Windows Frustrated
 

Have a Dell laptop and of course the OS is Windows 8. I am so disgusted with everything Windows. The only reason I haven't put Linux on my system is that have Comcast Wi-Fi in my home and concerned about compatibility. Any experience appreciated.

I have Comcast where I live now and it works just fine. I have used several Internet providers over the last 14 years and all of them worked OK with Linux. When you first install any Internet provider the installer uses a setup program to set up the modem on your end. The installer has to use his laptop computer to set up your modem since his install program will not work on Linux. If your Comcast service is already installed then you can use Comcast simply by connecting the modem to your computer or by configuring the WIFI on your Linux box. If I remember correctly you have to tell your Linux box what the Comcast WIFI password is.

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Steve Stites

I used to have Comcast. The wireless worked fine. Wireless is a cross-platform standard.

The only issue might be the wireless chipset in your computer(s). Some manufacturers' support Linux better than others do. It doesn't mean you won't get the computers' wireless cards to work; it just means it may an extra step or two; for those extra steps, you will need a wired connection, which I expect your router should be capable of, even it you don't regularly use it.

One way to test for this is to boot to a Live CD of some Linux or other (you may have to turn off the Secure Boot to do this) and test with it. If you look in Control Panel-->System-->Hardware (or wherever they are hiding it these days), you can find out what your wireless chipset is and post the information here.

You could check your WiFi with liveCD, whether it works or not. I'd try some distro that has a good hardware support, like SystemResqueCD. If you'll get WiFi being booted into LiveCD you could get an idea what a module you need for your WiFi chip with lspci -k.

I have no experience with Comcast's WiFi. But AT&T's DSL routers are also a Wireless Access Point, and that is what I use. The WAP will have a SSID (the name that you see when connecting wirelessly) and a security code, either with your documentation or perhaps even on a sticker attached to the WAP. Setting that up is easy.

Another possible suggestion. Dual boot. If you have trouble with the Linux side, boot the Win8 side, then go through whatever gyrations are necessary to see your connection. Copy down the relevant information and translate.