Broadcom Corporation BCM94311MCG wlan mini-PCI

Hi everyone

I just a new laptop and I want to get the wireless working on it. I looked on ndiswrapper wbesite but I am unsure of things due to all the different chipsets. Well Hear are a few details....

/sbin/lspci
------------------------------------------------------
04:00.0 Network controller: Broadcom Corporation BCM94311MCG wlan mini-PCI (rev 01)
Subsystem: AMBIT Microsystem Corp. Unknown device 0422
Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 17
Memory at f8000000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=16K]
Capabilities: <access denied>
Kernel driver in use: b43-pci-bridge
Kernel modules: ssb
-------------------------------------------------------

/sbin/iwconfig
--------------------------------------------------------
wlan0 IEEE 802.11 ESSID:""
Mode:Managed Frequency:2.412 GHz Access Point: Not-Associated
Tx-Power=0 dBm
Retry min limit:7 RTS thr:off Fragment thr=2352 B
Link Quality:0 Signal level:0 Noise level:0
Rx invalid nwid:0 Rx invalid crypt:0 Rx invalid frag:0
Tx excessive retries:0 Invalid misc:0 Missed beacon:0

--------------------------------------------------------

I then try run DHCLIENT and i get.......

[keatonvictor@localhost ~]$ sudo /sbin/dhclient
Internet Systems Consortium DHCP Client V3.0.6-Fedora
Copyright 2004-2007 Internet Systems Consortium.
All rights reserved.
For info, please visit http://www.isc.org/sw/dhcp/
wmaster0: unknown hardware address type 801
SIOCSIFFLAGS: No such file or directory
SIOCSIFFLAGS: No such file or directory
SIOCSIFFLAGS: Operation not supported
SIOCSIFFLAGS: Operation not supported
wmaster0: unknown hardware address type 801
Listening on LPF/wlan0/00:1e:4c:5c:30:dd
Sending on LPF/wlan0/00:1e:4c:5c:30:dd
Listening on LPF/wmaster0/
Sending on LPF/wmaster0/
Listening on LPF/eth0/00:1d:72:0c:ba:46
Sending on LPF/eth0/00:1d:72:0c:ba:46
Sending on Socket/fallback
DHCPDISCOVER on wlan0 to 255.255.255.255 port 67 interval 8
send_packet: Network is down
DHCPDISCOVER on wmaster0 to 255.255.255.255 port 67 interval 3
send_packet: Network is down
DHCPDISCOVER on eth0 to 255.255.255.255 port 67 interval 8
receive_packet failed on wlan0: Network is down
receive_packet failed on wmaster0: Network is down
DHCPOFFER from 192.168.1.1
DHCPREQUEST on eth0 to 255.255.255.255 port 67
DHCPACK from 192.168.1.1
bound to 192.168.1.110 -- renewal in 34887 seconds.
[keatonvictor@localhost ~]$






PLEASE HELP

[ryptyde]

I have the same card in 2 Acer laptops and followed the instructions given by FriedChips in this thread BCM94311MCG and it works well for me.

Hey ryptyde

I tried what you said..... I did as followed

su -
echo "blacklist bcm43xx" >> /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist
echo "blacklist ssb" >> /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist
echo "blacklist b43" >> /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist
echo "alias wlan0 ndiswrapper" >> /etc/modprobe.d/ndiswrapper
echo "alias wlan0 ndiswrapper" >> /etc/modprobe.conf
echo "ndiswrapper" >> /etc/modules
chkconfig --levels 345 NetworkManager on
chkconfig --levels 345 NetworkManagerDispatcher on
yum install kmod-ndiswrapper kernel-devel gcc make automake
mkdir /root/wireless_driver
cd /root/wireless_driver/
wget http://ftp.us.dell.com/network/R151517.EXE
unzip -a R151517.EXE
cd DRIVER
ndiswrapper -i bcmwl5.inf


however these are the outputs....

[root@localhost ~]# ndiswrapper -l
bcmwl5 : driver installed
device (14E4:4311) present (alternate driver: ssb)
[root@localhost ~]#

[root@localhost ~]# iwconfig
lo no wireless extensions.

eth0 no wireless extensions.

irda0 no wireless extensions.

[root@localhost ~]#



As you can see, the driver installed correctly, however i cannot see the device from IWCONFIG however it is under network manager, but still cannot activate as I get this error...


ndiswrapper device wlan0 does not seem to be present, delaying initialization.



Please help!

[bbfuller]

It does seem to me that you are trying to do this the hard way.

The broadcom chipsets can be controlled by ndiswrapper but the preferred method if you are using Fedora 8, and if you can update it using a wired connection is with the b43 driver that you have blacklisted. It seems to work very well with almost all of the broadcom chipsets up to the 4318.

I have a 4306 and a 4318 working well here and I recently talked a couple of people through getting 4311's working so I'm pretty sure yours will.

I mentioned updating your Fedora installation though because although my 4318 worked with b43 from the Fedora 8 release I only got my 4306 working sometime after some updates in January. I can't specify exactly which as I didn't try the card every time I updated the machine.

I also can't tell if a 4311 will work with the older kernels/drivers, as I say though people have been getting them to work when the systems are updated, I just don't know anyone who has tried not updated.

Post back if you want to try that.

[Bslagowski]

Try using Dangermouse's script. Remove all the aliases with ndiswrapper that you added to your /etc/modprobe.conf. Then download the script (http://forums.fedoraforum.org/forum/...d.php?t=171660) and use it to install the broadcom drivers.

I believe ssb is also tied to the b44 driver, which controls Broadcom ethernet hardware. If you were to rmmod b44 and then rmmod ssb and THEN proceed with these instructions it might work. But the native drivers work much better.

Hey guys

Things seem to be getting worse, now i cannot see the card in Network Manager

still getting

ndiswrapper device wlan0 does not seem to be present, delaying initialization.


after running and installing broadcom driver using script from danger mouse

Cheers for help so far, i think were almost there LOL

[ryptyde]

I followed FriedChips directions and use ndiswrapper for 2 laptops one with F7 and the other F8. The F8 install has used all of the kernels that have been released through updates without a problem at least for me anyway. Whatever method you decide to choose stick with it or things will get too confusing.

Just out of curiosity did you reboot after installing ndiswrapper and driver? Or is there a switch on the laptop?

[denofdona]

I Have installed as said but its Detected as a Type Eth0 and not Wifi..
Please Help..

[bbfuller]

Hello denofdona

Which method of installing did you use, there is talk here about ndiswrapper and the Dangermouse script which uses a different method involving the b43 driver.

If you issue the command:

su -

in a terminal window, that's a space and a minus sign after the su, give your root password and then run:

iwconfig

what is the output. eth0 should be your wired ethernet port. If you have used the b43 driver your card may not be identified in the network configuration applet, you may just be seeing your wired card.

Post back the output of the above command, and if there is a wireless interface detected, probably wla0, also the output of the command:

iwlist wlan0 scan

If any other wireless device than wlan0 is detected in the first command, substitute its name in the second command.

[majdi]

just got a new Dell Latitude D630, it had vista on it by default didn’t even bother running that, so I installed Fedora 9 i386.

I tried configuring the wireless controller in the GUI “Network Configuration”, it dose not show up by default so I added it and when trying to activate it I get the following error

Determining IP information for wlan0….SIOCSIFFLAGS: No such file or directory SIOCSIFFLAGS: No such file or directory
Failed.

I did an (lspci –k) and I get the following;

Network controller: Broadcom Corporation BCM94311MCG wlan mini-PCI (rev 01)
Kernel driver in use: b43-pci-bridge
Kernel modules: ssb

A (iwconfig) gives me;

wlan0 IEEE 802.11 ESSID:””

[QUOTE]

according to bbfuller this should be working by default, any idea what I can do to get this working?

[bbfuller]

Hello majdi

You don't say if you have downloaded and cut the firmware for your card.

You will know if you have because you will have issued a command along the lines of "b43-fwcutter -w..............."

If you haven't, then post back and I'll get out the notes for doing it.

I can promise you though that I've never suggested to anyone that they use "Network Configuration" to control a wireless card.

The default for Fedora, both 8 and 9, is something called "NetworkManager". It lives on the top Gnome Panel, to the left of the clock. If you have a working card, left clicking on it should show you a list of wireless networks and left clicking on one of those should prompt you for your encryption key.

NetworkManager will actively prevent Network Configuration from controlling the card with the sort of error messages you are getting.

Conversely, settings you put in Network Configuration can prevent NetworkManager doing its job properly.

I suggest that you remove any configuration you have input to "Network Configuration" and give NetworkManager a try.

Post back if you have any questions or problems.

[majdi]

Thanks bbfuller,

First of all I did not install firmware for my wireless controller. I was about to try the Dangermouse method http://forums.fedoraforum.org/forum/...d.php?t=171660, it seems easy but would I still need the firmware?

I also thought of running an update for my new Fedora 9 install, would you recommend this before trying anything else?

I really don't understand the logic in having two applications to configure the fedora network settings. I configured my eth0 using ¨Network Configuration¨ which connected successfully, at the same time the ¨Network Connection¨ icon in the top right was showing no connection. I´m not sure which one is more reliable. But why two?

I would really appreciate your help.

Thanks again.

[bbfuller]

Hello majdi

As to the firmware, yes, whichever method of installing your card you follow you will still need the firmware.

Personally, I prefer the manual method because I think you learn more that way.

The implication of your question is that you don't have internet access on the Fedora machine and so will need to get the firmware separately. I believe Dangermouse is trialling a script for that circumstance but I don't think it's tested yet.

If you want to try the manual method, here are the notes:

Download this file and put it into a directory somewhere:

http://mirror2.openwrt.org/sources/b...0.10.5.tar.bz2

Acquire full root rights over your machine with this command in a terminal window:

su -

That's a space and a minus sign after the su. It gives you full root rights over your machine rather than just root rights over your ordinary users environment without it.

Use the cd command to navigate into the directory where you downloaded the above file. Issue the command:

tar xjf broadcom-wl-4.150.10.5.tar.bz2

That unpacks the file archive you downloaded and will create you a new directory where you are working called 'broadcom-wl-4.150.10.5'.

cd into that and then the 'driver' directory within that and use the command:

b43-fwcutter -w /lib/firmware wl_apsta_mimo.o

That cuts the required firmware for your card from the downloaded file and places it in the correct place for the b43 driver to find it.

Check and see if you have NetworkManager showing on the top Gnome Panel to the right in the notification area. If you have ignore the next part.

Go to the "Gnome System Menu - Administration - Services", tick NetworkManager and NetworkMangerDispatcher, make sure they are started and the settings are saved so they start at next boot.

{The above paragraph is only necessary for Fedora 8 definitely not for Fedora 9}

Restart the machine and left clicking on the NetworkManager icon should bring up a list of wireless access points to connect to.

It doesn't actually matter here which machine you do the downloading and which machine you do the installing on.

As to the two methods of controlling wireless cards, there is actually a reason.

NetworkManager is aimed at people who want to use wireless, who may switch between various wireless access points with different encryption keys. However, it will only work once you are logged into a graphical interface.

The various Network Configuration tools will all allow you to set up a network interface that will start at boot time whether you are logged into the machine or not - you would be able to use it on an unattended server for example - however, when it comes to wireless it's difficult to get it to switch between various access points and it doesn't handle encryption levels higher than WEP without complications.

They both have their plus points, but you need to choose the right one depending on what you are trying to control.

EDIT:

I've just read what you asked about needing to update first. The b43 driver that you are using has been stable and included in all the Fedora 9 kernels so it should make little difference if you update before you try to use it or not.

[majdi]

Thanks bbfuller,

It worked just fine, and thanks for the info.