Linux & Drivers (WiFi)

[khat17]

I'm a noob at Linux. I've used Ubuntu, Debian, OpenSUSE, CentOS, Mint and a couple others. What I've found is that it's best to stick to a mainstream distro or one of the forks. Personally I like how Debian is structured and as a result Ubuntu is easier - which it's made easy to begin with.

My largest problem with Linux has been drivers. While video drivers are usually automatically found and installed I've noticed that the repositories and installation mediums have little to no support for wireless cards. Almost everything that I've put in a live bootable disc picks up network cards, onboard or otherwise (haven't tested with USB LAN) but where WiFi is concerned there's just about no support.

One of the things I believe I've seen in one distro is the use of Windows based drivers to get the hardware going. Don't recall which distro it was - at current the only Linux I have running is Ubuntu 10.10 I think - but for the gaming and video editing I've been sticking to Windows.

Since STEAM now has Linux versions for a lot of their games (with a growing library) I'm thinking strongly about making Linux my primary OS - but the drivers are beating me. I think you should be able to compile the driver for your distro IF the manufacturer has Linux drivers available. If not then I guess you're screwed.

So - for the Linux gurus on the site - how do I easily get the drivers for my wireless card to be installed so I can (slowly) boot Windows to the curb?

[ramesh]

Wireless drivers are a challenge at times, sometimes a hit-or-miss. Nowadays, not so much. Whenever I install Ubuntu on a laptop, I set it up using a LAN wire and the additional Hardware Drivers icon usually loads at the top (a green icon - in newer Ubuntu installations you will have to type "drivers" in the search box)



Open Additional Drivers and select the wireless and video drivers you need (hopefully the ARE there) and reboot.

[khat17]

The issue I have is that the wireless ones aren't there. The graphics ones are almost always there for red or green team.

[ramesh]

You may have to use ndiswrapper. Do a search for windows wifi drivers for ubuntu for instruction on installing.

[glenfordwilliams]

i feel your pain, i can recall a while back when i had gotten a netbook that had a ralink card installed and the only way i could get it to work was if i had downgraded to a earlier kernel release with additional patches.

[jamrock]

Much depends on the manufacturer of the card. Some manufacturers develop drivers for Windows only. Someone would then have to write the Linux drivers for it. Not always easy if the manufacturer doesn't release the specs. I would just purchase a card that includes drivers for Linux or Unix.

Ubuntu automatically identified the card on my Dell laptop. I use a Nexxt usb card with my Pfsense firewall box. The box it came in states that it supports Linux and Unix. Works like a charm.