<solved> Debian 10 - firmware missing; no network

rudrani1971

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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

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

Brickwizard

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usually in the software manager
 

kc1di

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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.
 
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KGIII

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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'.
 
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rudrani1971

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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.
 
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rudrani1971

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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

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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
 
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rudrani1971

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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

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Alexzee

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rudrani1971

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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! :D
 

KGIII

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- 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

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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! :D
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.
 
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