Ethernet driver installation.
 

I had an old xp machine laying around collecting dust so I decided to install ubuntu on it. This is my first time using linux. I was pleased with how easy it was to install until I realized my internet wasn't working.
After doing some reading I found that my ethernet card is a wincard and wouldn't work. So I went and picked up a netgear ethernet card to replace it. I have the card in but I have no idea about how to put the driver on it. I'm not really a computer person. I just use them. Is there an easy way to get my internet working? Would it be easier if I had used a wireless card instead?

Thanks.

Hi, and welcome to LQ!

Have you tried your internet with the new card?

Typically, Linux has it's own drivers, and should detect the new card on startup. (In fact, there are only two video card OEMs that require drivers to be installed seperately.)

If Ubuntu does not auto-detect the card, reboot and press ESC when you see "Grub loading..." to enter the Grub menu. Select "Recovery Mode", then when the new menu pops up, select "Detect Hardware".

And no, wireless wouldn't be easier. That's something that's still a bit questionable. It's wonderful if it works, but a RPITA if it doesn't.

Hope this helps.

When I click on the network connections at the top of the screen it shows the wired network and indicates that it is a netgear card. It won't let me click on it to connect though. I am trying to connect to the internet via ethernet cable with an airport extreme modem. I tried going around the router, but it didn't make any difference.

Well, the card installed- that's a plus. However, you don't click on the Network Connection icon to connect- it just shows the network device and status. Does it say that it's not active?

Its not active. When I click on the status it shows both my old network card and my new one. Below that it says VPN Connections. I can click on the VPN connections but the other two things are dead. When I open up Firefox and try to search in Google it just says address not found. I guess my network settings are wrong but I don't know what they need to be.