Wireless Problems For New Linux Users
 

This thread is not for me, but for the people that have had problems in the 42 pages of threads that I've recently read to seek answers for my problem.(See my other new thread, please.)

It seems that many people who make the switch from Microsoft to Linux end up with connection problems if they use wireless dongles.
It happened to me: I went to do a dual-boot with Win and Lin like I had done years before, but since the dongle could not connect - I fried my Windows OS. (Maybe that was a good thing for me, since it's forcing me to get some Linux savvy and not be able to wimp out and bail back to Windows - but I can see how it makes people mad as hell.)

This is my point for this thread: Can you sticky a thread that lists wireless dongles that are Linux-friendly? I got back online in Linux Land by running a cat5 cable from the router, but for people that don't have that option, it sucks.

Hey, I read through 42 pages, can't we prevent others from having to do the same? :)

Hi,

presumably that is what http://www.linuxquestions.org/hcl/ is for. Perhaps a new category could be started.

Evo2.

That is an extremely hard list to create and maintain due to the nature of wireless dongles. Netgear, Linksys, Belkin and all of the other names you see printed on the dongles don't actually make the chips that you need drivers for. Those chips are made by Intel, Broadcom, Realtek, Atheros and other companies.

For example, Netgear is making a dongle with a certain model number with a well supported Atheros chipset, it works great in Linux and it ends up on the list. This is all great until Broadcom offers them a better deal on chips, it is trivial to spin a new board and start using these chips while keeping the plastic on the outside the same. They also don't see a need to change the model number, since the average user isn't going to know, they are just going to use the drivers that come on the disc. If this Broadcom chipset is not well supported in Linux there is going to be a problem, since there are users buying this specific dongle because the list said it was supported.