07-01-2009, 01:07 PM

Hello guys,

So I just got my laptop back, its optical drive was getting fixed, turned out it had a lot of dust on the lens and stuff. Anyhow, I installed Linux using Boot Camp (instead of Windows) because I started using Linux 7 Mint Gloria on my other computer and it's pretty awesome. However, I can not install my computer's drivers using the Mac OSX DVD 1 of course because it works on Windows only. So what can I do in order to install the drivers on Linux? Of course I can not access the internet from there, obviously.

Thanks a lot and have a nice day.

07-01-2009, 01:30 PM

A lot of device support is built into the kernel. NIC drivers, for instance, are either built into the kernel or built as kernel modules. It is very possible therefore that support for the hardware on the Mac is not built into the kernel. There are some "exceptions" though, such as the GPU which can have support added afterwards. That said, the nvidia and ati drivers actually build kernel modules IIRC.

Upon some further reading, you may need to patch the kernel with some patches but depending on your hardware, you may be able to avoid this. Your best bet would be to provide a list of the hardware that doesn't work and the name and model of each piece so we can see what is and isn't supported.

As for the networking, can I assume you are using wireless? I only say that because ethernet NICs are pretty well supported and you should have no problems with them (in general). The only thing I can think of right now for wireless would be to install ndiswrapper and use the Windows driver for the chipset.

07-01-2009, 02:15 PM

Originally Posted by Tarek

Hello guys,

So I just got my laptop back, its optical drive was getting fixed, turned out it had a lot of dust on the lens and stuff. Anyhow, I installed Linux using Boot Camp (instead of Windows) because I started using Linux 7 Mint Gloria on my other computer and it's pretty awesome. However, I can not install my computer's drivers using the Mac OSX DVD 1 of course because it works on Windows only. So what can I do in order to install the drivers on Linux? Of course I can not access the internet from there, obviously.

Quite frankly, if it were me - I would dump Mint Gloria and instead install the latest version of Ubuntu (9.04). It simply works out of the box; network, graphics, wireless, etc. all there. As a matter of fact, I found the Ubuntu install easier than Windows XP.

Your choice of course and as everything else, mileage may vary.

Regards.

07-01-2009, 02:38 PM

I agree - installation of an easier to use distribution is probably a better bet. If you can find one that works out of the box, you should have no problems and you can learn from there. If you still want to tackle Mint, I'd be glad to help though.

07-01-2009, 03:34 PM

Another thumbs-up for Ubuntu.
Everything just works except..........
If anyone knows how to get a brother DCP117C printer to work, it would be perfect.

Neil

07-02-2009, 10:06 AM

Thank you for your replies. Yeah, everything I need is pretty much working efficiently (graphics, sound, ethernet, and such). You're right, I want to use Wireless, I don't always stick to my desk you know.. but it's not working and I tried finding tutorials but all of them are for PowerBook G4 and old Apple computers like that; of course I tried their tutorials but no luck.

About the Ubuntu (9.04), I'd be glad to download and install it if you think it's good. As I told you, Linux Mint is the very first Linux OS that I ever tried, so I don't really know the difference you know. Also, the installation of Mint is pretty hard, having to do the partitions manually and stuff (because I don't like installing side by side) is tiring because I'm not used to all that, Windows XP installation FTW lol.

I am not sure if that's legal, but care providing me with an Ubuntu 9.04? Or do I have to pay for it? If I download it like warez (if it's not free), would I be able to get cracks or serials for it that actually work? Because well, I'm not and probably not going to be a permanent Linux user so I just want to give it a try, not worth paying if it's expensive and I know I am not going to find original versions of it in Egypt.

Thanks again.

EDIT - I am guessing it's free? I am downloading it from here Your Download will Start Shortly | Ubuntu and it doesn't say "Buy now" or "Trial" or anything like that. The thing is, I am downloading from a mirror in Belgium because almost all of the ones in North America and Africa are really slow, so I assume it's the same version and the download location has nothing to do with the installation (OS) language, right?

07-02-2009, 12:09 PM

You're correct, Ubuntu is completely free and right now has one the best support communities out there. It worked completely fine on my MBP, which is older than yours.

Have fun with Ubuntu! Also, if you like the KDE environment rather than the Gnome, there is also Kubuntu. The only difference is that Kubuntu is KDE rather than Gnome.

07-02-2009, 12:39 PM

Isn't mint gloria based on ubuntu 9.04? In the past mint versions were just ubuntu versions with enhancements to make them easier to use. If this is the same still then hardware support will be the same as with ubuntu 9.04. Or have things changed?

07-02-2009, 01:35 PM

Hardware support may not be the same if the Mint people include a different kernel and drivers.

@OP - Linux distributions are generally free (if not always) because of the nature of the software used. If someone sold you Ubuntu, you could copy it a million times and distribute it to whoever you wanted. The licenses used in open source software allow for redistribution and modification.

07-02-2009, 06:17 PM

I am using Ubuntu 9.04 at the moment, it is pretty awesome. The taskbar (if that's what you call it on Linux) is like the Macintosh's, though, I liked it better in the Mint where it was like the "Start" button in Windows XP; at least it was easier. So everything is working great except the Wi-Fi, still. So can any one help me with this? I, again, tried some tutorials but none of them worked. I also downloaded a file called wl_apsta.o, but no luck in Terminal.

Thanks again.

07-02-2009, 07:18 PM

wl_apsta.o is firmware for a particular subset of Broadcom wifi chips. If that is what you need, you need to use b43-fwcutter to utilize it. If you don't have it, you can get it through apt. I have modified some instructions from here, including only what you need (enter the following at the command line):

1. export FIRMWARE_INSTALL_DIR="/lib/firmware"
2. wget http://downloads.openwrt.org/sources...0.53.0.tar.bz2
3. tar xjf broadcom-wl-4.80.53.0.tar.bz2
4. cd broadcom-wl-4.80.53.0/kmod
5. b43-fwcutter -w "$FIRMWARE_INSTALL_DIR" wl_apsta.o

Or, if you've already downloaded wl_apsta.o, just execute the following: b43-fwcutter -w /lib/firmware wl_apsta.o.

07-02-2009, 07:42 PM

tarek@Tarek-MBP:~$ b43-fwcutter -w /lib/firmware wl_apsta.o
The program 'b43-fwcutter' is currently not installed. You can install it by typing:
sudo apt-get install b43-fwcutter
bash: b43-fwcutter: command not found

That's what I get. Thanks for your reply, btw.

EDIT - Okay I installed fwcutter.

EDIT #2 - Now it says "tarek@Tarek-MBP:~$ b43-fwcutter -w /lib/firmware wl_apsta.o
Cannot open input file wl_apsta.o
tarek@Tarek-MBP:~$ "

07-02-2009, 07:52 PM

You have to either be in the directory that wl_apsta.o is located or you have to include the full path. So, let's say that the file is in a folder called Downloads in your home directory. You could do one of two things:

1. b43-fwcutter -w /lib/firmware ~/Downloads/wl_apsta.o
or
2. cd ~/Downloads; b43-fwcutter -w /lib/firmware wl_apsta.o

Once this is done, reboot the machine.

07-02-2009, 08:17 PM

tarek@Tarek-MBP:~$ b43-fwcutter -w /lib/firmware ~/Downloads/wl_apsta.o
This file is recognised as:
ID : FW10
filename : wl_apsta.o
version : 295.14
MD5 : e08665c5c5b66beb9c3b2dd54aa80cb3
Extracting b43legacy/ucode2.fw
failed to open file: Permission denied
tarek@Tarek-MBP:~$

Denied?

07-02-2009, 08:24 PM

Sorry, this is my mistake. Since you are modifying a directory outside of your home directory, you neet root privileges. Add sudo to the beginning of that command and you should be good to go.