Discussion of BCM43xx wireless mini-pc card on an HP Pavillion dv9012 series Laptop with Gutsy

[Harry Wert]

If this is addressed to the wrong Forum, please feel free to forward
same to any other Forum wherein it might be helpful. This commentary is
intended to be of help to others who may be facing similar Wireless
problems. I make no claim for originality.

My HP Pavilion dv9012 series laptop with internal BCM94311MCG wlan
mini-PCI card has worked flawlessly with VISTA, SuSE SLED10, Dapper, and
Fiesty. When I upgraded to Gutsy, downloaded the Restricted Firmware,
and went on-line it worked immediately but Download speeds ran from
20kbs to ~ 60kbs. This, with a DSL broadband line rated and tested for
7Mbs. I communicated with others via this and other Forums, and also did
many Google searches attempting to resolve this problem, but to no
avail. Finally, I was able to locate the cause and corrective action
necessary to restore full 7mbs speeds by means of a systematic debug
process which worked, and is 100% repeatable. My apologies in advance to
the BCM43xx development group who were both helpful, and had the
patience to stick with me, as the problem had nothing to do with the
Firmware.

To isolate the problem Vista was run on this dual-boot laptop, which
also contains Gutsy. The BCM94311MCG wlan mini-PCI performance was
identical to that of Gutsy. Conclusion: could be a defective BCM94311MCG
wlan mini-PCI.

Next I used a Thinkpad Laptop (Dual-boot) running Xp and Fiesty. Results
were identical, low-speed identical to that above, but with Totally
different hardware; ie, it does not use a BCM94311MCG wlan mini-PCI
card. Conclusion: The BCM94311MCG wlan mini-PCI card and the firmware
for same is not the problem.

Next step was to disconnect my internal Linksys router from my internal
Network, then connect directly to my DSL Modem via Ethernet cable to the
HP Laptop. Result was full DSL 7Mbs speed. Conclusion: problem must be
associated with the Linksys wireless "B" Broadband router. The Internal
Network could not be the problem as it was previously checked for up to
100Mbs transfer rates.

The Linksys router was next tested by bypassing the wireless part and
connected to the Laptop via Ethernet cable. Result: Full DSL 7Mbs
performance. Back to square One!

To finally isolate where the Linksys problem was, everything was
reconnected to it's initial state, rebooted and speed retested. It was
unchanged at 20kbs to ~ 60kbs data rate. Using a wired connection to the
Linksys router was still a full 7Mbs rate.  Conclusion: The Linksys
router in the wireless mode is clearly the problem.

Finally,  the Linksys router was given a Full reset. The procedure to
setup from scratch was followed to completion by re-entering all the
necessary information as necessary for operation with the DSL modem.
Result: Problem solved. Full wireless operation with my HP Pavilion
dv9012 and the BCM94311MCG wlan mini-PCI, now produces the identical
7Mbs data rate as the DSL Modem itself.

How the Linksys Router lost it's mind is unknown, as it is on an active
UPS system. 

Sorry for the long-winded update, but systematic thought processes are a
necessary attribute for a Physicist! After nearly two weeks of
intermittent investigation I felt compelled to tell someone!

Thanks to all...

Harry