Linux Mint 13: Package Refresh Error

Today brought another opportunity to tinker with one of my Linux distros in order to resolve a problem.  (Note:  If you haven't been following along, I have a triple-boot beater laptop that I described here.)  

At any rate, the issue in question was with the update manager.  I noticed a red X across the normally green checked shield located in the taskbar to the left of the date.  A green check usually signifies the system is current with updates and so the red X was problematic.  When I clicked on the "info" this was the error message.

After checking around various Linux Mint forums and attempting various suggestions, including the following command to clean up (and remove thereafter) existing outdated repositories the red X persisted. 

sudo apt-get -f install

Following is another error.  

Ok, so evidently, the problem is with the repository index.  Another check on the web yielded this fix, so it was off to a terminal I went and input the following commands.

sudo rm /var/lib/apt/lists/* -vf
sudo apt-get update

This seemed to resolve the red X problem.  The customary green checkmark was visible in the shield, but ten minutes later, although the system apparently updated, the problem has returned and the red X is back.

I'm sure there is a simple fix for this problem (hopefully) but as of this writing, I haven't yet found it.  Stay tuned.

Trusty Tahr Chokes on BCM4313

Another Ubuntu 14.04 LTS installation on a client machine has brought yet another issue I wanted to bring to the forefront.  If your system is using a Broadcom BCM4313 wifi card, you may encounter some issues getting it to work with your router.

From what I've researched, apparently the BCM4313 is giving the Ubuntu Community seizures in trying to successfully write code to get an open source driver to work in Trusty Tahr.  On the other hand, the proprietary driver -provided you didn't goof like I did- will work.  And if you did zig when you should have zagged, as is almost always the case with Linux, there is a fix.

In order to avoid the problem, here's what you should not do:  Enable updates while installing the OS.

Doing so apparently blacklists the brcmsmac kernel and nukes the driver.  Or so sayeth the Venerated One in this discussion.  However, once you perform a little sudo apt-get and sudo su echo action to de-blacklist it, wifi connectivity with the BCM4313 chip is supposed to enable in v.14.04 LTS.

I haven't put it to the test as of yet on the client system in question, but when I do, I will be sure to report the results.  In the meantime, if your system is using the BCM4313 network controller, and you're about to execute a dual-boot installation of Trusty Tahr, remember to uncheck the enable network updates options.

Just as a refresher, to check what the name of the network controller is in a Linux OS, type the following command into a terminal:

lspci -vvnn | grep 14e4

If you're using Windoze, and plan to partition the HDD for a dual-boot install, just go into Device Manager to get the name of the controller.

Happy Linuxing!

UPDATE:  10/10/2014

Since I was able to get the customer's wifi working using Broadcom's proprietary driver using the commands from the above referenced brcmsmac discussion, it's safe to confirm that the de-blacklisting does in fact un-fubar the fubar that occurs to the proprietary driver if you select network updates during the OS installation.  Lesson learned:  If you know that you pc is using the BCM4313 network card, be sure not to select the network updates until after you've installed the OS.


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