Trouble with Netbook Ubuntu connecting to the Internet

[J]

On Mon, May 24, 2010 at 16:15, Jeffrey Needle <jeff.needle at gmail.com> wrote:
> Hello.  I've installed Netbook Ubuntu inside Windows (the second choice
> in the install menu on the .iso).  Installation went nicely, and
> everything was fine until I tried to connect to the internet.
>
> I have AT&T high speed internet service, with a router that wires my
> entire apartment.  Windows finds the wireless network just fine.  But
> Ubuntu is having problems.  I can't figure out how to get connected.
>
> I've tried with both Evolution and Firefox, but no success.  I've
> ensured that both apps were working in on-line mode.
>
> Any help you can be will be greatly appreciated.  I'm working on an HP
> Mini netbook.

Open a terminal (under Applications/Accessories/Terminal) and run the command:

lspci | grep Network

Look at the output and tell us what it says.

I'm willing to bet you HP has the Broadcom wireless card that has some
issues... not to worry though, if it is the Broadcom wireless card,
the problem can easily be resolved.

The Broadcom wireless cards are fairly common these days among various
netbooks and laptops and you need a specific proprietary driver to
make them work that doesn't get intstalled by default (since it's
proprietary).

If you'd like to go ahead and try, you'll need a network cable.  Plug
the netbook into the router (or your switch) directly and boot it up
into Ubuntu.  After it boots and you log in, you should have network
connectivity.

Look in the System Menu under Administration.  Click on the "Hardware
Drivers" item.  This will launch a tool that will scan your hardware
and tell you what non-open source drivers you need to make it run.

Look for something called STA Driver (or whatever driver it suggests
for your wi-fi card).  Click the driver, then click the button toward
the bottom right of the window that says Enable or Install.  It'll do
it's thing, then you close the tool down, reboot, Bob's your uncle,
and internets work.

Of course, all of the above is predicated on you having a card that
does work with the non-free drivers.  I'm assuming your HP has the
broadcom wi-fi chipset.

Either way, send the output of that lspci command so we can find out
what you do have for a wi-fi card.

Cheers
Jeff