Linux Ubuntu.. wireless adapter?

Question

I took my grandpas computer the other day and wiped the hard drive and installed Ubuntu on it and put it in my room... but I cant install my wireless adapter to connect to my home wireless internet access. Is there a way to install it or will I need a different adapter that is compatible with Linux?

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



In the event of your Wifi card being unsupported you can use Ndiswrapper Here is the Official Ubuntu Ndiswrapper Documentation

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



Ubuntu 10.10 (Maverick Meerkat) User Guide

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



Wireless

http://ubuntuguide.org/wiki/Ubuntu:Maverick#Wireless_Cards



Ubuntu 10.04 (Lucid Lynx) User Guide

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



Wireless

http://ubuntuguide.org/wiki/Ubuntu:Lucid#Wireless_Cards









LUg.

Answer 2

Wireless and Linux, whatever flavor is a bit of a pain.

The problem is that wireless adapter manufacturers do not write drivers for Linux as a general rule.

What you have to do is run a "wrapper" program that will let you use the Windows driver for your adapter.

Ubuntu forums have an entire section devoted to wireless issues. The chances are you will find all the answers you need there



http://ubuntuforums.org/forumdisplay.php?f=336

Answer 3

Don't forget to try with all encryption turned off on the wireless network.

Problems can be with driving the wireless adapter or just with the Encryption

I can get most cards and adapters working ok but never WPA encryption



You can also try other linux distributions if you are not interested in digging too deep into the causes

I like linux mint http://linuxmint.com/ but there are loads to choose from

Answer 4

It's unlikely that your particular card is unsupported if its an internal or pcmia adapter. A usb addapter is less likely to be supported.



Anyways the first step is to find out which make and model of adapter you have, and then look up the specific issues and drivers, or ask the question again with this information.



after you boot up with adapter in place "lsmod" in terminal might give you a clue, "dmesg | grep ifname" or "ifconfig" may also help.

Answer 5

With Linux it is better to plug in extra hardware before starting the computer. If say you have a USB wireless card, plug it in then power the system Right click on the network icon and you should find yours mentioned if it's in range.