I am attempting to install Debian Stretch 9.1.0 on a Dell XPS 15 9550. To do this, I downloaded debian-9.1.0-amd64-netinst.iso from which I created a bootable USB. The laptop unfortunately comes with a Broadcom network card:
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# lspci
...
02:00.0 Network controller: Broadcom Limited BCM43602 802.11ac Wireless LAN SoC (rev 01)
...
I downloaded the missing firmware file incated from the brcmfmac wiki page and placed it on another USB drive. Inserting the USB and selecting 'Yes' generates the same prompt.Some of your hardware needs non-free firmware files to operate. The firmware can be loaded from removable media, such as a USB stick or floppy.
The missing firmware files are: brcm/brcmfmac43602-pcie.bin
If you have such media available now, insert it, and continue.
Load missing firmware from removeable media?
[ ] No
[ ] Yes
Changing to another console via Ctrl+Alt+F2, I mount the USB, create the appropriate directories (as indicated by the wiki/Loading Missing Firmware documentation), and then copy the .bin file from the USB.
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# mount /dev/sdb /media
# mkdir /lib/firmware
# mkdir /lib/firmware/brcm
# cp /media/brcmfmac43602-pcie.bin /lib/firmware/brcm/
The directions on the wiki then says to reboot. This just resets everything. If I instead switch back to the graphical installer via Ctrl+Alt+F5 after copying the .bin and select 'Yes', the prompt is updated to read (emphasis mine):
I cannot find this .txt file anywhere!Some of your hardware needs non-free firmware files to operate. The firmware can be loaded from removable media, such as a USB stick or floppy.
The missing firmware files are: brcm/brcmfmac43602-pcie.txt
If you have such media available now, insert it, and continue.
Load missing firmware from removeable media?
[ ] No
[ ] Yes
I had previously found the Package: firmware-brcm80211 (20161130-3). This seems like it might be useful. It looks like documentation for a package which would be installed after the Debian system is installed, however. On the right hand side are three files under the header: "Download Source Package".
The first one appears to be list of hashes, etc. The latter two I downloaded and unpacked. Neither contains the necessary .txt. Regardless, I have tried taking the contents of both tarballs and placing them in /lib/firmware/brcm. No change in outcome.[firmware-nonfree_20161130-3.dsc]
[firmware-nonfree_20161130.orig.tar.xz]
[firmware-nonfree_20161130-3.debian.tar.xz]
Seaching the forums, I have come across two posts. The posts [SOLVED] Installing via USB, non-free drivers won't load and Installing from netinst iso; missing firmware for network seem most relevant. Neither mention this .txt file.
The first post's solution was to grab the entire bulk of firmware and mount that. Here's what I did.
1. Download firmware.zip from the Index of /cdimage/unofficial/non-free/firmware/stretch/current. I placed the contents in /firmware within the USB drive. No success. It was not automatically detected.
2. I went to TTY2, mounted the USB manually in /media. No success.
3. I copied the contents of firmware.zip to /lib/firmware. No success.
The second post's solution was to take a .deb and use dpkg to install it. When I try to take a .deb from the firmware.zip, say firmware-brcm80211_20161130-3_all.deb, dpkg does not appear to be installed.
At one point I tried proceeding without internet. The installation works, but is too stripped down of a system. If I'm going to spend time fiddling with stuff, I might as well fiddle with this network card from the offset and save myself a little grief.
Is there anything I've overlooked? Do you have any suggestions? I can't help but think I'm close!