Running into a wall getting wireless working with Fedora 15

[Imurgod]

OK SO! Here's what I've attempted to do...
It's an acer Aspire One D257-13478
Download the correct firmware and tar it into the appropriate dirctories and I'm still running a wall. Here's some info for my system after the installation process:

# lsmod
Module Size Used by
vfat 7095 1
fat 38076 1 vfat
tcp_lp 1867 0
fuse 53420 3
8021q 15580 0
garp 4926 1 8021q
cpufreq_ondemand 7674 2
stp 1399 1 garp
llc 3684 2 garp,stp
acpi_cpufreq 6257 1
mperf 1145 1 acpi_cpufreq
ip6t_REJECT 3387 2
nf_conntrack_ipv6 6637 1
nf_defrag_ipv6 7574 1 nf_conntrack_ipv6
ip6table_filter 1227 1
ip6_tables 9798 1 ip6table_filter
snd_hda_codec_realtek 244866 1
snd_hda_intel 20294 2
snd_hda_codec 69915 2 snd_hda_codec_realtek,snd_hda_intel
snd_hwdep 4986 1 snd_hda_codec
snd_seq 43761 0
snd_seq_device 5118 1 snd_seq
snd_pcm 63642 2 snd_hda_intel,snd_hda_codec
uvcvideo 49026 0
snd_timer 15551 2 snd_seq,snd_pcm
sparse_keymap 2650 0
snd 48042 12 snd_hda_codec_realtek,snd_hda_intel,snd_hda_codec, snd_hwdep,snd_seq,snd_seq_device,snd_pcm,snd_timer
rfkill 13096 1
videodev 54789 1 uvcvideo
soundcore 5039 1 snd
r8169 30200 0
wmi 7722 0
snd_page_alloc 6112 2 snd_hda_intel,snd_pcm
mii 3598 1 r8169
microcode 11108 0
iTCO_wdt 9288 0
i2c_i801 7957 0
serio_raw 3475 0
iTCO_vendor_support 2082 1 iTCO_wdt
joydev 7284 0
ipv6 234769 19 ip6t_REJECT,nf_conntrack_ipv6,nf_defrag_ipv6
uas 6235 0
usb_storage 36099 1
i915 306255 3
drm_kms_helper 24432 1 i915
drm 152267 4 i915,drm_kms_helper
i2c_algo_bit 4214 1 i915
i2c_core 21384 6 videodev,i2c_i801,i915,drm_kms_helper,drm,i2c_algo _bit
video 10797 1 i915

# ifconfig -a
em1 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr E8:9A:8F:31:27:A9
UP BROADCAST MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1
RX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
RX bytes:0 (0.0 b) TX bytes:0 (0.0 b)
Interrupt:45 Base address:0x4000

lo Link encap:Local Loopback
inet addr:127.0.0.1 Mask:255.0.0.0
inet6 addr: ::1/128 Scope:Host
UP LOOPBACK RUNNING MTU:16436 Metric:1
RX packets:248 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:248 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:0
RX bytes:19536 (19.0 KiB) TX bytes:19536 (19.0 KiB)

# lspci
00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation N10 Family DMI Bridge
00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation N10 Family Integrated Graphics Controller
00:02.1 Display controller: Intel Corporation N10 Family Integrated Graphics Controller
00:1b.0 Audio device: Intel Corporation N10/ICH 7 Family High Definition Audio Controller (rev 02)
00:1c.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation N10/ICH 7 Family PCI Express Port 1 (rev 02)
00:1c.1 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation N10/ICH 7 Family PCI Express Port 2 (rev 02)
00:1c.2 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation N10/ICH 7 Family PCI Express Port 3 (rev 02)
00:1d.0 USB Controller: Intel Corporation N10/ICH 7 Family USB UHCI Controller #1 (rev 02)
00:1d.1 USB Controller: Intel Corporation N10/ICH 7 Family USB UHCI Controller #2 (rev 02)
00:1d.3 USB Controller: Intel Corporation N10/ICH 7 Family USB UHCI Controller #4 (rev 02)
00:1d.7 USB Controller: Intel Corporation N10/ICH 7 Family USB2 EHCI Controller (rev 02)
00:1e.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801 Mobile PCI Bridge (rev e2)
00:1f.0 ISA bridge: Intel Corporation NM10 Family LPC Controller (rev 02)
00:1f.2 SATA controller: Intel Corporation N10/ICH7 Family SATA AHCI Controller (rev 02)
00:1f.3 SMBus: Intel Corporation N10/ICH 7 Family SMBus Controller (rev 02)
01:00.0 Ethernet controller: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL8101E/RTL8102E PCI Express Fast Ethernet controller (rev 05)
02:00.0 Network controller: Broadcom Corporation BCM4313 802.11b/g LP-PHY (rev 01)
03:00.0 Class ff00: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. Device 5209 (rev 01)

# rpm -qa | grep -e kernel -e kmod-wl -e broadcom-wl | sort
abrt-addon-kerneloops-2.0.2-5.fc15.i686
kernel-2.6.38.6-26.rc1.fc15.i686

# uname -r
2.6.38.6-26.rc1.fc15.i686

#iwconfig
lo no wireless extensions.

eml no wireless extensions.

I don't know how to get the b43/b43legacy in the lsmod list
I've also tried use the rfkill command and using yum to install it gives me this response:
"cannot retrieve repository metadata"
I also went into the F2 setup menu and couldn't find anything to alter the bios wireless...
After installing Fedora 15 almost all the drivers remained intact including enumerators for usb mice...
I don't know what's going on
Still a n00b any guidance will GREATLY be appreciated!!! Thanks

[stoat]

Then try broadcom-wl. Your chance of success may be better with it. That wired Ethernet NIC probably is working right now. If so, and if you can connect to the Internet with it, then just do this and reboot...su
yum install akmod-wlThen check the NetworkManager panel icon for networks and try to connect.

P.S.: About that yum repository metadata problem... Enter some DNS nameserver IP addresses into NetworkManager and yum probably will then work. To do that, right-click the NetworkManager panel icon, "Edit Connections", find the connection, "Edit", "IPv4 Settings" tab, change "Method" to "Automatic (DHCP) addresses only", enter the DNS nameserver IP addresses (your ISP's or OpenDNS's) in the text box separated by a comma, "Apply", "Close".

P.P.S.: OpenDNS's IPs... 208.67.222.222, 208.67.220.220

[Imurgod]

here's my error though, and again I'm new so I think it has to do with being connected to the internet:
Loaded plugins: Langpacks, presto, refresh-packagekit
Error: Cannot retrieve repository metadata (repomd.xml) for repository: fedora.
Please verify its path and try again

[stoat]

Yeah, I get that same thing until I put my DNS nameserver IP addresses into the NetworkManager applet. Try that now. Use those OpenDNS IPs if you don't know any others from your ISP.

[Imurgod]

OK here's the noob:
Do I need a wired connection for what you're talking about because it doesn't make sense since I don't have a wireless connection period.

[stoat]

Yes. If you can connect a cable from the wired NIC to your router or modem long enough to install this wireless driver, then do it and enter those nameserver IP addresses in NetworkManager for the wired connection. Then try installing the akmod-wl package again.

If you do not have a way to connect by wire, then go to another operating system or computer, navigate back to this page, and download these three files for the kernel version you posted...kmod-wl-2.6.38.6-26.rc1.fc15.i686-5.60.48.36-2.fc15.1.i686.rpm (http://download1.rpmfusion.org/nonfree/fedora/releases/15/Everything/i386/os/kmod-wl-2.6.38.6-26.rc1.fc15.i686-5.60.48.36-2.fc15.1.i686.rpm)
kmod-wl-5.60.48.36-2.fc15.1.i686.rpm (http://download1.rpmfusion.org/nonfree/fedora/releases/15/Everything/i386/os/kmod-wl-5.60.48.36-2.fc15.1.i686.rpm)
broadcom-wl-5.60.48.36-1.fc13.noarch.rpm (http://download1.rpmfusion.org/nonfree/fedora/releases/15/Everything/i386/os/broadcom-wl-5.60.48.36-1.fc13.noarch.rpm)Reboot Fedora. Somehow transfer those three files to the Fedora filesystem, open a terminal, change directories to the folder with the three files, and install them all at once (important) in one command.su
rpm -ivh *.rpmAnyway, after whichever way you used to get broadcom-wl installed, then reboot or restart NetworkManager and look in the NetworkManager panel icon for available networks (left-click the icon). Try to connect.

If it doesn't work at first, see the Broadcom wireless HOWTO (http://forums.fedoraforum.org/showthread.php?t=239922) for some things to try for broadcom-wl before giving up. But return here to ask questions about anything you read there.

Once it's working, install the RPM Fusion repos (http://rpmfusion.org/Configuration) (important).

[Imurgod]

Wow thanks for taking the time to get all that I'll get on it right away!

---------- Post added at 01:12 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:40 AM ----------

Well I'll be damned lol. It didn't work after $ service NetworkManager restart.... So I reboot the machine and whadda ya know there it is, wireless works. I tried this on another computer several weeks ago and ran into not being able to get the appropriate information about the wireless card. So I bought this netbook for cheap so I could try it with this chipset. Thanks again for your help now I can bug you with a ton of other questions while I learn how to use linux!

---------- Post added at 06:45 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:12 AM ----------

@stoat

Now that I've gotten it working I have some questions so I can learn what the hell I did!
OK, so why would I want to install everything at once, and why is it so important?
Example:
"Reboot Fedora. Somehow transfer those three files to the Fedora filesystem, open a terminal, change
directories to the folder with the three files, and install them all at once (important) in one command.
Code:
su
rpm -ivh *.rpm" - you

Also to verify 'yum', is it for automatic updates via internet connection? Since I didn't have it is that why I had to transfer via another source and manually unpack with rpm?

I'm pretty sure I understand the -ivh *.rpm; -ivh is 'install with detailed info and showing hash marks as progress' and the *.rpm is a command to use all '*' that is .rpm. Please correct me if I'm mistaken!

Thanks again for all your help and guidance!!!

[stoat]

...why would I want to install everything at once...Because the three rpms were dependent upon each other. The rpm command will check for dependencies but it will not handle them. If you had tried to install them one at a time with rpm, it would have failed with the first try due to missing dependencies.




Also to verify 'yum', is it for automatic updates via internet connection? Since I didn't have it is that why I had to transfer via another source and manually unpack with rpm?YUM is a front-end to rpm (it uses rpm behind the scenes). But yum handles repositories and dependencies. I use it to update my system but also to install individual packages from the online repositories. I usually use it to remove packages, too. You had to download the files via another computer and manually install them because you did not have an Internet connection at the time (or yum was having DNS issues at the time). The yum command could have manually installed those three rpms, too, but I switched to rpm for that only because the command was shorter and easier to write.



I'm pretty sure I understand the -ivh *.rpm; -ivh is 'install with detailed info and showing hash marks as progress' and the *.rpm is a command to use all '*' that is .rpm. Please correct me if I'm mistaken! Right. See rpm --help or man rpm for more options. In spite of having the more powerful yum command, I still find plain old rpm very handy. But yum could have done that job, too. See the localinstall command option in yum --help or man yum. Some people argue that we should use yum for everything for database, log, and history reasons. But I still often go around yum straight to rpm to install or remove things without doing myself any harm. I'll leave that decision to you and others.