more LINUX MINT 11 problems ! !

[#1]

I have downloaded and installed Broadcom B43 FW cutter .... BUT... I cannot see any wireless connections.  when I left click on the connection icon , bottom right corner  (two wired plugs facing each other).  it says  (greyed out) 
"Wireless Networks"
Device not ready (firmware missing)
I cannot find any way to check if the wireless switch is "on"...... except by changing the HDD and booting up my windows xp. which (of course) connects almost immediately after boot up has finished, to my wireless router only 2 feet away (max)..... which.... correct me if I am wrong in assuming so, means that my wireless is switched on.... and ther "firmware" is present... and when I put back the Linux Mint 11 HDD I have no wireless connection at all.....
why is linux so hard to get working ? 

[#2]

I would suggest that you try the Linux Mint Forums, there maybe people there with the same hardware than can help you.
We can only make suggestions that are more generic.

[#3]

Installing the b43 firmware cutter doesn't install the firmware, it's just a tool to extract the firmware from another driver. See http://wireless.kernel.org/en/users/Drivers/b43#firmware
Please place the blame for this mess firmly with Broadcom - most other wireless chip manufacturers are much more friendly towards Linux, providing the firmware in a useful format, with a license that allows other people to re-distribute it, possibly also writing the drivers for Linux or helping other people to write them. But the b43 driver was reverse engineered, and people don't have permission to distribute the firmware.
Well, to be fair, Broadcom do provide their "broadcom-wl" driver, but that's not open source, doesn't work well with the standard config tools, might not compile with a newer kernel... , and Broadcom have finally released some open-source drivers for some of their more recent wireless hardware.

[#4]

So.... it`s everyone elses fault not Linux, that I can`t get it to work.... (I understand about drivers etc....... but Linux writers insist they are so clever that just about anything (normal) you do with Windows, you can do just as easily with Linux ......................... erm  so why has it taken two days to get this far and it is still not working ? ? ? ? ?.)    BUT... I did have a wireless connection with the Broadcom B43 on MINT 8 and MINT 9... so why not MINT 11...  and a previous 2gb memory stick "just worked" .....
this is SO FRUSTRATING...

[#5]

I'm guessing Mint switched from using the broadcom-wl driver to using the in-kernel b43 driver, because most people (or most other distributions) use the b43 driver.

[#6]

It will always take longer to get non-vanilla or "certified" things to work. As to why they stopped, no idea but maybe an update broke something - you said you hadn't used it for a LONG time. I have an EEE that "just works" touchpad, wireless etc all work oob, same with my old IBM laptop, but my Acer has another wifi chip set and it just will not work (maybe with ndiswrapper but couldn't be bothered finding a M$ driver) I just plugged in a 3com wifi dongle and it worked oob again.
You have to remember that if manufactured don't give the community the f/w or drivers then the "clever Linux writers" have to reverse engineer the existing one and try and get that to work, not 5 min's work. Also if it is a new or uncommon piece of hardware no-one may have done anything with it yet.
What would you do if you went to install W7 and found that there was no driver for your old equipment? (i.e. something over a year old) I had this problem with vista - my printer & scanner wouldn't work in it - they worked find in xp but not vista and the manufacturer said they were not going to release drivers. Something that made me move to Linux where they worked fine and continued to for several more years.
I still find the odd bit of equipment that doesn’t work but most stuff works oob no driver required. E,g, I bought a sata/pata/usb adaptor from ebay and just plugged it in and it worked same with a wireless mouse I bought all the buttons work no driver need.
My printer is about the only bit I have that is not 100% compatible, I can print text/pdfs fine but if I want to print photos I have to use my virtual xp - I could get turboprint which would make it work but I can't afford the money for it so I just use the vm.

[#7]

Quote

I have downloaded and installed Broadcom B43 FW cutter

I believe you might also need the firmware-b43-installer package on Mint 11 ( if its based on Ubuntu 11.04 ).
See here http://computerandu.wordpress.com/2011/05/04/how-to-solve-no-wireless-networks-in-ubuntu-11-04/

[#8]

@ ejs .......Which, really, doesn`t mean anything to me.....except , I cannot get "Online" via my wireless router.... as no networks show up... as if my wireless on the laptop is not working....
surely if Mint 11 has changed it`s wireless connecting setup, then it should (?) be easier to connect, rather than extreeeeeeemly more difficult....

Starting on this "wireless connection" now that the "dongle connection" is working......
How can I get it  (MINT 11 ) to connect to my wireless router ?
@ HB..... yes I understand what you are saying.... but it is really so infuriating, that there is so much Windows bashing by the Linux Fraternity, that when it gets down to the bread and butter stuff, "that should work oob" so to speak, and it doesn`t.... spending 3 or 4 hours installing a Windows OS, seems to be worth it !... compared to spending two days via a forum to get the wireless dongle working. and I expect . possibly the same amount of time to get the memory stick working,.... (If at all !)...
Other "software" stuff, I can probably find alternatives to Windows only .... but ...you can`t "stick a piece of wood, with a wire in it" and make it work as a dongle... it is "the dongle" or nothing... there is no alternative.. (except to keep buying different makes , until one works OOB!)

[#9]

I'm an ardent Linux fan who also has two other distros apart from PCLOS installed. (Mint 11 and MEPIS).
But I have to agree with Shutter that Wi-fi connection is the one problem that I often have had problems with.
It varies from distro to distro. PCLOS always requires ndiswrappers. Mint and Mepis have varied from release to release. Sometimes connecting oob but at others needing much trial-and-error.
I eventually decided to use a mains power line connection, which is fast and reliable 
I also have Win7 installed (it came with the box) but it doesn't support my printer/scanner/copier and I never use it.

[#10]

Yes, I run Ubuntu 10.04LTS on 2 desktops and 10.04 Netbook Edition on an Acer Aspire One and TBH I stick with the LTS releases. I had a few problems with a ZTE MF627 USB Dongle on the netbook and it still occasionally has a disconnect issue on the built-in Wireless when working hard. I believe its wireless issues are down to a  ASPM L0/L1 fault on the chipset which is worked around by the windows driver. Ok, so you have to be slightly careful when picking hardware for Linux boxes ( I built the 2 desktops myself ) but having a system that boots in seconds not minutes and doesn't have to be crippled with AV/AntiSpyWare software and firewalls is worth it. 

[#11]

Quote from: MisterW

having a system that boots in seconds not minutes and doesn't have to be crippled with AV/AntiSpyWare software and firewalls is worth it.

which is exactly the reason why I wanted it to work on my second laptop, the one I keep in the car... because I want to boot up, get on line... get the info, and get off line and back to whatever I was doing. as quickly as possible.... at the moment, I have a Windows XP hdd, that takes about 15 minutes to get me on line from the time I power up the laptop !...
.

[#12]

Yep, I take my Netbook into the office, switch my Windows box on, wait for the Login box, Login and then take out the Netbook, boot it, login , check my home email, maybe reply to one or two and then shut it down. The windows box still hasn't finished its startup.    

[#13]

Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee  HA!.... 
just downloaded the "firmware-b43-installer" and installed it.... and before you know it has finished installing... there is my wireless connection listed, along with a couple of the neighbours...
so we got that bit working now... 

[#14]

Just a minor bit left on the USB dongle and then it's just the USB memory stick then shutter

[#15]

Yup !... we are making progress.... slow.... but it is progress. !