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  1. #1
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    wireless switch doesn't turn on - Dell Inspiron 1525

    Hi everyone!


    I've got a Dell Inspiron 1525 and a few days ago my brother installed Fedora 11. He got everything up and running and then I travelled overseas back to my home.

    Now when I hit the WiFi switch, the led doesn't go on. I'm worried that my wireless card might be damaged. When I run lspci this is what I get:


    00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation Mobile PM965/GM965/GL960 Memory Controller Hub (rev 0c)
    00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation Mobile GM965/GL960 Integrated Graphics Controller (rev 0c)
    00:02.1 Display controller: Intel Corporation Mobile GM965/GL960 Integrated Graphics Controller (rev 0c)
    00:1a.0 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) USB UHCI Controller #4 (rev 02)
    00:1a.1 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) USB UHCI Controller #5 (rev 02)
    00:1a.7 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) USB2 EHCI Controller #2 (rev 02)
    00:1b.0 Audio device: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) HD Audio Controller (rev 02)
    00:1c.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) PCI Express Port 1 (rev 02)
    00:1c.1 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) PCI Express Port 2 (rev 02)
    00:1c.4 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) PCI Express Port 5 (rev 02)
    00:1d.0 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) USB UHCI Controller #1 (rev 02)
    00:1d.1 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) USB UHCI Controller #2 (rev 02)
    00:1d.2 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) USB UHCI Controller #3 (rev 02)
    00:1d.7 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) USB2 EHCI Controller #1 (rev 02)
    00:1e.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801 Mobile PCI Bridge (rev f2)
    00:1f.0 ISA bridge: Intel Corporation 82801HEM (ICH8M) LPC Interface Controller (rev 02)
    00:1f.1 IDE interface: Intel Corporation 82801HBM/HEM (ICH8M/ICH8M-E) IDE Controller (rev 02)
    00:1f.2 SATA controller: Intel Corporation 82801HBM/HEM (ICH8M/ICH8M-E) SATA AHCI Controller (rev 02)
    00:1f.3 SMBus: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) SMBus Controller (rev 02)
    02:09.0 FireWire (IEEE 1394): Ricoh Co Ltd R5C832 IEEE 1394 Controller (rev 05)
    02:09.1 SD Host controller: Ricoh Co Ltd R5C822 SD/SDIO/MMC/MS/MSPro Host Adapter (rev 22)
    02:09.2 System peripheral: Ricoh Co Ltd R5C843 MMC Host Controller (rev 12)
    02:09.3 System peripheral: Ricoh Co Ltd R5C592 Memory Stick Bus Host Adapter (rev 12)
    02:09.4 System peripheral: Ricoh Co Ltd xD-Picture Card Controller (rev ff)
    09:00.0 Ethernet controller: Marvell Technology Group Ltd. 88E8040 PCI-E Fast Ethernet Controller (rev 12)
    0b:00.0 Network controller: Broadcom Corporation BCM4312 802.11b/g (rev 01)





    Any help would be much appreciated!

  2. #2
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    try a
    Code:
    yum install kmod-wl broadcom-wl
    You'll need rpmfusion enabled, but it's really easy to install http://rpmfusion.org/Configuration
    Last edited by zackf; 17th August 2009 at 04:38 PM. Reason: Corrected "yum-install" to "yum install"

  3. #3
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    Hello happyspace

    Do you mean that your brother had the wireless working and it has since stopped, or has the wireless not worked so far?

  4. #4
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    Hi bbfuller,

    He had the wireless working before and now it has stopped.

  5. #5
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    You can check if the wifi switch is working by doing the following
    switch the wireless (wifi) switch on-off
    Type the following into a terminal
    Code:
     su -c "cat /var/log/messages | tail"
    and enter the root user password
    If you see some message regarding "radio killswitch" and wireless then the switch is working. If that "radio killswitch" message was from "NetworkManager:" then you probably should have wireless working.
    Else if you had run any update of the system then you may not have the updated kmod-wl for your kernel. Can you confirm if any of these is your problem
    Fedora 14 Laughlin user on Dell Inspiron 1525
    http://www.smolts.org/client/show/pu...0-71f71be44f7d :)

  6. #6
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    Hello happyspace

    I wouldn't be too worried about the LED, sometimes they indicate, sometimes they don't.

    Try the command:

    Code:
    /sbin/iwconfig
    and see if that locates your wireless device.

    If it does, use the command:

    Code:
    su -
    to get a full command prompt. The space and minus sign are important, without them you only get root control over your own users areas. With them you get root control over the whole machine. Then:

    Code:
    iwlist wlan0 scan
    If you get results, copy and paste them back. Obviously, if that first command identifies other than wlan0, substitute that in the last command.

  7. #7
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    Hi Pankajp

    These are the relevant messages:

    Aug 18 16:08:25 localhost NetworkManager: <info> Found radio killswitch /org/freedesktop/Hal/devices/computer_rfkill_dell_wifi_wlan

    Aug 18 16:11:32 localhost NetworkManager: <info> Wireless now disabled by radio killswitch
    Aug 18 16:12:02 localhost NetworkManager: <info> Wireless now enabled by radio killswitch


    So what does that mean?

  8. #8
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    Hello bbfuller

    When I run the first command I get:

    lo no wireless extensions
    eth0 no wireless extensions
    pan0 no wireless extensions

  9. #9
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    Hello happyspace,

    Odd, so do you happen to know which of three possible methods your brother used to set up the wireless card.

    They are "b43", "broadcom-wl" and "ndiswrapper".

    We'll need to know before we go too much further.

    If the actual module for either of those was loading, I would expect to see some output from "iwconfig" but we can try looking for loading modules in any event.

    Try running:

    Code:
    /sbin/lsmod | grep b43
    and:

    Code:
    /sbin/lsmod | grep ndiswrapper
    I'm not sure of the exact name of the other broadcom driver module so we'll have to try two ways for that:

    Code:
    /sbin/lsmod | grep wl
    Code:
    /sbin/lsmod | grep broadcom
    Let me know the result.

    By the way, have you done any updating of the system since you took command of the machine?

  10. #10
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    Hello bbfuller,

    I'm sorry but I have no idea which method he used to set up the wireless card.

    When I run each of the commands you suggested, I don't get any output.

    Also, I haven't done any updating of the machine.
    Last edited by happyspace; 18th August 2009 at 10:39 AM.

  11. #11
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    Hello happyspace

    Well, the b43 method of controlling the card would show up if it were capable of controlling your card unless one of the others was interfering. As the others are not loading then b43 is not capable of controlling your card. There are several variants on the 4312 that your lspci lists and one of them b43 doesn't work with.

    I'd recommend now that you try the steps that zackf wrote in post #2, they should resolve the problem.

    That will install the broadcom-wl driver.

    When it's installed, look for NetworkManager in the system tray area to the left of the clock. Left click on it and hopefully there will be wireless networks there to left click on..........

    If you are not able to get internet access without wireless then post back, I have notes to do the getting on one machine and installing on another. In any event, post back with questions or problems.

  12. #12
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    Hello bbfuller and zackf,

    This is what I get when I run the command in post no.2:

    Loaded plugins: refresh-packagekit
    rpmfusion-free | 3.3 kB 00:00
    rpmfusion-free-updates | 3.8 kB 00:00
    rpmfusion-free-updates/primary_db | 176 kB 00:28
    rpmfusion-nonfree | 3.3 kB 00:00
    rpmfusion-nonfree-updates | 3.8 kB 00:00
    rpmfusion-nonfree-updates/primary_db | 68 kB 00:08
    updates/metalink | 4.6 kB 00:00
    updates | 4.4 kB 00:00
    updates/primary_db | 3.1 MB 00:54
    Setting up Install Process
    Package broadcom-wl-5.10.91.9-1.fc11.noarch already installed and latest version
    Resolving Dependencies
    --> Running transaction check
    ---> Package kmod-wl.i586 0:5.10.91.9-3.fc11.5 set to be updated
    --> Processing Dependency: kmod-wl-2.6.29.6-217.2.7.fc11.i586 >= 5.10.91.9-3.fc11.5 for package: kmod-wl
    --> Running transaction check
    ---> Package kmod-wl-2.6.29.6-217.2.7.fc11.i586.i586 0:5.10.91.9-3.fc11.5 set to be updated
    --> Processing Dependency: kernel-uname-r = 2.6.29.6-217.2.7.fc11.i586 for package: kmod-wl-2.6.29.6-217.2.7.fc11.i586
    --> Finished Dependency Resolution
    kmod-wl-2.6.29.6-217.2.7.fc11.i586-5.10.91.9-3.fc11.5.i586 from rpmfusion-nonfree-updates has depsolving problems
    --> Missing Dependency: kernel-uname-r = 2.6.29.6-217.2.7.fc11.i586 is needed by package kmod-wl-2.6.29.6-217.2.7.fc11.i586-5.10.91.9-3.fc11.5.i586 (rpmfusion-nonfree-updates)
    Error: Missing Dependency: kernel-uname-r = 2.6.29.6-217.2.7.fc11.i586 is needed by package kmod-wl-2.6.29.6-217.2.7.fc11.i586-5.10.91.9-3.fc11.5.i586 (rpmfusion-nonfree-updates)
    You could try using --skip-broken to work around the problem
    You could try running: package-cleanup --problems
    package-cleanup --dupes
    rpm -Va --nofiles --nodigest



    There aren't any wireless networks showing

    (Ps. Now that I've connected to the internet with the cables, I'm getting updates... should I install them now or wait for this issue to be resolved?)
    Last edited by happyspace; 19th August 2009 at 01:54 AM.

  13. #13
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    You can go ahead and install the updates, but I'm not sure it will help. We can fix that error though. First do a
    Code:
    yum install kernel kernel-devel
    Reboot, and then try
    Code:
     yum install kmod-wl
    . I do see you already have broadcom-wl installed which is good.

  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by happyspace in post #12

    Package broadcom-wl-5.10.91.9-1.fc11.noarch already installed and latest version
    I think that means your brother was using broadcom-wl.

    Hello happyspace,

    You can go ahead and update if you like. But as an experiment, try rebooting into one of the previous kernel versions. Say, 2.6.29.6-217.2.7.fc11 or even the one before that. You should have three kernels to choose from in the GRUB boot menu.

    See, I just looked at the kmod-wl package in the RPM Fusion updates, and at this moment right now, the lastest version is for that 2.6.29.6-217.2.7.fc11 kernel. But there is a new Fedora kernel available in the Fedora repos now, too (2.6.29.6-217.2.8.fc11). So maybe you updated your kernel in the last day or so (I did). If so and the new kmods were not yet ready and available in the RPM Fusion repos, it would have the effect of breaking the wireless for that new kernel. But the previous versions of kmod-wl should still be installed until their corresponding kernels are removed by a future GRUB update.

    Anyway, this has all happened before with other kmods so it's at least a good bet. The kmod-wl maintainers for RPM Fusion have always been good about having the new versions ready when the new kernels hit the streets. But they're just people. May somebody fell asleep at the wheel this time. Or, maybe I don't know what I'm talking about. But it sounded good.

    P.S.: If my explanation turns out to be accurate and a previous kernel version has wireless, then wait a day or so and try the update again to pick up the new kmod-wl for the new kernel. Until then, use the previous kernel.
    Last edited by stoat; 19th August 2009 at 03:21 AM.

  15. #15
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    Hi zackf,

    After running the commands you suggested I get:

    Loaded plugins: refresh-packagekit
    Setting up Install Process
    Resolving Dependencies
    --> Running transaction check
    ---> Package kmod-wl.i586 0:5.10.91.9-3.fc11.5 set to be updated
    --> Processing Dependency: kmod-wl-2.6.29.6-217.2.7.fc11.i586 >= 5.10.91.9-3.fc11.5 for package: kmod-wl
    --> Running transaction check
    ---> Package kmod-wl-2.6.29.6-217.2.7.fc11.i586.i586 0:5.10.91.9-3.fc11.5 set to be updated
    --> Processing Dependency: kernel-uname-r = 2.6.29.6-217.2.7.fc11.i586 for package: kmod-wl-2.6.29.6-217.2.7.fc11.i586
    --> Finished Dependency Resolution
    kmod-wl-2.6.29.6-217.2.7.fc11.i586-5.10.91.9-3.fc11.5.i586 from rpmfusion-nonfree-updates has depsolving problems
    --> Missing Dependency: kernel-uname-r = 2.6.29.6-217.2.7.fc11.i586 is needed by package kmod-wl-2.6.29.6-217.2.7.fc11.i586-5.10.91.9-3.fc11.5.i586 (rpmfusion-nonfree-updates)
    Error: Missing Dependency: kernel-uname-r = 2.6.29.6-217.2.7.fc11.i586 is needed by package kmod-wl-2.6.29.6-217.2.7.fc11.i586-5.10.91.9-3.fc11.5.i586 (rpmfusion-nonfree-updates)
    You could try using --skip-broken to work around the problem
    You could try running: package-cleanup --problems
    package-cleanup --dupes
    rpm -Va --nofiles --nodigest

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