Wireless Network trouble on Ubuntu

[cheeZ]

Okay, so I decided to try out Ubuntu, mainly because I read a LOT of good reviews about it. I was unable to shrink my partition more than 44 MB (!!!), even after following every instruction on a whole turtorial on how to fix this. Then I just said "aww to heck with it," and I tried to burn a live CD of Ubuntu onto a blank 700 MB CD, and to my pure horror, it couldn't even do THAT!!! Turns out, before I'm able to burn any files on a disc, I have to format it first, which takes up about 2 MB. When I tried to burn the ISO onto the now-formmated disc, an error pops up saying "There is not enough room on the disc. You need an extra 2.44 MB to burn this file..." AAAAAAAAAAAAAGGHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!! That's about the time I pulled my hair out. Long story short, I found this program called Wubi that lets me install Ubuntu into a folder without having to shrink partitions, or burn a CD, and it worked great. Now I'm able to dual boot both Vista and Ubuntu without a single problem. It took long to install (about 2 hours) but it was well worth it. Ubuntu is truly the coolest OS I could ever imagine. It took about 0.07 seconds to boot up (my jaw dropped to the floor) and the graphics were just completely AMAZING. I couldn't believe the quality and smoothness of the effects that were somehow being able to run on my crappy $350 laptop. I set the effects to "Extra," or whatever it's called, and every time you move a window it looks like it's made of jelly! I know that's probably same old same old to you hardcore Linux users, but to me it was just the coolest thing EVAH.

Anywho, even though I think the OS is great, it's pretty much completely USELESS to me right now, because I can't connect to the dang internet. I have a wireless modem sitting a few inches from my laptop and it makes me so mad that it can't just connect to it. I googled and googled (yes, from Vista ) and a lot of people have the same problem as me. However the solution to almost all of those questions have to do with installing a driver for your "wireless card." Now let me just tell you right now, I have NO IDEA what a wireless card is, but I'm 99% sure I don't have one. The wireless modem isn't connected to my laptop, it's connected to the family PC. Yet it is very easy for my sister and my Dad (both running Windows) to connect to that network, all they need is a passkey and viola, they're on! Same with me on Vista, works without any trouble whatsoever. But, after more than an hour of trying every possible thing I could do to connect to that same wireless network on Ubuntu, I'm stumped. Can a linux geek PLEASE help me out? If you need any more details, please ask. Thanks in advance...

[MadOx23]

The wireless card is probably internal on your laptop. What kind of laptop is it? Make and model would be helpful. Chances are its a Broadcom card, and you need to go out and get the restricted Broadcom driver for it to work.

[cheeZ]

Okay, make: Acer. Model: Aspire 3690.

And this 'wireless card' your talking about, would that come pre-installed in my laptop? Because the network I use was installed before I even bought my laptop, yet I was easily able to connect to that network right away after I booted up my computer for the very first time...

[Gow616]

Ubuntu 8.04 should have detected the WiFi card after all it set mine up, Intel 4965ABGN, which is the harder beast to deal with. Well, since it hasn't it is time to dig to figure out what card you have exactly.

You will have to do this in Vista (easier to find hardware info) and go to Device Manager.

FYI instructions,
Click on Start Button
Right Click On Computer
Left Click on Properties
Left Click on Device Manager
Left Click + symbol next to Network Adapters
Find your Wireless Card's Brand Name and Model.

[cheeZ]

Wow, thanks Gow616, that worked perfectly. And you were right MadOx23, it is a Broadcom card. Except two items come up when I expand "Network Adapters:" 'Broadcom 440x 10/100 Integrated Controller' and 'Broadcom 802.11g Network Adapter. So what do I do now? Google one of those to find out if there are Linux drivers for them?

[MadOx23]

Go to ubuntuforums.org and do a search for broadcom wireless. You are looking for help with Hardy Heron, so stick with thread about 8.04. They will explain it a lot better in there than I ever could hope to.

[Techy Dude]

how did u get ubuntu on ure laptop i wanna put it on mine so bad please tell me cause i had a lot of trouble and eventually i said the heck with it

[cheeZ]

Originally Posted by MadOx23

Go to ubuntuforums.org and do a search for broadcom wireless. You are looking for help with Hardy Heron, so stick with thread about 8.04. They will explain it a lot better in there than I ever could hope to.

I will do that right away, thanks man.

Originally Posted by Techy Dude

how did u get ubuntu on ure laptop i wanna put it on mine so bad please tell me cause i had a lot of trouble and eventually i said the heck with it

LOL! If you just read my first post, you'll find that I said the SAME EXACT THING. I got so frustrated because I couldn't shrink my partition OR burn a live CD. That's when I discovered: *angels singing* Wubi. It installed Ubuntu on my laptop perfectly, without having to shrink a partition or anything. The official site is: http://wubi-installer.org/

[Techy Dude]

ok but were u able to pick which linux system u wanted or did u have to go to a website????????

[cheeZ]

I'm pretty sure it only supports Ubuntu right now, but I'm not positive on that...

[Techy Dude]

ok thanx bc vista on my comp is sooooooooo slow

[Hostile]

Wubi allows you to install Ubuntu into a folder on your Windows partition. This lets you use linux in a dual-boot manner but without doing modifications to your partition table and data. I used a similar set up a long time ago until I got comfortable with linux. If you don't like it, it's just a folder on your windows drive and you can delete it!