might search for is appreciated.

Last edited by helioz (2012-01-17 14:29:07)

Strike0 · 2012-01-14 09:47:27

I guess a common problem maybe that your device needs another firmware package. Since you don't say which device you are using, have a look here and here for it.

/dev/zero · 2012-01-14 09:48:40

helioz wrote:

Hi,
I use archlinux and was setting up wifi. Installed b43 firmware for broadcom wireless device.I personally think that it's because arch cannot start my device.
when i hit
[root@lappy helios]# ip link set wlan0 up
RTNETLINK answers: Operation not supported
Any ideas what I might do? I tried a lot but found little information. Thank you.
P.S: I prefer b43 to broadcom-wl. Even a hint on what I might search for is appreciated.

Maybe I've misunderstood the way the ip command can be used, but doesn't the syntax require a "dev":

sudo ip link set dev wlan0 up

Strike0 · 2012-01-14 14:30:18

@dev/zero: thanks, but no. The "link" option is just for devices, so ip figures that. Both versions work though I think. In the OSI "onion". The rtnetlink error shows a routing (OSi layer 3) error, so a device (osi layer 2) is addressed already.

rayj · 2012-01-15 00:36:03

I have been wrestling with this exact issue for the last couple of days. I've followed the procedures for extracting the appropriate driver via fw-cutter, etc. On occasion, the card will not be listed by iwconfig at all...or, when it is listed, I receive the exact same RTNETLINK error message (no file or directory). I'm not sure how to trace this error, being fairly newbish (especially regarding networking). I've tried a couple of live distributions, including Ubuntu, and wlan0 doesn't show up.

edit: I am using the b43 driver for the 4311 b/g adapter. The laptop in question is an HP Pavillion tx1000.

edit: After looking at the laptop, it looks like hardware failure is the/a likely culprit. I could run it for awhile on battery, and power management would keep everything cool enough. If I plugged it into the wall power, sensors would show a dramatic increase in the video card's temperature (from 38-40 degrees C. to 88 degrees C. in about 5-10 minutes). This increase in temperature caused wlan0 to become unresponsive, intermittently. In an attempt to get the wireless card working, I decided to disable power management for wlan0. this exhibited the same failure as plugging in the AC adapter.

Last edited by rayj (2012-01-15 07:07:24)

helioz · 2012-01-15 10:56:56

Hi,
My driver is

[root@lappy helios]# lspci | grep -i net
04:00.0 Network controller: Broadcom Corporation BCM4312 802.11b/g LP-PHY (rev 01)

If that would be any help. The driver I installed is b43.
This, I believe, is my linux kernel version :3.1.8-1-ARCH

Plus, there's no problem with the hardware, I get wifi on Ubuntu and Windows.

Last edited by helioz (2012-01-15 10:58:11)

Strike0 · 2012-01-15 11:14:39

To find out the correct driver for your card, always go after the device ID, not only after the name. For the 4311 card, for example, there are device IDs that are supposed to work better with b43 and others with broadcom-wl. See the links above, keeping in mind that changes to those drivers are frequent (and the wiki tables may not reflect that yet).

@rayj: I would not know if its linked, but that VGA temp surely does not sound good, yes. You probably want to look into that more, maybe configure to use a different power governance for ACDC. But that issue should not be in this thread I guess.

helioz · 2012-01-15 11:23:44

I did,

[root@lappy helios]# lspci -vnn | grep 14e4
04:00.0 Network controller [0280]: Broadcom Corporation BCM4312 802.11b/g LP-PHY [14e4:4315] (rev 01)

I matched it with this exact id. It supports them both.

Edit: I use an HP dv4 if that is any help.

Last edited by helioz (2012-01-15 11:34:51)

Strike0 · 2012-01-15 13:01:11

Thanks. So you have loaded b43 and the normal firmware as I understand? Whats on your blacklist? Are any other wireless drivers loaded?

Also, doing a search with that device ID in the forum brings up a huge number of threads, including solved ones with b43 and wl, e.g.:
https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=131132
https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=111152
https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=112766
There are loads of hints and tricks in those. You may want to make sure you have tried the ones relevant for your notebook.

helioz · 2012-01-15 14:41:33

Thanks, I'll check and post a result ASAP.

helioz · 2012-01-15 16:16:58

Let's call it solved. It was alas a problem with my driver being new. If anybody reading this post is facing a similar problem, please, either upgrade your kernel or install an older firmware. I figured it out after reading through the result of

[root@lappy helios]# dmesg

Now that I did solve it, I realise that this was not a problem at all. Just hit dmesg and read.
Everybody who repied to this post, thanks alot. You people saved my life. Special thanks to Strike0.

edit: Please don't forget to set the blacklist. I blacklisted b43legacy

Last edited by helioz (2012-01-15 16:18:55)

ewaller · 2012-01-15 22:17:51

helioz,
Welcome to Arch and congratulations on the solution. One more thing, though. If this is indeed solved, please edit the first post of the thread, edit the thread title, and add [Solved] to the beginning of the title.

Thanks.

Arch Linux

#1 2012-01-14 09:01:22

[SOLVED] wifi configuration problem

#2 2012-01-14 09:47:27

Re: [SOLVED] wifi configuration problem

#3 2012-01-14 09:48:40

Re: [SOLVED] wifi configuration problem

#4 2012-01-14 14:30:18

Re: [SOLVED] wifi configuration problem

#5 2012-01-15 00:36:03

Re: [SOLVED] wifi configuration problem

#6 2012-01-15 10:56:56

Re: [SOLVED] wifi configuration problem

#7 2012-01-15 11:14:39

Re: [SOLVED] wifi configuration problem

#8 2012-01-15 11:23:44

Re: [SOLVED] wifi configuration problem

#9 2012-01-15 13:01:11

Re: [SOLVED] wifi configuration problem

#10 2012-01-15 14:41:33

Re: [SOLVED] wifi configuration problem

#11 2012-01-15 16:16:58

Re: [SOLVED] wifi configuration problem

#12 2012-01-15 22:17:51

Re: [SOLVED] wifi configuration problem

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