Cannot set up wlan card on old laptop with lubuntu

1 Attachment(s)

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!

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!

1 Attachment(s)

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...

Code:

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?

Code:

============ 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.

Quote:

Originally Posted by rokytnji

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..?

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

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 . . .

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

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.)

Quote:

Originally Posted by rokytnji

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...)

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!