BCM4312 802.11b/g and Scientific-linux

Question

I have a fresh Scientific-linux 6.1 install on a Compaq 610 notebook:

lspci | grep Broadcom
10:00.0 Network controller: Broadcom Corporation BCM4312 802.11b/g LP-PHY (rev 01)

But I can't see the wifi interface listed in "ifconfig -a".

How can I bring the wifi to life?

Answer 1

You need to load the driver for the card

modprobe b43

If you want to automatically load this every time at boot, create /etc/sysconfig/modules/b43.modules as

#!/bin/sh
/sbin/modprobe b43

And then chmod a+x /etc/sysconfig/modules/b43.modules

Answer 2

I use CentOS, but I followed the instructions here to build Broadcom support into my laptop using the proprietary drivers. Works like a charm.