[CentOS] Kernel Panic with wl.ko (Broadcom wireless driver) [CentOS 5.4]

Wed Mar 10 19:45:46 UTC 2010
Martin Jungowski <martin at rhm.de>

Been experimenting with CentOS 5.4 some more. In order to get my wireless 
card to work (Broadcom BCM4311) I need Broadcom's wl.ko driver (http://
www.broadcom.com/support/802.11/linux_sta.php). It compiles fine after 
the necessary modification in typedef.h, loads and wireless works. 
However, as soon as I put some load on that interface (scp something from 
another machine, download something with Firefox, etc.) the machine 
kernel panics. I've tried the stock 2.6.18 kernel, the latest 
2.6.18-164-11, and the latest patched 2.6.18-164-11-bug4139.4192.4196 
(necessary to get my ALPS touchpad to work). I've tried two different 
versions of Broadcom's driver: 5.10.79.10 and 5.60.48.36. It doesn't 
kernel panic when I unload the wl kernel module, plug in a network cable 
and copy those files over ethernet.

I downloaded the 2.6.27 kernel source and compiled my own kernel and it 
seems to work with that. However, for some weird reason, with any given 
self-compiled kernel (tried 2.6.18-8, 2.6.25 and 2.6.27) klaptop won't 
allow me to configure any standby/hibernation options because it doesn't 
recognize any of them. They do work perfectly fine though, I can pm-
suspend the laptop from command-line.

Any idea what else I could do? Either getting wl.ko to work with 2.6.18 
(does somebody have a version older than 5.10.79.10 that they could email 
me?) or getting klaptop to realize that the laptop does indeed know how 
th suspend and hibernate with a non-CentOS-kernel would be fine.

Thanks,
Martin

-- 
Rieke Computersysteme GmbH
Hellerholz 5
D-82061 Neuried
Email: martin at rhm.de