LINKSYS-WPC54GS(BCM43xx) in Debian 4.0
If you’re using Debian 4.0 but you find your 2-3 years old Linksys WPC54GS wireless card doesn’t work even though the system can “see” the hardware, then you may want to continue reading.
Because the Linux kernel has already supported any BCM43xx wireless card, the only thing you need to make Linksys WPC54GS wireless card work under Debian 4.0 is its firmwares.
You can download the firmwares here and extract them to a directory, say ~/tmp/bcmfw, then, as root, do
# mkdir /lib/firmware; cp ~/tmp/bcmfw/* /lib/firmware
# modprobe bcm43xx
After you reboot your Debian box (this step maybe unnecessary), WPC54GS should be able to see the access points. Enjoy your wireless network!
If you want to extract the firmwares yourself, the first tool you need is bcm43xx-fwcutter. You can install it by
# apt-get install bcm43xx-fwcutter
The next thing you need is bcmwl5.sys. Typically, the file can be found in the wireless card’s Windows driver. If you cannot find yours, you can download mine here. Say you put the file in ~/tmp/bcmfw, then
# bcm43xx-fwcutter bcmwl5.sys
Now, you should have all that you need. Follow the above steps, copy firmwares to the right place, then you’re good to go.
Finally someone who knows how to solve this problem right!!!!! I got sick of hearing NDISWRAPPER…..it doesn’t work. This solution was quick, easy and worked flawlessly. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you. I am enjoying my wireless.
Can you help me get my wusb54g v4 going under fedora 8?
＠Doug Hudman: You’re very welcome! I hope I could help you more, but I can’t do that since I currently don’t have neither wusb54g nor fedore box in hand.
Since using your fix, my wireless has always worked, but I did notice when I look at the ifconfig it states it is running at 11 Mb and not 54Mb. Do you have a fix for this, or is this just a linux thing that doesn’t allow 54 Mb?
@Doug Hudman: Check out the linux driver from broadcom itself, http://www.broadcom.com/support/802.11/linux_sta.php
I didn’t own the Linksys WPC54GS anymore, so I can’t guarantee this driver will work for it. This driver works for BCM4311-, BCM4312-, BCM4321-, and BCM4322-based hardware, please check your hardware first (lspci | grep bcm).
My current wireless card (bcm 4328) is pretty happy with the driver.