New-guy wireless help requested :) solved

[cebalrai]

Background: I'm very new to Linux. I inherited a Dell E1505 laptop with a very damaged Windows XP installation on it (with no CD) and would like to give Linux a shot. I need it to be mostly just an email checker and word processor. And I need to be able to use it in wireless hotspots in cafes, etc.

Problem: I'm currently running Mint 7 off the CD and am having problems getting my wireless connection to work. The connection is working with my Windows PCs.

I tried following the directions in this thread but I couldn't get it to work. forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?f=90&t=2577

I don't even see an option to connect to a wireless network. The only options I have when I click the icon are "Create new wireless network, connect to hidden wireless network, and VPN". There are also greyed-out options for "Wireless Network, disconnected, and Wireless Networks". I tried to create a new network and typed in my SSID and security key, but it didn't do anything. Also, I do not know what BSSID means and if it's different than my SSID.

My home network uses 64-bit WEP security. But like I said I need to use this laptop at wireless hotspots as well.

I'm VERY Linux illiterate so use small words. Thanks in advance for your help! Mint looks so cool and I'm excited about using it.

[Husse]

You have to tell us more facts.
We need to know a bit about all your hardware.
Run " lspci " in a terminal and post here (to avoid misunderstanding - the first character is a minor L and you copy by marking with the mouse and then right click)
Some wifi and possibly built in sound can be connected to USB even if they are internal - if you suspect you have one of these run " lsusb " in a terminal.
Also tell us if this is using mint4win or not, quite important
This is a standard answer so it may not be fully applicable to your situation

[cebalrai]

You have to tell us more facts.
We need to know a bit about all your hardware.
Run " lspci " in a terminal and post here (to avoid misunderstanding - the first character is a minor L and you copy by marking with the mouse and then right click)
Some wifi and possibly built in sound can be connected to USB even if they are internal - if you suspect you have one of these run " lsusb " in a terminal.
Also tell us if this is using mint4win or not, quite important
This is a standard answer so it may not be fully applicable to your situation

Thanks for the reply. I spent 3+ hours looking around online for the solution and got nowhere I have a ton of experience troubleshooting in Windows but troubleshooting in Linux is so foreign to me... If you can help me through this you'll be my hero!

By the way, everything works great on a wired connection.

I don't know what mint4win is, or if I'm using it. How do I find out? Thanks!!

(Dell E1505 Laptop)

cebalrai@Deneb ~/Desktop $ lscsi
bash: lscsi: command not found
cebalrai@Deneb ~/Desktop $ lspci
00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation Mobile 945GM/PM/GMS, 943/940GML and 945GT Express Memory Controller Hub (rev 03)
00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation Mobile 945GM/GMS, 943/940GML Express Integrated Graphics Controller (rev 03)
00:02.1 Display controller: Intel Corporation Mobile 945GM/GMS/GME, 943/940GML Express Integrated Graphics Controller (rev 03)
00:1b.0 Audio device: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) High Definition Audio Controller (rev 01)
00:1c.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) PCI Express Port 1 (rev 01)
00:1c.3 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) PCI Express Port 4 (rev 01)
00:1d.0 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) USB UHCI Controller #1 (rev 01)
00:1d.1 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) USB UHCI Controller #2 (rev 01)
00:1d.2 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) USB UHCI Controller #3 (rev 01)
00:1d.3 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) USB UHCI Controller #4 (rev 01)
00:1d.7 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) USB2 EHCI Controller (rev 01)
00:1e.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801 Mobile PCI Bridge (rev e1)
00:1f.0 ISA bridge: Intel Corporation 82801GBM (ICH7-M) LPC Interface Bridge (rev 01)
00:1f.2 IDE interface: Intel Corporation 82801GBM/GHM (ICH7 Family) SATA IDE Controller (rev 01)
00:1f.3 SMBus: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) SMBus Controller (rev 01)
03:00.0 Ethernet controller: Broadcom Corporation BCM4401-B0 100Base-TX (rev 02)
03:01.0 FireWire (IEEE 1394): Ricoh Co Ltd R5C832 IEEE 1394 Controller
03:01.1 SD Host controller: Ricoh Co Ltd R5C822 SD/SDIO/MMC/MS/MSPro Host Adapter (rev 19)
03:01.2 System peripheral: Ricoh Co Ltd R5C843 MMC Host Controller (rev 0a)
03:01.3 System peripheral: Ricoh Co Ltd R5C592 Memory Stick Bus Host Adapter (rev 05)
03:01.4 System peripheral: Ricoh Co Ltd xD-Picture Card Controller (rev ff)
0b:00.0 Network controller: Broadcom Corporation BCM4311 802.11b/g WLAN (rev 01)
cebalrai@Deneb ~/Desktop $

[Husse]

mint4win is the application that lets you install Mint inside Windows (it's called Wubi for Ubuntu)
This is your wifi

0b:00.0 Network controller: Broadcom Corporation BCM4311 802.11b/g WLAN (rev 01)

The bcm43 used to be problematic but has become quite OK to use due to new drivers
You are on the CD but it should work anyway (but quite a bit slower - a CD is not the fastest media )
I have a bcm4312 and it just works on the live CD and installed - I only have to fill in the WPA key
Linux is not quite as good with WEP as with WPA - the developers have left WEP behind as there is no security in it
Anyone with a decent computer knowledge and an internet connection can download and install a tool and crack wep within five minutes
Anyway open Hardware Drivers from the menu (just open the menu and type hard)
You should be told that there is a driver called STA either active or ready to be activated
Activate if it is not activated - and you probably get a connection
If not or if it already was activated we obviously need to do something else
This tends to be along post but it is not difficult only many steps and I want to give you the most common alternatives in one go so it does not take too much time to solve it
We need to find out if the STA driver really is activated
Run lspci -vvnn and you get a huge list
Find the section for the bcm4311
You should see at the end of the section
Kernel drive in use: wl
Kernel modules: wl
Yes - the STA driver is called wl
If not it has not been loaded
Now run

Code: Select all

sudo modprobe wl

If you get a connection fine - it may or may not work in the installed Gloria, but if it does not it's easy to fix (just post -I skip that for now)
If you don't get a connection in spite of the the wl being loaded it's time to try with the older bcm43 driver - it is reported to work with the 4311
Run

Code: Select all

sudo modprobe bcm43

Now you should see bcm43 and not wl in lspci -vvnn
If it works it will work in the installed Gloria after a few tweaks (in the installed - not the live CD)
Maybe not needed but if it does not work we might as well stop wl being loaded

Code: Select all

echo "blacklist wl" | sudo tee -a /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf 

Code: Select all

echo "bcm43" | sudo tee -a /etc/modules

Copy these two latest commands - a mistake here can be very detrimental to your system

[cebalrai]

Thanks for your help. I'm at work now but I'll try these things when I get home.

Incidentally, I did a full hard drive install so I'm not running off the CD anymore.

[cebalrai]

OMG it..... works...

It takes maybe 30 seconds after booting to connect wirelessly, but it's nice and stable after that. All I had to do was install the STA driver - the other driver was installed for some reason. What a simple fix. You're my hero, man!!!

[Husse]

I see that I have used the depreciated bcm43 in the example above - if it works it's just fine but I think that one should try the b43 driver first (just delete cm in the code snippet above )