Re: URGENT - v5.0.0 amd64 (stable): Broadcom 4321AG Wi-Fi adapter not detected
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Hi John,
jwesleycooper@cox.net schrieb:
> Forgive me, but I have absolutely no prior experience with Linux, and
> the bulk of my programming experience is in two forms TI-BASIC, (...),
> so I'm not really sure how I would go about doing this...
> could you p ossibly be a little more specific, please?
It's not as hard as at looks ;). But this list is there to help, so
let's divide it into tiny simple steps:
1. >> you inadvertently modified /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist, (...)
/etc/modprobe.d/blacklist is a system file. (I assume you have a basic
knowledge what a file is, if not, just ask.) It is read by some programs
(notably modprobe) to determine which kernel modules shouldn't be loaded
and is usually used to block broken or outdated modules. A kernel module
is a program that runs with special privileges, for example a driver.
Special privileges mean that it is allowed to directly interact with
your hardware unlike other programs you may use.
You typed or copied a command that added garbage to this file. This is
not a serious problem, and easy to resolve:
2.
>> edit /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist with your favorite editor,
You know how to get a root shell, right? That's the program you're
typing commands in; it displays lines like this one:
EXCALIBUR:/home/DRIVER#
Depending on your configuration, you have different editors installed
(an editor is program that allows you to make changes and view a text
file, just like /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist). If any of these commands
results in a short error message, just skip to the next one.
If you got KDE, try this:
kwrite /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist
For GNOME:
gedit /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist
nano, a simple text editor:
nano /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist
or vi, available everywhere:
vi /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist
See a pattern? The first word you type is the program you execute, and
all other words are arguments telling the program what exactly you want.
Text editors usually open the files you tell them in the arguments.
3.
>> delete line 63 onwards (you can delete any line not
>> starting with "blacklist" in there) and save it.
Look around the file. There will be some lines starting with "#". These
are comments and are ignored by any programs reading them. Additionally,
there will be lots of lines starting with "blacklist", usually preceded
by a comment why that particular module is blacklisted. Leave those and
scroll down. You will find some lines that start neither with "#" nor
"blacklist". Delete those. In kwrite, gedit and nano, this is
straight-forward. VI is more complex, you need to type the following:
:63d99[Press Enter]
:wq[Press Enter]
4.
> Additionally, you don't have the ndiswrapper kernel module. Why don't
> you follow the official instructions at
>
http://wiki.debian.org/NdisWrapper#head-dcf7b280d908028971b8420f6f8008687f89cde5
> for that?
Follow the link. The parts in gray must be copied verbatim to the
command line for ndiswrapper to work. Read the full text before issuing
any commands. You only need the chapter "Debian packages" to install the
ndiswrapper kernel module. As an inexperienced user, might I recommend a
graphical user interface for ndiswrapper? Type/copy
aptitude install ndisgtk && ndisgtk
to start one.
If you run in any additional problems, ask again. Please tell us what
step(1-4) you're having problems with. Also, as a beginner to Linux, and
using problematic hardware, you might be interested in a distribution
specifically catered for beginners, for example Ubuntu. They go the
extra mile to have some features - like wireless networking - installed
by default.
While I hope this mailing list can help you, asking someone who is
knowledgeable about Linux for help can really speed things up;
especially if that someone is physically in front of your laptop. If you
don't know anyone, that's not a problem: There are many people who like
Linux and can help you near you. Just pick the nearest user group from
http://www.linux.org/groups/
, and ask them if and when they can help. Take your laptop to their
meeting and let them deal with the ugly and show you the nice corners of
Linux.
Greetings from Germany,
Philipp Hagemeister
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