Help with Linux, please?

Question

So I decided to dual boot windows and ubuntu yesterday, and so far I'm really liking it. The only thing is, when I am using ubuntu, I cannot connect to the internet. It says something like "firmware missing". Where do I download this firmware, and how am I supposed to download it if I can't use the internet on ubuntu? :/

Answer 1

Here is the Official Ubuntu Wireless Documentation



Cards Supported

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/WifiDocs/WirelessCardsSupported



Troubleshooting/Howto/General

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/WifiDocs/WiFiHowTo



Here is the Official Ubuntu Ndiswrapper Documentation

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/WifiDocs/Driver/Ndiswrapper



Ubuntu 11.04 (Natty Narwhal) User Guide

http://ubuntuguide.org/wiki/Ubuntu:Natty





LUg.

Answer 2

It's a catch 22, because you need to get it on the internet.....to get it on the internet. Get it on the net plugged in, and let Ubuntu update first, If you installed it with the internet connected it probably would have installed the driver on it's own, it's not a big deal but a few extra steps. Once it's up to date it'll probably want to restart to use the new kernel (assuming it gets one) if when it reboots wireless still isn't there go to the Hardware drivers option and it will check for proprietary ones, if there available it'll download and install them for you.



If not let us know what model laptop use have and we can help you track down a driver, but unless you have some off brand weird model laptop I doubt it will come to that.



Hardware drivers is in:

System -> Administration -> Hardware Drivers



Also in the rare case that none of this works go to a terminal and type



# lspci



cut & paste and post what comes back, it will tell us what kind of network card you have so we can point you in the right direction.

Answer 3

Firmware is a proprietary code intended to run the switches on your wireless card. Broadcom is a common wireless card on commercial laptops. You can buy an ethernet cable at Staples for around ten to twenty dollars, but in this case here is an article about Boadcom which introduces you to the idea.



http://www.linux.com/archive/feature/118555?theme=print



That's not to say your card is a broadcom card. I suggest you look in your Windows Control centerr, or just type sudo lspci in your ubuntu xterm. Find the name of the card and type it into a search engine with the word ubuntu.

Answer 4

If your wireless card does not work and it says you need the firmware (driver) you will have to do a little work to get it working.

First you need to find out what brand and model of card you have. If you do not know type this command in a terminal and pick out your wireless card info.

lspci

If you are not familiar with using the terminal take a look att he second link.

The first link is a good place to start setting up your wireless.

Good luck

Answer 5

Is this on a laptop or a desktop?... (Chances are it is looking for the firmware for a wireless card on the laptop). If you can connect temporarily with an ethernet cable, it will be able to download the correct files, then you will be able to connect wirelessly. This is what it sounds like to me at this point...

Answer 6

The best way to get help is to provide the Hardware information. Open a terminal and input:



"lspci -vv | grep -i wireless"



and see if that provides any information.



another thing you can do while trying to figure this out is purchase a USB wireless adapter that is currently compatible.



Some things I had to go through myself: http://community.linuxmint.com/hardware/view/691

Answer 7

switch to latest version of ubuntu. which version are u currently running?

instead of dual boot i suggest you use Vmware to install ubuntu inside xp.

Answer 8

You can try this forum to help you with your solution





http://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/