Screwed up... tried to get wifi working and now no graphics
Linux - NewbieThis Linux forum is for members that are new to Linux.
Just starting out and have a question?
If it is not in the man pages or the how-to's this is the place!
Notices
Welcome to LinuxQuestions.org, a friendly and active Linux Community.
You are currently viewing LQ as a guest. By joining our community you will have the ability to post topics, receive our newsletter, use the advanced search, subscribe to threads and access many other special features. Registration is quick, simple and absolutely free. Join our community today!
Note that registered members see fewer ads, and ContentLink is completely disabled once you log in.
If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us. If you need to reset your password, click here.
Having a problem logging in? Please visit this page to clear all LQ-related cookies.
Get a virtual cloud desktop with the Linux distro that you want in less than five minutes with Shells! With over 10 pre-installed distros to choose from, the worry-free installation life is here! Whether you are a digital nomad or just looking for flexibility, Shells can put your Linux machine on the device that you want to use.
Exclusive for LQ members, get up to 45% off per month. Click here for more info.
Screwed up... tried to get wifi working and now no graphics
I was trying to get the wifi working by installing intel wifi link driver, which in turn required installation of mac80211 subsystem package. After installing mac80211, the graphics won't work...
I'm running a dist. based on Fedora 6 on a Lenovo ThinkPad. When installing the system originally, I couldn't get the graphics working due to a conflict with the video card (nvidia) and I had to install the driver after installing the kernel.
It might be simplest just to re-install everything. It's good for the soul. You might do a little research on the Intel wifi NIC to see if there are native linux drivers available.
I know nothing about the distribution you are trying to install, but one of the major distribution may have better graphics support.
Looking on the internet, that Intel Corporation Unknown Device 4230 description seems to refer to the Intel(R) Wireless 4965 Card.
As your distribution is giving the first identifier but not equating it with the second I conclude that what I said in my earlier post is true. Namely, Fedora 6 based distributions are too old to support that card.
You "may" get it to work with the latest versions of ndiswrapper but that is only a guess. That is the latest versions of ndiswrapper though and not necessarily any one made available with a distribution of that age.
If you were determined to go that route, I'd certainly try to get hold of one of the current fedora live cd's and see if that identifies the card. But then if it does you are probably better off installing the newer OS in any case.
OK, thanks. I re-installed the whole system. That a Fedora 6 based distribution doesn't support my card isn't good news. The reason for using the dist in question is that it's tailored for our network. And it sure does work beautifully in that aspect, but getting things like sound, wireless, applications like skype and banshee to work is a hassle. I ran Suse 10.0 before and I'm pretty tempted to go back...
Something to keep in mind about the Intel drivers:
Intel has instructions on their site about replacing the 802.11 subsystem, but for any even remotely modern distro, this is not needed as the kernel has a perfectly acceptable version. Installing a new 802.11 subsystem probably did bork your kernel pretty well, so you could try installing a new kernel from RPM and then install just the Intel drivers and firmware.
I think one of the things that comes across on the Fedora Forum is that Fedora is very much cutting edge,things may break and don't use it in critical situations where you may want long term support, type of distribution.
It may not have been a good policy move to have had something customised for a network where the support life is so short.
A better bet would have been perhaps Ubuntu 6.10 I think, where support was promised for a number of years.
I was going to suggest that you tried with the latest version of ndiswrapper compiled from their site, but their page of cards reckoned to work:
I was going to suggest that you tried with the latest version of ndiswrapper compiled from their site
In general, ndiswrapper should be a last resort. Native linux drivers usually function much better, and since Intel is actively supporting their Linux drivers, I would think they would be a better choice than ndiswrapper.
Just because they aren't in the Fedora repositories, doesn't mean they aren't available. The Intel driver site is here and has drivers for the 4965. They even have Fedora RPMs.
The iwlwifi drivers are included in fedora 8 because I have them working on a laptop.
They were included in fedora 7 but a lot of people on the fedora forum - including me - had trouble with them and at least for the 3945 card reverted to the earlier ipw3945 driver.
I've looked and really can't see any precompiled driver for the 4965 on fedora core 6 on the site indicated. Just fedora 7. But as I said it may be possible to compile one of the listed snapshots to work.
LinuxQuestions.org is looking for people interested in writing
Editorials, Articles, Reviews, and more. If you'd like to contribute
content, let us know.