Can't blacklist ssb to allow kmod-wl to work

[Cuvou]

Just upgraded to Fedora 18 on my Dell Mini 9 netbook. `kmod-wl` is the wifi driver that works on this netbook (Broadcom BCM4312).

It normally worked fine with past versions of Fedora, but on F18 the `ssb` kernel module keeps getting loaded and it conflicts with `wl`, and nothing I do stops the module from being automatically loaded. These steps always work to fix the wireless:

1. rmmod ssb
2. modprobe wl # not sure if necessary since it's already loaded
3. service NetworkManager restart

If I could prevent ssb from being loaded to begin with, my wifi should work from the start. Things I've tried:

• /etc/modprobe.d/broadcom-wl-blacklist.conf already lists ssb, bcma, b43, and brcmsmac (this file came with one of the kmod-wl RPMs)
• Manually adding "blacklist ssb" to /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf
• Creating /etc/modprobe.d/00local.conf that has these contents (found here:
  

  install ssb /bin/true
  alias ssb off

But still the ssb module shows up in `lsmod` after a reboot and I have to manually rmmod it and restart NetworkManager.

[DBelton]

Perhaps it is being loaded in the initramfs which got built before you blacklisted the module?

try rebuilding your initramfs using dracut and see if it still loads it then.

cp /boot/initramfs-$(uname -r).img /boot/initramfs-$(uname -r).img.bak
dracut -f /boot/initramfs-$(uname -r).img $(uname -r)

Edit:
Changed typo in thread title was ssd, changed to ssb

[Cuvou]

That did the trick! Thanks!

[DBelton]

You can delete the backup initramfs created above once you are certain the new one created works. I just out of habit back it up so it could be copied back in case the new initramfs has problems.

rm /boot/initramfs-$(uname -r).img.bak

[termhidor]

Hi,

I think I have a very similar problem, although your trick didn't work for me.

I have a Dell D630 and I also use the broadcom-wl driver for my wifi. I followed the HowTo here:
http://forums.fedoraforum.org/showthread.php?t=239922
Then I read through lots of stuff and finally found this very promising thread.

I have the following entries in the /etc/modprobe.d/broadcom-wl-blacklist.conf :

# modules blacklisted for broadcom-wl
blacklist ssb
blacklist bcma
blacklist b43
blacklist brcmsmac
blacklist dell_wmi

and I have a 'modprobe wl' entry in my /etc/rc.local
I also did rebuild the initramfs, but I still get the ssb module loaded on startup!
To get the wifi working I use the following commands

modprobe -r ssb
modprobe wl

Then wifi works even without restarting the NetworkManager service

Any ideas what I could do, to get Wifi working right away?

termhidor

[Cuvou]

Try editing your /etc/grub2.conf and add the option "rd.driver.blacklist=ssb" to the kernel boot line.

[termhidor]

thanks Cuvou,

I entered the option on bootup directly in grub and it worked!
If I put it in /etc/grub2.conf will it survive updates of the grub? e.g. Kernel versions,...

termhidor

[DBelton]

When Fedora updates the kernel, it uses grubby, and it copies the kernel parameters to the new kernel. So, it would survive a standard kernel update.

But, if you ever runf grub2-mkconfig, it would overwrite your edits to your grub.cfg file unless you have it specified in your /etc/default/grub file as well.

Edit your /etc/default/grub file and look for a line that starts with GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX= and append your rd.driver.blacklist=ssb parameter to the end of what is there.

By doing so, you insure that if grub2-mkconfig is run, it will add back that parameter to your kernel line

[termhidor]

thank you very much, now everything is working

btw I just had a look at Manjaro (liveusb) and there the wifi worked out of the box with the b43 driver!