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From: Markus =?UTF-8?B?S2/Dn21hbm4=?= <mkossmann_n1@gmx.de>
Newsgroups: comp.os.linux.networking
Subject: Re: WiFi setup - dual boot question
Date: Thu, 10 Dec 2015 18:03:30 +0100
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news.west.earthlink.net wrote:

> New to Linux, can't find an answer searching, looking for help.
> 
> I installed Debian 8 on an old laptop dual booting with Windows XP. The
> Linux system said it needs a firmware update to the Broadcom 4306 wifi
> adapter to use it. My question is, if I install this firmware, will it
> break the adapter for use with XP? I tried the NDIS wrapper as a safe
> workaround, but it failed to function.
Does it really need a "firmware update" or does it just need "firmware" ?
AFAIK the Broadcom 4306 is one of these chips which don't have non-volatile 
memory to save firmware permanently. So the windows driver also loads 
firmware onto the chip everytime it starts. But it hides that firmware 
loading from the user.