Get a wireless connection working in Linux

Know your hardware
The first step is to be absolutely sure about the hardware for which you are trying to find the drivers. We’ll assume that your wireless network adapter is working in Windows. If not, setting it up with Windows first will make life much, much easier. Firstly Windows will be able to tell you the exact name of the device, and secondly it will already have the files you need.

Left-click on the Start button and then right-click on My Computer or Computer. Click on the Device Manager option in the left-hand column to see a list of all the hardware installed in the computer. Click on the small plus labelled ‘Network adapters’ to see the names of all the network adapters. Note the wireless adapter name and model number.

Getting drivers
Next, download the appropriate Windows drivers from the manufacturer’s website. This ensures you get the latest version and that all the files are in one place. Ubuntu is capable of extracting the files if they are supplied as a Zip file.

If they are provided as an EXE file you may need to install 7-zip in order to open them. To do this, go to Applications then Add/Remove and type ‘7-zip’ in the search box. Click in the small tick box and then on the Apply button. Click on Apply again to install 7-zip. Alternatively, launch the EXE file in Windows to extract the files.

If you are unable to get hold of the original files (or have no internet access), you can copy them from Windows. Left-click on the Start button and right-click on My Computer/Computer. Left-click on Manage from the menu that appears. Left-click on Device Manager to see a list of all the hardware connected to the computer. Left-click on the small plus next to Network adapters and this time right-click on the entry for the wireless network adapter. Left-click on Properties, click on the Driver tab and then on the Driver Details button. A window will appear with the names and locations of the associated driver files: copy the files onto a USB memory key to use with Linux. There should be at least two, one ending in .inf and the other ending in .sys.

Now restart in Linux. We recommend creating a folder specifically for these drivers. Click on the Places menu and then on Home Folder. Click on the File menu and then Create folder. Name the folder ‘Drivers’ and create another folder inside for each individual hardware device. This will limit confusion if you change hardware. Copy the driver files into this folder.

If possible you should try to connect to the internet by another means as this will make the following steps much easier. This normally means using a network cable but don’t worry if you can’t – it’s not essential.
First, check whether Ubuntu has the utility for using Windows drivers. Click on the System menu and Administration. At the bottom of the list there should be an entry called Windows Wireless Drivers. Don’t worry if there isn’t as this is quick to solve.

If you have internet access on the computer, click on the Applications button and then on Add/Remove. Make sure ‘All available applications’ is selected in the Show menu and type ‘ndis’ into the search box. An entry should appear for Windows Wireless Drivers. Left-click in the box so a tick appears and then click on Apply Changes. Review the summary and click on Apply. The utility will be downloaded and installed.

If you don’t have internet access on the computer, you will need to download three files from the internet onto a USB key and install from that. On the computer with internet access, go to www.snipurl.com/bzfp8. Click on the i386 link at the bottom of the screen and select one of the servers to download the files from. It is best to choose one from the UK if possible. Save the .deb file to the USB key. Repeat this procedure for the .deb files at www.snipurl.com/bzfpy, and www.snipurl.com/bzfqh.

To install the files, insert the USB key and double-click on the .deb files to install. It is very important that they are installed in the correct order: ndiswrapper-common, ndiswrapper-utils-1.9 and then ndisgtk. With the Windows Wireless Drivers utility installed, follow the step-by-step guide below to install the Windows drivers.