Wireless Network HELP, Ubuntu

**DougMills** · 09-25-2006

Hey everyone,'ve

I really like the new Ubuntu Dapper Dan. I need help with my Broadcom 4311 wireless card though. I have a Compaq Presario v3010us and I've tried everything from the regular bcm43xx driver to the ndiswrapper installed by default to the sourced install I manually did. I tried at least 10 different ways to do it. I hope someone could walk me through it because I think I'm just missing something. I ask that someone would reply in the next day or so.

**antidrugue** · 09-25-2006

Did you try it like that ?
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=197102

**webkat** · 09-25-2006

here's a nice step by step howto. it helped me figure it out. NB By now there is a newer ndiswrapper which I used, worked fine.

http://www.ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=31926

**DougMills** · 09-25-2006

I tried the How-Tos you guys are referring to already. Every How-To I've tried assumes I have a card that is readable by Ubuntu. Mine is not. It is not a BCM4318, it is a BCM4311. Also, I cannot get the wireless driver supplied by the Linuxant Project to work for my Compaq v3000us. I have no idea what is different, but I hope I can get it to work at some level. I haven't seen another instance of someone trying to do what I'm doing in a forum or otherwise, so I assume my laptop is very new and has no drivers or way to get wireless internet, or I am just not doing something right. I hope it is the latter. Anyone have anything else? I will try the second how-to using my own driver from HP to see if it will do anything different. Thanks for replying so fast. If you guys have anything to add, please do so.

**DougMills** · 09-27-2006

I found something on the 43xx Project website that said the unstable version of the bcm43xx-fwcutter app will see my card. How do I try this? How do I install the unstable version?

**DougMills** · 09-29-2006

Is anyone going to help? Or does no one know what I'm talking about?

**antidrugue** · 09-29-2006

As mentionned on the bcm43xx site, the driver for the BCM4318 is a work in progress and is not ready yet. Try to make your card work using ndiswrapper.

Code:

sudo apt-get install ndiswrapper-utils

Then

Code:

sudo ndiswrapper -i bcmwl5.inf

to insert your driver (using the windows driver).

Code:

sudo ndiswrapper -l

to verify that the driver is loaded.

Code:

sudo ndiswrapper -m

to configure ndiswrapper.

Code:

sudo modprobe ndiswrapper

to load ndiswrapper module.

Code:

sudo echo -n "ndiswrapper" > /etc/modules

to load ndiswrapper at startup.

More info here :
http://ndiswrapper.sourceforge.net/m...dex.php/Ubuntu

**DougMills** · 10-02-2006

I have extensively tried using the ndiswrapper utility, but I cannot seem to get it to work I have tried the latest version, with synaptic as well as from source, I have used multiple drivers, from the ones on the HP site and Linuxant sites to ones specially made by someone writing a how to on a specific chipset. Also, a note to antidrugue:

the driver for the BCM4318 is a work in progress and is not ready yet.

I already mentioned that my driver that I need to work on my laptop is not the BCM4318 chipset, it is the BCM4311 chipset. But you are right: It is also not supported by the stable release of the BCM43xx driver.

It is supposedly supported by the unstable release, which I cannot seem to get anyone to tell me how to install. Do I need to be a project developer to get it?

**antidrugue** · 10-02-2006

Originally Posted by DougMills

I already mentioned that my driver that I need to work on my laptop is not the BCM4318 chipset, it is the BCM4311 chipset.

Yes, that is what I meant to say : BCM4311.

NDISWRAPPER should work very well for you. Can you explain the steps you are doing, as well as what exactly doesn't work ?

If you really want to use BCM43XX (I am not sure this is the best solution), you can build the latest like that :

Code:

svn checkout svn://svn.berlios.de/bcm43xx/trunk/fwcutter
cd fwcutter 
make

Then cut the firmware from your windows driver :

Code:

./fwcutter windows_driver

And make it load at startup :

Code:

sudo cp *.fw /lib/firmware/
modprobe bcm43xx

And reboot.

Again, please post more details about what is happening here.

**DougMills** · 10-02-2006

Thanks for helping. I have tried using the ndiswrapper program, but I can't get it to work. I have used multiple drivers (the ones provided by HP, as well as the ones from a how-to and from the Linuxant site), but none of them seem to make the card recognized by the system. I do all the steps for installing the driver, but it either does not recognize the hardware, or it says that it is recognized but does not register in iwconfig of ifconfig. That is why I think the bcm43xx driver might be a better choice.

Then cut the firmware from your windows driver :
Code:
./fwcutter windows_driver

Where do I get this? Also, if I get the ndiswrapper program working, where should I get the driver for my card? Again, thank you for taking your time to figure out my problem.

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