Cannot set up wlan card on old laptop with lubuntu

[ProfessorChaos]

Hi there,

I hope somebody can help: although I am using ubuntu for more than 3 years, I am not at all an expert; i am basically just doing what other forum posts suggest...

Anyway: I installed the Lubuntu 12.04 32 bit alternate version (since I have a non-pae CPU and less than 384MB RAM) on a (very old) laptop. This laptop had previously running Suse Linux 10. Most importantly: the laptop has a WLAN card and it did work with Suse.

Lubuntu is running perfectly, including internet via LAN cable. However, my WLAN card was not detected (or, maybe, just the drivers are missing?).

I was searching for a solution to my problem, but I fail at the point where I have to identify my WLAN card's name in order to find drivers for it.

I have collected the most important (I guess^^) data using the script linked in another post in this forum "/forum/wireless-internet/137532-wireless-setup-start-here.html" and attached it to this post.

Would be great if someone gave me some hints - thanks in advance!

[zenwalker]

Looks like a Broadcom BCM5705M for which, accoring to calchas on 03-05-2005, 08:45 AM, you need to do a <modprobe tg3> as root in terminal, and see what it returns.
Also, look here
Search on "BCM5700 build from source" as a suggestion, if above not helpful.
Best wishes!

[ProfessorChaos]

First of all, thank you for your reply!
I executed "sudo modprobe tg3", but that command did not return any output. I hope that means that it did what it was supposed to do...

I installed the bcm5700-source as you recommended. I didn't receive any error message, so I suppose the installation worked. However, since I still don't see any WLAN card (after rebooting), that didn't solve the problem.

I attached the updated txt file. I didn't see any important differences. (Note: one difference is the content after "iwconfig". However, the same output also occurred before installing the new package; it was just missing in the file)

(Anyone) any other ideas? I don't even have a clue where to start to search for a problem...

[rokytnji]

02:0e.0 Ethernet controller [0200]: Broadcom Corporation NetXtreme BCM5705M Gigabit Ethernet [14e4:165d] (rev 01)
	Subsystem: Compaq Computer Corporation Device [0e11:0058]
	Kernel driver in use: tg3
	Kernel modules: tg3

That is not the wireless as far as I can tell. That is the land line chip eth0. Am I going blind or I do not see any wireless chip?

============ lspci ============
00:00.0 Host bridge [0600]: Intel Corporation 82855PM Processor to I/O Controller [8086:3340] (rev 03)
	Subsystem: Compaq Computer Corporation Device [0e11:0058]
	Kernel driver in use: agpgart-intel
00:01.0 PCI bridge [0604]: Intel Corporation 82855PM Processor to AGP Controller [8086:3341] (rev 03)
	Kernel modules: shpchp
00:1d.0 USB controller [0c03]: Intel Corporation 82801DB/DBL/DBM (ICH4/ICH4-L/ICH4-M) USB UHCI Controller #1 [8086:24c2] (rev 03)
	Subsystem: Compaq Computer Corporation Device [0e11:0058]
	Kernel driver in use: uhci_hcd
00:1d.1 USB controller [0c03]: Intel Corporation 82801DB/DBL/DBM (ICH4/ICH4-L/ICH4-M) USB UHCI Controller #2 [8086:24c4] (rev 03)
	Subsystem: Compaq Computer Corporation Device [0e11:0058]
	Kernel driver in use: uhci_hcd
00:1d.2 USB controller [0c03]: Intel Corporation 82801DB/DBL/DBM (ICH4/ICH4-L/ICH4-M) USB UHCI Controller #3 [8086:24c7] (rev 03)
	Subsystem: Compaq Computer Corporation Device [0e11:0058]
	Kernel driver in use: uhci_hcd
00:1d.7 USB controller [0c03]: Intel Corporation 82801DB/DBM (ICH4/ICH4-M) USB2 EHCI Controller [8086:24cd] (rev 03)
	Subsystem: Compaq Computer Corporation Device [0e11:0058]
	Kernel driver in use: ehci_hcd
00:1e.0 PCI bridge [0604]: Intel Corporation 82801 Mobile PCI Bridge [8086:2448] (rev 83)
	Kernel modules: shpchp
00:1f.0 ISA bridge [0601]: Intel Corporation 82801DBM (ICH4-M) LPC Interface Bridge [8086:24cc] (rev 03)
	Kernel modules: iTCO_wdt, intel-rng
00:1f.1 IDE interface [0101]: Intel Corporation 82801DBM (ICH4-M) IDE Controller [8086:24ca] (rev 03)
	Subsystem: Compaq Computer Corporation Device [0e11:0058]
	Kernel driver in use: ata_piix
00:1f.3 SMBus [0c05]: Intel Corporation 82801DB/DBL/DBM (ICH4/ICH4-L/ICH4-M) SMBus Controller [8086:24c3] (rev 03)
	Subsystem: Compaq Computer Corporation Device [0e11:0058]
	Kernel modules: i2c-i801
00:1f.5 Multimedia audio controller [0401]: Intel Corporation 82801DB/DBL/DBM (ICH4/ICH4-L/ICH4-M) AC'97 Audio Controller [8086:24c5] (rev 03)
	Subsystem: Compaq Computer Corporation Device [0e11:0058]
	Kernel driver in use: snd_intel8x0
	Kernel modules: snd-intel8x0
00:1f.6 Modem [0703]: Intel Corporation 82801DB/DBL/DBM (ICH4/ICH4-L/ICH4-M) AC'97 Modem Controller [8086:24c6] (rev 03)
	Subsystem: Compaq Computer Corporation Device [0e11:0058]
	Kernel modules: snd-intel8x0m
01:00.0 VGA compatible controller [0300]: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] nee ATI RV200 [Mobility Radeon 7500] [1002:4c57]
	Subsystem: Compaq Computer Corporation Device [0e11:0058]
	Kernel driver in use: radeon
	Kernel modules: radeon, radeonfb
02:06.0 CardBus bridge [0607]: O2 Micro, Inc. OZ6933/711E1 CardBus/SmartCardBus Controller [1217:6933] (rev 01)
	Subsystem: Compaq Computer Corporation Device [0e11:0058]
	Kernel driver in use: yenta_cardbus
	Kernel modules: yenta_socket
02:06.1 CardBus bridge [0607]: O2 Micro, Inc. OZ6933/711E1 CardBus/SmartCardBus Controller [1217:6933] (rev 01)
	Subsystem: Compaq Computer Corporation Device [0e11:0058]
	Kernel driver in use: yenta_cardbus
	Kernel modules: yenta_socket
02:0e.0 Ethernet controller [0200]: Broadcom Corporation NetXtreme BCM5705M Gigabit Ethernet [14e4:165d] (rev 01)
	Subsystem: Compaq Computer Corporation Device [0e11:0058]
	Kernel driver in use: tg3
	Kernel modules: tg3

============ lsusb ============
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 003 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 004 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub

============ lsmod ============
Module                  Size  Used by
nls_iso8859_1          12617  0 
nls_cp437              12751  0 
vfat                   17308  0 
fat                    55605  1 vfat
rfcomm                 38139  0 
bnep                   17830  2 
bluetooth             158479  10 bnep,rfcomm
snd_intel8x0           33455  2 
snd_ac97_codec        110213  1 snd_intel8x0
ac97_bus               12642  1 snd_ac97_codec
snd_pcm                80916  2 snd_intel8x0,snd_ac97_codec
snd_seq_midi           13132  0 
snd_rawmidi            25424  1 snd_seq_midi
snd_seq_midi_event     14475  1 snd_seq_midi
snd_seq                51592  2 snd_seq_midi,snd_seq_midi_event
joydev                 17393  0 
snd_timer              28931  2 snd_pcm,snd_seq
snd_seq_device         14172  3 snd_seq_midi,snd_rawmidi,snd_seq
radeon                733824  2 
ttm                    65344  1 radeon
drm_kms_helper         45466  1 radeon
ppdev                  12849  0 
snd                    62218  11 snd_intel8x0,snd_ac97_codec,snd_pcm,snd_rawmidi,snd_seq,snd_timer,snd_seq_device
irda                  185517  0 
drm                   197641  4 radeon,ttm,drm_kms_helper
pcmcia                 39826  0 
soundcore              14635  1 snd
snd_page_alloc         14115  2 snd_intel8x0,snd_pcm
i2c_algo_bit           13199  1 radeon
psmouse                96718  0 
binfmt_misc            17292  1 
yenta_socket           27428  0 
parport_pc             32114  1 
pcmcia_rsrc            18367  1 yenta_socket
video                  19068  0 
pcmcia_core            21511  3 pcmcia,yenta_socket,pcmcia_rsrc
crc_ccitt              12627  1 irda
serio_raw              13027  0 
wmi                    18744  0 
mac_hid                13077  0 
shpchp                 32325  0 
lp                     17455  0 
parport                40930  3 ppdev,parport_pc,lp
tg3                   137273  0 
floppy                 60184  0 
usb_storage            39646  0 

============ dmesg-firmware ============

============ kernel version ============
3.2.0-37-generic

============ ifconfig ============
eth0      Link encap:Ethernet  Hardware Adresse 00:08:02:d6:25:f2  
          inet Adresse:192.168.178.47  Bcast:192.168.178.255  Maske:255.255.255.0
          inet6-Adresse: fe80::208:2ff:fed6:25f2/64 Gültigkeitsbereich:Verbindung
          UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST  MTU:1500  Metrik:1
          RX packets:2273 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:1024 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          Kollisionen:0 Sendewarteschlangenlänge:1000 
          RX-Bytes:2821192 (2.8 MB)  TX-Bytes:87742 (87.7 KB)
          Interrupt:11 

lo        Link encap:Lokale Schleife  
          inet Adresse:127.0.0.1  Maske:255.0.0.0
          inet6-Adresse: ::1/128 Gültigkeitsbereich:Maschine
          UP LOOPBACK RUNNING  MTU:16436  Metrik:1
          RX packets:264 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:264 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          Kollisionen:0 Sendewarteschlangenlänge:0 
          RX-Bytes:28965 (28.9 KB)  TX-Bytes:28965 (28.9 KB)


============ iwconfig ============
lo        no wireless extensions.

eth0      no wireless extensions.

[ProfessorChaos]

That is not the wireless as far as I can tell. That is the land line chip eth0. Am I going blind or I do not see any wireless chip?

That's exactly what I thought, too! As said in my very first post: I fail at the point where I have to identify the name of my WLAN card, so I am blind, too.^^

But, as I said: under Suse, the WLAN card did work..?

[rokytnji]

What kind of wlan card is it. PCMCIA or USB? Or internal?

[zenwalker]

Yeh, OP & roky, I too was confused; but I have never seen a Broadcom/Gigabit, either!
Since OP says his wireless worked, I made the possibly incorrect assumption that the numbers highlited below referred to two different devices

02:0e.0 Ethernet controller [0200]: Broadcom Corporation NetXtreme BCM5705M Gigabit Ethernet [14e4:165d] (rev 01)
Subsystem: Compaq Computer Corporation Device [0e11:0058]
Kernel driver in use: tg3
Kernel modules: tg3

I guess it would be a good idea to first verify the make and model number of the computer concerned!

EDIT:
Number [14e4:165d] returns

02:00.0 Ethernet controller [0200]: Broadcom Corporation NetXtreme BCM5705M Gigabit Ethernet [14e4:165d] (rev 01)
Subsystem: Dell Latitude D400 [1028:865d]
Control: I/O- Mem+ BusMaster+ SpecCycle- MemWINV- VGASnoop- ParErr- Stepping- SERR+ FastB2B- DisINTx-
Status: Cap+ 66MHz+ UDF- FastB2B+ ParErr- DEVSEL=medium >TAbort- <TAbort- <MAbort- >SERR- <PERR- INTx-
Latency: 32 (16000ns min), Cache Line Size: 32 bytes
Interrupt: pin A routed to IRQ 11
Region 0: Memory at faff0000 (64-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=64K]
Expansion ROM at <ignored> [disabled]
Capabilities: <access denied>
Kernel driver in use: tg3
Kernel modules: tg3

Number [0e11:0058] returns -- http://listing.driveragent.com/via/p.../165d/0e110058

So, I was indeed incorrect, which brings us to roky's second question . . .

[rokytnji]

If internal. I bet wireless is not enabled in bios so check that also.

[ProfessorChaos]

It is an internat WLAN card and - sadly - that's all I know. Of course, I also know the laptop's name, but endless google searches did not bring up any new information about the card; it's probably too old. (If anyone else should have my problem: it's a COMPAQ Evo N620c, Model T60M099 - but please try not too google it's WLAN card; the time is wasted.)

If internal. I bet wireless is not enabled in bios so check that also.

Since I did not change any bios setting (except boot order) when switching from Suse 10 to LUbunutu 12.04, this reason is ruled out. Furthermore, the BIOS is so incredibly old that there are only a few *options*, all the rest is information or hardware tests; the WLAN card is not even listed there.

However, another possible reason for my problem came just to my mind, but, since I am not an expert, I cannot judge if that makes sense:

Even *installing* LUbuntu took me forever: the installation always hang when the hardware detection tried to detect the network card (however, I think this was not the WLAN card, but the LAN card which is now working). Sadly, I cannot remember the exact error message, but it was quite common. Anyway, "google" recommended to set certain options in the installation menu of ubuntu. Again, I do not remember, which ones I actually chose but the installation worked afterwards. I just opened the installation menu again. The possible options (of which I chose some^^) are as follows:
acpi=off
noapic
nolapic
edd=on
nodmraid
nomodeset
So, any chance choosing one of these features is responsible for not listing my WLAN card? (I just assume, that u also think it is not listed...)

[ProfessorChaos]

Well, I think I must start with an apology...

I just talked to the previous owner of the laptop to double-check about his WLAN card. Although he told me in the beginning, that it indeed has WLAN and I should try to get it to work again, it now turns out that he used a dongle for that. So, I am sorry, I shouldn't have believed him in the beginning.^^ (My believe was also strengthened by the fact that the laptop has a key for disabling the WLAN - so it just didn't come to my mind that this was wrong.)

Maybe this thread should be deleted? I doubt that it is helpful to s.o....

anyway, thank you for your held and time!