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#26 Other Issues » [SOLVED] Synaptic No Longer Shows Repositories » 2022-04-28 00:57:03
- Iggy64
- Replies: 27
I am running Devuan Chimaera xfce on a Dell Latitude E6400 laptop. I occasionally use Synaptic to double check which repos I currently have enabled.
Today, when I tried to do so (Settings > Repositories), nothing happened. The Repositories window did not open.
So I tried launching from terminal to see what errors might be getting thrown, and got this (after choosing Settings > Repositories in Synaptic):
john@devuan:~$ sudo synaptic
[sudo] password for john:
ERROR:root:Cannot import UbuntuDrivers: No module named 'UbuntuDrivers'
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "/usr/bin/software-properties-gtk", line 101, in <module>
app = SoftwarePropertiesGtk(datadir=options.data_dir, options=options, file=file)
File "/usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/softwareproperties/gtk/SoftwarePropertiesGtk.py", line 109, in __init__
SoftwareProperties.__init__(self, options=options, datadir=datadir)
File "/usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/softwareproperties/SoftwareProperties.py", line 109, in __init__
self.reload_sourceslist()
File "/usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/softwareproperties/SoftwareProperties.py", line 599, in reload_sourceslist
self.distro.get_sources(self.sourceslist)
File "/usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/aptsources/distro.py", line 91, in get_sources
raise NoDistroTemplateException(
aptsources.distro.NoDistroTemplateException: Error: could not find a distribution template for Devuan/chimaera
Not being expert enough to know what this implies, I tried purging Synaptic and reinstalling. I got exactly the same result.
I am trying to determine what I may have done recently that may have caused this problem with Synaptic. The only recent change of any significance (that I can recall) is the installation of package-update-indicator from the chimaera main repo.
john@devuan:~$ apt-cache policy package-update-indicator
package-update-indicator:
Installed: 7-1
Candidate: 7-1
Version table:
*** 7-1 500
500 http://deb.devuan.org/merged chimaera/main amd64 Packages
100 /var/lib/dpkg/status
One of the packages that came along with it (by default, as a recommends) was gnome-packagekit. I have read about people running into problems with this "UbuntuDrivers" business where gnome packages are involved. Is it possible that this is the source of the problem I am having? If so, what is the best way for me to remediate this? Try uninstalling gnome-packagekit?
I know I could just go ahead and try this, but I feel like I am on a slippery slope, and don't want to mess things up any further.
I would appreciated any insights on possible causes for losing the ability to view Repositories in Synaptic. Thanks much, in advance.
#27 Re: Hardware & System Configuration » [SOLVED] Driver for Broadcom BCM4312 wifi Card » 2022-04-25 16:10:39
Thank you, Head_on_a_Stick, for this added information. It looks like it should be very useful when in need of building kernel modules (a concept that I am only just beginning to learn and understand). This is one of the reasons I turned to Debian -- and now to Devuan -- to get closer to the workings of a Linux system and learn more about how Linux systems actually work.
Just now, I did install and prepare module-assistant, and I found that the broadcom-sta module was listed in the accessible modules.
I see that the Debian wiki provides some detail of the scope and usage of this tool (although the article admits this tool is underdocumented):
https://wiki.debian.org/ModuleAssistant
Both command-line and interactive modes are available (you probably already know that).
Thank you very much for the continuing education.
#28 Re: Hardware & System Configuration » [SOLVED] Driver for Broadcom BCM4312 wifi Card » 2022-04-24 16:06:45
Thank you again for all this very helpful support. Not only do I have wifi working on this rather dated laptop, but I also learned a number of important lessons. Without your guidance, I think I would have gone around in circles for quite some time.
Thanks for making me feel welcome to the Devuan community.
#29 Re: Hardware & System Configuration » [SOLVED] Driver for Broadcom BCM4312 wifi Card » 2022-04-24 04:43:23
Thanks very much for all your very clear explanation. It was especially nice of you to provide enough detail for me to get a better understanding of how this whole process works. I also learned a bit more about the relationship between Devuan packaging and Debian packaging. All of this should really help me going forward.
I am embarrassed that I must have neglected to do a package update before searching for the broadcom package. I made sure to add the non-free sections and made sure to enable the various repos. How sad that I would not think to do a fresh download, and even sadder that I didn't consider that possibility afterward. However, these mistakes made me reach out for help and as a result I learned some useful things that seem pretty important.
I am going to mark this issue as "Solved," thanks to your considerable help.
However, if I am not overstepping my welcome, can you advise me one step further?
You suggested a better command for building the broadcom driver, which would keep the driver compatible with an updated kernel. Is that something I could/should do now, without conflicting somehow with the subpar command I have already used?
Thanks, again, for all the education. I am really looking forward to exploring Devuan and hopefully making it a daily driver.
#30 Re: Hardware & System Configuration » [SOLVED] Driver for Broadcom BCM4312 wifi Card » 2022-04-24 00:40:24
Thank you very much for pointing me in the right direction. I now have working wifi.
However, I hope you can be patient enough to school me on a couple of follow-up questions (as I am a true newbie on Devuan):
1) My original sources.list was
# Package repositories
deb http://deb.devuan.org/merged/ chimaera main contrib non-free
deb http://deb.devuan.org/merged/ chimaera-updates main contrib non-free
deb http://deb.devuan.org/merged/ chimaera-security main contrib non-free
deb http://deb.devuan.org/merged/ chimaera-backports main contrib non-free
You pointed me to:
http://deb.devuan.org/merged chimaera/non-free amd64
So I added that to my sources list, and it enabled me to access broadcom-sta-dkms
However, coming from Debian, I am unfamiliar with how chimaera/non-free differs from chimaera non-free.
In Devuan, does each section (such as non-free) need to be added as a separate line in sources.list, with the "/" prefix? And what about the "amd64" suffix -- does that make the entry a different repo from the one without the suffix? Sorry, but I'm lost here.
2) In using broadcom-sta-dkms here in Devuan, I took the risk of using the same command I was given for Debian. That is:
sudo apt-get install linux-image-$(uname -r|sed 's,[^-]*-[^-]*-,,') linux-headers-$(uname -r|sed 's,[^-]*-[^-]*-,,') broadcom-sta-dkms
That DID work, and got my wifi going. However, I am not knowledgeable enough to really understand this whole business with the linux-image and linux-headers. I don't know what that is doing, and whether it might not apply correctly in Devuan, or in some way compromise my Devuan install. Man, an awful lot of lines went flying by in the terminal in order to execute that command! Anyway, do you know if that command was appropriate in Devuan? If it may have caused any damage, I will do a complete re-install and find a more appropriate command to get the wl driver.
Again, I thank you for your kind response and for you continued patience with any further education you can provide on these two questions.
#31 Hardware & System Configuration » [SOLVED] Driver for Broadcom BCM4312 wifi Card » 2022-04-23 22:19:58
- Iggy64
- Replies: 8
Hello. Today I am transitioning (I hope) from Debian Bullseye to Devuan Chimaera. I used the live USB (with Refracta) installer and have Chimaera xfce up and running on my old Dell Latitude E6400 laptop. Unfortunately, this machine packs a Broadcom wifi card, specifically the BCM4312. In the past, I have managed to get it connected in Linux Mint, and then in Debian. I am hoping to use Devuan instead of either of those.
The Broadcom card was recognized immediately by Mint, but getting the correct driver in Debian was a bit of a challenge. The as-installed driver was b43-pci-bridge, and that did not work at all. A search of the discussion boards revealed that I needed the "wl" driver, which could be obtained via the "broadcom-sta-dkms" package." That package was found in the Bullseye non-free repository. Following instructions, I entered
sudo apt-get install linux-image-$(uname -r|sed 's,[^-]*-[^-]*-,,') linux-headers-$(uname -r|sed 's,[^-]*-[^-]*-,,') broadcom-sta-dkms
into the terminal, then rebooted. Voila! The wl driver was now installed and my wifi was now connected.
In my new Devuan install, I find that the b43-pci-bridge driver is again installed by default. So I hoped that the above trick would again work. But I find that the package broadcom-sta-dkms does NOT exist in the Chimaera repos (and, yes, I have them all enabled, including contrib and non-free).
I am hoping that someone else has tried Devuan on an old Dell laptop and has found a solution for getting the wl driver.
Any guidance would be extremely appreciated. Thanks you, in advance.
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