[CoLoCo] Ubuntu WiFi

[Jim Hutchinson]

On Fri, Jun 6, 2008 at 7:39 AM, Kevin Fries <kfries at cctus.com> wrote:

> On Fri, 2008-06-06 at 05:26 -0400, Michael "TheZorch" Haney wrote:
> > Ok, finally got the AMD64 version of Ubuntu 8.04 installed on my
> > laptop.  Surprisingly, the drivers for my laptop's 802.11g adapter were
> > with the initial install, at least that's what the Hardware Drivers
> > screen says anyway.
>

Michael,

Are you sure your wifi is working - that the proper driver is installed and
working that is? If you open a terminal and type "ifconfig" without quotes
does it show a wireless adapter? If not, then that is problem one to solve.
If so, then do you have the little network icon in the notification area
(were the clock is)? If so, does right clicking it give you an option to
enable wireless? If it's checked (if not, check it) does left clicking give
you any access points? A hidden ssid may cause additional problems so unhide
it for now if hidden.

If you can answer those questions it will help narrow down the problem
(unless some else sees it already). You might also include the output of
"lspci" if your card is not recognized. Just the line(s) related to wifi or
network are fine.


> However, I can't find any way of configuring a
> > wireless connection to our router.  It uses WEP.  Do I need to connect
> > to the router via Ethernet to download an wireless configuration program
> > from Add/Remove Programs?
>

You should not have an issue with WEP as long as you have a configured card.
I use WPA without issues. If you do need a driver you may need to connect
via ethernet and download it. Actually, if you have something listed in
hardware drivers doesn't that mean it needs to download it? I thought that
was when Ubuntu knows what to do but doesn't have the driver yet. I could be
wrong but maybe try that.


>  Otherwise everything works but the Desktop
> > Effects.  Hardware Drivers says the Nvidia drives are installed but not
> > in use and Desktop Effects can't be enabled.  I'm more concerned with
> > the wireless adapter at this point, but being able to use the zoom and
> > inverse color options for accessibility purposes would be nice too.
>

You should be able to open up hardware drivers and enable the nvidia driver.
That has always "just worked". Not always for ATI though.


>
>
> I am having a similar problem with a Sony Vaio.  It can connect to
> unprotected wireless, but refuses to get DHCP from WEP or WPA protected
> networks.


Kevin, not sure about that. My guess would be the card is less than
perfectly supported. However, I have a broadcom card in one computer and
with a bit of work it works including connecting to a WPA network.


>
>
> While I am at it... It does have one other quirk that annoys me... On
> shutdown, the machine does not turn completely off.  Once if finishes
> shutting down, I have to press and hold the power button for the power
> to be fully off.


I have this issue with my desktop. Sometimes it just doesn't finish shutting
off. I tried the acpi=force option but it doesn't fix anything. It even
sounds like something shuts off but my fans still run and the ubuntu bar
still shows on the screen. Have to hold the power button to get it to turn
off. I'd like to see a fix for this too.

-- 
Jim (Ubuntu geek extraordinaire)
----
Please avoid sending me Word or PowerPoint attachments.
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