I have an a hp pavilion mx703 desktop which i originally connected to the internet through wireless access. worked fine. I recently had my cable company install my internet and when we tried to get online nothing happened. the installer was unfamiliar with ubuntu and couldn't help me. now i also have macpup enlightenment installed as well which is how i get online now, but i like ubuntu better and need help to do that. I am currently trying to find the ip address for my modem and the passwords and things like that. can someone please help me?!!!! thanks

Usually, there is a network icon close to the clock. You can select "wired connection", if it is not there, there may be a driver issue. Please post the output of the commands "lspci", "ifconfig -a", "lsmod" and "dmesg".

so i went to the system settings and clicked on admin/hardware drivers and i have no drivers...is that normal? One other question. how can one program...(macpup) access the internet with no problem, but ubuntu cant?

and how do i post the output of the commands "lspci", "ifconfig -a", "lsmod" and "dmesg". now remember im a newbie!!!! lol

Copy and Paste....

Run the commands in a terminal, select the pertinent output, copy, then paste into browser window.

Backing up a bit.....You say that you have your internet with "cable" (cable TV, I assume). This means that the cable company supplied the cable modem. Almost certainly, this is set up for DHCP on the outputs (LAN)**, and not static IP addresses. You can check by logging into the modem (They should have given you the login and password for this, but it is typically something really simple---eg "admin" and "password"). To log in to the modem, simply enter its IP in a browser window. The most common IP is 192.168.1.1, but it also could be something like 10.0.0.1 (If you can't find what works, the cable company can tell you.)

Assuming that the modem is set for DHCP, then any modern OS should connect automatically.


**In the typical setup, the modem also connects to the internet (WAN) using DHCP, but this is not something you normally need to deal with. Your computer(s) connect to the modem and (with DHCP) are assigned a local (LAN) IP each time you connect. You CAN set the modem for fixed IPs on the LAN side, but there is normally no reason to do so.

PS:
The computer might be set to automatically connect using wireless. Normally, it would go back to wired if it could not get a wireless connection, but you should check the settings.

PPS:
Ethernet, not Ethonet