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Ubuntu on Inspiron 9300

post #1 of 13
10/13/05 at 5:03pm
Thread Starter 
Hey guys,
i've finally decided to jump onto the linux juggernaut
trouble is, its a lil daunting to get this beast to work properly.
Which is why i'm here.
I've got a Dell Inspiron 9300 > specs:
Pentium M 2 Ghz
512Mb DDR-2
Geforce 6800 Go 256 Mb,
Dell Bluetooth,
Intel 2915 pro wireless a/b/g
DVD-CDRW

I've tried playing around with Ubuntu 10.4, but i could never get the wireless to work.
I've read the Ubuntu Forums and tried the firmware update for iwp2200 but no dice.
I am now trying Breezy, but i'm not sure if it would still recognize the wireless card, cuz during the network configuration process it didnt even find the wireless AP's that work with windows.

Any thoughts out there ??
thnx
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post #2 of 13
10/13/05 at 5:51pm
I think linux suppor for the IPW 2915 A/B/G is quite limited. Older adapters have better support (IPW 2100 works like a charm under all Linux Distros I have tried [SuSE 9.3 and 10.0, FC 3 and 4, Kanotix 2005.3]) have herd of others being able to use IPW 2200 with little problems.

Check out the command iwconfig in a console window to see if a wireless interface has been setup.

Good Luck,
James
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post #3 of 13
10/13/05 at 6:19pm
Thread Starter 
Alrite, I'm done installing Breezy RC-1(i think) ,
and i'm back with the wireless adapter not working.

Code:
$ iwconfig
lo        no wireless extensions.

eth0      no wireless extensions.

eth1      radio off  ESSID:off/any
          Mode:Managed  Channel:0  Access Point: 00:00:00:00:00:00
          Bit Rate=0 kb/s   Tx-Power=off
          Retry limit:7   RTS thr:off   Fragment thr:off
          Power Management:off
          Link Quality:0  Signal level:0  Noise level:0
          Rx invalid nwid:0  Rx invalid crypt:0  Rx invalid frag:0
          Tx excessive retries:0  Invalid misc:0   Missed beacon:0

sit0      no wireless extensions.
what does this mean ?? it says for some reason the radio is off....
thanx
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post #4 of 13
10/13/05 at 6:21pm
Thread Starter 
Also according to this:
Code:
dmesg | grep ipw
[4294698.003000] ipw2200: Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 2200/2915 Network Driver, 1.0.6
[4294698.003000] ipw2200: Copyright(c) 2003-2004 Intel Corporation
[4294698.005000] ipw2200: Detected Intel PRO/Wireless 2915ABG Network Connection
[4294698.261000] ipw2200: Radio Frequency Kill Switch is On:
it does detect the device properly, but why is the Radio Kill Switch On ????
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post #5 of 13
10/13/05 at 6:33pm
Thread Starter 
Success !!
atleast got the Radio Frequency kill switch off.
its a Dell, so I had to do a Fn+F2 to turn it back on... DOH,
Sorry bout that, gonna try to set it up with wireless now, waiting for the updates to download first, its REAL slow :-(
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post #6 of 13
10/13/05 at 6:39pm
yeah, the mirrors and apt sources are ungodly slow today. i downloaded and installed breezy final and been having a bad time installing packages that i need.
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post #7 of 13
10/13/05 at 6:54pm
Thread Starter 
*update*
Wireless works, flawlessly, tho i need a way to scan for AP's that actually transmit their SSID's.
Also , after I did get the wireless working, i unplugged from the wired connection, but I still didnt have any internet, untill i set eth1 to be the default gateway.
seems kinda stupid that you have to actually make config changes to get yr computer to use the wireless.
Isnt there a way for breezy to do this automatically ?
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post #8 of 13
10/13/05 at 7:56pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by abf
yeah, the mirrors and apt sources are ungodly slow today. i downloaded and installed breezy final and been having a bad time installing packages that i need.
yea, the mirrors are REALLY slow today, almost hate this freaking deal.
well, i'm using the Breezy RC , do you think i'd be able to upgrade to the latest release ?? without the need to re-intall ?
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post #9 of 13
10/13/05 at 8:05pm
i had preview installed as of this morning. i should have probably just dist-upgrade to the final, but last time i tried to dist-upgrade (hoary to colony 3) it crashed and burned terribly. so i figured yeah, i'll lose my files and my configurations, but at least it will be guaranteed to work. and besides, i reinstalled windows today as well, so why not upgrade both OSes at the same time.
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post #10 of 13
10/13/05 at 8:15pm
Thread Starter 
hmmm....any way that i can be certain as to what version of breezy i am running ?
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post #11 of 13
10/13/05 at 10:04pm
if you stick your install cd in the drive, the CD name should contain the version #. another way to check is by kernel. the final version (came out today, so if you didn't install today, you clearly don't have it) uses kernel 2.6.12-9 , i know the preview (came out a week before colony 5) uses 2.6.12-8 (however there was a patch over apt-get). i mean, it should still give you the ballpark of what version you're using, but whatever it is, its not a final.
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post #12 of 13
10/13/05 at 11:04pm
Thread Starter 
alrite, i did some snooping around, and it seems apt-get update/upgrade, actually upgrades yr kernel.
AFAIK, i know i have the RC cd, cuz i downloaded and burnt it yesterday, but I did install it today, and it Synaptic PM , actually had about 190+ updates, and some more after, for me.
And boy it was really taking its own time :-(

just did a uname -r, and it tells me i'm running on 2.6.12-9-386
Not sure if that also means that the packages are upgraded as well.
we'll see... rite now , i'm still tweaking it and playing around with it.
I've been a windows user for a very long time, tho i do have loads of experience with Linux-Server (RPM based).

I dont know if you noticed, but getting wireless to work in linux is NOT easy.
Even after you get it to work, its still not....i mean, your not sure if its gonna work the next time you turn it on...
Also...it kinda feels laggy, like the hardware subsystem takes a lil while to configure itself for access ... mebbe its just my imagination
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post #13 of 13
11/18/05 at 9:28pm
I am using Knoppix 4.0 DVD and Kanotix (on cd) and have had no problems getting Knoppix to access the my Intel 2200 wirless setup. I browse the wireless web at the local coffee shop with no fear of getting a virus or trojans. I love all the options on the 4.7 gig dvd setup that Knoppix has.
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