How To Connect Ubuntu To Wi-fi?

[Richb2004v2]

As I am looking to buy an Asus eee pc laptop shortly, with the XP or Linux option, I though that I would put Ubuntu on my current laptop to see what its like. I only use the laptop for Word documents, surf the net, Skype and storing photographs. I have managed to partition the drive and have dual boot XP and Ubuntu so far. This is fine. However I need to be able to connect to my wi-fi internet connection through Ubuntu, but can not so far. I have no idea how to do this even after searching on the net. Any advice welcome, as I really don't want to give up this early on Linux.

Thanks.

[niller74]

As I am looking to buy an Asus eee pc laptop shortly, with the XP or Linux option, I though that I would put Ubuntu on my current laptop to see what its like. I only use the laptop for Word documents, surf the net, Skype and storing photographs. I have managed to partition the drive and have dual boot XP and Ubuntu so far. This is fine. However I need to be able to connect to my wi-fi internet connection through Ubuntu, but can not so far. I have no idea how to do this even after searching on the net. Any advice welcome, as I really don't want to give up this early on Linux.

Thanks.

Can you paste the output of 'lspci' here so we can see the type of interfaces it has.

[Richb2004v2]

As I am looking to buy an Asus eee pc laptop shortly, with the XP or Linux option, I though that I would put Ubuntu on my current laptop to see what its like. I only use the laptop for Word documents, surf the net, Skype and storing photographs. I have managed to partition the drive and have dual boot XP and Ubuntu so far. This is fine. However I need to be able to connect to my wi-fi internet connection through Ubuntu, but can not so far. I have no idea how to do this even after searching on the net. Any advice welcome, as I really don't want to give up this early on Linux.

Thanks.

Can you paste the output of 'lspci' here so we can see the type of interfaces it has.

????

Sorry, I don't know what that means. I am not at all upto speed with PC jargon or workings. I managed to download Ubuntu as am ISO file and copy to disk to make a Live CD, but thats about as clever as I get.

[niller74]

As I am looking to buy an Asus eee pc laptop shortly, with the XP or Linux option, I though that I would put Ubuntu on my current laptop to see what its like. I only use the laptop for Word documents, surf the net, Skype and storing photographs. I have managed to partition the drive and have dual boot XP and Ubuntu so far. This is fine. However I need to be able to connect to my wi-fi internet connection through Ubuntu, but can not so far. I have no idea how to do this even after searching on the net. Any advice welcome, as I really don't want to give up this early on Linux.

Thanks.

Can you paste the output of 'lspci' here so we can see the type of interfaces it has.

????

Sorry, I don't know what that means. I am not at all upto speed with PC jargon or workings. I managed to download Ubuntu as am ISO file and copy to disk to make a Live CD, but thats about as clever as I get.

Open a terminal (Applications --> Accessories --> Terminal) and type 'lspci'

[dave_boo]

Or if he's lucky, he has a USB based wifi card. RaLink does a good job of supporting Linux, and doing a

lsusb -v

may expose his Wi-Fi card, especially since it's in a laptop and most laptops use either the mini-pci express (which is essentially just a USB connector) or a proper USB connector.

[Richb2004v2]

I have been advised to do this, by a friend, but he has yet to tell me what it all means. Does it mean anything to anyone here?

:~$ ifconfig

eth0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:1b:24:fb:d3:61

UP BROADCAST MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1

RX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0

TX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0

collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000

RX bytes:0 (0.0 TX bytes:0 (0.0

Interrupt:251 Base address:0xe000

eth0:avahi Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:1b:24:fb:d3:61

inet addr:169.254.8.134 Bcast:169.254.255.255 Mask:255.255.0.0

UP BROADCAST MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1

Interrupt:251 Base address:0xe000

lo Link encap:Local Loopback

inet addr:127.0.0.1 Mask:255.0.0.0

inet6 addr: ::1/128 Scope:Host

UP LOOPBACK RUNNING MTU:16436 Metric:1

RX packets:160 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0

TX packets:160 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0

collisions:0 txqueuelen:0

RX bytes:8192 (8.0 KB) TX bytes:8192 (8.0 KB)

I am still at a loss as to how to connect. With XP I just press the 'wireless' button on the laptop and away I go.

[niller74]

I have been advised to do this, by a friend, but he has yet to tell me what it all means. Does it mean anything to anyone here?

:~$ ifconfig

eth0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:1b:24:fb:d3:61

UP BROADCAST MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1

RX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0

TX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0

collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000

RX bytes:0 (0.0 TX bytes:0 (0.0

Interrupt:251 Base address:0xe000

eth0:avahi Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:1b:24:fb:d3:61

inet addr:169.254.8.134 Bcast:169.254.255.255 Mask:255.255.0.0

UP BROADCAST MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1

Interrupt:251 Base address:0xe000

lo Link encap:Local Loopback

inet addr:127.0.0.1 Mask:255.0.0.0

inet6 addr: ::1/128 Scope:Host

UP LOOPBACK RUNNING MTU:16436 Metric:1

RX packets:160 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0

TX packets:160 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0

collisions:0 txqueuelen:0

RX bytes:8192 (8.0 KB) TX bytes:8192 (8.0 KB)

I am still at a loss as to how to connect. With XP I just press the 'wireless' button on the laptop and away I go.

This only show the interfaces currently activated. It is more interesting to know which hardware is present in the box. It shows though that you have been assigned an ip address (169.254.8.134). Whether this comes from your modem (DHCP or PPPoE) or it's a manually configured one I cannot tell.

Please do both 'lspci' and 'lsusb' as dave_boo said and write the output here.

Edited September 22, 2008 by niller74

[Richb2004v2]

I have been advised to do this, by a friend, but he has yet to tell me what it all means. Does it mean anything to anyone here?

:~$ ifconfig

eth0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:1b:24:fb:d3:61

UP BROADCAST MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1

RX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0

TX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0

collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000

RX bytes:0 (0.0 TX bytes:0 (0.0

Interrupt:251 Base address:0xe000

eth0:avahi Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:1b:24:fb:d3:61

inet addr:169.254.8.134 Bcast:169.254.255.255 Mask:255.255.0.0

UP BROADCAST MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1

Interrupt:251 Base address:0xe000

lo Link encap:Local Loopback

inet addr:127.0.0.1 Mask:255.0.0.0

inet6 addr: ::1/128 Scope:Host

UP LOOPBACK RUNNING MTU:16436 Metric:1

RX packets:160 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0

TX packets:160 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0

collisions:0 txqueuelen:0

RX bytes:8192 (8.0 KB) TX bytes:8192 (8.0 KB)

I am still at a loss as to how to connect. With XP I just press the 'wireless' button on the laptop and away I go.

This only show the interfaces currently activated. It is more interesting to know which hardware is present in the box. It shows though that you have been assigned an ip address (169.254.8.134). Whether this comes from your modem (DHCP or PPPoE) or it's a manually configured one I cannot tell.

Please do both 'lspci' and 'lsusb' as dave_boo said and write the output here.

Ok. Here it is.

richbritain@richbritain-laptop:~$ lsusb

Bus 003 Device 001: ID 0000:0000

Bus 004 Device 002: ID 064e:a101 Suyin Corp.

Bus 004 Device 001: ID 0000:0000

Bus 002 Device 001: ID 0000:0000

Bus 001 Device 003: ID 15d9:0a37

Bus 001 Device 001: ID 0000:0000

richbritain@richbritain-laptop:~$ lspci

00:00.0 RAM memory: nVidia Corporation MCP67 Memory Controller (rev a2)

00:01.0 ISA bridge: nVidia Corporation MCP67 ISA Bridge (rev a2)

00:01.1 SMBus: nVidia Corporation MCP67 SMBus (rev a2)

00:01.2 RAM memory: nVidia Corporation MCP67 Memory Controller (rev a2)

00:01.3 Co-processor: nVidia Corporation MCP67 Co-processor (rev a2)

00:02.0 USB Controller: nVidia Corporation MCP67 OHCI USB 1.1 Controller (rev a2)

00:02.1 USB Controller: nVidia Corporation MCP67 EHCI USB 2.0 Controller (rev a2)

00:04.0 USB Controller: nVidia Corporation MCP67 OHCI USB 1.1 Controller (rev a2)

00:04.1 USB Controller: nVidia Corporation MCP67 EHCI USB 2.0 Controller (rev a2)

00:06.0 IDE interface: nVidia Corporation MCP67 IDE Controller (rev a1)

00:07.0 Audio device: nVidia Corporation MCP67 High Definition Audio (rev a1)

00:08.0 PCI bridge: nVidia Corporation MCP67 PCI Bridge (rev a2)

00:09.0 IDE interface: nVidia Corporation MCP67 AHCI Controller (rev a2)

00:0a.0 Ethernet controller: nVidia Corporation MCP67 Ethernet (rev a2)

00:0b.0 PCI bridge: nVidia Corporation MCP67 PCI Express Bridge (rev a2)

00:0c.0 PCI bridge: nVidia Corporation MCP67 PCI Express Bridge (rev a2)

00:0e.0 PCI bridge: nVidia Corporation MCP67 PCI Express Bridge (rev a2)

00:18.0 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] K8 [Athlon64/Opteron] HyperTransport Technology Configuration

00:18.1 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] K8 [Athlon64/Opteron] Address Map

00:18.2 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] K8 [Athlon64/Opteron] DRAM Controller

00:18.3 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] K8 [Athlon64/Opteron] Miscellaneous Control

01:09.0 FireWire (IEEE 1394): Ricoh Co Ltd R5C832 IEEE 1394 Controller (rev 05)

01:09.1 SD Host controller: Ricoh Co Ltd R5C822 SD/SDIO/MMC/MS/MSPro Host Adapter (rev 22)

01:09.2 System peripheral: Ricoh Co Ltd R5C843 MMC Host Controller (rev 12)

01:09.3 System peripheral: Ricoh Co Ltd R5C592 Memory Stick Bus Host Adapter (rev 12)

01:09.4 System peripheral: Ricoh Co Ltd xD-Picture Card Controller (rev ff)

02:00.0 VGA compatible controller: nVidia Corporation GeForce 8400M G (rev a1)

07:00.0 Ethernet controller: Atheros Communications Inc. AR242x 802.11abg Wireless PCI Express Adapter (rev 01)

richbritain@richbritain-laptop:~$

I hope that makes sense.

[dave_boo]

Also, this link may show you how to get it up and running quickly.

I've seen this avahi before. To be honest, I'm not sure exactly what it is, but it seems to cause problems. I'd recommend doing this:

sudo gedit /etc/default.avahi-daemon

and putting a hash mark (#) in front of the line that states

AVAHI_DAEMON_START=0

Also of notice is there is no 'wlan' listed in your ifconfig. I'm thinking that your OS isn't even recognising it.

[Richb2004v2]

I think that this may be an issue with my particular model of laptop. It is an Acer Apire 4520 and there are discussions about it in forums

[dave_boo]

I have been advised to do this, by a friend, but he has yet to tell me what it all means. Does it mean anything to anyone here?

:~$ ifconfig

eth0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:1b:24:fb:d3:61

UP BROADCAST MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1

RX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0

TX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0

collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000

RX bytes:0 (0.0 TX bytes:0 (0.0

Interrupt:251 Base address:0xe000

eth0:avahi Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:1b:24:fb:d3:61

inet addr:169.254.8.134 Bcast:169.254.255.255 Mask:255.255.0.0

UP BROADCAST MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1

Interrupt:251 Base address:0xe000

lo Link encap:Local Loopback

inet addr:127.0.0.1 Mask:255.0.0.0

inet6 addr: ::1/128 Scope:Host

UP LOOPBACK RUNNING MTU:16436 Metric:1

RX packets:160 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0

TX packets:160 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0

collisions:0 txqueuelen:0

RX bytes:8192 (8.0 KB) TX bytes:8192 (8.0 KB)

I am still at a loss as to how to connect. With XP I just press the 'wireless' button on the laptop and away I go.

This only show the interfaces currently activated. It is more interesting to know which hardware is present in the box. It shows though that you have been assigned an ip address (169.254.8.134). Whether this comes from your modem (DHCP or PPPoE) or it's a manually configured one I cannot tell.

Please do both 'lspci' and 'lsusb' as dave_boo said and write the output here.

Ok. Here it is.

richbritain@richbritain-laptop:~$ lsusb

Bus 003 Device 001: ID 0000:0000

Bus 004 Device 002: ID 064e:a101 Suyin Corp.

Bus 004 Device 001: ID 0000:0000

Bus 002 Device 001: ID 0000:0000

Bus 001 Device 003: ID 15d9:0a37

Bus 001 Device 001: ID 0000:0000

richbritain@richbritain-laptop:~$ lspci

00:00.0 RAM memory: nVidia Corporation MCP67 Memory Controller (rev a2)

00:01.0 ISA bridge: nVidia Corporation MCP67 ISA Bridge (rev a2)

00:01.1 SMBus: nVidia Corporation MCP67 SMBus (rev a2)

00:01.2 RAM memory: nVidia Corporation MCP67 Memory Controller (rev a2)

00:01.3 Co-processor: nVidia Corporation MCP67 Co-processor (rev a2)

00:02.0 USB Controller: nVidia Corporation MCP67 OHCI USB 1.1 Controller (rev a2)

00:02.1 USB Controller: nVidia Corporation MCP67 EHCI USB 2.0 Controller (rev a2)

00:04.0 USB Controller: nVidia Corporation MCP67 OHCI USB 1.1 Controller (rev a2)

00:04.1 USB Controller: nVidia Corporation MCP67 EHCI USB 2.0 Controller (rev a2)

00:06.0 IDE interface: nVidia Corporation MCP67 IDE Controller (rev a1)

00:07.0 Audio device: nVidia Corporation MCP67 High Definition Audio (rev a1)

00:08.0 PCI bridge: nVidia Corporation MCP67 PCI Bridge (rev a2)

00:09.0 IDE interface: nVidia Corporation MCP67 AHCI Controller (rev a2)

00:0a.0 Ethernet controller: nVidia Corporation MCP67 Ethernet (rev a2)

00:0b.0 PCI bridge: nVidia Corporation MCP67 PCI Express Bridge (rev a2)

00:0c.0 PCI bridge: nVidia Corporation MCP67 PCI Express Bridge (rev a2)

00:0e.0 PCI bridge: nVidia Corporation MCP67 PCI Express Bridge (rev a2)

00:18.0 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] K8 [Athlon64/Opteron] HyperTransport Technology Configuration

00:18.1 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] K8 [Athlon64/Opteron] Address Map

00:18.2 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] K8 [Athlon64/Opteron] DRAM Controller

00:18.3 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] K8 [Athlon64/Opteron] Miscellaneous Control

01:09.0 FireWire (IEEE 1394): Ricoh Co Ltd R5C832 IEEE 1394 Controller (rev 05)

01:09.1 SD Host controller: Ricoh Co Ltd R5C822 SD/SDIO/MMC/MS/MSPro Host Adapter (rev 22)

01:09.2 System peripheral: Ricoh Co Ltd R5C843 MMC Host Controller (rev 12)

01:09.3 System peripheral: Ricoh Co Ltd R5C592 Memory Stick Bus Host Adapter (rev 12)

01:09.4 System peripheral: Ricoh Co Ltd xD-Picture Card Controller (rev ff)

02:00.0 VGA compatible controller: nVidia Corporation GeForce 8400M G (rev a1)

07:00.0 Ethernet controller: Atheros Communications Inc. AR242x 802.11abg Wireless PCI Express Adapter (rev 01)

richbritain@richbritain-laptop:~$

I hope that makes sense.

Tells a lot about your computer. If I had to guess, I'd say it was an Acer running a Turion64.

If you look at your last line in the 'lspci' you'll see your "Atheros Communications Inc. AR242x". Atheros is a bit of a turkey to get going, you're going to need to install NDISWRAPPER at minimum. Follow this link to get it up and running. And make sure that if you want to stick with Linux you use hardware from manufacturers that are willing to support Linux!! If the general population continues to buy hardware that doesn't support your operating system, you are just giving the manufacturers a justification for their stance. Note, supporting the hardware does not necessarily mean having to write the driver for it, but if they'd only release hardware specs, the open source community could end up writing drivers for it.

[Richb2004v2]

Tells a lot about your computer. If I had to guess, I'd say it was an Acer running a Turion64.

If you look at your last line in the 'lspci' you'll see your "Atheros Communications Inc. AR242x". Atheros is a bit of a turkey to get going, you're going to need to install NDISWRAPPER at minimum. Follow this link to get it up and running. And make sure that if you want to stick with Linux you use hardware from manufacturers that are willing to support Linux!! If the general population continues to buy hardware that doesn't support your operating system, you are just giving the manufacturers a justification for their stance. Note, supporting the hardware does not necessarily mean having to write the driver for it, but if they'd only release hardware specs, the open source community could end up writing drivers for it.

Yes thats right, it is the Acer with Turion 64.

The link is quite convoluted to me. I can not figure out what I am supposed to do as there are many off shots form the link. To be honest I think that if it is this complicated to get Linux running then I am probably not the right sort of person to be using it. Its probably due to the laptop model and a bit of bad luck. I will still consider it though when I get a new laptop.

Thanks for the advice anyway.

Edited September 23, 2008 by Richb2004v2

[Gumballl]

I think what the others were attempting to convey to you is to follow the instructions in this site to install MadWiFi.

http://www.ubuntugeek.com/atheros-5007eg-w...6-platform.html