Hi...

Like I said in my previous post, there's a chance you will need to install the firmware for your adapter before being able to log into a network. Also, you shouldn't need to deal with all all you've mentioned. You should be able to just choose the name of your network, enter the password for the network, if it has one, and then you should be good to go.

Regards...

ardvark71,,,,tried those commands got results of Could not resolve 'archive.ubuntu.com

Unable to fetch some archives, maybe run apt-getupdate or try with --fix-missing

The second image in that instruction. Do you not see something similar? Do you not have the icon on the lower right of your screen?

Attached Thumbnails

 

ardvark71,,,when you say "adaptor",,,,do you mean the USB stick?,,,,router??? "firmware" for these???

This install attempt will not work because it tries to go online to obtain these files. Since your network is not operating, it will not work.

Hi...

By adapter, I mean the wireless device that's located inside your computer. In your case, Broadcom is the manufacturer of your device. It would most likely help you if spent some time researching these terms using Google.

As far as the inability to download the files, simply connect an ethernet cable from your router/modem to your computer to resolve that, if you have one.

Regards...

yes, I have that window but I do NOT have the list of wireless choices. Nothing between "wired" and Network settings, network connections

Hi...

As I said, you will need the firmware to be able to use your wireless adapter. Please refer back to what I said in post #13. You will need to attach an ethernet cord from your modem/router to your computer to obtain and install this file.

Regards...

I would assume I have the adaptor, since it has been connected using wireless for the past 8-10 years (MS). This is an older laptop that has MS XP on it that I though might be a good candidate for linux,,so,,,yes,,,I would think the adaptor,,,and,,the firmware is in place.

I very much doubt this since you don't seem to have any kind of interent connection in your copy of Mint. The firmware is software not hardware.

Regards...

wouldn't the same firmware that has been running windows all these years be the one that would run linux?

Hi...

No, in this case, the firmware resides in the operating system (Windows XP or Linux Mint, as examples,) not in the chip itself. the code may be close to the same but there would be a firmware file(s) for each different operating system.

I don't want to spend a lot of time explaining the terms, as this is something you can do on your own using Google.

If you have an ethernet cable on hand, please use the instructions I gave you above. If you don't, you will most likely have to go to someone who is knowledgeable in Linux to do this for you. Also, keep in mind that if you continue to run Mint live and not install it to your hard drive, you will need to repeat the same procedure each time you boot into Mint.

Regards...

As I recall it, the firmware in linux is shipped with the kernel and resides in /lib/firmware. I have nearly 150 Megs of stuff for various cards, most of it redundant, as I don't have the hardware installed. If the firmware for your device is there, it should be loaded automatically.

Firmware is software for the cpu in the network card, or whatever the device is. All these cards are inclined to have their own cpu, gpu or dsp. It may include the program and lookup tables, and doing it this way allows a rewrite or patch to be applied to hardware if things change, or a vulnerability has to be patched. Lookup tables can also be updated to use extra channels, or the like. If a nic was hacked to allow root access, you'd be very happy to update the firmware, instead of having to junk the card and buy again. All the more so on laptops, where replacements are much more difficult.

Hi...

I don't believe firmware for Broadcom chips are ever included due to licensing issues.

Regards...

Again, ardvark71, stop misleading people. Firstly, the firmware files are not 'in the kernel'...they reside as files in the file system, and are not typically part of the initrd/kernel. Secondly, the Broadcom drivers have been available for MANY years, freely...they are present on openSUSE, Fedora, CentOS, and probably Mint. This is even covered extensively in the Mint forums. Stop giving out this very dubious 'legal advice' about what's free/not, and potentially frightening off a new user for no reason. From a very small bit of research:
https://wiki.debian.org/wl

...and from that page:
OP, there are instructions for installing the drivers for Mint 17.1 without an internet connection. Find them here:
https://community.linuxmint.com/tutorial/view/692
https://community.linuxmint.com/tutorial/view/796

Since you're finding your way here, you obviously have a working Internet-capable computer, so following these instructions should be easy. Just download that file, copy it to a USB drive, and put it into your Mint system, where you can drag and drop the file to your desktop.

1 members found this post helpful.