[SOLVED] Tried Installing Wireless Package, Still "No WiFi Adapter Found" Error

[climate_zipfile]

I tried installing the right package for my wireless PCI card and I still get the “No WiFi Adapter Found” error.

Setup:

Memory 11.7 GB​

Processor Intel Core i7 CPU 920 @ 2.67GHz * 8​

Graphics NVA0​

GNOME 3.30.2​

Debian GNU/Linux 10.5.0​

OS type 64-bit​

Disk 736.8 GB​

Network ASUS PCE-AC86 Wireless PCI card​

This is a desktop system, no Ethernet in this part of house, only wireless internet. So, I installed from DVD only. Wireless card works with Windows and Ubuntu.

Here is what I’ve done so far:

1. Read a similar post on Linux.org here: https://www.linux.org/threads/no-wifi-adapter-found.22187/
I couldn’t get that to work for me. Did some more research on YouTube:

2. Modified my sources.list file by making sure that non-free was included. Like so,

​

# deb cdrom:[Debian GNU/Linux 10.5.0 _Buster_ - Official amd64 DVD Binary-1 20200801-11:35]/ buster contrib main​

deb cdrom:[Debian GNU/Linux 10.5.0 _Buster_ - Official amd64 DVD Binary-1 20200801-11:35]/ buster contrib non-free main​

deb cdrom:[Debian GNU/Linux 10.5.0 _Buster_ - Official amd64 DVD Binary-2 20200801-11:35]/ buster contrib non-free main​

deb cdrom:[Debian GNU/Linux 10.5.0 _Buster_ - Official amd64 DVD Binary-3 20200801-11:35]/ buster contrib non-free main​

# Line commented out by installer because it failed to verify:deb http://security.debian.org/debian-security buster/updates main contrib non-free​

# Line commented out by installer because it failed to verify:deb-src http://security.debian.org/debian-security buster/updates main contrib non-free​

# buster-updates, previously known as 'volatile'​

# A network mirror was not selected during install. The following entries# are provided as examples, but you should amend them as appropriate# for your mirror of choice.​

#deb http://deb.debian.org/debian/ buster-updates main contrib non-free​

deb http://deb.debian.org/debian/ buster main contrib non-free​

deb-src http://deb.debian.org/debian/ buster-updates main contrib non-free​

3. Ran $lspci -nn to find out network chip number:

04:00.0 Network controller [0280]: Broadcom Limited BCM4360 802.11ac Wireless Network Adapter [14e4:43a0] (rev 03)​

06:00.0 Ethernet controller [0200]: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet Controller [10ec:8168] (rev 03)​

4. Searched for “Debian 10” + “BCM4360”, I got the following non-free package:

Debian -- Details of package broadcom-sta-dkms in buster

5. Downloaded this to a USB drive on another computer and transferred the package to the Debian Downloads folder. I installed the module this way:

$sudo dpkg -i '/home/user/Downloads/broadcom-sta-dkms_6.30.223.271-10_all.deb'​

That gave the following result:
(Reading database ... 137123 files and directories currently installed.)
Preparing to unpack .../broadcom-sta-dkms_6.30.223.271-10_all.deb
...Unpacking broadcom-sta-dkms (6.30.223.271-10) over (6.30.223.271-10)
...dpkg: dependency problems prevent configuration of broadcom-sta-dkms: broadcom-sta-dkms depends on dkms (>= 2.1.0.0);
however: Package dkms is not configured yet.
dpkg: error processing package broadcom-sta-dkms (--install): dependency problems - leaving unconfigured
Errors were encountered while processing: broadcom-sta-dkms

6. I did a shutdown and restart but, I still get the “No WiFi Adapter” error.

7. Tried installing Aptitude and Synaptic to fix dependency issues, neither would run.

8. Ran $apt list -- installed | grep broadcom-sta-dkms

broadcom-sta-dkms/now 6.30.223.271-10 all [installed,local]

9. Ran $sudo iwconfig

enp6s0 no wireless extensions.
lo no wireless extensions.


I don’t have any idea on how to proceed from here. I’m still pretty new to Linux.

 

[Tolkem]

#deb http://deb.debian.org/debian/ buster-updates main contrib non-free
deb http://deb.debian.org/debian/ buster main contrib non-free
deb-src http://deb.debian.org/debian/ buster-updates main contrib non-free

Are you building pkgs from source? If you're not and neither plan to, then I suggest you comment the line which reads deb-src it should look like this

#deb-src

this will prevent apt from downloading pkgs' sources files.

7. Tried installing Aptitude and Synaptic to fix dependency issues, neither would run.

How did you try installing them? Does Buster connect to the internet? I assume it doesn't since wifi adapter isn't workin, is that right? So, if you've been downloading pkgs and trying to install them on it, it is unlikely such a procedure works unless you download dependencies too, did you? For instance, those pkgs you tried to install have quite a few ones:
https://packages.debian.org/buster/dkms
https://packages.debian.org/buster/wireless-tools
https://packages.debian.org/buster/synaptic >> This one particularly needs a bunch of dependencies, 23 to be exact and some of those have their own dependencies too.
https://packages.debian.org/buster/aptitude Have 14 dependencies.
So, trying to install pkgs by downloading their .debs alone won't work, you need their dependencies too and these have their own dependencies as well, so it's not an easy task. Some pkgs you can since they don't have as many dependencies and even some like ksnip https://github.com/ksnip/ksnip/releases will install with no problem because everything it needs it's already available on the system. Some others, like the ones you're trying to install won't do that easily, since they do need more stuff to install properly.

I see you installed latest, Buster 10.5 and from the looks of it from a DVD, is that right? I've installed Debian by using the netinst.iso and it doesn't support wifi by default, not sure since never used it but the DVD should have that enabled. Try running this command in a terminal:

sudo dhcpcd

this will attempt to create/enable network interfaces available on your system.

 

[climate_zipfile]

I changed my sources.list file to comment out the

#deb-src

lines. No problem there.

When I tried to

sudo dhcpcd

the system responded with "dhcpcd: command not found" I'm working within an admin account, so I figured that was not a privilege problem. I went and did a little more digging with

$apt list --installed | grep dhcpcd

and there was no system response other than "WARNING: apt does not have a stable CLI interface. Use with caution in scripts" and a blank $ prompt. It doesn't look like dhcpcd installed from the DVD.

Yeah, I did install the whole system from DVD-1; no internet connection. The closest wired Ethernet is downstairs, and I would like to avoid hauling the whole desktop down there.

What is confusing is that dkms and wireless-tools seem to be installed. I ran

$apt list --installed | grep dkms

and got:
broadcom-sta-dkms/now 6.30.223.271-10 all [installed,local]
dkms/unknown, now 2.6.1-4 all [installed]

With the same command for wireless-tools, I got:
wireless-tools/unknown,now 30~pre9-13 amd64 [installed]

It looks like the DVD skips installing a lot of necessary packages for internet connections. If that's so, you figure there would be a guide on DVD installation for those without a handy Ethernet connection.

 

[Old Tom Bombadil]

Wireless card works with Windows and Ubuntu.

Ubuntu works out of the box because it includes non-free drivers. Debian .iso's are available with non-free drivers too, but those images are not promoted or advertised. It's a philosophical thing, I guess.

If you aren't committed to your DVD install, I would look here for a Live Debian + non-free in the desktop of your choice. Burn to USB and boot to see if all your hardware, including wireless, works properly. If yes, install this instead and build it up from there.

 

[Tolkem]

When I tried to

sudo dhcpcd

the system responded with "dhcpcd: command not found" I'm working within an admin account, so I figured that was not a privilege problem. I went and did a little more digging with

It isn't installed that's why you got no output at the prompt.

Yeah, I did install the whole system from DVD-1; no internet connection. The closest wired Ethernet is downstairs, and I would like to avoid hauling the whole desktop down there.

You could try booting another distro from a live USB, mount the partition where Buster's installed, update, upgrade and install the necessary pkgs. To do that just follow these steps:
1. - Download a debian based distro from another internet-enabled computer, for example Q4OS or antiX or any other you prefer, the thing's whichever you decide to download has to be wifi capable out of the box and I know those 2 are, plus their .iso files are not too large so it won't take too long to download. Also, Q4OS will detect any wifi device/interface on boot and will prompt you to activate it, so this one might actually be the most useful to do this.
2. - After downloading the .iso file burn it to a USB device.
3. - Reboot or start the pc having wifi issues, enter the bios settings and change the boot order so it boots from the USB device containing the Debian based distro wifi-capable/ready out of the box you just burnt onto it.
4. - Plug the USB device and boot the distro in live mode, once you reach the desktop open a terminal and type

lsblk

this will print/list the disks/partitions, take note of the one where Buster is installed.
5. - Mount that partition on /mnt

sudo mount /dev/sdX /mnt

replace X accordingly to Buster's partition, e.g /dev/sda1
6. - Mount some other stuff necessary for what we're going to do

sudo mount --bind /dev /mnt/dev
sudo mount --bind /dev/pts /mnt/dev/pts
sudo mount --bind /proc /mnt/proc
sudo mount --bind /sys /mnt/sys

7. - Chroot into /mnt

sudo chroot /mnt

8. - Edit /etc/resolv.config file to make sure we can get online on the chroot environment

 nano /etc/resolv.conf

and add these lines

nameserver 8.8.8.8

hit Ctrl + o and then Enter to save your changes. Then Ctrl + x to close nano.
9. - update the system

apt update

if no errors are shown we're good to go and install dhcpcd

apt install dhcpcd5

wait till it finishes once it is, you might want to upgrade the system too

apt upgrade

when that's done, exit the chroot either by typing exit at the prompt or by pressing Ctrl + d.
10. - umount the system

sudo umount -R /mnt

11. - Reboot, enter the BIOS settings and change the boot order back to the pc's internal HDD
12. - Boot into Buster and run the dhcpcd command again

sudo dhcpcd

and check whether or not wifi's working which it should now.

 

[Alexzee]

If you still are not able to get the WiFi working you could purchase a WiFi dongle that works out of the box with Linux.

Best USB WiFi Adapters for Linux (Review) in 2021

It is hard to find a Linux-compatible USB WiFi adapter these days, as mainstream manufacturers like Netgear, Belkin, and others do not take the platform

www.addictivetips.com

 

[climate_zipfile]

It isn't installed that's why you got no output at the prompt.



You could try booting another distro from a live USB, mount the partition where Buster's installed, update, upgrade and install the necessary pkgs. To do that just follow these steps: ...

...5. - Mount that partition on /mnt

sudo mount /dev/sdX /mnt

replace X accordingly to Buster's partition, e.g /dev/sda1
6. - Mount some other stuff necessary for what we're going to do

sudo mount --bind /dev /mnt/dev
sudo mount --bind /dev/pts /mnt/dev/pts
sudo mount --bind /proc /mnt/proc
sudo mount --bind /sys /mnt/sys

7. - Chroot into /mnt

sudo chroot /mnt

Everything worked great up to step 7.

I chose to put antiX 19.2_386_full on a live USB, and wireless works out of the box, so far so good. I bound those four directories you mentioned to /mnt but when I went to chroot:

root@antix1:/home/demo# sudo chroot /mnt
chroot: failed to run command '/bin/bash': Exec format error

I dug a little deeper on that error, and it seems that either the bash shell is not included on the /mnt or that the bash dependencies are not available. When I look under /mnt/usr/bin, bash is there and there is no error mark next to it. I then ran:

#apt-cache depends bash

and found that it depends on base-files and debianutils. I couldn't find those files anywhere to bind them to /mnt like you indicated with the other directories.

Some of the search listings for this error indicated that lib64 was necessary, so I added it like so:

#sudo mount --bind /usr/lib64 /mnt/usr/lib64

...which added it successfully, but the error still wasn't resolved.

I think if I can get chroot to run, this plan will work.

 

[climate_zipfile]

...If you aren't committed to your DVD install, I would look here for a Live Debian + non-free in the desktop of your choice. Burn to USB and boot to see if all your hardware, including wireless, works properly. If yes, install this instead and build it up from there.

That's a good suggestion. I'll try that if I can't get my live USB to work.

 

[Tolkem]

Everything worked great up to step 7.

I chose to put antiX 19.2_386_full on a live USB, and wireless works out of the box, so far so good. I bound those four directories you mentioned to /mnt but when I went to chroot:

root@antix1:/home/demo# sudo chroot /mnt
chroot: failed to run command '/bin/bash': Exec format error

I dug a little deeper on that error, and it seems that either the bash shell is not included on the /mnt or that the bash dependencies are not available. When I look under /mnt/usr/bin, bash is there and there is no error mark next to it. I then ran:

#apt-cache depends bash

and found that it depends on base-files and debianutils. I couldn't find those files anywhere to bind them to /mnt like you indicated with the other directories.

Some of the search listings for this error indicated that lib64 was necessary, so I added it like so:

#sudo mount --bind /usr/lib64 /mnt/usr/lib64

...which added it successfully, but the error still wasn't resolved.

I think if I can get chroot to run, this plan will work.

Try mounting these as well:

sudo mount -o bind /usr /mnt/usr

and

sudo mount -o bind /lib /mnt/lib  ---> or /usr/lib /mnt/usr/lib

I got into a similar situation yesterday while restoring a system from a backup in a tar file and had to recreate the entire FS and for that I needed to chroot but hit that wall and as far as I can remember (sorry) think mounting-binding those dirs solved it.

Also, I noticed you were logged as root

root@antix1:/home/demo# sudo chroot /mnt
chroot: failed to run command '/bin/bash': Exec format error

I'm quite not sure but I think you might have a better chance to suceed if log in as the default user: demo, which password is demo, too. Or if root, try chrooting without using sudo

root@antix1:/home/demo# chroot /mnt

but I think using the demo account is a better approach.

BTW, which antiX's version are you using? if you're using antiX base or full, explore antiX's applications menu, you'll find there are some tools already available that might prove to be helpful in your particular case, like chroot rescue scan and some others that might worth checking and see if they make the job easier.

 

[wizardfromoz]

Glad I read that post above, I was going to write that antiX recommend against becoming root in the Live environment, but that is not the cause of the problem.

The error Exec format error means that the binary being executed is made for a different architecture than the environment currently booted. It usually occurs when the system has been booted on a 32-bit system when a 64-bit environment is trying to load.

G'day @climate_zipfile and welcome to linux.org

1. Is your computer UEFI or MBR?

2. This was done from DVD, yes? Reboot the live environment and choose the correct architecture (most LiveCDs support a 64-bit kernel as well as a 32-bit option, although it is not booted by default).

Cheers

Chris Turner
wizardfromoz

 

[climate_zipfile]

1. Is your computer UEFI or MBR?

2. This was done from DVD, yes? Reboot the live environment and choose the correct architecture (most LiveCDs support a 64-bit kernel as well as a 32-bit option, although it is not booted by default).

Thanks for the welcome.

To answer your questions:
1. My computer has a MBR.
2. The initial Debian installation was done from a DVD, which should have been a 64-bit version. I would never have selected a 32-bit option. However, the current OS with the Exec Format Error is AntiX 19.2_i386 the full version, that I think is also a 64-bit version.

I was able to work past this error, and now I am working on getting dhcpcd5 to install correctly on Debian. Using apt --fix-broken install does not fix the problem. I keep getting a apt-listchanges not found error.

 

[climate_zipfile]

Try mounting these as well:

sudo mount -o bind /usr /mnt/usr

and

sudo mount -o bind /lib /mnt/lib  ---> or /usr/lib /mnt/usr/lib

Mounting those two additional directories allowed me to chroot into the Debian environment and update the system using:

#apt-get update

The response was 0 upgraded, 978 newly installed, 397 to remove and 1 not upgraded. 3 not fully installed or removed. I ran update a second time without any error messages. But, when I tried to install dhcpcd5 using:

#apt-get install dhcpcd5

I got a long list of dependency errors ending with:

E: Unmet dependencies. Try 'apt --fix-broken install' with no packages (or specify a solution).

So, I ran:

#apt --fix-broken install

The result was:

Get:953 http://deb.debian.org/debian buster/main i386 gnupg-utils i386 2.2.12-1+deb10u1 [908 kB]
Fetched 476 MB in 39s (12.1 MB/s)
/bin/sh: 1: /usr/bin/apt-listchanges: not found
E: Sub-process /usr/bin/apt-listchanges --apt || test $? -lt 10 returned an error code (1)
E: Failure running script /usr/bin/apt-listchanges --apt || test $? -lt 10

I looked around online and did not find much on this error message. One suggestion was to run apt clean, but running that made no difference. What am I missing?

 

[Vrai]

However, the current OS with the Exec Format Error is AntiX 19.2_i386 the full version, that I think is also a 64-bit version.

Correct me if I am mistaken, but, doesn't the "i386" in the "AntiX 19.2_i386 the full version" indicate a 32 bit version? It looks to me like their downloads are marked "x64" for 64 bit versions.

And this;

Get:953 http://deb.debian.org/debian buster/main i386 gnupg-utils i386 2.2.12-1+deb10u1 [908 kB]

 

[Tolkem]

I chose to put antiX 19.2_386_full on a live USB

I didn't catch on this the first time, otherwise I'd have advised you to download antiX x64 and try again. You might want to read here https://medium.com/100-days-of-linux/chroot-a-linux-wonder-fc36ed08087e which makes for an interesting reading to learn a few tricks on chrooting, but more important and relevant specifically to your case, there's this

There is one limitation of the chroot operation I have come across, you cannot chroot from a 32-bit machine into a 64-bit root file system due to compatibility issues. While you can chroot from a 64-bit device into a 32-bit root file system due to backward compatibility, chrooting from a 32-bit device to a 64-bit root filesystem is not possible.

 

[wizardfromoz]

That's where I was headed, with #10 - sorry, haven't been able to get in any earlier, dental and medical appointments.

Wiz

 

[climate_zipfile]

Well, the 64-bit version of AntiX did cut down the number of errors, but it didn't resolve everything. When I got to intalling dhcpcd5, I got this message:

root@antix1:/# apt install dhcpcd5
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree       
Reading state information... Done
You might want to run 'apt --fix-broken install' to correct these.
The following packages have unmet dependencies:
 dkms : Depends: gcc but it is not going to be installed
        Depends: dpkg-dev but it is not going to be installed
        Depends: make or
                 build-essential but it is not going to be installed
        Depends: patch but it is not going to be installed
        Recommends: fakeroot
        Recommends: linux-headers-686-pae but it is not installable or
                    linux-headers-amd64 but it is not going to be installed or
                    linux-headers-generic but it is not installable or
                    linux-headers but it is not installable
 synaptic : Depends: libept1.5.0 but it is not going to be installed
            Depends: libxapian30 (>= 1.4.11~) but it is not going to be installed
            Recommends: libgtk2-perl (>= 1:1.130) but it is not going to be installed
E: Unmet dependencies. Try 'apt --fix-broken install' with no packages (or specify a solution).

When I ran apt --fix-broken install, I got the same message as the previous day:

/bin/sh: 1: /usr/bin/apt-listchanges: not found
E: Sub-process /usr/bin/apt-listchanges --apt || test $? -lt 10 returned an error code (1)
E: Failure running script /usr/bin/apt-listchanges --apt || test $? -lt 10

It seems like there is a problem with dkms and synaptic. I ran the following:

#dpkg --list

All of the packages were listed as "ii" except for dkms, synaptic, and broadcom-sta-dkms, which are "iU". These were packages that I had previously manually installed before bringing this problem to the forum. Here is a sample of that list:

ii distro-info-data 0.41+deb10u2
iU dkms 2.6.1-4
ii dleyna-server 0.4.0-1.1

Is the U for uninstalled? Anyway, I tried to remove dkms with:

root@antix1:/# sudo apt-get purge dkms
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree       
Reading state information... Done
You might want to run 'apt --fix-broken install' to correct these.
The following packages have unmet dependencies:
 broadcom-sta-dkms : Depends: dkms (>= 2.1.0.0) but it is not going to be installed
 synaptic : Depends: libept1.5.0 but it is not going to be installed
            Depends: libxapian30 (>= 1.4.11~) but it is not going to be installed
            Recommends: libgtk2-perl (>= 1:1.130) but it is not going to be installed
E: Unmet dependencies. Try 'apt --fix-broken install' with no packages (or specify a solution).

But, this would not even remove the package. Sure enough, re-running dpkg --list showed that dkms was still there. Something is preventing me from removing and reinstalling dkms, synaptic, or broadcom-sta-dkms.

 

[climate_zipfile]

...If you aren't committed to your DVD install, I would look here for a Live Debian + non-free in the desktop of your choice. Burn to USB and boot to see if all your hardware, including wireless, works properly. If yes, install this instead and build it up from there.

*** PROBLEM SOLVED ***
Thanks for the suggestion. I was able to get Wi-Fi working on Debian through the contributions of people on this thread.

Here was my procedure:

1. I used the download link you provided to get the iso of Debian 10.5 x64 gnome + non-free software.
2. Burned that image to a DVD.
3. Went into the BIOS and made the CD/DVD drive first boot priority.
4. Used the graphical install tool as before. The "live" version of Debian + non-free still would not work with my connection. But, I decided to press on with one more clean install.
5. I made sure to format and reinstall both the swap partition and the Debian install partition. Before, I was not reformatting the main Debian partition. So, this time I started with a clean slate.
6. The install process still would not connect to the deb.debian.org servers for updates, but I expected this. The installer completed normally and the system rebooted.
7. The system date and time was wrong, so I used

   sudo date MMDDhhmmYYYY.SS

   to adjust. If the date and time are wrong, my apt-get update command won't work.
8. Out of curiosity, I wanted to see if the Broadcom package I needed was pre-installed. Using

   $apt list --installed | grep broadcom-sta-dkms

   I found out it was not installed. Its dependencies, dkms and wireless-tools were installed, though. Happy about that. Network-manager-gnome was also there.
9. I had the Broadcom package on a USB drive, so I copied the file to the downloads folder, opened Terminal, and used dpkg to install like this:

10. $cd /home/username/Downloads
    [*]$sudo dpkg -i broadcom-sta-dkms_6.30.223.271-10_all.deb

11. This completed without error with the message "DKMS: install completed"
12. I verified that the Broadcom package was now installed using the list command before. And, it was there "[installed, local]"
13. Rebooted the system.
14. Used Terminal to launch Network Manager

    $nm-connection-editor

    .
15. Entered my SSID and password. Hit Save.

The connection established automatically with all the other connection settings at their default values. My biggest roadblock was picking the Debian Net Install image and then the Official Debian Install DVD image. If you have access to an Ethernet connection, that might work out just fine. But, those working entirely from wireless need to plan more carefully.

Thanks again to everyone who helped on this thread. I've really learned a lot, and it has been most worth the effort.

 

[darry1966]

Best way to learn sometimes - trial and error - make mistakes and learn what works and doesn't.