Tiny Core Linux
Tiny Core Base => TCB Q&A Forum => Topic started by: straykat on October 26, 2010, 06:34:43 PM
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I've done tons of reading and found many folks who have wireless working but nothing seems to work for me. Can anyone point me in the right direction. I don't really want to use ndiswrapper but will if that is the only choice. TC3 is installed to the hd and eth0 works fine. Via app browser i installed wl, wireless tools, and wireless tinycore, as advised in another post. I think my adaptor is a bcm4312 but lspci don't seem to work. >:(
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lspci requires pci-utils.tcz
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You will also need to cut the firmware for that controller.
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ok lspci shows BCM4312 b/g rev.1
gerald are you saying go the ndiswrapper route then?
I've never used ndiswrapper or cutting tools as it just worked in ubuntu. You have any tips or instructions for me?
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I'd guess you'd be able to use the "wl" extension with this.
You could also try looking here to see if the b43 extension would work or not: http://wireless.kernel.org/en/users/Drivers/b43 (http://wireless.kernel.org/en/users/Drivers/b43)
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I use the b43 module. Instructions for cutting firmware were found on the internet.
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a matter of preference I guess - "b43", "wl" and ndiswrapper all work for my "dell wireless 1395 wlan mini-card"/"0c:00.0 Network controller: Broadcom Corporation BCM4310 USB Controller (rev 01)"
BTW - For both wl and ndiswrapper, you would need to add "blacklist=ssb blacklist=b43" to your bootcodes in order for them to work, see: http://forum.tinycorelinux.net/index.php?topic=6830.msg35889#msg35889 (http://forum.tinycorelinux.net/index.php?topic=6830.msg35889#msg35889)
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Juan I read that post before I posted. I tried blacklisting as you suggested and still no wifi. Some posts even stated that TC does not use blacklists. I'm was surprised that more folks with mini 9's are not using this OS, until I tried to get anything to work. Maybe I'll have to go back to stupibuntu where things just work! The lack of documentation is soooo frustrating.
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Perhaps if you could give a few more details it would help:
1. What wireless encryption are you trying to use - none, wep, wpa, wpa2, etc?
2. Could you try something like this: $ tce-load -i wl.tcz
$ sudo modprobe lib80211_crypt_tkip
$ sudo modprobe lib80211_crypt_wep
$ sudo modprobe lib80211_crypt_ccmp
$ sudo modprobe wl
$ sudo iwconfig eth1 essid "my_ssid"
$ sudo iwconfig eth1 key restricted 12:34:56:78:9A:BC:DE:F0:12:23:56:78:9A
$ sudo udhcpc -b -i eth1
..and then post the result of: $ dmesg | tail -20
Note that the above example is for wep encryption and the lib80211* modules names may have changed (this was for tc-2.x)
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1) no encryption
2) Craps out on last line
3) dmesg shows
b43-phy0 4312 found
broadcom 43xx loaded
and
r8168 eth0
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sorry I can not post the entire dmesg as I am using a different pc. I don't know how to get it here.
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fyi same problem in slitaz.
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r8168 eth0
This should not be there (unless it's your wired adapter) - have you got something other than wl, wireless-2.6.33.3-tinycore and wireless-tools loaded?
Does "lsmod" confirm that the b43 and ssb modules are not loaded?
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sorry I can not post the entire dmesg as I am using a different pc. I don't know how to get it here.
You can direct it to a text file using: $ dmesg | tail -20 > dmesg.txt
..or you can highlight the output in the terminal window and paste by using the middle button or left and right buttons simultaneously on a two-button mouse
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i created the txt file but then what? cant copy from terminal! grrrr cant past in this window!
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lsmod shows
wl
ssb
and b43
I have no idea how to load or unload them.
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Got it. Installed web browser and e-mailed the txt to myself. grabbed it from another pc that can cut and paste.
(2474000 KHz - 2494000 KHz @ 20000 KHz), (600 mBi, 2000 mBm)
(5170000 KHz - 5250000 KHz @ 40000 KHz), (600 mBi, 2000 mBm)
(5735000 KHz - 5835000 KHz @ 40000 KHz), (600 mBi, 2000 mBm)
cfg80211: Calling CRDA to update world regulatory domain
b43-phy0: Broadcom 4312 WLAN found (core revision 15)
phy0: Selected rate control algorithm 'pid'
Registered led device: b43-phy0::tx
Registered led device: b43-phy0::rx
Registered led device: b43-phy0::radio
Broadcom 43xx driver loaded [ Features: PL, Firmware-ID: FW13 ]
r8169: eth0: link down
r8169: eth0: link up
r8169: eth0: link down
r8169: eth0: link up
r8169: eth0: link down
lib80211: common routines for IEEE802.11 drivers
lib80211_crypt: registered algorithm 'NULL'
wl: module license 'unspecified' taints kernel.
Disabling lock debugging due to kernel taint
r8169: eth0: link up
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This all looks normal apart from there being no mention of "eth1" - as mentioned the wl module will not work if the b43 and ssb modules are loaded. The proof of this is that dmesg does not mention "eth1"
The best way to deal with this is to add "blacklist=ssb blacklist=b43" to your boot codes.
After re-boot and before loading any wireless modules or issuing any wireless commands, you can try removing the unwanted modules like this: $ sudo rmmod b43
$ sudo rmmod ssb
..and then load the wireless modules/issue the wireless commands, but I cannot remember if removing the modules after boot (rather than preventing them loading at boot with blacklist) works or not.
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ok i rebooted rmmod the ssb and b43
gave the following cmds
sudo modprobe wl
sudo iwconfig eth1 essid straykat
sudo udhcpc -b -i eth1
now ifconfig shows eth1
but no ip via dhcp
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..looks like we're getting somewhere though :)
What does dmesg say?
What do you get after the udhcpc command? There should be something about requesting an ip address repeated three times or until it gets an ip address, whichever is sooner.
Note that with my setup, about 20% of the time I have to kill the udhcpc daemon and issue the command again before it catches an ip address
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after udhcpc -b -i eth1
sending discover
no lease forking to background
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It would still be good if you could paste the output of "dmesg | tail -20"
You can try again with udhcpc by doing this to get the process ID: $ ps aux | grep udhcpc
..which will give a four digit number, xxxx, next to "udhcpc -b -i eth1"
Then take this four digit number and do this: $ sudo kill -9 xxxx
(take care not to kill the udhcpc interface to eth0) and then you can try again with " sudo udhcpc -b -i eth1"
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(2474000 KHz - 2494000 KHz @ 20000 KHz), (600 mBi, 2000 mBm)
(5170000 KHz - 5250000 KHz @ 40000 KHz), (600 mBi, 2000 mBm)
(5735000 KHz - 5835000 KHz @ 40000 KHz), (600 mBi, 2000 mBm)
cfg80211: Calling CRDA to update world regulatory domain
b43-phy0: Broadcom 4312 WLAN found (core revision 15)
phy0: Selected rate control algorithm 'pid'
Registered led device: b43-phy0::tx
Registered led device: b43-phy0::rx
Registered led device: b43-phy0::radio
Broadcom 43xx driver loaded [ Features: PL, Firmware-ID: FW13 ]
r8169: eth0: link down
b43-pci-bridge 0000:03:00.0: PCI INT A disabled
lib80211: common routines for IEEE802.11 drivers
lib80211_crypt: registered algorithm 'NULL'
wl: module license 'unspecified' taints kernel.
Disabling lock debugging due to kernel taint
wl 0000:03:00.0: PCI INT A -> GSI 17 (level, low) -> IRQ 17
wl 0000:03:00.0: setting latency timer to 64
lib80211_crypt: registered algorithm 'TKIP'
eth1: Broadcom BCM4315 802.11 Hybrid Wireless Controller 5.60.48.36
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same result
no lease forking to background
i even verified that the pid was gone and tried again. :(
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howto blacklist?
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You don't mention which boot loader you use, but you need to use something analogous to this:
label microcore
kernel /boot/bzImage
append initrd=/boot/microcore.gz quiet noswap tce=UUID=aaab6273-4a6c-4118-8eb2-e31a9b31edb3 waitusb=5 blacklist=ssb blacklist=b43
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ok i added that to grub menu.lst
still cant acquire address
just three tries and out everytime i run sudo udhcpc -b -i eth1
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Sorry, but I can think of anything more to suggest on the "wl" front.
Of course you have the choice of trying the b43 module and firmware (this is what I use by default) or ndiswrapper and windows driver, but this also risks to be a little painful.
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I see a new version of the "wl" module is available - I'll try to compile it in the next day or two, maybe that'll work better.
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I know you stated that you do not wish to use ndiswrapper but, FWIW, a friend does use ndiswrapper on a Mini 9 and it is working fine. Since you have XP should be easy to use even if temporarily.
The odd thing I recall about Mini 9 is often a complete shutdown (poweroff) is often needed when testing the wifi interface. Often a reboot, kill, or ifconfig did not "clear" the interface. I have also heard that such is the case with some Acer netbooks, so test with that in mind.
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I compiled the latest wl driver, but in +/- 10 attempts, I only managed to connect once and at least one of the other attempts locked my router so that I had to cycle the power to get things going again.
Based on this, I'd definitely recommend either b43 (plus firmware) or ndiswrapper.
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Well thanks for trying "testing" that out for me. I'm thinking of trying the Ndiswrapper route. Does anyone have any links or instructions for howto do this? I started following some Ubuntu guide but can't seem to piece it together in tinycore. so far i have removed blacklist=ssb blacklist=b43 from grub
1) echo -e 'blacklist bcm43xx\nblacklist wl' | sudo tee -a /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist
2) installed ndiswrapper via appbrowser
3) mkdir /broadcom
4) installed cabextract
and now i'm lost
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If you have your wifi working in winxp, you just need to copy the files bcmwl5.inf and bcmwl5.sys from the \windows\system32 folder (or wherever it is) to somewhere accessible to tc and then follow the instructions in the ndiswrapper info file.
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Here is the /opt/bootlocal from a working Dell Mini 9 ndiswrapper.
#!/bin/sh
# put other system startup commands here
/usr/local/sbin/ndiswrapper -i /mnt/hda2/tinycore/bcmwl5.inf
modprobe ndiswrapper
/usr/local/etc/init.d/alsasound start
#
/usr/local/sbin/iwconfig wlan0 essid "your_ssid_here"
/usr/local/sbin/iwconfig wlan0 key restricted 1234567890
/sbin/udhcpc -b -i wlan0
Note: Both bcmwl5.inf and bcmwl5.sys are in the /mnt/hda2/tinycore/ directory.
This directory also holds the bzImage and tinycore.gz
There is of course a /mnt/hda2/tce directory for extensions.
The grub entry to boot this does have both modules backlisted, e.g.,
blacklist=ssb blacklist=b43
Note: The quirky thing is that this machine must completely power off in order for the wlan0 to reset.
If you simple reboot, the wlan0 does not initialize.
From initial power on the wifi connects every time.
Hope this helps.
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I can't even get it to work via ndiswrapper! WTF this is getting old.
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Note that for the initial setup of ndiswrapper, you'll need the perl5 extension loaded.
Could you paste the error messages you get line by line from the ndiswrapper commands.
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i dont get any error msg. it even loads at boot using the above bootlocal. it might be worth mentioning that wicd never starts either.
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Is the perl5 extension loaded? Are b43/ssb still blacklisted?
I've a feeling the b43 firmware you need is the same as the b43 firmware I use - I can upload it somewhere for you if that would help
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yes perl5 was loaded as a dep of something else and ssb and b43 are still blacklisted.
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should reinstall and start from scratch. I did not see an easy way to unload or reinstall extensions once they were installed?
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You need only remove an extesnion from the onboot.lst and reboot.
You can use an editor, or AppsAudit to do this.
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thanks gerald that works great. However it still did not help my wireless woes. I've now tried all 3 ways and nothing worked.
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at least one of the other attempts locked my router so that I had to cycle the power to get things going again.
I think it is rather noteworthy if a "bad" wifi driver of a client has the ability to lock a router.
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I too thought that might be an issue. The router has already been bounced. It changed nothing.
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Reinstalled slitaz and it is now working after installing wl and blacklisting ssb. Thanks to all for your help.
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Sure enough I ran out of space with Slitaz 300mb. I thought I would give TC another try with a fresh install. Sure enough I still can not get wireless working using any method under TC. I don't want to give up on this as TC is exactly what I want except for wireless not working!
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Duh, moment! I got it working after installing wicd, starting it and running it. I never did get it to connect issuing those commands, but it works fine using wicd. I was trying to run wicd from the command line and never knew to click the wicd manager app!
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Out of interest, which driver (b43, wl, ndiswrapper) is wicd using?
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wl works, I blacklisted ssb and b43. I have to do a sudo wicd-start after boot, then run wicd from applications menu.
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I would like to be able to auto-connect to open waps at start-up. or at least my open wap. I have tried adding stuff to the bootlocal.sh like the wicd-start but I have not had any luck getting anything to work from bootlocal.sh. sooo I've got some more reading to do about bootlocal. Anyway thanks again.
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If you answer the question from Juanito
Out of interest, which driver (b43, wl, ndiswrapper) is wicd using?
then it would be easier to know the commands needed for bootlocal.sh
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wl works, I blacklisted ssb and b43. I have to do a sudo wicd-start after boot, then run wicd from applications menu.
WL
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I added wicd-start to the bootlocal.sh and that works just fine now. I wonder why the 'automatically connect to this network' checkbox in wicd does not work. I would like it to auto connect.
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Digging up an old thread, just in case somebody else happens to get this machine (fanless + shipped with SSD) for free like just I did. :)
I had to mess with b43 wifi for several days, facing all the "rfkill turned hardware button off" etc errors.
But, apparently this is a BIOS issue: a simple "Load Setup Defaults" in the BIOS got wifi working for me.
Inspiration: https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=177742
dmesg says
Direct firmware load ffor b43(/lp0bsinitvals15.fw failed with error -2;
Falling back to user helper;
ieee80211 phy0: Selected rate control algorithm 'minstrel_ht'So there still seem to be issues loading the driver.
Still, now with BIOS ver A05 + kernel 4.14 + firmware-b43.tcz + wireless-KERNEL.tcz + wifi.sh + nothing blacklisted in extlinux.conf wifi finally works.
EDIT: The wireless switch (Fn + 2) doesn't seem to work in MicroCore, though.
[EDIT]: Added code tags. Rich