How to install b43 firmware for Broadcom wifi (Salix 13.1)

General talk about packaging procedures and packages.
nosajjindrich
Posts: 3
Joined: 29. Sep 2010, 00:32

Re: How to install b43 firmware for Broadcom wireless cards

Post by nosajjindrich »

I find that the root problem is that I cannot get b43-fwcutter to install properly. This seems to be an issue with Ubuntu. Now that I look there is an improperly labeled discussion on the Ubuntu forum about how to get Broadcom to work.
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/WifiD ... er/bcm43xx

Thanks for your quick reply, support like this is exactly why I want Linux.

Best
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zAchAry
Posts: 804
Joined: 11. May 2010, 09:02
Location: Israel

Re: How to install b43 firmware for Broadcom wireless cards

Post by zAchAry »

If you are using 64-bit system then download (download, do not install) amd64 package, else download i386 package?

Open the .deb file with File Roller (or other archive manager) and follow:
Open: data.tar.gz
Open: /. > /usr > /bin
Grab the file: b43-fwcutter

Create a folder in your home folder named TEST.
Copy/Move b43-fwcutter to the TEST folder.
Download wl_apsta-3.130.20.0.o and broadcom-wl-4.150.10.5.tar.bz2 to a folder named TEST in your home directory.

Open terminal as root (#) and enter the following lines, one by one:

Code: Select all

cd TEST
b43-fwcutter -w /lib/firmware wl_apsta-3.130.20.0.o
tar xfvj broadcom-wl-4.150.10.5.tar.bz2
b43-fwcutter --unsupported -w /lib/firmware broadcom-wl-4.150.10.5/driver/wl_apsta_mimo.o
chmod o+rx /lib/firmware/b43 /lib/firmware/b43legacy
I believe, it should work.

Please follow all these steps.
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nosajjindrich
Posts: 3
Joined: 29. Sep 2010, 00:32

Re: How to install b43 firmware for Broadcom wireless cards

Post by nosajjindrich »

It worked, I am writing from my new Linux machine using the wireless. To answer your question, this is a 32 bit machine. I have no idea if the 64 bit method would work.

Cheers
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zAchAry
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Joined: 11. May 2010, 09:02
Location: Israel

Re: How to install b43 firmware for Broadcom wireless cards

Post by zAchAry »

Cheers!

You're welcome to use easy to use distros like: Linux Mint or Peppermint OS, which is based on Mint.
Ubuntu is a very unreliable GNU/Linux distro and it tends to be very "trendy".

Have a nice WiFi day. 8-)
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pwatk
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Re: How to install b43 firmware for Broadcom wireless cards

Post by pwatk »

What is wl_apsta-3.130.20.0.o for?

Should I add it to our package?
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zAchAry
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Re: How to install b43 firmware for Broadcom wireless cards

Post by zAchAry »

pwatk wrote:What is wl_apsta-3.130.20.0.o for?

Should I add it to our package?
Hello world, Good morning :lol:
I dunno, and it was already mentioned here, anyway, I'll be a tester ;)
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pwatk
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Re: How to install b43 firmware for Broadcom wireless cards

Post by pwatk »

Hello world, Good morning :lol:
In this part of the world it's more like thank you and good night :)

I see, it's the b43legacy firmware! I'll add it to the next package.
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pwatk
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Re: How to install b43 firmware for Broadcom wireless cards

Post by pwatk »

FYI, I'm in the middle of writing a new script using dialog (I'll mod it for Xdialog later) that will include the legacy driver and launch slapt-get to remove any existing packages (as requested before).
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zAchAry
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Re: How to install b43 firmware for Broadcom wireless cards

Post by zAchAry »

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pwatk
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Re: How to install b43 firmware for Broadcom wireless cards

Post by pwatk »

@zAchAry

I've completely changed the install-b43-firmware script and tweaked the b43-firmware SLKBUILD.

Changes:
* Moved install-b43-firmware script to /usr/sbin
* All input is now handled by dialog boxes (think Slackware installer).
* The b43-legacy firmware is included.
* You now have the option to install or save the b43-firmware package (for possible deployment to another system).
* You are only prompted to remove an existing package if you choose "Install" from the above menu.
* Slapt-get is launched if an existing package needs to be removed.

As always, you can find the new SLKBUILD here. Take it for a whirl and tell me what you think. :)
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