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Debian: Lenny cannot load Broadcom NIC drivers, asking for firmware bnx2-06-4.0.5.fw or bnx2-09-4.0.5.fw during install

by on Feb.16, 2009, under Debian

If you have a Dell server, dump it, or keep reading 😉

Well… to me it sounds like some copyright crap Broadcom is pulling, or perhaps Debian is trying to be more compliant with restricted drivers. Three ways I can think of to work around this:

Download the deb package from http://packages.debian.org/etch/firmware-bnx2″ href=”http://packages.debian.org/etch/firmware-bnx2″>http://packages.debian.org/etch/firmware-bnx2, copy it to a flash drive and insert when prompted during installation. You don’t have to mount anything… install process will automatically find and load the driver. Do not unpack the .deb package, copy it to your USB drive without any modifications. OS will access the file and extract what it needs accordingly.
Install an old or supported NIC (Intel?) and proceed with installation. Once it’s done install the deb package and restart networking.
Install without a NIC, then download and copy the file to a flash drive or CD, mount and install. Just make sure you’re not using Debian NetInst CD!

One of the readers suggested that I should also post a link to the page where different versions of the driver can be downloaded http://packages.debian.org/search?searchon=names&keywords=bnx2.

Updated Feb 18th 2010  by Mark (comment reply):

To the people struggling with BCM5716: Even the latest Lenny 5.0.4 stable installer (with kernel 2.6.26-2 rev 21lenny3) doesn’t yet have the PCI IDs required to load the drivers. Here is some useful info:

http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=565353″ href=”http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=565353″>http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=565353
http://www.mail-archive.com/debian-kernel@lists.debian.org/msg52571.html” href=”http://www.mail-archive.com/debian-kernel@lists.debian.org/msg52571.html”>http://www.mail-archive.com/debian-kernel@lists.debian.org/msg52571.html
http://wiki.debian.org/HowToRebuildAnOfficialDebianKernelPackage” href=”http://wiki.debian.org/HowToRebuildAnOfficialDebianKernelPackage”>http://wiki.debian.org/HowToRebuildAnOfficialDebianKernelPackage

I’ve just spent the last 2 days working out how to roll my own Debian installer image with a patched kernel. All this work just to get some tiny changes into bnx2.ko and preseed the firmware 🙂

I’ve uploaded working Debian Lenny netinstall images:

MegaUpload Links:
amd64: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=8O5D782S” href=”http://www.megaupload.com/?d=8O5D782S”>http://www.megaupload.com/?d=8O5D782S
i386: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=3B9W1MHP” href=”http://www.megaupload.com/?d=3B9W1MHP”>http://www.megaupload.com/?d=3B9W1MHP

RapidShare Links:
amd64: http://rapidshare.com/files/359005652/debian-lenny-5.04-netinst-amd64-bcm5716.tar.bz2.html
i386: http://rapidshare.com/files/359005127/debian-lenny-5.04-netinst-i386-bcm5716.tar.bz2.html

Note: For anybody just looking for an install image containing the bnx2 firmware, this is for you too. Well, it works for me – YMMV.

btw, the next point release (5.0.5) of Lenny will work without any of these problems.”

CC0 1.0 To the extent possible under law, the creator has waived all copyright and related or neighboring rights to this work.

Related posts:

  1. Debian: Squeeze cannot load Broadcom LAN drivers bnx2/bnx2-mips-09-5.0.0.j3.fw
  2. Debian: Debian 5 (Lenny) has been released!
  3. Debian: Upgrade Etch to Lenny, and error message “There is no public key available for the following key IDs: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx”
  4. VMware: Install Intel ET 82575 and 82576 drivers on ESX 4 vSphere


49 Comments for this entry

  • Federico
    February 23rd, 2009 on 5:24 AM

    Solution number 1 works like a charm.

    Developers made a really good job.

    Thanks for sharing this information.

    Reply
  • Scott
    February 23rd, 2009 on 4:59 PM

    I think this is a case of open source developers being a little too strict in their approach to distributing “free” software. Excluding bnx2 from the Lenny installer may agree well with Debian “computing ethics” but at the end of the day creates a barrier to their distribution being used on more systems. I think a fair compromise should have been to include firmware-bnx2 in the installer with a grave warning about the social dangers of non-free software but still giving the user a chance to actually finish the install.

    After all, Debian is still distributing the same (zomg! evil! non-free!) firmware via an official package repository anyway. What’s the difference, except inconvenience to the user?? Silly.

    Reply
  • Timothy Heider
    March 24th, 2009 on 4:11 PM

    I have already wasted 3 hours on this (including going out to get a USB stick which I have never needed to install Linux) and have not yet solved it.

    I can’t find anything on the Debian site explaining how to resolve this either.

    When I put the USB stick into the server (with the FW file on it) it indicates it’s accessing the USB stick (the little light blinks) but then just prompts me again for removable media. I will spend another 2 hours trying to debug this now.

    How is Linux ever going to grow with things like this constantly coming up? Every time I install Linux it’s something new. Every time I need to change a JDK or an /etc/profile I have to search on Google for 2 hours to find some cryptic solution to some unexpected problem. Two of my customers went back to Debian 4 because of this “network driver issue” and now I see what they’re talking about.

    It’s so sad, but it really explains why Microsoft continues to rule the OS world.

    Sorry for the rant, but good grief! I’ve been working for 5 years with Linux and it’s always the same story.

    Reply
    • Ali
      March 24th, 2009 on 4:17 PM

      This is unfortunate that you are having problems, but I know quite a few users who were able to use a USB stick and had no issues. Are you sure your stick is fine and file is being transferred properly? Did you try to check the MD5 hash before and after transferring the file to your USB drive?

      Reply
  • Timothy Heider
    March 24th, 2009 on 4:18 PM

    I wanted to follow my rant with something useful: if I put the firmware-bnx2_0.14_all.deb file onto the memory stick (formatted FAT32) then the network drivers install.

    It does not work if you unpack the .deb file and get the file the installer is requesting specifically.

    Reply
  • Timothy Heider
    March 24th, 2009 on 4:19 PM

    Ah.. also thanks Ali for your reply. I thought these posts just went to outer space. Nice to know someone is listening… 😉

    Reply
    • Ali
      March 24th, 2009 on 4:21 PM

      You’re most welcome. As I mentioned in my post you did not have to unpack the .deb package… that’s why it couldn’t use it. Glad all is well now 🙂

      Reply
  • debian
    April 1st, 2009 on 5:48 PM

    Even formatting ext2 does not work with the .deb file. You have to format fat32 and then move the .deb file over. Also after the modules are loaded remove the stick before setting up drives or…in my case debian got confused on installing grub.

    Reply
    • Ali
      April 1st, 2009 on 5:53 PM

      Well, normally when we talk about a flash drive it’s normally formatted as FAT32 or vFAT. I don’t format mine any other way since I want them to be good in Windows and Linux. Removing the drive is a good recommendation… I didn’t run into any problems but I don’t recall if it was still connected during installation or not. Good call, though.

      Reply
  • smajko
    May 7th, 2009 on 9:06 AM

    Thanks for the tip!!!

    Reply
  • Sinan
    August 12th, 2009 on 5:21 PM

    The link in option 1 is referring to Etch instead of Lenny. Use this link (http://packages.debian.org/search?searchon=names&keywords=bnx2) of the link in the article.

    Reply
    • Ali
      August 13th, 2009 on 1:10 AM

      The old trick did the job. I don’t remember if that page was available earlier when that post was published, but thanks anyway! I have updated the post with your comment.

      Reply
  • Maggi
    August 18th, 2009 on 10:14 AM

    the first step works fine, u save my life =*
    thx

    Reply
  • Mack
    September 1st, 2009 on 12:33 PM

    Great info – thanks!!

    Reply
  • Chris
    September 11th, 2009 on 7:26 PM

    Just a tip for everyone else out there so they don’t waste time like I did. Only insert the flash drive when asked for the driver, and then remove it as soon as you configure networking. The installer will detect the flash drive on scanning disks and cause havok with the ordering of drives. After the reboot it will look for sda2 instead of 0.

    Reply
  • Richard
    November 6th, 2009 on 2:46 PM

    I downloaded this file: firmware-bnx2_0.14+lenny2_all.deb
    and tried to install the driver, but the installer came back saying it found no kernel modules… indeed looking at the contents of the package, it only contains *.fw files… no *.ko files…. did I get the wrong file?

    Reply
  • reddrgon
    December 16th, 2009 on 1:02 PM

    I apparently have a newer Broadcom 5716 card, and even using the sid .deb package, it still isn’t working for me. I’m trying to install squeeze, I’ve tried the firmware debs for lenny, squeeze and sid; no joy on any of them. Any other suggestions?

    Reply
  • Greg
    January 25th, 2010 on 9:54 AM

    What about the poor chaps that have to drive 200 miles to put usb stick in the machine 🙁

    I use PXE and IP KVM to install Debian on my machines and that’s the only way if I don’t want to spend a whole day in a car driving to the datacentre

    Reply
  • J
    February 15th, 2010 on 1:22 PM

    Thanks working with my Broadcom NetXtreme 5721

    Reply
  • Mark
    February 18th, 2010 on 6:16 AM

    To the people struggling with BCM5716: Even the latest Lenny 5.0.4 stable installer (with kernel 2.6.26-2 rev 21lenny3) doesn’t yet have the PCI IDs required to load the drivers. Here is some useful info:

    1) http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=565353
    2) http://www.mail-archive.com/debian-kernel@lists.debian.org/msg52571.html
    3) http://wiki.debian.org/HowToRebuildAnOfficialDebianKernelPackage

    I’ve just spent the last 2 days working out how to roll my own Debian installer image with a patched kernel. All this work just to get some tiny changes into bnx2.ko and preseed the firmware 🙂

    I’ve uploaded working Debian Lenny netinstall images (on megaupload, sorry!)
    amd64: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=8O5D782S
    i386: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=3B9W1MHP

    Note: For anybody just looking for an install image containing the bnx2 firmware, this is for you too. Well, it works for me – YMMV.
    btw, the next point release (5.0.5) of Lenny will work without any of these problems.

    Reply
  • Mark
    February 18th, 2010 on 2:48 PM

    Hi Ali, that’s great, hopefully some people will find it useful!

    Reply
  • Mark
    February 19th, 2010 on 12:28 PM

    Oh, I recently found this. Kenshi Muto is on the Debian installer team but he creates unofficial images with backported or latest kernels. This will be a big help!

    http://kmuto.jp/debian/d-i/

    Reply
  • Jean Chassoul
    March 25th, 2010 on 11:14 AM

    Thank you! the install image work like a charm!

    Reply
  • Gustavo
    March 26th, 2010 on 10:15 AM

    Thanks for this info! You’ve saved my day!

    Reply
  • Gruic
    April 15th, 2010 on 4:00 PM

    Here’s an interesting issue I found out with this problem:
    1) IF you put the debian packages on a usb flash drive formatted EXT2 the debian installer will NOT find the drivers
    2) IF you put those same debian packages on a usb flash drive formatted VFAT the installer will work flawlessly and find the drivers

    I see the logic but don’t totally agree with it. It should find either filesystem and then copy the drivers. Another annoying thing is that the USB drivers are always loaded prior to HBA drivers so your /dev/sda will be the usb stick. Pain in the ass if you’re not using labels to mount your drives.

    Reply
  • Jason
    May 11th, 2010 on 5:04 AM

    Thanks for the information. I used your patched netinstall image and it was a real life saver for me. Just FYI: This affects older 2950 Dell servers too and not just the newer models (uses same firmware).

    Reply
  • Robin
    May 19th, 2010 on 6:11 AM

    I got a Dell R510 working using the patched kernel, didn’t realise the USB stick needed to be formatted using VFAT, so that didn’t work for me. Thanks!

    Reply
  • Rene
    May 21st, 2010 on 5:40 AM

    Thanks Folks! Really, this information and the Images saved my Weekend 🙂 I mirrored the Images so you don`t need annoying megaupload anymore. Mirror is here: http://outpost.flashfingaz.de/~smash/iso/

    Thanks and a nice Weekend to all of you 😉

    Reply
  • Fabio
    June 4th, 2010 on 10:43 AM

    With the Mark solution’s worked perfect.

    Thks

    Reply
  • MurikJ
    June 30th, 2010 on 6:48 AM

    in version 5.0.5 this problem is continuing

    Reply
  • detar
    August 25th, 2010 on 5:21 PM

    yup, I have just installing 5.0.5 and faced with this same problem. but thanks for the solution anyway, it works! 🙂

    Reply
  • sehpatr
    April 2nd, 2011 on 7:42 PM

    In solution one, when is it; insert when “prompted” during installation ?

    Is it the part when it can’t find the ethernet card and asks me to choose one, or either continue with no ethernet card?

    and it sounded to me the way it’s going to work is I install it with no ethernet card and then insert the usb and install it from there.

    But when I dont have an ethernet card I can’t install it because it requires tons of info off of internet. So I should burn 6DVD version of debian?

    Or when should I insert this USB at the installation?

    Reply
    • Ali
      April 4th, 2011 on 11:25 AM

      I don’t remember exactly what message it was, but if it’s not asking you for drivers or showing you a list then it’s not finding your Ethernet card at all.

      Reply
  • sehpatr
    April 5th, 2011 on 11:48 PM

    It asked me once and I tried Intel based ones just to try and see if it would work after all I tried but then server started thinking that it was intel cards at each attempt.

    I deleted my arrays and created new logical drives on the server so that it would ask me again, but it’s still thinking they are intel cards.

    Also as I was trying yesterday, now my installation hangs at detecting network hardware part. What’s up with this now? 🙂
    Is this anything to do with them NIC cards?

    Reply
  • sehpatr
    April 5th, 2011 on 11:59 PM

    Also can we just install debian from the netinst CD links that you provided?

    Should I just boot to them?

    Reply
  • Ravi
    April 27th, 2011 on 2:14 AM

    Thanks for the post; I would like to package the bnx2 drivers into initrd.gz and replace the original initrd.gz with packaged bnx2 drivers one and re-create the netinstall iso. So that next time booting from netinsall iso, drivers are installed automatically. Do you know how to achieve this ?

    Thanks.

    Reply
    • Ali
      April 27th, 2011 on 9:19 AM

      There are many posts out there about slipstreaming the drivers onto a Linux install CD. Unfortunately I don’t have anything ready to post at the moment.

      Reply
  • tweekd
    April 27th, 2011 on 6:47 PM

    on Debian Squeeze, during the install, I had to do a ctrl-alt-F2 to get to a terminal, and then do a manual mount with mount /dev/sdc1 /media before i could get it to work w/ my usb flash. I used the bnx2_0.29.all firmware, and it installs. Don’t forget to remove the flash drive before proceeding further (so it doesn’t show up as another disk). Hope this helps.

    Reply
  • Simon
    May 8th, 2012 on 11:09 AM

    Just had this problem with Squeeze! Thank you very much for this post!!! Option 1 worked wonders for me using the .deb file from http://packages.debian.org/squeeze/firmware-bnx2 Thank you again Ali!

    Reply
  • rez
    May 30th, 2012 on 10:54 AM

    Ran into this trouble with current stable, squeeze.
    Not so nice to pack up for a drive back to datacentre, wasted total 6h for nothing.

    Reply

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