[conspire] (forw) Re: Ubuntu 7.10 wifi

[Rick Moen]

----- Forwarded message from John Simons <sloujon at cox.net> -----

From: John Simons <sloujon at cox.net>
To: rick at linuxmafia.com
Date: Tue, 4 Dec 2007 21:11:27 -0800
X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 6.00.2900.3138
Subject: Ubuntu 7.10 wifi

Hello Rick

About a month ago, I installed Ubuntu 7.10 on a Dell Latitude D810 with a "1370 WLAN Mini-PCI Card".  My router is a "Linksys WRT54GS V5".   I am new to this Linux game and am having no luck at all in connecting to the internet via wifi.  I am hearing everything from loading "ndiswrapper", getting another wifi card on and on.  I am looking for some sound advise and a step by step approach to make this happen.  Just know that I can connect to the internet via hard wire, but this is not always possible to do.  I have emailed folks like yourself and have gotten no responses.  Please help as I would be very greatful.  for what ever it is worth, I live in Henderson.

John Simons
sloujon at cox.net 
----- End forwarded message -----
----- Forwarded message from Rick Moen <rick at linuxmafia.com> -----

Date: Tue, 4 Dec 2007 22:06:21 -0800
From: Rick Moen <rick at linuxmafia.com>
To: John Simons <sloujon at cox.net>
Subject: Re: Ubuntu 7.10 wifi

Quoting John Simons (sloujon at cox.net):

> About a month ago, I installed Ubuntu 7.10 on a Dell Latitude D810
> with a "1370 WLAN Mini-PCI Card".  My router is a "Linksys WRT54GS
> V5".   I am new to this Linux game and am having no luck at all in
> connecting to the internet via wifi.  I am hearing everything from
> loading "ndiswrapper", getting another wifi card on and on.  I am
> looking for some sound advise and a step by step approach to make this
> happen.  Just know that I can connect to the internet via hard wire,
> but this is not always possible to do.  I have emailed folks like
> yourself and have gotten no responses.  Please help as I would be very
> greatful.  for what ever it is worth, I live in Henderson.

Hi, John.  Your most-effective way of getting help is always the 
online _public_ help forums appropriate for your location (or, failing
that, worldwide ones, or ones for other metropolitan areas).

If you mean Henderson, Nevada, seven miles outside Las Vegas, then
you probably want to seek help from the Las Vegas Linux Users Group, 
http://lvlug.org/ .  I see that they have a mailing list and also 
Web forums.

Not your fault, but you didn't actually give enough information for me
to even determine with any confidence what exactly a "1370 WLAN Mini-PCI
Card" is.  Linux experts, to assist you, would probably need to
determine via some method or other what chipset it's based on.  (I
realise that the word "chipset" probably doesn't mean anything to you.
Sorry about that.)

"1370" might just be a Dell model number, or it might be a reference to
the card being based on a Broadcom 1370 wireless chipset, or both, or
something else entirely.  If I had to guess, I'd guess it's a Broadcom
1370.

You may find it worthwhile to know that Broadcom is one of _the_ least
cooperative chip manufacturers concerning the Linux community, which 
means that Linux coders have to spend considerable time and effort
reverse-engineering new Broadcom chips, when they come out.  This
problem may be hitting you.  

You might actually just want to cut to the chase by spending a few bucks
on a different miniPCI wireless card manufactured by a firm that is more
cooperative.  E.g., I notice that Dell offers miniPCI cards using Intel
2200 WiFi chips instead of Broadcom chips.  The Intel cards are said to
be $19 more if specified at the time you buy your Dell laptop.


Please:  Not a complaint, but please do not make a habit of sending help
requests in e-mails directly to longtime Linux users.  Doing so amounts
-- and I know you weren't thinking of it this way -- to requesting
free-of-charge computer consulting from (more often than not) busy
professionals whom you don't even know.  Instead, please post your
requests to public online Web forums or mailing lists such as Las Vegas
Linux Users Group's -- or to the global Usenet discussion groups
("newsgroups"), such as the comp.os.linux.hardware newsgroup that is
best used for hardware-driver questions such as yours.

Good luck to you!

Best Regards,
Rick M.


----- End forwarded message -----