README
1 BCM43XX Linux Driver Project
2 ============================
3
4
5About this software
6-------------------
7
8http://wireless.kernel.org/en/users/Drivers/b43
9
10b43-fwcutter is a tool to extract firmware from binary Broadcom 43xx driver files.
11
12
13Usage
14-----
15
16b43-fwcutter FILE extracts the firmware from a source FILE to
17 the current directory, creating a directory
18 "b43" or "b43legacy" with files in it.
19b43-fwcutter -i FILE identify the driver file; print information
20 but don't extract.
21b43-fwcutter -w /tmp FILE extract and write firmware to /tmp.
22b43-fwcutter -l prints a list of supported driver source files.
23
24After extraction, copy the "b43" or "b43legacy" directory to your firmware
25directory (usually /lib/firmware or similar, see below). Alternatively you
26can use the -w option to b43-fwcutter.
27
28Different distributions use different directories to load firmware from.
29If the driver complains about missing firmware files look for the correct
30directory. For some distributions you have to use /lib/hotplug/firmware
31or /usr/lib/hotplug/firmware but other directories are also possible.
32
33Because firmware file are stored in big endian, extraction doesn't depend
34on the system you're using. You can use extracted firmware from any driver
35on any system and also copy the extracted files to any other system (e.g.
36if extraction on the target system isn't feasible.)
37
38
39Where can I find some driver source files?
40------------------------------------------
41
42Please check the references at
43http://www.linuxwireless.org/en/users/Drivers/bcm43xx#devicefirmware
44
45It is recommended that you extract firmware for both b43 and b43legacy in
46order to support both types of cards on your system.
47