# broadcom b4322 troubles

## farhaven

Hi people,

I'm trying to get a Broadcom 4322 WLAN card to run in my Dell Latitude 2100. The kernel is a vanilla 2.6.31. After modprobing ssb (which autoloads b43), the kernel log contains the following piece:

```
[  473.421039] b43-pci-bridge 0000:0c:00.0: PCI INT A disabled

[  485.132132] b43-pci-bridge 0000:0c:00.0: PCI INT A -> GSI 17 (level, low) -> IRQ 17

[  485.132159] b43-pci-bridge 0000:0c:00.0: setting latency timer to 64

[  485.148156] ssb: ERROR: PLL init unknown for device 4322

[  485.148171] ssb: ERROR: PMU resource config unknown for device 4322

[  485.165483] ssb: Sonics Silicon Backplane found on PCI device 0000:0c:00.0

[  485.211298] cfg80211: Calling CRDA to update world regulatory domain

[  485.260496] b43-phy0: Broadcom 4322 WLAN found (core revision 16)

[  485.276142] b43-phy0 ERROR: FOUND UNSUPPORTED PHY (Analog 8, Type 4, Revision 4)

[  485.276214] b43: probe of ssb0:0 failed with error -95

[  485.276318] Broadcom 43xx driver loaded [ Features: PL, Firmware-ID: FW13 ]

```

The WLAN card is not available after that, but it should be supported by the module. Does anyone have a clue on where I went wrong?

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## d2_racing

Hi, you should read that : https://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic-t-789838-highlight-broadcom.html

I think that your B43 need to use the new broadcom driver.

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## pappy_mcfae

Yes. The b43 driver doesn't support bcm4322, but broadcom-sta does.

Blessed  be!

Pappy

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## farhaven

Indeed, broadcom-sta did the trick. Well, almost. I can connect to my university's WLAN just fine (which is using certificate based radius authentication and WPA2 for encryption), but I can't connect to my home network which uses WPA2-TKIP PSK. The connection is established for a brief moment, but I get disconnected after about 5 seconds. Card and network are okay, because when running Windows 7 on the machine, WLAN worked and I can use my other laptop (the wpa_supplicant configuration of which I also use on the netbook) with the WLAN just fine. Is there something I did wrong?

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## d2_racing

Hi, can you post this :

```

# cat /etc/wpa_supplicant/wpa_supplicant.conf

```

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## pappy_mcfae

If you can connect to an AP, then the adapter is right. The issue is probably related to wpa_supplicant, as d2_racing says. If you are using wpa_supplicant, and have the qt3 USE flag enabled, you can also use wpa_gui. That will allow you to scan for and connect to protected, and not so protected AP's.

Blessed be!

Pappy

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## farhaven

My wpa_supplicant.conf looks like this (the second network is the one I want to connect to, as I said, this configuration works flawlessly on another laptop):

```

ctrl_interface=/var/run/wpa_supplicant

ap_scan=1

network={

    ssid="eduroam"

    key_mgmt=WPA-EAP

    identity="xxx"

    private_key="/etc/certs/upb-wlan.p12"

    private_key_passwd="yyy"

    priority=0

}

network={

   ssid="xxx"

   psk="yyy"

   priority=10000

   }

network={

   ssid="aaa"

   psk="yyy"

   priority=10000

   }

network={

    ssid="bbb"

    key_mgmt=WPA-EAP

    proto=WPA

    pairwise=CCMP TKIP

    group=CCMP TKIP

    eap=PEAP

    phase2="auth=MSCHAPV2"

    identity="xxx"

    password="yyy"

    priority=9999

}

```

pappy_mcfae:

The connection is established, but lost shortly after the CONNECTION signal, so it's not an issue of acquring the connection in general. The error message I receive is something along the lines of "Disconnected by local choice", though I never issued a command telling wpa_supplicant to disconnect.

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## pappy_mcfae

It sounds like the adapter might be going to sleep. Does it happen after a protracted period of time? If so, then it is likely your adapter is powering itself down. You can set your machine to ping your AP once a minute or some such trick along those lines to make the adapter NOT go to sleep. It's dirty, but it works.

I haven't had such an issue. My connectivity is fabulous.

Blessed be!

Pappy

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## farhaven

It disconnects before I can even aquire an IP via DHCP, i.e. after 5 seconds at max. Looks like the signal is really bad, but it worked in the same location with Windows 7 running and it still fails if I stand right next to the Access Point with clear line of sight...

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## farhaven

Hmm, now things are getting even worse... Where I yesterday could do a 

```
sudo iwlist eth1 scan
```

 to list available networks, now that fails. The message I get is 

```
eth1   Failed to read scan data : Invalid argument
```

 which looks like a broken driver  :Sad: 

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## farhaven

Hmm, now things are getting even worse... Where I yesterday could do a 

```
sudo iwlist eth1 scan
```

 to list available networks, now that fails. The message I get is 

```
eth1   Failed to read scan data : Invalid argument
```

 which looks like a broken driver  :Sad: 

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## pappy_mcfae

Post the results of iwconfig.

Blessed be!

Pappy

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## farhaven

The result of iwconfig is this:

```

eth1      IEEE 802.11  Nickname:""

          Access Point: Not-Associated   

          Link Quality:5  Signal level:0  Noise level:0

          Rx invalid nwid:0  invalid crypt:0  invalid misc:0

lo        no wireless extensions.

eth0      no wireless extensions.

```

The card seems to be half-working...

A guy at university said my problems might be caused by me using suspend to disk without unloading the wlan drivers and he suggested letting the windows driver handle the card once might solve it, though I'd rather go without windows here, as I don't have the recovery partition anymore and fiddling with USB-CDROM drives is just too cumbersome.

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## pappy_mcfae

Post /etc/conf.d/net.

Blessed be!

Pappy

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## farhaven

The card is not configured in /etc/conf.d/net. Doing the following should be enough to get some scan results, right?

```

# ifconfig eth1 up

# iwlist eth1 scan

```

At least that worked a week ago and it still works on my other laptop (which doesn't use the net.* setup routines either)

Slowly I'm suspecting a broken WLAN card, as I just installed the Dell version of Ubuntu Linux they offer to ship on these netbooks and that also fails with an "Invalid Argument".

----------

## pappy_mcfae

Considering how delicate some electronic devices can be, that doesn't sound out of the realm of possibility.

Blessed be!

Pappy

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## justin_brody

For what little it's worth, I'm seeing the same behavior on my new macbook pro with a bcm4322.  Strangely, when I run wpa_supplicant on the command line (instead of from /etc/init.d/net.eth1) it stops being able to scan correctly, even though it can pick up the network before that.  I'm also having the same kind of behavior with the association being dropped really quickly (before dhcpcd can do anything).  I think the card is fine - works perfectly on OS X.

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## pappy_mcfae

Maybe it's time to set up /etc/conf.d/net. Technically, your Gentoo setup isn't right if you don't have one. That way, your wireless will start automatically. 

Starting wpa_supplicant is best done via /etc/conf.d/net. 

Blessed be!

Pappy

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## farhaven

But up'ing the device does nothing. It doesn't scan for wireless networks which is needed to establish any kind of connections. This is an issue which comes into effect before /etc/init.d/net.* kicks in. Without scanning for networks, configuring the device is useless. I'd need a way to wake it up from its semi-coma (i.e. doesn't want to scan but reacts to things like iwconfig). I did all steps neccessary to get results on my other wlan hardware, which is a) insert the right module b) up the device c) use iwlist scan to gather network information. The thing is that exactly this setup worked just a week ago on the same hardware.

I'm currently installing Windows 7 to see if the MS drivers can wake up the device, after which I'll reinstall Linux and if that doesn't help, I'll make use of my 3-Years-Warranty. Thanks anyway to anyone who tried to help me  :Smile: 

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## pappy_mcfae

Before you condemn all the way, let's make sure you're doing things the right way. Since the driver works, that part is over. The absolute next thing you need to do is set up /etc/conf.d/net. Here's a basic model with wpa_supplicant support and DHCP... 

```
modules=( "wpa_supplicant" )

wpa_supplicant_eth1="-Dwext"

config_eth1=( "dhcp" )
```

Edit to suit your needs. As it sits, it should plug right in without issue. Obviously, you are going to want to emerge -av wpa_supplicant before you do this. As long as wpa_supplicant is compiled with the qt3 USE flag, you will get wpa_gui as well. That makes connection a whole lot easier.

Blessed be!

Pappy

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## farhaven

Heh, I just solved the problem... I'm almost to embarassed to tell.

When I had set up everything on my machine, I wanted to set up a few acpi handlers for things like "Sleep Button Pressed", but as it seems, not all Fn+Fx combinations end up in acpid. The only one that didn't was... Guess what... The WIFI killswitch on Fn+F6 which seemed to have lasting effect. One press and the device works again. Thanks a lot for all your endurance and support  :Smile: 

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## d2_racing

Nice to see that it was only a minor problem  :Razz: 

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## pappy_mcfae

Amen to that. I was running out of ideas.  :Smile: 

Blessed be!

Pappy

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## d2_racing

In fact, that kind of bug can be hard to detect  :Razz: 

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## mobilejimbo

My Dell 1340 finally arrived  :Smile: 

The problem I'm having is the minimal install iso doesn't appear to support the BCM4322 wireless card.  A wired install is not an option where I'm at.  Do I appear to be missing something?  I don't appear to have the AP module(s) referenced in other posts.  The system does not see any wireless extensions with iwconfig.  lspci displays the broadcom wireless card.  net-setup only wants to setup the wired lan.

Thanks in advance,

Jimbo

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## pappy_mcfae

How is it not an option? Do you not have access to the wireless AP? If not, try a SysRescueCD. It supports pretty much everything. If that doesn't go, try knoppix. 

Good luck.

Blessed be!

Pappy

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## mobilejimbo

That option (AP) is not available in /lib/modules/2.6.30-gentoo-r5/kernel/drivers/net/wireless   :Sad: 

b43 was reported to not work with this NIC, but that module is available.

How would I go about a minimal/stage3 install from a sysrescue cd?

Thanks for the quick response.

Jimbo

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## mobilejimbo

If you meant do I have physical access to the access point, I don't  :Sad: 

Thanks for the quick response.

Jimbo

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## pappy_mcfae

You'd use the SysRescueCD like you'd use any other Gentoo install media. Get on line, get the stage3 tarball and the portage snapshot, install both, emerge the other required programs, and then restart. Are you using the wireless now to communicate with me?

BB!

P

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## mobilejimbo

This is the old laptop running xp   :Wink: 

I've never booted knoppix/sysrescuecd for the purpose of installing another distro.  Is there a quick and dirty gentoo howto to accomplish?  I'm downloading the knoppix v6 now.

Thanks again,

Jimbo

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## pappy_mcfae

Use the Gentoo Handbook and The Gentoo Linux alternative installation method HOWTO. If you have any problems, let me know.

Do yourself a favor, and read through both before you dive in. It will make things a bit easier.

Blessed be!

Pappy

----------

## mobilejimbo

Knoppix doesn't appear to have the necessary module either.

I looked at alt install and it seems to get me up to step 4... which is good, if I had functional wireless from the beginning.  I've done this years before on another dell laptop, but I had a lan connection then.  I'm going to download the sysrescuecd and see if it can bring up wireless.  If that doesn't work, can we get the developers who assemble the releases to add the ap.ko?  That would make my life easier   :Wink:   Otherwise, is there yet another method?  I've been trying to download the livedvd for a week and a half and NONE of the mirrors are letting me download the amd64 multilib dvd.  I'm also thinking about a networkless install, but I'm going to eventually need the wireless to work.

Thanks for your time,

Jimbo

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## mobilejimbo

Hmmm.... I guess I'm stuck for the evening.  Sysrescuecd doesn't have what I need either.  LSPCI shows the network controller:  Broadcom Corporation BCM4322 802.11a/b/g/n Wireless Lan Controller (rev 01).  I don't seem to be able to get the wireless turned on from go (this method would make my install much easier).  Am I the only one with this problem?

Thanks in advance,

Jimbo

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## mobilejimbo

dmesg | grep 43  displayed the b43 driver auto loaded into the kernel.

I guess if I had the AP module, I could specify "nob43" at boot and "doAP", right?

I'm tired... going to bed now....

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## mobilejimbo

dmesg | grep 43  displayed the b43 driver auto loaded into the kernel.

I guess if I had the AP module, I could specify "nob43" at boot and "doAP", right?

I'm tired... going to bed now....

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## d2_racing

I think that maybe you will need to use the new broadcom-sta driver instead.

Am I right  Pappy_Mcfae ?

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## mobilejimbo

Thanks.  How do I incorporate that support into a minimal install CD?

Cheers,

Jimbo

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## pappy_mcfae

 *d2_racing wrote:*   

> I think that maybe you will need to use the new broadcom-sta driver instead.
> 
> Am I right  Pappy_Mcfae ?

 

Yes. Unfortunately, the b43 module will not work with bcm4322. As for how to do it, therein lies the rub. You could technically follow the directions at the SysRescueCD site for setting up alternate drivers, and create a boot disk tailored to your setup. I did much the same thing early on using catalyst. I don't recommend that to the faint of heart.

Now, the other thought I had is if the wireless is working to your XP machine, and that machine has a wired NIC installed as well, you might be able to distribute from the XP machine to the Gentoo machine via the XP machine's wired NIC. You will probably need a small router/switch to make it work.

The only other thought I have is if you can install Ubuntu, or get it to work with your wireless adapter, then you can use Ubuntu as an install medium. That is assuming Ubuntu has proper support for your device out of the box. Since I don't follow Ubuntu's forums, I have no idea if that's even possible.

Or, you could send the machine to me. I have all kinds of open ports on my LAN.

Blessed be!

Pappy

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## d2_racing

Try the latest SystemRescueCD or Ubuntu 9.10 and if it's working, then you can install Gentoo from there.

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## mobilejimbo

Hmmmm..... crossover cable... I wish I had access to one where I'm at.

Is there some way to get the necessary support for the NIC into a minimal install CD?  If the file and method is neat, then it shouldn't be more than adding the files and configuring from the live environment.  Right?

I reposted my problem on this forum: https://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic-t-797534-highlight-.html

TIA,

Jimbo

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## d2_racing

Using the Gentoo minimal CD or SystemRescueCD is the same method, because SystemRescueCD is a Gentoo based CD, so it's not a big deal.

You will not see any diff when you install your Gentoo box.

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## mobilejimbo

Unless I did something wrong, the sysrescuecd 1.3.1 I downloaded yesterday, doesn't appear to come with the broadcom-sta support built in (at least I couldn't find support; maybe a little sleepy).  How would I go about adding that support?  Is it more involved than finding a copy of "wl.ko", putting it in /lib/~/wireless within the iso, burn another disk, and modprobing it?  I think I can modify an iso with winrar....

On the bright side, I'm learning a lot about my laptop wireless   :Wink: 

Thanks for putting up with me,

Jimbo

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## mobilejimbo

Not so sleepy today... did find net-wireless  broadcom-sta-5.10.91.9-r6  as one of the packages... don't know why sysrescuecd didn't activate my wireless?!?  

Ideas?

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## pappy_mcfae

What error messages did you see?

BB!

P

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## mobilejimbo

From the sysrescuecd; rescue64 option, the dmesg indicates b43 module is getting loaded (and failing).

Hand-typed output:

dmesg | grep b43

b43-pci-bridge 0000:06:00.0: PCI INT A -> Link[Z016] -> GSI 21 (level, low) -> IRQ 21

b43-pci-bridge 0000:06:00.0: setting latency timer to 64

b43-phy0: Broadcom 4322 WLAN found (core revision 16)

b43-phy0 ERROR: FOUND UNSUPPORTED PHY (Analog 8, Type 4, Revision 4)

b43: probe of ssb0:0 failed with error -95

dmesg | grep ssb

ssb: ERROR: PLL init unknown for device 4322

ssb: ERROR: PMU resource config unknown for device 4322

ssb: Sonics Silicon Backplane found on PCI device 0000:06:00.0

b43: probe of ssb0:0 failed with error -95

Meaningful lspci output:

06:00.0 Network controller: Broadcom Corporation BCM4322 802.11a/b/g/n Wireless Lan Controller (rev 01)

ifconfig only displays lo

iwconfig displays no wireless extensions on lo and eth0

I think I have what I need on the sysrescuecd with the net-wireless broadcom-sta-5.10.91.9-r6.  Just don't quite know what to do with it.  I don't think I can emerge it in this environment....  

Thanks again for your time,

Jimbo

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## pappy_mcfae

Another possible idea. Download the tarball and the portage snapshot to your XP machine. Use apache for windows, and set up a web server to copy the files to your other machine. Use the wired NIC, to move files from the XP machine to the other one. 

I know you can also copy both the tarball and the portage snapshot to your SysRecueCD as well. I believe there are instructions on how to add files at SysRescueCD's web site. Once you get your Gentoo machine up and running, then it might be a bit easier to get your wireless working. 

If you have a friend who has a networking hub with an extra port, buy pizza, beer, or whatever said friend would consider a worthy trade for some intimate time with his/her networking hub.  :Smile: 

Blessed be!

Pappy

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## mobilejimbo

Kubuntu 9.04 appears to have no issues with the wireless in the live environment.  I guess I could install Kubuntu and go with the alternate install method from another linux distro.  Thanks again for your help.

Cheers,

Jimbo

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## pappy_mcfae

Fantastic! I knew that you'd find a way.

Blessed be!

Pappy

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## d2_racing

Yeah great  :Razz: 

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## wormite

I wonder who is maintaining the gentoo wiki regarding the latitude e6x00.

I bet one of the people here must have posted something on it about the bcm4322

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## pappy_mcfae

I'm using the broadcom-sta on kernel versions that support it, and b43 on those that don't. Since I'm actually running a bcm4318, I do get support from the b43...albeit not the best support.

That was with ndiswrapper. I set things up so the configuration file created matched all the jacked-up settings I used in windoze. I could get sustained 2.5 MB/sec, and occasional bursts of 3.0. Can't do that with anything else I've tried.

Oh well, such is life. 

Cheers,

Pappy

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