Linux and WiFi

[CivFan91]

OK, I finally made the jump to Linux! I partitioned my PC so I have Windows XP and Kubuntu Linux.

Here's the thing: I obviously need to get going on installing drivers and such so my OS will be at its peak. It present, I am stuck with going back and forth between Linux and Windows to share files - a real pain - only to discover I have no idea how to install under Linux! So where should I go? Google, of course! But I can't get online. Konqueror returns 404 errors, and I don't know how to activate my WiFi connection. I've managed to stump a few guys on this. Can you tell me how to set up a wireless connection? I never got anywhere, I'm at square 1.

My WiFi specs:


Network Adapter Linksys Wireless-G PCI Adapter
Interface Type Wireless Ethernet
Hardware Address 00-12-17-82-27-A4
Connection Name Wireless Network Connection 3
Connection Speed 11 Mbps
MTU 1500 bytes
WLAN Signal Strength -61 dBm (Very Good)
Bytes Received 53456727 (51.0 MB)
Bytes Sent 6231555 (5.9 MB)

Network Adapter Manufacturer
Company Name Linksys Group Inc.
Product Information http://www.linksys.com/products
Driver Download http://www.linksys.com/download

 

[Comraddict]

ndiswrapper.sourceforge.net

 

[Padma]

I don't know (K)Ubuntu, but Linksys should work using ndiswrapper.

 

[kingjoshi]

I didn't have to download any drivers for (K)Ubuntu. It recognized by wireless card.

Note: I'm using Gnome

Under System->Administration, there should be "Network Settings". That'll tell you whether it recognized your wi-fi card. You can enter the WEP password and other settings. You can also check KWiFiManager. I'm not sure to its capabilities.

There is a program to mount ex3 in Windows and (K)Ubuntu can mount NTFS for reading. I forget what the windows app it called, but you should be able to find it easily.

 

[CivFan91]

I never needed a WEP password for my WiFi. Can you elaborate, please?

 

[kingjoshi]

well, if you have wifi installed, you should try to secure it. WEP is one way to do encryption so no one can easily steal messages or steal bandwidth. But you have to first set that up in the router.

BTW, did you get to "Networking"? Did it show a wifi card?

 

[CivFan91]

Um... I'm not sure. I know somewhere I saw a eth0 and a ra0, but I couldn't access them unless I logged in as root, which I have to do from the login console. Even if I supply my password, it's grayed out unless I do this. =/

 

[kingjoshi]

Entering your own password doesn't work when you try to access "Neworking"?

I get a dialog window with the title, "Network settings"

It shows I have a Wireless connection, Ethernet conncetion and says my modem connection isn't configured.

Do you get something similar, but it's grayed out?

I can click on Wireless Connection and choose "Properties". I can set a default ESSID to connect to.

If that doesn't work, then try Kwifimanager.

 

[kingjoshi]

Oh, it's not "Network Tools". Though that can be helpful for checking connections and so forth. but "Networking"

eth0 is usually the first ethernet connection. eth1 is the wireless for me.

 

[Chairman Meow]

Um... I'm not sure. I know somewhere I saw a eth0 and a ra0, but I couldn't access them unless I logged in as root, which I have to do from the login console. Even if I supply my password, it's grayed out unless I do this. =/

I'm pretty sure the wireless connection would be ra0. eth0 is usually the wired network connection.