Linux - Ubuntu 8.10 - connecting to wireless internet - Mac-Forums.com

leopard-user1 · 04-05-2009, 11:54 AM

I am attempting to run Ubuntu from an install CD on my MacBook Pro. I can't connect to wireless internet. Can anyone give a reason why, and/or a solution?

I downloaded the ISO disk image from ubuntu.com, and I successfully connected to the internet in VirtualBox (after setting it to use my AirPort card). I burned it to a CD using Disk Utility.

vansmith · 04-05-2009, 12:50 PM

It is very likely that support for the wireles card in your MBP wasn't built into the kernel or built as a kernel module. It's also likely that support for the wireless card in your MBP isn't supported at all.

What model of MBP do you have (year and specs)? If we know these, we can look to see if there is support for you in Linux.

The reason it worked under VirtualBox is not because support was available in Ubuntu. VirtualBox uses your wireless connection and makes it act as if it were wired for your VMs.

leopard-user1 · 04-05-2009, 04:46 PM

2.5 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Processor, 2 GB 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM, not unibody, 17"
late August 2008
Wireless card = 802.11n

I know why it works in VirtualBox. My question is how to get it to work in Linux.

vansmith · 04-05-2009, 05:08 PM

It looks as if that MBP uses a broadcom chip. Read this and see if this gets you going.

If that doesn't work, I need to know the chip for your wireless card. At the terminal (in Ubuntu), type:

Code:

lspci

Let me know what is says under "Network Controller".

chscag · 04-05-2009, 09:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vansmith

It looks as if that MBP uses a broadcom chip. Read this and see if this gets you going.

Nice find. I just (several weeks ago) installed Ubuntu 8.10 on my Toshiba notebook which likewise has a broadcom chipset. Ubuntu picked it up immediately and after typing in my pass phrase, I was up and running. Really surprised me how easy it was.

I've run various Linux distros in the past and without fail always had to struggle with getting wireless working. Usually, it didn't work.

Supposedly, Ubuntu 9.04 (soon to be released) will be much improved on recognizing new hardware.

Regards.

vansmith · 04-05-2009, 09:55 PM

Thanks

.

I had an old Dell Inspiron 1150 that had a bcm43xx chip in it and I remember the first time trying to get it up. What a disaster! I am glad though that I didn't have to use ndiswrapper. I'm sure you can imagine what it was like to get that card working 4 years ago. bcm43xx-fwcutter proved to be a great find when I first learned about it.

jeroendiederen · 08-10-2009, 04:27 AM

My solution was to use the ath9k driver with a 2.6.30 kernel, works nicely now.

Jeroen
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