Bug#940528: installation-reports: b43 firmware not found or installed (Debian 11 bullseye installer from image with firmware non-free)
Hi Laura,
Laura Arjona Reina <larjona@debian.org> wrote (Tue, 26 Oct 2021 10:09:17 +0200):
> Hello
>
> I recently installed Debian 11 bullseye on a laptop with BCM4312 with a non-free
> firmware image, and could reproduce this issue.
>
> Below you can find my installation report.
>
> TL;DR: The installer reported: failed to load B43/ucode15.fw for my wireless card.
> I continued the installation with the Ethernet adapter.
> After finishing installing Debian and rebooting I had wired network but no
> wireless network. Manually installing firmware-b43-installer package solved the
> problem.
> I'm not sure if debian-installer is able to automatically install
> firmware-b43-installer or the mechanics is designed for simpler firmware
> packages (the ones that include the firmware in the proper package, not
> downloading it on the fly as firmware-b43-installer does).
The bullseye amd64 netinst iso does not include this particular package.
(Don't know why. I did not manage to understand the logic behind the
selection, which packages get included in the firmware-containing isos.)
So, installing it 'offline' from the netinst iso is not possible.
However, the new mechanism for firmware installation basically should have
detected the need for that firmware, and install it via your wired connection.
If you sent us the installation logs (compressed), we can try to find out, why
that did not work.
Another way for you to deal with this situation: if you have the required
ucode15.fw firmware file handy at installation time (for example from another
system), you can copy it to a removable storage (like a USB stick), and
plug it in, when asked for firmware. (I assume, you got a dialog saying that
such firmware file is missing, and if you have it available on a storage,
right? That's right at the beginning of the installation process.)
Of course, this is not the perfect solution for all users, but I have
prepared a stick here, where I have firmware for my wireless-LAN module
stored onto. For installation tests or the like...
Holger
--
Holger Wansing <hwansing@mailbox.org>
PGP-Fingerprint: 496A C6E8 1442 4B34 8508 3529 59F1 87CA 156E B076
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