Gone through a ton of lightweight distros at this point and Slitaz is one of only 3 that comes close to rejuvenating this old laptop for a "One Laptop Per Child" project... and I am so SO close! I have googled exhaustively on this and followed several walkthroughs including ndiswrapper and a host of others, but I hit a dead-end.
This was my latest.
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install linux-wireless.tazpkg as root to get wireless modules including b43
Install b43-fwcutter.tazpkg
Download,extract,and cut the firmware.
http://downloads.openwrt.org/sources/broadcom-wl-4.150.10.5.tar.bz2
tar xjf broadcom-wl-4.150.10.5.tar.bz2
cd broadcom-wl-4.150.10.5/driver
b43-fwcutter -w /lib/firmware driver/wl_apsta_mimo.o
The 38 firmware files are in the /lib/firmware/b43 folder
Open wireless connections
root@slitaz: wifibox
Drivers tab,
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... SCREECHING HALT ...
My wifi box interface does not have ANY tabs on it! It only has 4 button on it, "Start wifi", "Stop wifi", "Configuration" and "Close". Configuration only brings me to my old friend, the TazPanel for Wireless Connection, and it does nothing for me.
I am supposed to do the following:
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a. Firmware: b43-firmware click Install button
downloads and installs firmware if you have ethernet connection to internet
b. List files button shows installed b43 firmware
Module: b43 ,click Load button
Lsmod button shows loaded b43 module
Networks tab,Refresh button,you see access point,dbl click to connect if open or enter key
Configuration tab add key,essid,click connect,favorites tab
Add ssb and b43 to /etc/rcS.conf LOAD_MODULES=
The other main configuration file is /etc/network.conf to enable wifi at boot=yes , default interface=wlan0 and many other settings
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That is not to say that I wouldn't get lost in the rest of the procedure here - but without the "Drivers Tab" or other interface elements described, I am unable to continue. I feel like I am walking down the road with the correct firmware, though. Here is the output of lsmod and lspci:
root@inspiron:~# lsmod
Module Size Used by Tainted: P
b43legacy 79383 0
mac80211 145388 1 b43legacy
parport_pc 16061 0
floppy 41138 0
video 9783 0
output 1144 1 video
parport 20983 1 parport_pc
button 3602 0
cfg80211 99896 2 b43legacy,mac80211
rfkill 10682 1 cfg80211
ssb 24436 1 b43legacy
ndiswrapper 136941 0
pcmcia 24993 0
yenta_socket 16223 0
pcmcia_rsrc 6989 1 yenta_socket
pcmcia_core 8413 3 pcmcia,yenta_socket,pcmcia_rsrc
snd_maestro3 11926 1
snd_ac97_codec 77963 1 snd_maestro3
ac97_bus 718 1 snd_ac97_codec
snd_pcm 43737 2 snd_maestro3,snd_ac97_codec
snd_timer 12515 1 snd_pcm
snd_page_alloc 4853 1 snd_pcm
snd 33394 6 snd_maestro3,snd_ac97_codec,snd_pcm,snd_timer
soundcore 3357 1 snd
intel_agp 7908 1
intel_gtt 9214 1 intel_agp
agpgart 18221 2 intel_agp,intel_gtt
root@inspiron:~# lspci
00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation 82815 815 Chipset Host Bridge
and Memory Controller Hub (rev 02)
00:01.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82815 815 Chipset AGP Bridge (rev 02)
00:1e.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801 Mobile PCI Bridge (rev 02)
00:1f.0 ISA bridge: Intel Corporation 82801BAM ISA Bridge (LPC) (rev 02)
00:1f.1 IDE interface: Intel Corporation 82801BAM IDE U100 Controller (rev 02)
00:1f.2 USB controller: Intel Corporation 82801BA/BAM USB Controller #1 (rev 02)
01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: ATI Technologies Inc Rage Mobility M4 AGP
02:03.0 Multimedia audio controller: ESS Technology ES1983S Maestro-3i
PCI Audio Accelerator (rev 10)
02:06.0 PCI bridge: Actiontec Electronics Inc Mini-PCI bridge (rev 11)
02:0f.0 CardBus bridge: Texas Instruments PCI4451 PC card Cardbus Controller
02:0f.1 CardBus bridge: Texas Instruments PCI4451 PC card Cardbus Controller
02:0f.2 FireWire (IEEE 1394): Texas Instruments PCI4451 IEEE-1394 Controller
08:04.0 Ethernet controller: Intel Corporation 82557/8/9/0/1 Ethernet
Pro 100 (rev 08)
08:08.0 Communication controller: Agere Systems WinModem 56k (rev 01)
0d:00.0 Network controller: Broadcom Corporation BCM4306 802.11b/g
Wireless LAN Controller (rev 02)
!!!Warning to all who dare assist!!!
I am a total NOOB! All I know is what I can google. I have a few terminal tricks memorized, but this project is the only linux project I have ever attempted and have only interacted with mail and web server terminals before. In my regular life - I am completely self supporting, but in linux, I am rather helpless to do anything other than follow instruction.
Thanks in advance!
Matthew
