[sammiec86]

I have a hp mini net-book with i believe is running ubuntu 8.04. I have tried to get HP to help but they wont and found nothing useful online so far. I have no idea how to use the internet. I am totally new with Linux based OS. My laptop started with XP but I got a bad virus and had to restore. Hp have the MIE restore image creator and now I don't know how to use my computer. If anyone could help me establish a connection with my wireless router that would be great. Thanks!

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If it is running Ubuntu, look for a Network-Manager icon or a Network-Admin icon, either on the desktop or in the Applications menu in the lower (or upper) left corner, depending on your version of Ubuntu.

• Double-click or select Network-Manager or Network-Admin
• In most pre-installed machines, the manufacturer has set it up with all the necessary drivers already.
• In that case, it should initially show all available wireless networks and allow you to click on the network to connect to it.
• If wireless authentication is needed by your router (WEP, WPA, etc) a network-manager dialog will pop up asking for your authentication details.

If that doesn't just work, you may need to load a driver for your specific wireless card. In that case, please post back here with the following:

• Open a terminal window: depending on which version of Ubuntu you have installed, this may be in slightly different places
  • Ubuntu/Gnome: Applications menu -> Accessories -> Terminal
  • Xubuntu/Xfce: Applications menu -> System -> Terminal.
  • Kubuntu/KDE: KMenu -> System -> Terminal Program (Konsole).
• In the terminal, type iwlist and press Enter.
• Copy down the results
• In the terminal, type lspci | grep Network and press enter. Notes: case is sensitive here, the character after "lspci" is a pipe character; on most keyboards, it's on the key above the Enter key and looks like a vertical line.
• Copy down the results and post both this and the results from the iwlist command.

I hope this helps. If you have any questions as you go along, let me know.

[Matthew C. Miller]

If it is running Ubuntu, look for a Network-Manager icon or a Network-Admin icon, either on the desktop or in the Applications menu in the lower (or upper) left corner, depending on your version of Ubuntu.

• Double-click or select Network-Manager or Network-Admin
• In most pre-installed machines, the manufacturer has set it up with all the necessary drivers already.
• In that case, it should initially show all available wireless networks and allow you to click on the network to connect to it.
• If wireless authentication is needed by your router (WEP, WPA, etc) a network-manager dialog will pop up asking for your authentication details.

If that doesn't just work, you may need to load a driver for your specific wireless card. In that case, please post back here with the following:

• Open a terminal window: depending on which version of Ubuntu you have installed, this may be in slightly different places
  • Ubuntu/Gnome: Applications menu -> Accessories -> Terminal
  • Xubuntu/Xfce: Applications menu -> System -> Terminal.
  • Kubuntu/KDE: KMenu -> System -> Terminal Program (Konsole).
• In the terminal, type iwlist and press Enter.
• Copy down the results
• In the terminal, type lspci | grep Network and press enter. Notes: case is sensitive here, the character after "lspci" is a pipe character; on most keyboards, it's on the key above the Enter key and looks like a vertical line.
• Copy down the results and post both this and the results from the iwlist command.

I hope this helps. If you have any questions as you go along, let me know.

[sammiec86]

i don't want to frustrate you but I can't find any network manager or network admin. I am new to all this I have only ever used windows. I am unsure what kind of ubuntu i have all i know is that at the main welcome screen i have mail, web, music. In the upper right corner my options are files, settings, logout. The I gone into settings-system tab-network. It gives me the network settungs screen. i don't know what to do from here. My friend tried walking me through setting up a wireless connection. I am not entirely sure how to set it up and whatever we did didn't work. We used the HP MIE restore image creator to reboot my system so im sure if i need any drivers i could get them from there. It did say that all necessary drivers should already be on there though. Thanks!

[sammiec86]

I just researched and came across new information. custom HP "Mobile Internet Experience" OS is based on Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy Heron. Maybe this will help with explaining the steps to connect to wireless internet

[Matthew C. Miller]

Aha! HP has a tutorial, with pictures, on just this subject, for MIE. Take a read through this: http://h10025.www1.h...product=3832471 and see if that helps. Be sure to read it all - there are some critical points at the top that will help in identifying icons and switches that are referred to later on in the instructions. Let me know if you have any questions.

[sammiec86]

Thanks. i checked it out and it helped but now the internet only worked with wired connection. When i click on my network it will show that wireless is 100% connected but my internet browser can't load page. Do you know if ubuntu remix is any easier to use?

[Matthew C. Miller]

Do you have any other computers in your household using the wireless successfully? I ask because usually, when the wireless on the PC says 100% connected but you still can't get to the internet, it's due to a wireless router problem (usually, the router isn't handing out addresses to the PCs properly). A reboot of the router may clear that up, but if it's not configured correctly, you may need to call your cable/dsl/etc company for assistance reconfiguring it.

On the other hand, if you have other PCs that are successfully connecting, it's more likely still a configuration issue on the netbook. When you open the Wireless Network icon, does it provide you any option for specifying your network address (possibly labeled TCP/IP, address, network, or something similar). If so, you want to be sure it's set on DHCP, which requests the address from your wireless router automatically. That's usually the default, but given your specific symptoms, it's worth checking.

I apologize that I can't be more specific in my assistance - I haven't ever had my hands on a netbook with MIE and haven't been able to find a demo/video/walkthrough online that I could use to give you better focused instructions!

Re: Ubuntu Remix, I don't know, that's not a variant I've used. I've been pretty pleased with Puppy Linux, which you can run from a CD, to try out. If you're looking for the easiest distribution to use, I haven't heard anything better than Ubuntu, though! They have a great community for support and really focus on making it easy for beginners.

[sammiec86]

That's okay thanks anyways. I do wonder if you could help me with something else. I have been on the ubuntu website and was thinking about changing to Ubuntu 9.10 remix. From what I read it seems to be a better layout. Plus it is the newest release. I can download the iso image but I don't know how or what to use as a program to upload the iso file to my usb drive. I need to make a bootable usb drive because my notebook doesn't have a CD drive. If you know anything about bootable usb drive I would love to hear about it. Thanks again for all your help, it has been nice to have someone to talk to.

[Matthew C. Miller]

There is actually a tool that will build the Ubuntu Remix usb for you (I didn't expect that when I put in my search!). You'll need a Windows PC on which to build it, then you can take the usb to your netbook and boot off it.

It mentions in the instructions briefly about setting your BIOS or Boot menu to use the usb drive, but doesn't provide instructions. This page elsewhere at their site has a more detailed summary of this step.

As always, if you have questions, just post another response!

-Matthew