Wifi with WPA - BCM43xx Kernel driver

[Jason A. Myers]

HI all:

I would just like to report that I have been able to successfully
connect with the on-board broadcom based wifi card, using WPA no less.
Best of all, it was quite painless.

Compaq R3240CA
Gentoo AMD64, kernel-2.6.17
wpa_supplicant-0.5.3
wireless-tools-28_pre1a0

It's seems to be stable (with the odd hiccup), although I'm not chucking out my linksys
pcmcia card quite yet. We'll see how it goes.

I followed some pretty straight forward instructions here:

https://lists.berlios.de/pipermail/bcm43xx-dev/2006-April/001660.html
and
http://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic-t-409194-postdays-0-postorder-asc-start-0.html

I used the firmware from here:

http://drinus.net/airport/wl_apsta.o

Good Luck!

Jason

[JT Moree]

Post by Jason A. Myers
I would just like to report that I have been able to successfully
connect with the on-board broadcom based wifi card, using WPA no less.

<snip>

Post by Jason A. Myers
https://lists.berlios.de/pipermail/bcm43xx-dev/2006-April/001660.html
and
http://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic-t-409194-postdays-0-postorder-asc-start-0.html

how did you get the firmware loaded. these instructions don't seem to
say. or I just missed it.

[Vadim Garber]

Post by JT Moree
how did you get the firmware loaded. these instructions don't seem to
say. or I just missed it.

I think they get loaded when you load up bcm43xx. Anyways I can't get
wpa to work with the drivers right now, so maybe I'm doing something
wrong. But iwlist scanning does show all my access points, so it would
seem the drivers do work.

Just my 2 cents,
Vadim

[Håkan Wikström]

I have bcm43xx working effortlessly on Ubuntu 6.06. When upgrading the
kernel, just copy the firmware files to /lib/firmware/$(uname -r)

Network Manger (as included in Ubuntu 6.06) really makes life a lot
easier too! WPA is not a problem at all.

Håkan

Post by Vadim Garber

Post by JT Moree
how did you get the firmware loaded. these instructions don't seem to
say. or I just missed it.

I think they get loaded when you load up bcm43xx. Anyways I can't get
wpa to work with the drivers right now, so maybe I'm doing something
wrong. But iwlist scanning does show all my access points, so it would
seem the drivers do work.
Just my 2 cents,
Vadim
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[Zan Lynx]

Post by Håkan Wikström
I have bcm43xx working effortlessly on Ubuntu 6.06. When upgrading the
kernel, just copy the firmware files to /lib/firmware/$(uname -r)
Network Manger (as included in Ubuntu 6.06) really makes life a lot
easier too! WPA is not a problem at all.
Håkan

I've got the problem with mine where it can't get authenticated with the
AP, encrypted or open. I gather that its a sort of known issue with
802.11b chipsets. I'll write it up in some kind of bug report and fire
it off to the devs, one of these days. ndiswrapper just works so well
that I haven't had much pressure to get it fixed ... always more
interesting stuff to work on.

[Pierce Ward]

Hey guys, has anyone else had an issue with the wl_apsta.o file? When I run
"bcm43xx-fwcutter -w /lib/firmware ~/wl_apsta.o" I get:

"Sorry, the input file is either wrong or not supported by bcm43xx-fwcutter.
I can't find the MD5sum 0d8b4ffb6646e846bd6f513b76b31b82 :("

Can someone verify the md5sum for me? Is the file meant to be 4.0K? My .sys
file from the broadcom firmware extracted fine, but I'd rather try this
firmware as it is meant to be more stable.

Cheers,

Post by Zan Lynx

Post by Håkan Wikström
I have bcm43xx working effortlessly on Ubuntu 6.06. When upgrading the
kernel, just copy the firmware files to /lib/firmware/$(uname -r)
Network Manger (as included in Ubuntu 6.06) really makes life a lot
easier too! WPA is not a problem at all.
Håkan

I've got the problem with mine where it can't get authenticated with the
AP, encrypted or open. I gather that its a sort of known issue with
802.11b chipsets. I'll write it up in some kind of bug report and fire
it off to the devs, one of these days. ndiswrapper just works so well
that I haven't had much pressure to get it fixed ... always more
interesting stuff to work on.
_______________________________________________
LinuxR3000 mailing list
http://lists.pcxperience.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/linuxr3000
Wiki at http://prinsig.se/weekee/

[Vadim Garber]

Post by Pierce Ward
Hey guys, has anyone else had an issue with the wl_apsta.o file? When
"Sorry, the input file is either wrong or not supported by
bcm43xx-fwcutter.
I can't find the MD5sum 0d8b4ffb6646e846bd6f513b76b31b82 :("
Can someone verify the md5sum for me? Is the file meant to be 4.0K? My
.sys file from the broadcom firmware extracted fine, but I'd rather
try this firmware as it is meant to be more stable.
Cheers,

I had that same exact problem, the issue is you cannot directly wget
wl_apsta.o via the provided link. Instead you must download it with
firefox (or what ever browser) - and then copy it to where ever it needs
to go.

Hope that helps,
Vadim

PS:
du -h shows:
641K /lib/firmware/wl_apsta.o

[Pierce Ward]

Ahh thanks, I thought something was fishy. I did a "save target as" in
firefox but that resulted in the same 4.0K file. It just seems to time out
if i click the link directly or try refresh it. With konqueror it told me
that the connection to the host was broken :/ Could someone please email me
the file, or maybe host it on the wiki?

Thanks again,

Post by Vadim Garber

Post by Pierce Ward
Hey guys, has anyone else had an issue with the wl_apsta.o file? When
"Sorry, the input file is either wrong or not supported by
bcm43xx-fwcutter.
I can't find the MD5sum 0d8b4ffb6646e846bd6f513b76b31b82 :("
Can someone verify the md5sum for me? Is the file meant to be 4.0K? My
.sys file from the broadcom firmware extracted fine, but I'd rather
try this firmware as it is meant to be more stable.
Cheers,

I had that same exact problem, the issue is you cannot directly wget
wl_apsta.o via the provided link. Instead you must download it with
firefox (or what ever browser) - and then copy it to where ever it needs
to go.
Hope that helps,
Vadim
641K /lib/firmware/wl_apsta.o
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[Pierce Ward]

Oh, nevermind, Opera was able to download the file :)

Post by Pierce Ward
Ahh thanks, I thought something was fishy. I did a "save target as" in
firefox but that resulted in the same 4.0K file. It just seems to time out
if i click the link directly or try refresh it. With konqueror it told me
that the connection to the host was broken :/ Could someone please email me
the file, or maybe host it on the wiki?
Thanks again,

Post by Vadim Garber

Post by Pierce Ward
Hey guys, has anyone else had an issue with the wl_apsta.o file? When
"Sorry, the input file is either wrong or not supported by
bcm43xx-fwcutter.
I can't find the MD5sum 0d8b4ffb6646e846bd6f513b76b31b82 :("
Can someone verify the md5sum for me? Is the file meant to be 4.0K? My
.sys file from the broadcom firmware extracted fine, but I'd rather
try this firmware as it is meant to be more stable.
Cheers,

I had that same exact problem, the issue is you cannot directly wget
wl_apsta.o via the provided link. Instead you must download it with
firefox (or what ever browser) - and then copy it to where ever it needs
to go.
Hope that helps,
Vadim
641K /lib/firmware/wl_apsta.o
_______________________________________________
LinuxR3000 mailing list
http://lists.pcxperience.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/linuxr3000
Wiki at http://prinsig.se/weekee/

[Jason A. Myers]

Post by JT Moree

Post by Jason A. Myers
I would just like to report that I have been able to successfully
connect with the on-board broadcom based wifi card, using WPA no less.

<snip>

Post by Jason A. Myers
https://lists.berlios.de/pipermail/bcm43xx-dev/2006-April/001660.html
and
http://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic-t-409194-postdays-0-postorder-asc-start-0.html

how did you get the firmware loaded. these instructions don't seem to
say. or I just missed it.

It's item #6 in the gentoo forum topic (the very first post).

You load the firmware once with the bcm43xx-fwcutter utility (which you
will have to install). I have been using the wl_apsta.o file
recommended in the gentoo list with good results


Cheers,

Jason

[John Jason Jordan]

On Mon, 26 Jun 2006 13:35:48 -0400

Post by Jason A. Myers
It's item #6 in the gentoo forum topic (the very first post).
You load the firmware once with the bcm43xx-fwcutter utility (which you
will have to install). I have been using the wl_apsta.o file
recommended in the gentoo list with good results

A few days ago I decided to upgrade Ubuntu Breeezy-64 to Dapper-64 on my R3240. But before doing so I installed a fresh Dapper-64 in a new 8 GB partition in unused space on my hard disk as a test installation. I played with it for a bit, but left wifi for last. I was so pleased that I was able to get Firefox-64 1.5 with RealPlayer and Flash, and Adobe Reader 7.0 all running without needing the 32-bit chroot that I had to use with Breezy, that I went ahead and did the upgrade. Unfortunately, the upgrade hopelessly borked my Breezy. Can't get X to start now. Tried everything. So now I'm going to wipe it out, reformat, and install a fresh Dapper-64.

Before doing so I decided to get the wifi working in this new Dapper-64 test installation. The default installation recognized the Broadcom 4306 and listed it in System > Administration > Networking. I even got it listed as Active, but when I clicked on Properties it hung the whole computer. The only thing that still worked was the power button. After hours spent googling and trying things that others suggested, I found the solution:

sudo rmmod ndiswrapper

For some reason ndiswrapper was also installed. I don't remember doing that, but perhaps I did. I do know that the new Dapper-64 test installation (on hda3) automounts the old Breezy hda2 partition, and I copied the entire /home folder from it to the new Dapper-64 test installation. Perhaps there was something in there that caused ndiswrapper to be loaded.

In any event, all is well now, and once you know how to do it, getting the Broadcom 4306 working under Dapper is a snap. No more ndiswrapper, finding the Windows 64-bit driver, compiling, etc.

Now I'm off to do the real installation on hda2. I'm going to leave this one here to use as a rescue installation.

[Constantine 'Gus' Fantanas]

Post by John Jason Jordan
On Mon, 26 Jun 2006 13:35:48 -0400
...
I played with it for a bit, but left wifi for last. I was so pleased that I was able to get Firefox-64 1.5 with RealPlayer and Flash, and Adobe Reader 7.0 all running without needing the 32-bit chroot that I had to use with Breezy

--How can that be? Isn't flashplayer offered as a 32-bit plugin in
binary only? Since when can the 64-bit Firefox invoke 32-bit plugins?
This must be a welcome change! So we do not need the 32-bit Firefox at all?

[John Jason Jordan]

On Tue, 27 Jun 2006 01:00:42 -0400

Post by Constantine 'Gus' Fantanas

Post by John Jason Jordan
I played with it for a bit, but left wifi for last. I was so pleased that I was able to get Firefox-64 1.5 with RealPlayer and Flash, and Adobe Reader 7.0 all running without needing the 32-bit chroot that I had to use with Breezy

--How can that be? Isn't flashplayer offered as a 32-bit plugin in
binary only? Since when can the 64-bit Firefox invoke 32-bit plugins?
This must be a welcome change! So we do not need the 32-bit Firefox at all?

Not any more. Dapper-64 comes with the 32-bit libraries, and they have
fixed things so that you can install 32-bit apps that don't have a
64-bit binary by using force-architecture. The Ubuntu forums have lots
of discussion of it.

Furthermore, some clever chap made a script (Automatix) that will do
the force-architecture for favorite apps, plus it will install nVidia
drivers for you, and a few other things that people find hard to do.

[Toshio Kuratomi]

Post by John Jason Jordan
On Tue, 27 Jun 2006 01:00:42 -0400

Post by Constantine 'Gus' Fantanas

Post by John Jason Jordan
I played with it for a bit, but left wifi for last. I was so pleased that I was able to get Firefox-64 1.5 with RealPlayer and Flash, and Adobe Reader 7.0 all running without needing the 32-bit chroot that I had to use with Breezy

--How can that be? Isn't flashplayer offered as a 32-bit plugin in
binary only? Since when can the 64-bit Firefox invoke 32-bit plugins?
This must be a welcome change! So we do not need the 32-bit Firefox at all?

Not any more. Dapper-64 comes with the 32-bit libraries, and they have
fixed things so that you can install 32-bit apps that don't have a
64-bit binary by using force-architecture. The Ubuntu forums have lots
of discussion of it.

Err.. This is just a description of multilib. I believe the comment
refers to running a 32bit plugin within a 64bit firefox. The enabling
technology for that is::
http://www.gibix.net/dokuwiki/en:projects:nspluginwrapper

Note: I'm not an Ubuntu user but google tells me Dapper shipped with
nspluginwrapper.

-Toshio

[Pierce Ward]

Unfortunately nspluginwrapper is very unstable (crashes firefox ALOT) and
not a good choice at all. Your best bet is to still use a 32bit firefox with
the flash plugin.

Post by John Jason Jordan

Post by John Jason Jordan
On Tue, 27 Jun 2006 01:00:42 -0400

Post by Constantine 'Gus' Fantanas

Post by John Jason Jordan
I played with it for a bit, but left wifi for last. I was so pleased

that I was able to get Firefox-64 1.5 with RealPlayer and Flash, and Adobe
Reader 7.0 all running without needing the 32-bit chroot that I had to use
with Breezy

Post by John Jason Jordan

Post by Constantine 'Gus' Fantanas
--How can that be? Isn't flashplayer offered as a 32-bit plugin in
binary only? Since when can the 64-bit Firefox invoke 32-bit plugins?
This must be a welcome change! So we do not need the 32-bit Firefox

at all?

Post by John Jason Jordan
Not any more. Dapper-64 comes with the 32-bit libraries, and they have
fixed things so that you can install 32-bit apps that don't have a
64-bit binary by using force-architecture. The Ubuntu forums have lots
of discussion of it.

Err.. This is just a description of multilib. I believe the comment
refers to running a 32bit plugin within a 64bit firefox. The enabling
http://www.gibix.net/dokuwiki/en:projects:nspluginwrapper
Note: I'm not an Ubuntu user but google tells me Dapper shipped with
nspluginwrapper.
-Toshio
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[JT Moree]

Post by John Jason Jordan
Not any more. Dapper-64 comes with the 32-bit libraries, and they have
fixed things so that you can install 32-bit apps that don't have a
64-bit binary by using force-architecture. The Ubuntu forums have lots
of discussion of it.
Furthermore, some clever chap made a script (Automatix) that will do
the force-architecture for favorite apps, plus it will install nVidia
drivers for you, and a few other things that people find hard to do.

I just installed this and it's crap. Flash does run enough to actually
work. sound doesnt work right. most flash stuff crashes firefox.

Furthermore, it seems to have messed up other parts of my system
(probably due to pulling dependencies from every repository known to man).

Has anyone else used automatix?

- --
JT Morée
PC Xperience, Inc.

[John Jason Jordan]

On Tue, 27 Jun 2006 07:19:16 -0500

Post by JT Moree

Post by John Jason Jordan
Furthermore, some clever chap made a script (Automatix) that will do
the force-architecture for favorite apps, plus it will install nVidia
drivers for you, and a few other things that people find hard to do.

I just installed this and it's crap. Flash does run enough to actually
work. sound doesnt work right. most flash stuff crashes firefox.
Furthermore, it seems to have messed up other parts of my system
(probably due to pulling dependencies from every repository known to man).
Has anyone else used automatix?

That's how I did it, and it worked great.

[JT Moree]

Post by John Jason Jordan

Post by JT Moree
I just installed this and it's crap. Flash does run enough to actually
work. sound doesnt work right. most flash stuff crashes firefox.
Furthermore, it seems to have messed up other parts of my system
(probably due to pulling dependencies from every repository known to man).
Has anyone else used automatix?

That's how I did it, and it worked great.

can you give me a flash site to try out that worked for you?

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