Need help accessing a wireless connection from my laptop.
 

I posted this first in the Ubuntu forum, but didn't get much help. I'm using Ubuntu Feisty, and my computer's an HP Pavilion ze2000. It connects by pressing a button (on Windows). However, on Linux that button appears to not be recognized, as it doesn't "turn on" by pressing it. The connection's from the campus, so I went over to the system administrator to see if he could help out. He confirmed that it was that button function, as the card was recognized. I typed less /etc/network/interfaces, and this is the output:

HELP!!!

what does iwconfig say?

linux sadly is not great with a variety of wireless card support

check it out:

try:

That chipset can be a bit difficult, do you know what driver you're using? There is a native Linux driver called bcm43xx, and I bet that is what is being used (check the output of lsmod to be sure). The problem with bcm43xx is that it doesn't work until you install firmware (which won't have shipped with Ubuntu) and it really doesn't work well with the 4318.

You'll probably need to install ndiswrapper and use the Windows drivers for this card.

How do I go about doing that?

You might want to check your favorite Ubuntu repository for ndiswrapper. I'd bet that it is there. You'll also want to read the ndiswrapper wiki (see my sig for the link) for excellent instructions on how to install the Windows driver so ndiswrapper can use it. If bcm43xx is loading automatically, you'll have to blacklist it by adding it to your /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist file. Check the output of lsmod in the console to see if it is loading before you try to blacklist it.

Hey, thanks, just started installing ndiswrapper according to the project's intructions. I have a problem when I try to "make" the file. It says that I don't have an "include" directory on /lib/modules/'uname -r'/build. After making that directory, it asks for a ./conf file on that directory. After writing the instruction on making that file on that directory, it says that the kernel doesn't permit it.

Do you happen to have the source code package installed for your kernel? Usually you get different errors when that is missing, but it kind of sounds like it isn't there. Since ndiswrapper is actually a kernel module, it needs the source code and .config file for your running kernel in order to compile.

I don't know, how can I find out if I do?

BTW, rereading my last post, I wasn't very good at explaining the issue, check out the whole process:

As you see, there's no directory named "misc". However, I find strange that there's a directory named "block"; here's what's inside:

Could it have something to do with the problem?

Usually, the kernel source code is in /usr/src/linux. Either that or /usr/src/linux is a link to the source code.

I have to admit that I haven't seen the errors you're posting before. It looks like either the kernel headers haven't been installed (which would be really weird) or that the kernel source code wasn't (or maybe both). Did you do a full install of Ubuntu or did you leave out some stuff?

You might have a look in a Feisty repository for the kernel headers and the source code that matches your running kernel and install them. If they are already there, copying over with the same version shouldn't hurt and if they aren't there, installing them would be a good idea. Kernel headers should have been installed, but kernel source code is frequently optional as it takes up a bit of disk space that users might need for something else.

How do I go about doing that? Sorry for the constant questions, it's just that I'm new to this, and this a great learning experience.

This is where my advice gets a little sketchy since I'm not very familiar with Ubuntu's package management system. However, essentially you need to use Synaptic (at least I think that is the right tool) and connect it to a repository. It may already have a basic one connected (in fact it may be able to work with the install CD/DVD you've got), but I'm not sure. Once you've got it going, you'll have to do some searching for the kernel source code package and the kernel header package and have Synaptic load those. Just be sure that they are the correct ones for your running kernel. Adding the wrong source code will cause minor problems, but adding the wrong kernel headers can cause some serious issues. In fact, you probably want to try doing just the kernel source code first and then see if that solves the ndiswrapper issues before you try the kernel headers.

You might want to do some reading either here or on the Ubuntu forums for how to use Synaptic. I'm sure this must have come up before and there may be some step-by-step instructions for loading kernel source packages.

synaptic's easy - peasy.
use synaptic itself, not the add/remove programs menu entry.

just search for the kernel source.