<solved> Debian 10 - firmware missing; no network

[rudrani1971]

Hi everyone,

As the aforementioned title states, I can't even get online.

I'm working with an ancient Dell Latitude D830, 32 bit.

Broadcom Limited NetXtreme BCM5755M Gigabit Ethernet PCI Express

Also:

Intel Corporation PRO/Wireless 3945ABG [Golan] Network Connection [8086:4222]

I'm in no way well-versed in Linux (it's a learning WIP) but am familiar with a few terminal commands, such as apt-get and so on.

Been downloading, installing and playing with different flavours of Linux to see which one fit me. Started with Ubuntu; went on to Mint, Kali, Zorin, and now Debian. Debian for some odd reason is the only 1 I've used so far that doesn't automatically come with internet drivers.

Anyway, enough rambling on my part! Any advo anyone can possibly offer would truly be appreciated! Have a great weekend everyone!

 

[Brickwizard]

as far as I can remember , this wireless card has a BCM chipset and should work with the BCM43** drivers in the linux core

 

[rudrani1971]

Hi brick,

Where would I go about looking for said drivers?

Tysm!

 

[Brickwizard]

usually in the software manager

 

[rudrani1971]

Looks like a catch-22 there brick. Can't access software without WiFi

 

[kc1di]

Can you connect via Ethernet cable? if you can you can install the needed driver according to this page: Debian firmware If you cannot connect. You can get to another machine and download the file from here Debian iwlwifi firmware No guarantee it will install and work, but worth a try. Other option is to download Debian non-free .iso and burn a new stick and install with that which will have the needed drivers available. Debian+non-free iso Good luck.

 

[KGIII]

You can often set your phone to tether mode and plug it into a USB port where Linux will recognize it as an internet connection. It's a neat trick to get wireless drivers and the likes.

I also have a few USB to Ethernet (RJ45, IIRC) cables kicking around. They're just handy items for that 'just in case'.

 

[rudrani1971]

Ty so far everyone! I surfed around on those pages that kc1 referred me to. I downloaded them to my phone, which I have connected to my laptop via a USB cable. I'll look into using it for WiFi.

 

[rudrani1971]

I downloaded firmware-iwlwifi_20190114-2_all.deb
and firmware-nonfree_20190114-2.debian.tar.xz

Have I missed anything so far?

Again, thx to all of you for walking me through it! I feel like such a dumdum. LoL

 

[Brickwizard]

don't

Again, thx to all of you for walking me through it! I feel like such a dumdum. LoL

don't think that its a common mistake made by many people they download Debian without the non-free codecs without realising they are important for the non purest user , who would not know how to find what they need, Hopefully we should get you sorted

Bwiz

 

[rudrani1971]

So based on the 2 aforementioned files I downloaded, is there anything else I need?

 

[Deleted member 101831]

This may be of use.

Ultimate Guide To Install Missing Firmware in Debian

Learn how to install missing firmware in Debian with this guide and learn how to fix the device not ready or firmware missing error in Debian or Ubuntu step by step.

www.techbrackets.com

 

[rudrani1971]

Ty Nelson;

I'll look at while I'm multitasking! Lol

 

[rudrani1971]

Ok,

Here's how far I got with the link Nelson sent me:

I typed in the command
sudo dmesg

And I didn't get any firmware listed.
Instead, what I got was (for example):
I/O error, dev sr0, sector 1372444
Buffer I/O error on dev sr0, logical block 343111, async page read

I tried

sudo apt install apt-file

And I got a prompt asking me to put the Debian DVD in /media/cdrom/

I don't have a disk, but I have the ISO which I flashed onto a USB drive using Etcher.

I didn't know how to get the process to change drives so I could install apt-file from the thumb drive.

That's my progress so far.

 

[Alexzee]

This link of Debian .iso's for i386 already has the non-free firmware included in the .iso.

Maybe give one of those a spin. Just an idea.

Index of /cdimage/unofficial/non-free/cd-including-firmware/10.10.0-live+nonfree/i386/iso-hybrid

 

[rudrani1971]

This link of Debian .iso's for i386 already has the non-free firmware included in the .iso.

Maybe give one of those a spin. Just an idea.

Index of /cdimage/unofficial/non-free/cd-including-firmware/10.10.0-live+nonfree/i386/iso-hybrid

Tysm Alex!

 

[Alexzee]

Tysm Alex!

You're welcome.

Hope it works for you. I'm thinking it should.

Let us know how it goes.

Here's the page for Debian 10.10.0 and all the desktop environments:

Index of /cdimage/unofficial/non-free/cd-including-firmware/10.10.0-live+nonfree/i386/iso-hybrid

 

[rudrani1971]

Thx again Alex,

Just 2 more Q's:

- Should I just dl the ISO file or is there more I should be downloading?
- do you have a link for the torrent version of the nonfree firmware included? My wifi is spotty and big files are tough to download.

Thx again!

 

[KGIII]

- do you have a link for the torrent version of the nonfree firmware included? My wifi is spotty and big files are tough to download.

I'll leave the rest for @Alexzee, but with a spotty connection you will want to verify the integrity of the downloaded .iso - except you mentioned a torrent. The great thing about downloading them as a torrent is that the system has built-in integrity checking. So, using the torrent/magnet is a good idea for more reasons than one might think.

I just figured I'd toss this out there. 'Tis late and I've been busy sipping wine at the pool table.

 

[Alexzee]

Thx again Alex,

Just 2 more Q's:

- Should I just dl the ISO file or is there more I should be downloading?
- do you have a link for the torrent version of the nonfree firmware included? My wifi is spotty and big files are tough to download.

Thx again!

Yes, if you can download the whole .iso file.
That way you have the whole distro and the non-free firmware too.

I'll look for a torrent......I'm not sure if there is one.

Go to the next page for the torrent.