Drivers for Puppy 5.1-5.2.8 with 2.6.33.2 kernel

For drivers and kernel modules.
Post Reply
Message
Author
tempestuous
Posts: 5464
Joined: Fri 10 Jun 2005, 05:12
Location: Australia

Drivers for Puppy 5.1-5.2.8 with 2.6.33.2 kernel

#1 Post by tempestuous »

These drivers are only compatible with the 2.6.33.2 kernel introduced with Puppy 5.1 (Lucid).
At September 2011 that includes versions of Lucid Puppy up to 5.2.8.
These drivers are not compatible with Puppy 529, neither with Wary.
You have been warned.

UPDATE June 2014
Some of the download links in this forum thread are broken.
In such cases, get the files from
http://www.smokey01.com/tempestuous/

NOTE:
I see quite a few reports of unsuccessful wifi connections reported on the forum, and it turns out that (new) users are typically not following good setup and diagnostic practice.
Important tips -
i) temporarily disable all encryption at your wifi router, and see if your wifi device will connect in this unencrypted state. If successful, it means that the driver is basically working, and your problem is encryption-related.
Come on guys, this is standard practice; with all operating systems, not just Linux. I still have the instruction book for my first wifi adapter purchased 7 years ago, and I see that the process of testing with NO encryption is right there in black and white.
ii) if using WEP encryption, the Network Wizard is more reliable if you enter the password in its true hex value, not the alphanumeric password.
iii) if using WPA/WPA2 encryption, Linux wifi drivers will sometimes work with WPA but fail with WPA2, or vice-versa. Try setting your wifi router with both types of encryption.
Last edited by tempestuous on Mon 23 Jun 2014, 15:07, edited 4 times in total.

tempestuous
Posts: 5464
Joined: Fri 10 Jun 2005, 05:12
Location: Australia

#2 Post by tempestuous »

Texas Instruments ACX1xx based wifi devices, in CardBus, PCI and USB form
have historically been supported by the acx driver, but this driver is compatible only with WEP encryption, not WPA encryption. The acx driver ceased development in 2006, so the source code requires quite a number of patches to be compatible with modern kernels. I compiled this particular acx driver from updated source code provided by forum member gray.

In more recent years the acx-mac80211 driver has been developed, and this new driver fully supports WPA encryption.
The source code is from here -
git://acx100.git.sourceforge.net/gitroot/acx100/acx-mac80211
This driver should be considered less than stable.

Try the new acx-mac80211 driver first, and if it doesn't work, revert to the older driver.
After installing either of these dotpets, reboot.
Last edited by tempestuous on Fri 17 Jun 2011, 12:44, edited 1 time in total.

Rider1
Posts: 8
Joined: Tue 03 Oct 2006, 20:10
Location: Philadelphia, PA

Success acx-mac80211

#3 Post by Rider1 »

Thank you, tempestuous. Acx-mac80211 driver working well with my Hawking HWP54G pci card on Luci-217. Connected to open router & to WEP . Unfortunately I have no way to test WPA encryptions.

User avatar
01micko
Posts: 8741
Joined: Sat 11 Oct 2008, 13:39
Location: qld
Contact:

#4 Post by 01micko »

tempestuous..

BarryK and myself will be grateful :wink: We both own that card (TI) and did extensive testing with it and ndiswrapper with SNS.

Thank you.

Cheers
Puppy Linux Blog - contact me for access

tempestuous
Posts: 5464
Joined: Fri 10 Jun 2005, 05:12
Location: Australia

#5 Post by tempestuous »

There's a known problem in recent kernels with the Atheros ath5k wifi driver.
There's a patch which is claimed to fix the problem, from
https://patchwork.kernel.org/patch/119469/

I now attach the patched driver.
After installing this driver, reboot.
Attachments
ath5k-patched-k2.6.33.2.pet
for Puppy 5.1
(53.19 KiB) Downloaded 5173 times

Ibidem
Posts: 549
Joined: Wed 26 May 2010, 03:31
Location: State of Jefferson

#6 Post by Ibidem »

Thank you!
ath5k has been the single biggest troublemaker here.
Madwifi works great for me, but I've never even tried to install it in Puppy.

tempestuous
Posts: 5464
Joined: Fri 10 Jun 2005, 05:12
Location: Australia

#7 Post by tempestuous »

Here is the latest tg3 driver for Broadcom BCM577xx ethernet devices.
The source code is from
http://www.broadcom.com/support/etherne ... rivers.php
This driver will overwrite the tg3 driver already contained in Puppy 5.1.
After installing this dotpet, reboot. Puppy should automatically detect your ethernet interface, so when you run the Network Wizard you should see your interface listed, and all that should be required is to acquire a DHCP address.

UPDATE: forum member jaddison confirms this driver works with the Broadcom BCM57788 Gigabit ethernet device in the Inspiron 570 desktop computer.
Attachments
tg3-3.110-k2.6.33.2.pet
for Puppy 5.1
(61.75 KiB) Downloaded 4202 times
Last edited by tempestuous on Wed 08 Sep 2010, 04:26, edited 1 time in total.

tempestuous
Posts: 5464
Joined: Fri 10 Jun 2005, 05:12
Location: Australia

#8 Post by tempestuous »

Regarding Broadcom bcm43xx wifi devices

The opensource b43 wifi driver has been improved in recent kernels such as the 2.6.33 kernel in Puppy 5.1, so that the previously problematic Broadcom wifi devices found in HP/Dell laptops will work properly. There have been several success stories reported on the Puppy forum.
But some people continue to report failures with HP/Dell wifi devices under Puppy 5.1. My suggestions:

1. The b43 driver is notorious for corrupting when it loads early in the boot sequence, so re-load it after Puppy has fully booted. Do this -

Code: Select all

rmmod b43
modprobe b43
Now run the Network Wizard, and see if you get a successful connection.

2. Run the "dmesg" command, and look for errors regarding how the b43 driver loaded. Such errors are likely to be:

2a. DMA failure. You will see this -
user.err kernel: b43-phy0 ERROR: Fatal DMA error: 0x00000400, 0x00000000, ...
user.err kernel: b43-phy0 ERROR: This device does not support DMA on your system. Please use PIO instead.
user.err kernel: b43-phy0 ERROR: CONFIG_B43_FORCE_PIO must be set in your kernel configuration.
In this case you need the PIO-enabled version of the b43 driver, which I have provided at the bottom of this post; b43-PIO-mode-k2.6.33.2.pet
After installing this dotpet, unload/reload the b43 driver, or reboot.
Run the "dmesg" command again and you will hopefully see this - "b43-phy1 debug: Wireless interface started".
Go ahead and run the Network Wizard.

2b. wrong firmware, or firmware loading errors. You will see something like this (I think?):
b43-phy0: Loading firmware version 478.104 (2008-07-01 00:50:23)
ADDRCONF(NETDEV_UP): wlan0: link is not ready
or
SIOCSIFFLAGS: Unknown error 132
This is likely to mean that you have one of the LP-PHY versions of the Broadcom BCM43xx wifi chip (e.g. BCM4312), for which you need different firmware, which I have attached to the bottom of this post; b43-firmware-LP-PHY.pet
After installing this dotpet, unload/reload the b43 driver, or reboot.
Run the "dmesg" command again to check that the "wlan0" interface raises successfully without error messages as before.
Then go ahead and run the Network Wizard.

3. As explained in the very first post in this thread - temporarily disable all encryption at your wifi router, and see if your wifi device will connect in this unencrypted state. If successful, it means that the driver is basically working - then you can re-enable encryption at the router, and try again. If connection fails in this state, post a question in this thread, and I can give you some additional driver-parameters which you can use to modify the b43 driver's behaviour, particularly how it interacts with "wpa_supplicant".

4. If still no success, you must then move on to the proprietary Broadcom wifi driver supplied by forum member piratesmack here -
http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewto ... 596#421596
Be aware that this driver competes for an overlapping range of hardware claimed by the ssb driver, so you will need to unload (or blacklist) the ssb driver for the new driver to work. And when you disable the ssb driver, some other devices such as USB interfaces may then be disabled!

5. Go back to the specially modified version of Puppy 4.3 with the proprietary Broadcom Linux driver -
http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?t=50570
This version of Puppy has been significantly modified to accommodate the proprietary driver, by hacking the ssb driver so that it doesn't claim the same wifi devices claimed by the new driver, thus avoiding a conflict.
But I will not be repeating the same modification for Puppy 5.1. It's too much effort, and it becomes an excuse for users not to help the b43 developers properly achieve full opensource driver compatibility.

6. Try ndiswrapper. But the reported success rate with the Windows Broadcom driver under ndiswrapper is low, which is typical of this inelegant solution.
Attachments
b43-PIO-mode-k2.6.33.2.pet
ONLY for Puppy 5.1 - 5.2.8
(82.98 KiB) Downloaded 3640 times
b43-firmware-LP-PHY.pet
(109.7 KiB) Downloaded 4759 times
Last edited by tempestuous on Mon 19 Sep 2011, 15:23, edited 3 times in total.

tempestuous
Posts: 5464
Joined: Fri 10 Jun 2005, 05:12
Location: Australia

#9 Post by tempestuous »

NETWORK FIXES x2

i) There have been many complaints on the forum about the network configuration not being kept at each bootup, requiring that the Network Wizard be run again each time. This appears to only affect certain hardware combinations. I recently encountered this problem with one particular motherboard, and I think the fault lies with Puppy 5.1's version of dhcpcd, which it inherits from Ubuntu Lucid.
Jemimah has compiled a newer version of dhcpcd for Fluppy, and this appears to work better. I have repackaged this version of dhcpcd to be Puppy 5.1/5.2-compatible, now attached.

ii) The Network Wizard uses a configuration file to determine wifi drivers as being WPA-compatible, and from time to time new wifi drivers need to be updated in this configuration file.
The new wifi drivers in the 2.6.33.2 kernel are:
Realtek r8187se as found in several netbooks.
Realtek N-mode chips: r8192_pci, r8192s_usb, r8192u_usb
VIA wifi: vt6655_stage, vt6656_stage

Here's a hotfix for WPA configuration in the Network Wizard.
UPDATE Dec 22 2010
The "hostap" family of wifi drivers, for Prism 2.5/3 wifi chips, now require a different WPA regime than used with previous kernels, and this needs updating in the WPA configuration file, too.

Be aware, also, that Prism2.5/3 wifi devices may require an onboard firmware upgrade to make them WPA-compatible under Linux. See this post for details -
http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewto ... 247#479247
Attachments
dhcpcd-5.2.9-Puppy5.pet
(39.59 KiB) Downloaded 5678 times
Puppy5.1-WPA-hotfix.pet
(19.8 KiB) Downloaded 3993 times
Last edited by tempestuous on Tue 26 Apr 2011, 04:12, edited 2 times in total.

User avatar
playdayz
Posts: 3799
Joined: Fri 25 Apr 2008, 18:57

#10 Post by playdayz »

Thanks tempestuous, the ath5k-patched pet is now also in the Puppy Package Manager, and the Hot Fix in the message right above this for the new wpa wifi drivers is included in Instant Update 002 for Lucid Puppy 5.1.1 (available in Lupu News (from Qucikpet).

tempestuous
Posts: 5464
Joined: Fri 10 Jun 2005, 05:12
Location: Australia

#11 Post by tempestuous »

"rfkill" was not enabled in the 2.6.33.2 kernel in Puppy 5.1,
which means that you cannot turn on/off your wifi device.
I have recompiled the kernel with this function enabled, and the following modules are then upgraded:

ath5k
ath9k
ath9k_common
ath9k_hw
eeepc-laptop
acer-wmi
hp-wmi
thinkpad_acpi
toshiba_acpi
bluetooth
rfkill
wimax
cfg80211

This dotpet package will overwrite all of these modules with the rfkill-enabled versions.
The upgraded ath5k driver also has the fix earlier mentioned.
After installing this dotpet, reboot.

For ASUS Eee hotkey support, get the acpid-1.0.10-Eee.pet from here
http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewto ... 451#346451
But in Puppy 5.1.x there's no module to control fanspeed, so that function won't work.
Eee functions are probably better supported by the jemimah's "Puppeee" derivative.[/b]

User avatar
AlexS
Posts: 47
Joined: Fri 24 Nov 2006, 10:22
Location: Munich

#12 Post by AlexS »

tempestuous, do you think this modified version of rfkill would also enable turning on and off wifi in the dell mini 9 (broadcom 4312)?

tempestuous
Posts: 5464
Joined: Fri 10 Jun 2005, 05:12
Location: Australia

#13 Post by tempestuous »

Linux hotkey support seems to be focussed on the ASUS Eee, and Google gives me no quick answer regarding hotkey support nor rfkill for the Mini9.
So you will need to do some experimentation.
To start with, forget about the hotkeys. Hotkeys are just shortcuts to underlying commands. We need to find out if your wifi device can be switched off.
First go ahead and install the rfkill-upgrade dotpet, reboot, and make sure your wifi connection is up and running.
Now take down the interface, and unload the driver -

Code: Select all

ifconfig wlan0 down
rmmod b43
Now run this command to see if the wifi device can be switched off -

Code: Select all

echo 0 > /sys/class/rfkill/rfkill0/state
If you see an error message, please report.
But if this command runs without error, it probably worked(?). You might see an LED indicator go off, but the only way to know if the device is truly disabled is to first reload the driver -

Code: Select all

modprobe b43
the driver should load without error, regardless of whether the wifi device is active or not. The critical test is now whether an interface has been created. Do this -

Code: Select all

ifconfig -a
If you see "wlan0" listed, that's bad! It means that the wifi device is still turned on.
But if you don't see "wlan0" that's good - it means the wifi device is off.

User avatar
pemasu
Posts: 5474
Joined: Wed 08 Jul 2009, 12:26
Location: Finland

#14 Post by pemasu »

Thank you of this rfkill pet. Highly appreciated. I have also compiled kernel to enable rfkill and hibernate in Luci 5.1.1. But I have had problems with updating initrd.gz. Could you give description howto do it when you compile kernel in Luci 5.1.x.

tempestuous
Posts: 5464
Joined: Fri 10 Jun 2005, 05:12
Location: Australia

#15 Post by tempestuous »

Rebuilding the initrd can be a little complex, and I don't wish to go further off-topic in this thread.
Please post your question in the "Users" or "Cutting Edge" section.

User avatar
AlexS
Posts: 47
Joined: Fri 24 Nov 2006, 10:22
Location: Munich

#16 Post by AlexS »

So I tried the pet you prepared, but after rebooting I could not even see the wlan0 interface.

My system uses the default b43 you get from puppy lucid 5.1

When I try to load the b43 module, I get the following message:
Loading b43 failed with the following message:
Fatal: Error inserting b43 (/lib/modules/2.6.33.2/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/b43/b43.ko): Unknown symbol in module, or unknown parameter (see dmesg)
pastebin of dmesg

tempestuous
Posts: 5464
Joined: Fri 10 Jun 2005, 05:12
Location: Australia

#17 Post by tempestuous »

Fatal: Error inserting b43 (/lib/modules/2.6.33.2/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/b43/b43.ko): Unknown symbol in module, or unknown parameter (see dmesg)
This doesn't sound right.
I just did a clean boot to the Puppy 5.1 CD, and even though I have no compatible Broadcom hardware, I loaded the b43 module without any error messages. I then unloaded the b43 module, ready to try again with the rfkill package.

I installed the rfkill-upgrade-k2.6.33.2.pet, and loaded the b43 module in this new situation. Again, the b43 module loaded without errors.
So there's nothing wrong with the rfkill package. I think your installation has a problem, maybe related to the earlier problem of not being able to locate the b43 firmware.

You may need to test in a clean boot environment.

User avatar
AlexS
Posts: 47
Joined: Fri 24 Nov 2006, 10:22
Location: Munich

#18 Post by AlexS »

Sorry for the wait, I got side tracked.

I created a fresh pup save file, in which the only thing I did was to install firefox.

I tried to load that pet, but in this case the pet instalation completely failed.

I'm wondering if the file is corrupted?

Here is the MD5 as given by GtkHash:
7fb089ee9bd647f706c76349a015fef1

tempestuous
Posts: 5464
Joined: Fri 10 Jun 2005, 05:12
Location: Australia

#19 Post by tempestuous »

Yes, that md5sum is wrong for rfkill-upgrade-k2.6.33.2.pet. It should be 9abeee2d109808002d7877758dc8a759
I will have access to Dell Mini this coming week end, and I will try the wifi switch myself.

tempestuous
Posts: 5464
Joined: Fri 10 Jun 2005, 05:12
Location: Australia

#20 Post by tempestuous »

The Linux drivers for Intel gigabit LAN adaptors; e1000/e1000e/igb, seem to require constant updating to keep up with the latest Intel ethernet devices.
Here are the latest versions of the Intel gigabit LAN Linux drivers, released by Intel in August/September 2010.

- For Intel 8254x PCI and PCI-X devices the compatible driver is e1000
- For Intel 82563/6/7, 82571/2/3/4/7/8, and 82583 PCI-E devices the compatible driver is e1000e
- For Intel 82575/6 and 82580 PCI-E devices the compatible driver is igb

These drivers will overwrite the older versions already contained in Puppy 5.1.
After installing any of these dotpets, reboot.
Attachments
e1000-8.0.23-k2.6.33.2.pet
for Puppy 5.1.x
(67.23 KiB) Downloaded 3091 times
e1000e-1.2.10-k2.6.33.2.pet
for Puppy 5.1.x
(67.98 KiB) Downloaded 3459 times
igb-2.3.4-k2.6.33.2.pet
for Puppy 5.1.x
(57.28 KiB) Downloaded 2927 times

Post Reply