Is there such a thing as a Debian blend for a MacBook Air 1,1 and/or Mac boxes in general? ...

[Albretch Mueller]

I test a MacBook Air 1,1 with Debian Live DVD

$ uname -a
Linux debian 4.9.0-6-amd64 #1 SMP Debian 4.9.82-1+deb9u3 (2018-03-02)
x86_64 GNU/Linux

and all seems to be fine and dandy, except for the wireless network
card. This is what dmidecode and hwinfo tell me about it:

Model: "Apple AirPort Extreme"
Vendor: pci 0x14e4 "Broadcom"
Device: pci 0x4328 "BCM4321 802.11a/b/g/n"

26: PCI 200.0: 0280 Network controller
[Created at pci.378]
Unique ID: B35A.CbfFWX_P8z0
Parent ID: QSNP.42mDnfFER+E
SysFS ID: /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:1c.4/0000:02:00.0
SysFS BusID: 0000:02:00.0
Hardware Class: network
Model: "Apple AirPort Extreme"
Vendor: pci 0x14e4 "Broadcom"
Device: pci 0x4328 "BCM4321 802.11a/b/g/n"
SubVendor: pci 0x106b "Apple Inc."
SubDevice: pci 0x008b "AirPort Extreme"
Revision: 0x05
Driver: "b43-pci-bridge"
Driver Modules: "ssb"
Memory Range: 0x90300000-0x90303fff (rw,non-prefetchable)
IRQ: 16 (200000 events)
Module Alias: "pci:v000014E4d00004328sv0000106Bsd0000008Bbc02sc80i00"
Driver Info #0:
Driver Status: ssb is active
Driver Activation Cmd: "modprobe ssb"
Config Status: cfg=new, avail=yes, need=no, active=unknown
Attached to: #19 (PCI bridge)
~
C

[Dan Ritter]

Post by Albretch Mueller
I test a MacBook Air 1,1 with Debian Live DVD
$ uname -a
Linux debian 4.9.0-6-amd64 #1 SMP Debian 4.9.82-1+deb9u3 (2018-03-02)
x86_64 GNU/Linux
and all seems to be fine and dandy, except for the wireless network
Model: "Apple AirPort Extreme"
Vendor: pci 0x14e4 "Broadcom"
Device: pci 0x4328 "BCM4321 802.11a/b/g/n"
26: PCI 200.0: 0280 Network controller
Driver: "b43-pci-bridge"
Driver Modules: "ssb"

apt install firmware-b43-installer
will be needed, I think.

-dsr-

[Albretch Mueller]

Post by Dan Ritter
apt install firmware-b43-installer
will be needed, I think.

Thank you for all the leads and I was installing
firmware-b43-installer via dpkg, but after I took care of all
dependencies firmware-b43-installer was trying to connect to the
Internet to some lwfinder?

Resolving http://www.lwfinger.com]www.lwfinger.com ... failed: Name
or service not known.

lbrtchx

[Dan Ritter]

Post by Albretch Mueller

Post by Dan Ritter
apt install firmware-b43-installer
will be needed, I think.

Thank you for all the leads and I was installing
firmware-b43-installer via dpkg, but after I took care of all
dependencies firmware-b43-installer was trying to connect to the
Internet to some lwfinder?
Resolving http://www.lwfinger.com]www.lwfinger.com ... failed: Name
or service not known.

ping www.lwfinger.com
PING lwfinger.com (173.254.30.178) 56(84) bytes of data.
64 bytes from just2042.justhost.com (173.254.30.178): icmp_seq=1
ttl=48 time=56.6 ms

Yeah, this package goes and gets the firmware from an external
source. Broadcom is nasty like that.

-dsr-

[Albretch Mueller]

I got that tar ball and I think i am doing the right thing, but
something is not going well:

$ _IFL="broadcom-wl-5.100.138.tar.bz2"

$ ls -l "${_IFL}"
-rwxrwxrwx 1 root root 13514651 Aug 13 2011 broadcom-wl-5.100.138.tar.bz2

$ file --brief "${_IFL}"
bzip2 compressed data, block size = 900k

$ sha256sum --binary "${_IFL}"
f1e7067aac5b62b67b8b6e4c517990277804339ac16065eb13c731ff909ae46f
*broadcom-wl-5.100.138.tar.bz2

$ sha1sum --binary "${_IFL}"
21691a8c99c66f58d18f863ee43593d1633b454c *broadcom-wl-5.100.138.tar.bz2

$ md5sum --binary "${_IFL}"
f4e357b09eaf5d8b1f1920cf3493a555 *broadcom-wl-5.100.138.tar.bz2
$


$ ls -l *.o
-rwxrwxrwx 1 root root 12111310 Aug 13 2011 wl_ap.o
-rwxrwxrwx 1 root root 13231072 Aug 13 2011 wl_apsta.o
-rwxrwxrwx 1 root root 11943791 Aug 13 2011 wl_sta.o

$ file *.o
wl_ap.o: ELF 32-bit LSB relocatable, MIPS, MIPS32 version 1 (SYSV),
not stripped
wl_apsta.o: ELF 32-bit LSB relocatable, MIPS, MIPS32 version 1 (SYSV),
not stripped
wl_sta.o: ELF 32-bit LSB relocatable, MIPS, MIPS32 version 1 (SYSV),
not stripped

$ gcc -Wall *.o
/usr/bin/ld: wl_ap.o: Relocations in generic ELF (EM: 8)
/usr/bin/ld: wl_ap.o: Relocations in generic ELF (EM: 8)
/usr/bin/ld: wl_ap.o: Relocations in generic ELF (EM: 8)
/usr/bin/ld: wl_ap.o: Relocations in generic ELF (EM: 8)
/usr/bin/ld: wl_ap.o: Relocations in generic ELF (EM: 8)
/usr/bin/ld: wl_ap.o: Relocations in generic ELF (EM: 8)
/usr/bin/ld: wl_ap.o: Relocations in generic ELF (EM: 8)
/usr/bin/ld: wl_ap.o: Relocations in generic ELF (EM: 8)
/usr/bin/ld: wl_ap.o: Relocations in generic ELF (EM: 8)
/usr/bin/ld: wl_ap.o: Relocations in generic ELF (EM: 8)
/usr/bin/ld: wl_ap.o: Relocations in generic ELF (EM: 8)
/usr/bin/ld: wl_ap.o: Relocations in generic ELF (EM: 8)
/usr/bin/ld: wl_ap.o: Relocations in generic ELF (EM: 8)
/usr/bin/ld: wl_ap.o: Relocations in generic ELF (EM: 8)
/usr/bin/ld: wl_ap.o: Relocations in generic ELF (EM: 8)
wl_ap.o: error adding symbols: File in wrong format
collect2: error: ld returned 1 exit status
$

lbrtchx

[Paul Wise]

Post by Albretch Mueller
I got that tar ball and I think i am doing the right thing, but

The firmware-b43-installer package uses b43-fwcutter to extract the
firmware from the tarball, I suggest using firmware-b43-installer
instead of trying to reimplement what it does.

[Albretch Mueller]

I suggest using firmware-b43-installer ...

Once again, I am using dpkg and installing the deb packages locally
because I am trying to troubleshoot, make a wireless card work.

Why would a package used to make a wireless card come to live, have
to connect to the Internet to do its things? Isn't it obvious that the
wireless card is exactly what someone is trying to fix, no?

There has to be a way to install the drivers of a wireless card
without having to connect to the Internet.

[Dan Ritter]

Post by Albretch Mueller

I suggest using firmware-b43-installer ...

Once again, I am using dpkg and installing the deb packages locally
because I am trying to troubleshoot, make a wireless card work.
Why would a package used to make a wireless card come to live, have
to connect to the Internet to do its things? Isn't it obvious that the
wireless card is exactly what someone is trying to fix, no?

This is not unusual at all. Many - probably the majority - wireless
cards have non-free firmware packages which must be downloaded
separately.

Post by Albretch Mueller
There has to be a way to install the drivers of a wireless card
without having to connect to the Internet.

Broadcom doesn't let Debian redistribute the driver, so Debian
installs a package which asks Broadcom for the driver.

https://wiki.debian.org/bcm43xx

Do you have access to a wired network with Internet
connectivity? Most USB ethernet adapters work without additional
firmware, so you can plug one in and have it work.

Alternatively, if you have access to the Internet somewhere
else, you could bring back the firmware.

http://linuxwireless.sipsolutions.net/en/users/Drivers/b43/

may be helpful to you.

-dsr-

[didier gaumet]

Post by Albretch Mueller

I suggest using firmware-b43-installer ...

Once again, I am using dpkg and installing the deb packages locally
because I am trying to troubleshoot, make a wireless card work.
Why would a package used to make a wireless card come to live, have
to connect to the Internet to do its things? Isn't it obvious that the
wireless card is exactly what someone is trying to fix, no?
There has to be a way to install the drivers of a wireless card
without having to connect to the Internet.

Hello Albretch,

Nowadays a wireless card (and numerous other devices) generally needs a firmware (proprietary executable, closed-source) for the driver to be operational.
The open-source driver (without firmware) for your card is included in Debian as a Linux kernel module.
By default in Debian the firmwares are not included (open-source only).
Generally speaking, (I'm not knowledgeable on the subject) OEM/ODM seem to grant redistribution of their firmwares relatively easily but Broadcom apparently does not grant this right to Debian (or Fedora, or... if I recall correctly). So to get the firmware, someone has to download it from, I suppose, a Broadcom approved source.

So, Yes you have to connect to internet to get the firmware, for example, either by using an ethernet or USB wireless dongle on this Mac, or by using an other PC, copy the (firmware, not the package) archive on the Mac and use b43-fwcutter locally

[Albretch Mueller]

OK, after installing lspci (again, via dpkg and I write up in kind of
a step by step way because other people may have the same problems,
run into this thread)

$ sudo dpkg --install pciutils_3.5.2-1_amd64.deb
Selecting previously unselected package pciutils.
(Reading database ... 232551 files and directories currently installed.)
Preparing to unpack pciutils_3.5.2-1_amd64.deb ...
Unpacking pciutils (1:3.5.2-1) ...
Setting up pciutils (1:3.5.2-1) ...
Processing triggers for man-db (2.7.6.1-2) ...

$ which lspci
/usr/bin/lspci

I got:

$ lspci -vnn -d 14e4:
02:00.0 Network controller [0280]: Broadcom Limited BCM4321
802.11a/b/g/n [14e4:4328] (rev 05)
Subsystem: Apple Inc. AirPort Extreme [106b:008b]
Physical Slot: 4
Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 16
Memory at 90300000 (64-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=16K]
Capabilities: <access denied>
Kernel driver in use: b43-pci-bridge
Kernel modules: ssb

$

which corresponds with the line:

PCI-ID | Supported? | Chip ID | Modes | PHY version | Alternative
14e4:4328 | partially | BCM4321 | a/b/g/n | N (r2) | wl

So, I think I was on the right track, but there was something I
wasn't doing quite right somehow.

Also, thank you for explaining to me that the matter was more of a
political one, so that is why I could not understand it with a
technical frame of mind.

What wasn't exactly I didn't do right? or what should I do now?

[didier gaumet]

Le jeudi 22 octobre 2020 à 16:00:06 UTC+2, Albretch Mueller a écrit :
[...]

Post by Albretch Mueller
what should I do now?

Follow the link Dan Ritter gave to you earlier:
http://linuxwireless.sipsolutions.net/en/users/Drivers/b43/#other_distros

it indicates to install (dpkg -i or apt install) b43-fwcutter
and then:
export FIRMWARE_INSTALL_DIR="/lib/firmware"
wget http://www.lwfinger.com/b43-firmware/broadcom-wl-5.100.138.tar.bz2
tar xjf broadcom-wl-5.100.138.tar.bz2
sudo b43-fwcutter -w "$FIRMWARE_INSTALL_DIR" broadcom-wl-5.100.138/linux/wl_apsta.o

You can then set up your wireless connection

Once this is done, you can install (apt install) firmware-b43-installer: this will prove useful (and automatic) if in the future this firmware is to be updated or its location changed

[Albretch Mueller]

OK, I followed the instructions on Dan Ritter's link and everything
seems to be fine and dandy, but I used a windows computer with access
to the Internet to download and gpg test the downloaded data and used
Debian Live (running it from the DVD) to run "make" and "make install"
on the target computer (a MacBook Air 1,1). All the data was compited
onto "/lib/firmware/b43" as it should.

However, I don't see the wireless card being activated (its LED
blinking) nor do I see the network-manager showing me any connections
and, of course, if I reboot that laptop I will lose those folders.
That Mac with a failing timer is able to maintain the date you reset
via hwclock (in their kind of BIOS) as long as you don't disconnect it
from the power cable, but, of course, not those directories.

Is there a way to activate the network card without rebooting?

Or, I guess what I need is some kind of: "knoppix 2"

http://ftp.uni-kl.de/pub/linux/knoppix-dvd/knoppix-cheatcodes.txt

but with Debian. In order to:

1) boot the first time and set the time via hwclock
2) reboot into text mode do the b43 tinkering and then using init to
take it from there

https://www.pks.mpg.de/~mueller/docs/suse10.2/html/opensuse-manual_en/manual/sec.boot.init.html

Is there such a thing as an "init 2" cheat code in Debian?

lbrtchx

[Dan Ritter]

Post by Albretch Mueller
However, I don't see the wireless card being activated (its LED
blinking) nor do I see the network-manager showing me any connections
and, of course, if I reboot that laptop I will lose those folders.

Copy them to a USB stick? There's nothing system-specific about
them; they're just binary blobs.

Post by Albretch Mueller
Is there a way to activate the network card without rebooting?

sudo modprobe b43

dmesg should show you the kernel loading the firmware, and then

ip l

should show a new wireless interface.

Post by Albretch Mueller
Is there such a thing as an "init 2" cheat code in Debian?

You can override all of the system startup post-kernel by
telling the kernel

init=/bin/sh

It should mount root read-only and then stop with a shell
prompt.

mount -o remount,rw /

will make it writable

Then you can disable any init startups that you want to remove,
and run

sync

and then reboot.

-dsr-

[Albretch Mueller]

Post by Dan Ritter
sudo modprobe b43

Doesn't show to me anything.

and

Post by Dan Ritter
ip l

displays a sequence of 0:0:0:0:0: ... chars which don't look like a
MAC address or any of such things


lbrtchx

[didier gaumet]

Post by Dan Ritter
sudo modprobe b43

Doesn't show to me anything.
and

Post by Dan Ritter
ip l

displays a sequence of 0:0:0:0:0: ... chars which don't look like a
MAC address or any of such things
lbrtchx

"modprobe b43" tries to load the b43 kernel module (the open-source driver for your wireless card) but is silent on completion.
In order to observe if the module is loaded, try instead "lsmod | grep -i b43" wich presents to you the modules containing "b43" in their name and are loaded in the kernel (active)

"ip l" (for "ip link") lists the network links the kernel is aware of.
"ip a" (for "ip addr") shows the addresses of these links

"journalctl | grep -i firmware" shows all attempted accesses (succesful or failed) to firmwares

And to keep it simple, does your desktop (Gnome, the desktop environment by default in Debian?) show you an icon with wireless networks?

[Albretch Mueller]

Post by didier gaumet
"ip l" (for "ip link") lists the network links the kernel is aware of.

$ ip l
1: lo: <LOOPBACK,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 65536 qdisc noqueue state UNKNOWN
mode DEFAULT group default qlen 1
link/loopback 00:00:00:00:00:00 brd 00:00:00:00:00:00

$ sudo iwconfig
lo no wireless extensions.

Post by didier gaumet
And to keep it simple, does your desktop (Gnome, the desktop environment by default in Debian?) show you an icon with wireless networks?

I use the KDE version of Debian. I will let you know what I got from
your suggestions

thanks

[Albretch Mueller]

and I run dmesg before and after the installation. This is what I got as diff:

$ _IFL00="demsg_Wed Nov 4 13:36:51 UTC 2020.log"
$ _IFL02="dmesg_Wed Nov 4 12:51:11 UTC 2020.log"


$ diff "${_IFL00}" "${_IFL02}"
1365,1386d1364
< [ 592.364045] fuse init (API version 7.26)
< [ 597.114432] perf: interrupt took too long (3970 > 3955), lowering
kernel.perf_event_max_sample_rate to 50250
< [ 759.572045] usb 2-1.1: new high-speed USB device number 10 using ehci-pci
< [ 759.726416] usb 2-1.1: New USB device found, idVendor=174c, idProduct=55aa
< [ 759.726425] usb 2-1.1: New USB device strings: Mfr=2, Product=3,
SerialNumber=1
< [ 759.726430] usb 2-1.1: Product: ASMT1051
< [ 759.726436] usb 2-1.1: Manufacturer: asmedia
< [ 759.726440] usb 2-1.1: SerialNumber: 123456793C45
< [ 759.732695] scsi host7: uas
< [ 759.737419] scsi 7:0:0:0: Direct-Access ASMT 2115
0 PQ: 0 ANSI: 6
< [ 759.766005] sd 7:0:0:0: Attached scsi generic sg2 type 0
< [ 759.767159] sd 7:0:0:0: [sdb] Spinning up disk...
< [ 760.796077] .
< [ 761.824039] .
< [ 761.824326] ready
< [ 761.825576] sd 7:0:0:0: [sdb] 625142448 512-byte logical blocks:
(320 GB/298 GiB)
< [ 761.827046] sd 7:0:0:0: [sdb] Write Protect is off
< [ 761.827054] sd 7:0:0:0: [sdb] Mode Sense: 43 00 00 00
< [ 761.827821] sd 7:0:0:0: [sdb] Write cache: enabled, read cache:
enabled, doesn't support DPO or FUA
< [ 761.846697] sdb: sdb1 sdb2
< [ 761.850535] sd 7:0:0:0: [sdb] Attached SCSI disk
< [ 952.009501] perf: interrupt took too long (4980 > 4962), lowering
kernel.perf_event_max_sample_rate to 40000

[Dan Ritter]

Post by Albretch Mueller
$ _IFL00="demsg_Wed Nov 4 13:36:51 UTC 2020.log"
$ _IFL02="dmesg_Wed Nov 4 12:51:11 UTC 2020.log"
$ diff "${_IFL00}" "${_IFL02}"
1365,1386d1364
< [ 592.364045] fuse init (API version 7.26)
< [ 597.114432] perf: interrupt took too long (3970 > 3955), lowering
kernel.perf_event_max_sample_rate to 50250
< [ 759.572045] usb 2-1.1: new high-speed USB device number 10 using ehci-pci
< [ 759.726416] usb 2-1.1: New USB device found, idVendor=174c, idProduct=55aa
< [ 759.726425] usb 2-1.1: New USB device strings: Mfr=2, Product=3,
SerialNumber=1
< [ 759.726430] usb 2-1.1: Product: ASMT1051
< [ 759.726436] usb 2-1.1: Manufacturer: asmedia
< [ 759.726440] usb 2-1.1: SerialNumber: 123456793C45
< [ 759.732695] scsi host7: uas
< [ 759.737419] scsi 7:0:0:0: Direct-Access ASMT 2115
0 PQ: 0 ANSI: 6
< [ 759.766005] sd 7:0:0:0: Attached scsi generic sg2 type 0
< [ 759.767159] sd 7:0:0:0: [sdb] Spinning up disk...
< [ 760.796077] .
< [ 761.824039] .
< [ 761.824326] ready
(320 GB/298 GiB)
< [ 761.827046] sd 7:0:0:0: [sdb] Write Protect is off
< [ 761.827054] sd 7:0:0:0: [sdb] Mode Sense: 43 00 00 00
enabled, doesn't support DPO or FUA
< [ 761.846697] sdb: sdb1 sdb2
< [ 761.850535] sd 7:0:0:0: [sdb] Attached SCSI disk
< [ 952.009501] perf: interrupt took too long (4980 > 4962), lowering
kernel.perf_event_max_sample_rate to 40000

Well, there you have it: the USB device you're plugging in is a
USB SATA interface with a three partition disk.

If you also plugged in a wifi interface during that time, it's
so badly broken that the computer can't even see it as an
unknown USB device.

-dsr-

[didier gaumet]

Post by Albretch Mueller

Post by didier gaumet
"ip l" (for "ip link") lists the network links the kernel is aware of.

$ ip l
1: lo: <LOOPBACK,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 65536 qdisc noqueue state UNKNOWN
mode DEFAULT group default qlen 1
link/loopback 00:00:00:00:00:00 brd 00:00:00:00:00:00
$ sudo iwconfig
lo no wireless extensions.

Post by didier gaumet
And to keep it simple, does your desktop (Gnome, the desktop environment by default in Debian?) show you an icon with wireless networks?

I use the KDE version of Debian. I will let you know what I got from
your suggestions
thanks

Hello Albretch,

It seems the only network interface Debian is aware of is the loopback one (lo).
The appropriate firmware is not loaded so your physical wireless interface (same for ethernet interface if your Mac computer has one) is not recognized.

"journalctl | grep -i firmware" should confirm your firmware is not loaded.
After installing the firmware, it needs to be loaded (modprobe b43 will load the driver and the firmware)

I did not realize immediately but you are testing a Debian live DVD, aren't you?
If it is the case, I wonder if you can install the firmware the usual way because /lib/firmware is probably read only.
If I recall correctly, the standard Debian live mediums have no persistant memory and are read only (it is probably possible to create such a medium with a persistant memory, explore the Debian live docs if you are interested).
I may be wrong but you then have no trivial way to test Debian with your integrated wireless card.
Perhaps this link ( https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Kernel/Firmware ) could give you clues about installing a firmware from a custom location with udev rules (I do not know)

Previous advices were valid only for an installation of Debian, not the use of a live.Debian medium

[Albretch Mueller]

OK, here is the whole log of the script I ran to install the b43 drivers.

It is a bit long, but you will certainly be able to quickly visually
scan it and see where teh error is/might be.

Yes, I am descending onto init 2 after I used a live DVD. I am OK
with doing that every time. I can't connect my work computer to the
Internet. I know it sounds "crazy"

Thank you

// __ $_DIR: |/media/sda1/turk/fw/firmware-b43-installer|
/media/sda1/turk/fw/firmware-b43-installer/b43-fwcutter-018
make: Nothing to be done for 'all'.
0.00user 0.02system 0:00.18elapsed 11%CPU (0avgtext+0avgdata 2192maxresident)k
214inputs+0outputs (1major+128minor)pagefaults 0swaps
install -d -o 0 -g 0 -m 755 /usr/local/bin/
install -o 0 -g 0 -m 755 b43-fwcutter /usr/local/bin/
install -d -o 0 -g 0 -m 755 /usr/local/man/man1/
install -o 0 -g 0 -m 644 b43-fwcutter.1 /usr/local/man/man1/
0.00user 0.01system 0:00.16elapsed 9%CPU (0avgtext+0avgdata 2836maxresident)k
258inputs+0outputs (1major+828minor)pagefaults 0swaps
/media/sda1/turk/fw/firmware-b43-installer
// __ $FIRMWARE_INSTALL_DIR: |/lib/firmware|
// __ before installation: ls -l "/lib/firmware/b43"
ls: cannot access '/lib/firmware/b43': No such file or directory
This file is recognised as:
filename : wl_apsta.o
version : 666.2
MD5 : e1b05e268bcdbfef3560c28fc161f30e
Extracting b43/lp0initvals14.fw
Extracting b43/lcn0bsinitvals25.fw
Extracting b43/n0bsinitvals25.fw
Extracting b43/n0bsinitvals17.fw
Extracting b43/ucode17_mimo.fw
Extracting b43/ucode16_lp.fw
Extracting b43/sslpn1initvals27.fw
Extracting b43/lp2bsinitvals19.fw
Extracting b43/sslpn3bsinitvals21.fw
Extracting b43/ucode16_sslpn.fw
ucode time: 01:15:07
Extracting b43/ucode25_lcn.fw
Extracting b43/ucode21_sslpn.fw
Extracting b43/lp0bsinitvals14.fw
Extracting b43/b0g0initvals9.fw
Extracting b43/ucode20_sslpn.fw
Extracting b43/a0g1bsinitvals9.fw
Extracting b43/lp1initvals20.fw
Extracting b43/b0g0bsinitvals13.fw
Extracting b43/lp2initvals19.fw
Extracting b43/n2bsinitvals19.fw
Extracting b43/sslpn4bsinitvals22.fw
Extracting b43/ucode16_sslpn_nobt.fw
ucode date: 2011-02-23
Extracting b43/n1bsinitvals20.fw
Extracting b43/n1initvals20.fw
Extracting b43/b0g0bsinitvals5.fw
Extracting b43/ucode22_sslpn.fw
Extracting b43/b0g0initvals13.fw
Extracting b43/ht0initvals26.fw
Extracting b43/ucode33_lcn40.fw
Extracting b43/sslpn1bsinitvals20.fw
Extracting b43/lcn400bsinitvals33.fw
Extracting b43/ucode14.fw
Extracting b43/a0g0initvals5.fw
Extracting b43/lp1bsinitvals22.fw
Extracting b43/n16initvals30.fw
Extracting b43/lp0bsinitvals16.fw
Extracting b43/lcn1bsinitvals25.fw
Extracting b43/lcn400initvals33.fw
Extracting b43/n0bsinitvals24.fw
Extracting b43/lcn2bsinitvals26.fw
Extracting b43/lcn1initvals26.fw
Extracting b43/n0bsinitvals22.fw
Extracting b43/n18initvals32.fw
Extracting b43/lcn2initvals26.fw
Extracting b43/a0g1bsinitvals5.fw
Extracting b43/n0bsinitvals11.fw
Extracting b43/lcn2initvals24.fw
Extracting b43/lcn0initvals26.fw
Extracting b43/n0absinitvals11.fw
Extracting b43/ucode21_sslpn_nobt.fw
ucode time: 01:15:07
Extracting b43/ucode26_mimo.fw
Extracting b43/n2initvals19.fw
Extracting b43/sslpn3initvals21.fw
Extracting b43/a0g1bsinitvals13.fw
Extracting b43/sslpn4initvals22.fw
Extracting b43/pcm5.fw
Extracting b43/ucode22_mimo.fw
Extracting b43/ucode9.fw
Extracting b43/lcn2initvals25.fw
Extracting b43/lp1initvals22.fw
Extracting b43/sslpn1bsinitvals27.fw
Extracting b43/lcn0initvals24.fw
Extracting b43/ucode32_mimo.fw
Extracting b43/a0g0bsinitvals9.fw
Extracting b43/n18bsinitvals32.fw
Extracting b43/n0initvals24.fw
Extracting b43/n0initvals25.fw
Extracting b43/a0g1initvals5.fw
Extracting b43/ucode24_lcn.fw
Extracting b43/n0initvals17.fw
Extracting b43/n0bsinitvals16.fw
Extracting b43/lp0initvals15.fw
Extracting b43/b0g0initvals5.fw
Extracting b43/ucode20_sslpn_nobt.fw
Extracting b43/lcn1initvals24.fw
Extracting b43/sslpn0initvals16.fw
Extracting b43/a0g1initvals13.fw
Extracting b43/lp1bsinitvals20.fw
Extracting b43/sslpn2initvals19.fw
Extracting b43/a0g1initvals9.fw
Extracting b43/lcn1bsinitvals24.fw
Extracting b43/ucode5.fw
Extracting b43/lcn2bsinitvals24.fw
Extracting b43/lp0bsinitvals13.fw
Extracting b43/n0initvals16.fw
Extracting b43/ucode19_sslpn_nobt.fw
Extracting b43/b0g0bsinitvals9.fw
Extracting b43/ucode11.fw
Extracting b43/lp0initvals16.fw
Extracting b43/ucode16_mimo.fw
Extracting b43/lcn0bsinitvals26.fw
Extracting b43/ht0initvals29.fw
Extracting b43/lcn2bsinitvals25.fw
Extracting b43/a0g0initvals9.fw
Extracting b43/ucode29_mimo.fw
Extracting b43/lcn0bsinitvals24.fw
Extracting b43/ucode19_sslpn.fw
Extracting b43/lcn1initvals25.fw
Extracting b43/ucode30_mimo.fw
Extracting b43/n16bsinitvals30.fw
Extracting b43/ucode25_mimo.fw
Extracting b43/ucode24_mimo.fw
Extracting b43/ucode27_sslpn.fw
Extracting b43/lp0initvals13.fw
Extracting b43/a0g0bsinitvals5.fw
Extracting b43/ht0bsinitvals26.fw
Extracting b43/ucode13.fw
Extracting b43/sslpn2bsinitvals19.fw
Extracting b43/ucode15.fw
Extracting b43/lp0bsinitvals15.fw
Extracting b43/n0initvals11.fw
Extracting b43/lcn0initvals25.fw
Extracting b43/sslpn0bsinitvals16.fw
Extracting b43/sslpn1initvals20.fw
Extracting b43/lcn1bsinitvals26.fw
Extracting b43/n0initvals22.fw
Extracting b43/ht0bsinitvals29.fw
0.03user 0.04system 0:00.79elapsed 10%CPU (0avgtext+0avgdata 1612maxresident)k
25848inputs+0outputs (0major+88minor)pagefaults 0swaps
// __ nach installation: ls -l "/lib/firmware/b43"
total 1052
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 178 Nov 7 17:59 a0g0bsinitvals5.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 178 Nov 7 17:59 a0g0bsinitvals9.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 1836 Nov 7 17:59 a0g0initvals5.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 1992 Nov 7 17:59 a0g0initvals9.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 178 Nov 7 17:59 a0g1bsinitvals13.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 178 Nov 7 17:59 a0g1bsinitvals5.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 178 Nov 7 17:59 a0g1bsinitvals9.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 2126 Nov 7 17:59 a0g1initvals13.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 1836 Nov 7 17:59 a0g1initvals5.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 1992 Nov 7 17:59 a0g1initvals9.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 178 Nov 7 17:59 b0g0bsinitvals13.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 178 Nov 7 17:59 b0g0bsinitvals5.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 178 Nov 7 17:59 b0g0bsinitvals9.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 2126 Nov 7 17:59 b0g0initvals13.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 1836 Nov 7 17:59 b0g0initvals5.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 1992 Nov 7 17:59 b0g0initvals9.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 178 Nov 7 17:59 ht0bsinitvals26.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 178 Nov 7 17:59 ht0bsinitvals29.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 2678 Nov 7 17:59 ht0initvals26.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 2720 Nov 7 17:59 ht0initvals29.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 178 Nov 7 17:59 lcn0bsinitvals24.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 178 Nov 7 17:59 lcn0bsinitvals25.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 178 Nov 7 17:59 lcn0bsinitvals26.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 2976 Nov 7 17:59 lcn0initvals24.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 2958 Nov 7 17:59 lcn0initvals25.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 2678 Nov 7 17:59 lcn0initvals26.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 178 Nov 7 17:59 lcn1bsinitvals24.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 178 Nov 7 17:59 lcn1bsinitvals25.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 178 Nov 7 17:59 lcn1bsinitvals26.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 2976 Nov 7 17:59 lcn1initvals24.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 2958 Nov 7 17:59 lcn1initvals25.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 2678 Nov 7 17:59 lcn1initvals26.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 178 Nov 7 17:59 lcn2bsinitvals24.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 178 Nov 7 17:59 lcn2bsinitvals25.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 178 Nov 7 17:59 lcn2bsinitvals26.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 2976 Nov 7 17:59 lcn2initvals24.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 2958 Nov 7 17:59 lcn2initvals25.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 2678 Nov 7 17:59 lcn2initvals26.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 8 Nov 7 17:59 lcn400bsinitvals33.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 8 Nov 7 17:59 lcn400initvals33.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 178 Nov 7 17:59 lp0bsinitvals13.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 8 Nov 7 17:59 lp0bsinitvals14.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 178 Nov 7 17:59 lp0bsinitvals15.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 178 Nov 7 17:59 lp0bsinitvals16.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 3664 Nov 7 17:59 lp0initvals13.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 8 Nov 7 17:59 lp0initvals14.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 2598 Nov 7 17:59 lp0initvals15.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 2738 Nov 7 17:59 lp0initvals16.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 8 Nov 7 17:59 lp1bsinitvals20.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 8 Nov 7 17:59 lp1bsinitvals22.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 8 Nov 7 17:59 lp1initvals20.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 8 Nov 7 17:59 lp1initvals22.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 8 Nov 7 17:59 lp2bsinitvals19.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 8 Nov 7 17:59 lp2initvals19.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 178 Nov 7 17:59 n0absinitvals11.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 178 Nov 7 17:59 n0bsinitvals11.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 178 Nov 7 17:59 n0bsinitvals16.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 178 Nov 7 17:59 n0bsinitvals17.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 8 Nov 7 17:59 n0bsinitvals22.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 178 Nov 7 17:59 n0bsinitvals24.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 178 Nov 7 17:59 n0bsinitvals25.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 2152 Nov 7 17:59 n0initvals11.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 2738 Nov 7 17:59 n0initvals16.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 2408 Nov 7 17:59 n0initvals17.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 8 Nov 7 17:59 n0initvals22.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 2976 Nov 7 17:59 n0initvals24.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 2958 Nov 7 17:59 n0initvals25.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 178 Nov 7 17:59 n16bsinitvals30.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 2634 Nov 7 17:59 n16initvals30.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 8 Nov 7 17:59 n18bsinitvals32.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 8 Nov 7 17:59 n18initvals32.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 8 Nov 7 17:59 n1bsinitvals20.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 8 Nov 7 17:59 n1initvals20.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 8 Nov 7 17:59 n2bsinitvals19.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 8 Nov 7 17:59 n2initvals19.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 1320 Nov 7 17:59 pcm5.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 178 Nov 7 17:59 sslpn0bsinitvals16.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 2738 Nov 7 17:59 sslpn0initvals16.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 8 Nov 7 17:59 sslpn1bsinitvals20.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 8 Nov 7 17:59 sslpn1bsinitvals27.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 8 Nov 7 17:59 sslpn1initvals20.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 8 Nov 7 17:59 sslpn1initvals27.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 8 Nov 7 17:59 sslpn2bsinitvals19.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 8 Nov 7 17:59 sslpn2initvals19.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 178 Nov 7 17:59 sslpn3bsinitvals21.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 2552 Nov 7 17:59 sslpn3initvals21.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 8 Nov 7 17:59 sslpn4bsinitvals22.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 8 Nov 7 17:59 sslpn4initvals22.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 31176 Nov 7 17:59 ucode11.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 28216 Nov 7 17:59 ucode13.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 12 Nov 7 17:59 ucode14.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 35512 Nov 7 17:59 ucode15.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 33712 Nov 7 17:59 ucode16_lp.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 39296 Nov 7 17:59 ucode16_mimo.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 34448 Nov 7 17:59 ucode16_sslpn.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 28589 Nov 7 17:59 ucode16_sslpn_nobt.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 36216 Nov 7 17:59 ucode17_mimo.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 9 Nov 7 17:59 ucode19_sslpn.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 9 Nov 7 17:59 ucode19_sslpn_nobt.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 9 Nov 7 17:59 ucode20_sslpn.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 9 Nov 7 17:59 ucode20_sslpn_nobt.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 34735 Nov 7 17:59 ucode21_sslpn.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 28988 Nov 7 17:59 ucode21_sslpn_nobt.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 12 Nov 7 17:59 ucode22_mimo.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 9 Nov 7 17:59 ucode22_sslpn.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 35267 Nov 7 17:59 ucode24_lcn.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 39760 Nov 7 17:59 ucode24_mimo.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 34847 Nov 7 17:59 ucode25_lcn.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 39128 Nov 7 17:59 ucode25_mimo.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 39728 Nov 7 17:59 ucode26_mimo.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 9 Nov 7 17:59 ucode27_sslpn.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 39760 Nov 7 17:59 ucode29_mimo.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 39632 Nov 7 17:59 ucode30_mimo.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 12 Nov 7 17:59 ucode32_mimo.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 9 Nov 7 17:59 ucode33_lcn40.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 21328 Nov 7 17:59 ucode5.fw
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 23256 Nov 7 17:59 ucode9.fw
~
// __ modprobe b43:

// __ lsmod | grep -i b43
b43 413696 0
bcma 53248 1 b43
mac80211 671744 1 b43
cfg80211 589824 2 b43,mac80211
rng_core 16384 1 b43
ssb 69632 1 b43
mmc_core 147456 2 b43,ssb
~
// __ ip link:
1: lo: <LOOPBACK,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 65536 qdisc noqueue state UNKNOWN
mode DEFAULT group default qlen 1
link/loopback 00:00:00:00:00:00 brd 00:00:00:00:00:00
~
// __ ip addr:
1: lo: <LOOPBACK,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 65536 qdisc noqueue state UNKNOWN
group default qlen 1
link/loopback 00:00:00:00:00:00 brd 00:00:00:00:00:00
inet 127.0.0.1/8 scope host lo
valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever
inet6 ::1/128 scope host
valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever
~
// __ iwconfig:
lo no wireless extensions.
~
// __ journalctl | grep -i firmware
Nov 07 17:44:06 debian kernel: acpi PNP0A08:00: [Firmware Info]:
MMCONFIG for domain 0000 [bus 00-3f] only partially covers this bridge
Nov 07 17:45:28 debian kernel: b43 ssb0:0: firmware: failed to load
b43/ucode11.fw (-2)
Nov 07 17:45:28 debian kernel: b43 ssb0:0: Direct firmware load for
b43/ucode11.fw failed with error -2
Nov 07 17:45:28 debian kernel: b43 ssb0:0: firmware: failed to load
b43/ucode11.fw (-2)
Nov 07 17:45:28 debian kernel: b43 ssb0:0: Direct firmware load for
b43/ucode11.fw failed with error -2
Nov 07 17:45:28 debian kernel: b43 ssb0:0: firmware: failed to load
b43-open/ucode11.fw (-2)
Nov 07 17:45:28 debian kernel: b43 ssb0:0: Direct firmware load for
b43-open/ucode11.fw failed with error -2
Nov 07 17:45:28 debian kernel: b43 ssb0:0: firmware: failed to load
b43-open/ucode11.fw (-2)
Nov 07 17:45:28 debian kernel: b43 ssb0:0: Direct firmware load for
b43-open/ucode11.fw failed with error -2
Nov 07 17:45:28 debian kernel: b43-phy0 ERROR: You must go to
http://wireless.kernel.org/en/users/Drivers/b43#devicefirmware and
download the correct firmware for this driver version. Please
carefully read all instructions on this website.
Nov 07 17:45:32 debian NetworkManager[766]: <info> [1604771132.1796]
manager[0x5601178a3040]: monitoring kernel firmware directory
'/lib/firmware'.
Nov 07 17:59:23 debian NetworkManager[766]: <info> [1604771963.2764]
manager: kernel firmware directory '/lib/firmware' changed
~

[didier gaumet]

Le mardi 10 novembre 2020 à 14:20:06 UTC+1, Albretch Mueller a écrit :

[...]

// __ nach installation: ls -l "/lib/firmware/b43"

[...]

-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 31176 Nov 7 17:59 ucode11.fw

[...]

// __ journalctl | grep -i firmware
MMCONFIG for domain 0000 [bus 00-3f] only partially covers this bridge
Nov 07 17:45:28 debian kernel: b43 ssb0:0: firmware: failed to load
b43/ucode11.fw (-2)
Nov 07 17:45:28 debian kernel: b43 ssb0:0: Direct firmware load for
b43/ucode11.fw failed with error -2
Nov 07 17:45:28 debian kernel: b43 ssb0:0: firmware: failed to load
b43/ucode11.fw (-2)
Nov 07 17:45:28 debian kernel: b43 ssb0:0: Direct firmware load for
b43/ucode11.fw failed with error -2
Nov 07 17:45:28 debian kernel: b43 ssb0:0: firmware: failed to load
b43-open/ucode11.fw (-2)
Nov 07 17:45:28 debian kernel: b43 ssb0:0: Direct firmware load for
b43-open/ucode11.fw failed with error -2
Nov 07 17:45:28 debian kernel: b43 ssb0:0: firmware: failed to load
b43-open/ucode11.fw (-2)
Nov 07 17:45:28 debian kernel: b43 ssb0:0: Direct firmware load for
b43-open/ucode11.fw failed with error -2
Nov 07 17:45:28 debian kernel: b43-phy0 ERROR: You must go to
http://wireless.kernel.org/en/users/Drivers/b43#devicefirmware and
download the correct firmware for this driver version. Please
carefully read all instructions on this website.
Nov 07 17:45:32 debian NetworkManager[766]: <info> [1604771132.1796]
manager[0x5601178a3040]: monitoring kernel firmware directory
'/lib/firmware'.
Nov 07 17:59:23 debian NetworkManager[766]: <info> [1604771963.2764]
manager: kernel firmware directory '/lib/firmware' changed
~

So it seems the appropriate firmware is ucode11.fw and it cannot be loaded albeit being in /lib/firmware/b43.

I suppose the main problem is that you use a live medium and for whatever reason this prevents loading the firmware. I do not know if it is due to a different filesystem (squashfs?), permissions on the /lib/firmware/b43 directory, or the system expecting the firmwares in a different directory on a live system, or... etc...

I am afraid I do not have the necessary knowledge to further help you.
What I can symply suggest is either:
- use a USB wireless dongle instead of your integrated wireless card. If you use an unofficial Debian Live medium including firmwares, your USB wireless dongle will be recognized straight away, given there is a driver in the Linux kernel.
- delve into the docs of the Debian Live universe ( https://live-team.pages.debian.net/live-manual/ ) and create a tailored Debian Live medium for your needs, including the firmware for your Broadcom wireless card

I fear there is no easier way because all Linux based systems will have by default the same lack of firmwares due to Broadcom policy and I do not think you will find a *BSD based live medium able to deal with your integrated wireless card (I may be wrong)

[Albretch Mueller]

Post by didier gaumet
- use a USB wireless dongle instead of your integrated wireless card.

OK, I will try that and I will let you know how it went

I have no other option, so I will have to offer myself as some sort
of guinea pig and waste time/effort exploring such territories

Thank you very much,
lbrtchx

Post by didier gaumet
So it seems the appropriate firmware is ucode11.fw and it cannot be loaded
albeit being in /lib/firmware/b43.
I suppose the main problem is that you use a live medium and for whatever
reason this prevents loading the firmware. I do not know if it is due to a
different filesystem (squashfs?), permissions on the /lib/firmware/b43
directory, or the system expecting the firmwares in a different directory on
a live system, or... etc...
I am afraid I do not have the necessary knowledge to further help you.
- use a USB wireless dongle instead of your integrated wireless card. If you
use an unofficial Debian Live medium including firmwares, your USB wireless
dongle will be recognized straight away, given there is a driver in the
Linux kernel.
- delve into the docs of the Debian Live universe (
https://live-team.pages.debian.net/live-manual/ ) and create a tailored
Debian Live medium for your needs, including the firmware for your Broadcom
wireless card
I fear there is no easier way because all Linux based systems will have by
default the same lack of firmwares due to Broadcom policy and I do not think
you will find a *BSD based live medium able to deal with your integrated
wireless card (I may be wrong)

[Paul Wise]

Post by Albretch Mueller
Thank you for all the leads and I was installing
firmware-b43-installer via dpkg, but after I took care of all
dependencies firmware-b43-installer was trying to connect to the
Internet to some lwfinder?
Resolving http://www.lwfinger.com]www.lwfinger.com ... failed: Name
or service not known.

Hmm, that domain works for me and firmware-b43-installer seems to use
https not http.