SDB:Broadcom (BCM4306) WLAN Installation under SUSE

Version 9.3 - 10.0

Situation

You have a Broadcom WLAN card based on BCM4306 chipset but the card is not active because of the missing Linux Driver.

Procedure

1. You need to check if ndiswrapper is installed through: Yast > Software > Software Installation and search for ndiswrapper. 2. Start the shell console (Kmenu >System > Terminal Program > Terminal) and login as root with the command:

 sux -

and type in the root password. Afterwards create a directory with:

 mkdir /lib/windrivers

You need to download the Windows driver for BCM4306 from the following link: http://www.silfreed.net/download/hpzt3000cto/SP23107A.tar.gz and place them under /lib/windrivers:

 mv PATH_TO_DRIVER /lib/windrivers

From the console change to the directory with the drivers:

 cd /lib/windrivers

Afterwards execute

 tar -zxvf NAME_OF_DRIVER.tar.gz

for example tar -zxvf SP23107A.tar.gz then

 cd NAME_OF_DRIVER

Check if threre are no other ndiswrapper modules loaded with:

 ndiswrapper -l

if there are some, remove them with:

 ndiswrapper -e NAME_OF_MODULE

After this install the Drivermodule with

 ndiswrapper -i bcmwl5.inf

and load the module with

 modprobe ndiswrapper

Now you can configure your WLAN card through YAST > Network devices > Network card and configure a new wireless card and use the module name ndiswrapper. The other options here depend on the network system you want to use. (Fixed IP or DHCP, encryption etc.)

You can check if the card is active with Kwifimanager. Install this using Yast and run with Alt + F2 and type in kwifimanager. Alternatively, open the console as "root" and type in

 iwconfig

to see if the card is recognized.

<keyword>Broadcom,BCM4306,WLAN,wireless</keyword>