b43-tools/fwcutter

BCM43XX Linux Driver Project
============================


About this software
-------------------

b43-fwcutter is a tool which can extract firmware from various source files.
It's written for BCM43xx driver files.

The project page is http://bcm43xx.berlios.de/


Usage
-----

b43-fwcutter FILE extracts the firmware from a source FILE to
the current directory, creating a directory
"b43" or "b43legacy" with files in it.
b43-fwcutter -i FILE identify the driver file; print information
but don't extract.
b43-fwcutter -w /tmp FILE extract and write firmware to /tmp.
b43-fwcutter -l prints a list of supported driver source files.

After extraction, copy the "b43" or "b43legacy" directory to your firmware
directory (usually /lib/firmware or similar, see below). Alternatively you
can use the -w option to b43-fwcutter.

Different distributions use different directories to load firmware from.
If the driver complains about missing firmware files look for the correct
directory. For some distributions you have to use /lib/hotplug/firmware
or /usr/lib/hotplug/firmware but other directories are also possible.

Because firmware file are stored in big endian, extraction doesn't depend
on the system you're using. You can use extracted firmware from any driver
on any system and also copy the extracted files to any other system (e.g.
if extraction on the target system isn't feasible.)


Where can I find some driver source files?
------------------------------------------

Please check the references at
http://www.linuxwireless.org/en/users/Drivers/bcm43xx#devicefirmware

It is recommended that you extract firmware for both b43 and b43legacy in
order to support both types of cards on your system.