WIRELESS issue - fedora 7 (x86_64), bcm4306, fwcutter

[djag13]

Hi everyone!

I've been using Fedora (64 bit) for only a few months now and just recently installed Fedora 7 (x86_64). however, I'm having difficulty configuring my wireless card (bcm4306) and ultimately connecting to my wireless network. In FC6, I was able to use fwcutter with no trouble at all. However, I've not had the same luck after upgrading (complete reinstall) to F7 (x86_64). I've tried multiple processes (based on forum reading) and I must be missing something because I've not gotten any to work thus far. Anyway, I've undone all my failed attempts so that my laptop is now like it was right after I installed F7. Here are the steps, results, and stats that I've taken since then. Please, please help! Thanks in advance!

Fresh Installation Stats

Wireless indicator light is OFF.

[root@delta ~]# lspci | grep -i wireless
00:0c.0 Network controller: Broadcom Corporation BCM4306 802.11b/g Wireless LAN Controller (rev 03)

[root@delta ~]# ifconfig -a
eth0      Link encap:Ethernet  HWaddr 00:03:25:0D:AF:70
          inet addr:192.168.1.4  Bcast:192.168.1.255  Mask:255.255.255.0
          inet6 addr: fe80::203:25ff:fe0d:af70/64 Scope:Link
          UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST  MTU:1500  Metric:1
          RX packets:1238 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:1362 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
          RX bytes:620822 (606.2 KiB)  TX bytes:248012 (242.1 KiB)
          Interrupt:23 Base address:0x4c00

lo        Link encap:Local Loopback
          inet addr:127.0.0.1  Mask:255.0.0.0
          inet6 addr: ::1/128 Scope:Host
          UP LOOPBACK RUNNING  MTU:16436  Metric:1
          RX packets:12350 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:12350 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:0
          RX bytes:112208472 (107.0 MiB)  TX bytes:112208472 (107.0 MiB)

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

eth0      no wireless extensions.

Steps Taken So Far

Downloaded the BCM firmware linked in almost every thread similar to mine.

yum install bcm43xx-fwcutter
bcm43xx-fwcutter -w /lib/firmware ~fedora/wl_apsta.o
echo 'blacklist bcm43xx' >> /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist
modprobe -r bcm43xx
modprobe -r ieee80211softmac
modprobe -r ieee80211_crypt
modprobe -r ieee80211
modprobe -r bcm43xx_mac80211
modprobe bcm43xx_mac80211

Next I added the following line to /etc/modprobe.conf

alias wlan0 bcm43xx_mac80211

Then I enabled Network Manager and Network Dispatcher via Service Management.

After that, the system found my wireless adapter (and my wireless indicator light turned ON).

[root@delta ~]# ifconfig -a
eth0      Link encap:Ethernet  HWaddr 00:03:25:0D:AF:70
          inet addr:192.168.1.4  Bcast:192.168.1.255  Mask:255.255.255.0
          inet6 addr: fe80::203:25ff:fe0d:af70/64 Scope:Link
          UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST  MTU:1500  Metric:1
          RX packets:1258 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:1384 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
          RX bytes:623770 (609.1 KiB)  TX bytes:250682 (244.8 KiB)
          Interrupt:23 Base address:0x4c00

lo        Link encap:Local Loopback
          inet addr:127.0.0.1  Mask:255.0.0.0
          inet6 addr: ::1/128 Scope:Host
          UP LOOPBACK RUNNING  MTU:16436  Metric:1
          RX packets:12350 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:12350 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:0
          RX bytes:112208472 (107.0 MiB)  TX bytes:112208472 (107.0 MiB)

wlan0     Link encap:Ethernet  HWaddr 00:90:4B:86:50:CF
          UP BROADCAST MULTICAST  MTU:1500  Metric:1
          RX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
          RX bytes:0 (0.0 b)  TX bytes:0 (0.0 b)

wmaster0  Link encap:UNSPEC  HWaddr 00-90-4B-86-50-CF-00-00-00-00-00-00-00-00-00-00
          UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST  MTU:1500  Metric:1
          RX packets:1258 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:1384 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
          RX bytes:623770 (609.1 KiB)  TX bytes:250682 (244.8 KiB)

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

eth0      no wireless extensions.

wmaster0  no wireless extensions.

wlan0     IEEE 802.11g  ESSID:""
          Mode:Managed  Frequency:2.412 GHz  Access Point: Not-Associated
          Retry min limit:7   RTS thr:off   Fragment thr=2346 B
          Encryption key:off
          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

Next, I entered network configuration and created a new wireless device...

[root@delta ~]# system-config-network

However, i cannot obtain an IP address when I attempt to activate it...

[root@delta ~]# ifup wlan0

Determining IP information for wlan0... failed.

Scanning for networks also fails.

[root@delta ~]# wlassistant
kbuildsycoca running...
Loaded application options.
All interfaces: eth0, wlan0, wmaster0
Wireless interface(s): wlan0
Permissions checked.
DHCP Client: dhclient
All executables found.
scan: /sbin/iwlist wlan0 scan
No networks found!
Auto connection failed: no available configured networks found.
scan: /sbin/iwlist wlan0 scan
No networks found!

also, here is a clip from /var/log/messages:

Jun 24 12:15:38 localhost kernel: bcm43xx_mac80211: DMA-32 0x0200 (RX) max used slots: 0/64
Jun 24 12:15:38 localhost kernel: bcm43xx_mac80211: DMA-32 0x02A0 (TX) max used slots: 0/128
Jun 24 12:15:38 localhost kernel: bcm43xx_mac80211: DMA-32 0x0280 (TX) max used slots: 0/128
Jun 24 12:15:38 localhost kernel: bcm43xx_mac80211: DMA-32 0x0260 (TX) max used slots: 0/128
Jun 24 12:15:38 localhost kernel: bcm43xx_mac80211: DMA-32 0x0240 (TX) max used slots: 0/128
Jun 24 12:15:38 localhost kernel: bcm43xx_mac80211: DMA-32 0x0220 (TX) max used slots: 22/128
Jun 24 12:15:38 localhost kernel: bcm43xx_mac80211: DMA-32 0x0200 (TX) max used slots: 0/128
Jun 24 12:15:38 localhost kernel: bcm43xx_mac80211: Radio turned off
Jun 24 12:15:38 localhost kernel: ssb: Switching to ChipCommon core, index 0
Jun 24 12:15:38 localhost kernel: ssb: Switching to IEEE 802.11 core, index 1
Jun 24 12:15:38 localhost kernel: bcm43xx_mac80211: Radio turned off
Jun 24 12:15:41 localhost kernel: bcm43xx_mac80211: Adding Interface type 2
Jun 24 12:15:41 localhost kernel: ssb: Switching to ChipCommon core, index 0
Jun 24 12:15:41 localhost kernel: ssb: Switching to IEEE 802.11 core, index 1
Jun 24 12:15:41 localhost kernel: bcm43xx_mac80211: Radio turned on
Jun 24 12:15:41 localhost kernel: bcm43xx_mac80211: Radio enabled by hardware
Jun 24 12:15:41 localhost kernel: bcm43xx_mac80211: Chip initialized
Jun 24 12:15:41 localhost kernel: bcm43xx_mac80211: 30-bit DMA initialized
Jun 24 12:15:41 localhost kernel: bcm43xx_mac80211: Wireless interface started
Jun 24 12:15:41 localhost kernel: ADDRCONF(NETDEV_UP): wlan0: link is not ready
Jun 24 12:15:41 localhost dhclient: wmaster0: unknown hardware address type 801
Jun 24 12:15:41 localhost dhclient: wmaster0: unknown hardware address type 801
Jun 24 12:15:41 localhost dhclient: DHCPDISCOVER on wlan0 to 255.255.255.255 port 67 interval 8
Jun 24 12:15:49 localhost dhclient: DHCPDISCOVER on wlan0 to 255.255.255.255 port 67 interval 7
Jun 24 12:15:55 localhost dhclient: DHCPDISCOVER on wlan0 to 255.255.255.255 port 67 interval 7
Jun 24 12:16:02 localhost dhclient: DHCPDISCOVER on wlan0 to 255.255.255.255 port 67 interval 14
Jun 24 12:16:40 localhost kernel: bcm43xx_mac80211: Removing Interface type 2
Jun 24 12:16:40 localhost kernel: bcm43xx_mac80211: Wireless interface stopped
Jun 24 12:16:40 localhost kernel: bcm43xx_mac80211: DMA-32 0x0200 (RX) max used slots: 0/64
Jun 24 12:16:40 localhost kernel: bcm43xx_mac80211: DMA-32 0x02A0 (TX) max used slots: 0/128
Jun 24 12:16:40 localhost kernel: bcm43xx_mac80211: DMA-32 0x0280 (TX) max used slots: 0/128
Jun 24 12:16:40 localhost kernel: bcm43xx_mac80211: DMA-32 0x0260 (TX) max used slots: 0/128
Jun 24 12:16:40 localhost kernel: bcm43xx_mac80211: DMA-32 0x0240 (TX) max used slots: 0/128
Jun 24 12:16:40 localhost kernel: bcm43xx_mac80211: DMA-32 0x0220 (TX) max used slots: 22/128
Jun 24 12:16:40 localhost kernel: bcm43xx_mac80211: DMA-32 0x0200 (TX) max used slots: 0/128
Jun 24 12:16:40 localhost kernel: bcm43xx_mac80211: Radio turned off
Jun 24 12:16:40 localhost kernel: ssb: Switching to ChipCommon core, index 0
Jun 24 12:16:40 localhost kernel: ssb: Switching to IEEE 802.11 core, index 1
Jun 24 12:16:40 localhost kernel: bcm43xx_mac80211: Radio turned off
Jun 24 12:16:44 localhost kernel: bcm43xx_mac80211: Adding Interface type 2
Jun 24 12:16:45 localhost kernel: ssb: Switching to ChipCommon core, index 0
Jun 24 12:16:45 localhost kernel: ssb: Switching to IEEE 802.11 core, index 1
Jun 24 12:16:45 localhost kernel: bcm43xx_mac80211: Radio turned on
Jun 24 12:16:45 localhost kernel: bcm43xx_mac80211: Radio enabled by hardware
Jun 24 12:16:45 localhost kernel: bcm43xx_mac80211: Chip initialized
Jun 24 12:16:45 localhost kernel: bcm43xx_mac80211: 30-bit DMA initialized
Jun 24 12:16:45 localhost kernel: bcm43xx_mac80211: Wireless interface started
Jun 24 12:16:45 localhost kernel: ADDRCONF(NETDEV_UP): wlan0: link is not ready
Jun 24 12:16:45 localhost dhclient: wmaster0: unknown hardware address type 801
Jun 24 12:16:45 localhost dhclient: wmaster0: unknown hardware address type 801
Jun 24 12:16:45 localhost dhclient: DHCPDISCOVER on wlan0 to 255.255.255.255 port 67 interval 5
Jun 24 12:16:49 localhost dhclient: DHCPDISCOVER on wlan0 to 255.255.255.255 port 67 interval 11
Jun 24 12:17:00 localhost dhclient: DHCPDISCOVER on wlan0 to 255.255.255.255 port 67 interval 9
Jun 24 12:17:10 localhost dhclient: DHCPDISCOVER on wlan0 to 255.255.255.255 port 67 interval 13
Jun 24 12:17:22 localhost dhclient: DHCPDISCOVER on wlan0 to 255.255.255.255 port 67 interval 13
Jun 24 12:17:35 localhost dhclient: DHCPDISCOVER on wlan0 to 255.255.255.255 port 67 interval 10
Jun 24 12:17:45 localhost dhclient: No DHCPOFFERS received.

So, that about sums up where I stand. Is this something I can overcome? Should I give ndiswrapper a try instead? don't really want to go that route, but...

If anyone can help me get going wireless-ly, I'd be very greatful.

Thanks in advance!

[bigtomrodney]

Note this point - this was very relevant for me

Access Point: Not-Associated

This happened to me first time I loaded up the firmware. What kernel are you running

uname -r

I believe there was a problem with the firmware with certain versions of the kernel. Iirc it was 2.6.20 that had the problem. I updated my kernel (thankfully Ubuntu had a newer version ready already) and it all worked well.

[djag13]

thanks for the reply bigtom!

here is the output of uname -r:

[root@delta ~]# uname -r
2.6.21-1.3194.fc7

any thoughts on getting this sucker going?

thanks again!

[bigtomrodney]

Your kernel seems new enough, I was hoping it was as simple as it being the older version that causes problems. Try moving the firmware you have in /lib/firmware and either cutting new firmware or allowing bcm43xx-fwcutter to download it again for you.[code]su -
mkdir /lib/firmware/bcm43xxbackup
mv /lib/firmware/bcm43* /lib/firmware/bcm43xxbackup/[code]After these steps run through the fwcutter steps again.

[djag13]

thanks for your help bigtom!

i am happy to announce that i am posting this while connected to the Web via my bcm4306 wireless adapter. i finally gave up on fwcutter and gave ndiswrapper a try. ndis worked like a charm. (and i'm getting the full 54mbs as well.)