Wireless connection and update to Ubuntu 7.10 problems
 

Hi there,

Two problems (for the moment!):

Using Update Manager, my system is up-to-date, and I'm invited
to upgrade to Ubuntu 7.10, but when I click the Upgrade button
the message "could not download the release notes" appears despite
being correctly connected to the Internet. What must I do?

More annoying is that I can only connect to my wireless modem through the Ethernet connection (recognized immediately). I tried commenting out all but the "lo" entries in /etc/network/interfaces, and creating /etc/default/wpasupplicant containing ENABLED=0. This seemed to help as I did manage to see the name of my network under "wireless networks" in Network Manager. However, there was nothing in the signal strength bar. I must have done something stupid afterwards as the only option available now (despite re-installing Network Manager)is "manual network configuration". If I try selecting "properties" against "Wireless connection", put in my Network name and password, but leave configuration settings on DHCP,that seems to get me nowhere. Any ideas, please?

Many thanks in advance.

P.S. I'm keeping a log of all I have to do to get Ubuntu to work conveniently (like changing the boot sequence, modifying files through the terminal...). For a newbie these operations aren't always obvious, so I'll post this log as soon as I get to a slightly more advanced stage.

I suspect removing the etc/network/interfaces stanzas is at least part of the problem.

Check lsmod to see if the appropriate wireless module is still being loaded. Then check ifconfig to see if you have an interface.

If you just upgraded the kernel, you may need to re-compile the wireless driver.

With wireless problems, it is generally easier to turn off router security until you can establish a basic connection and then work out the wpa issues, if any.

Found an answer
 

Many thanks for the above prompt reply.I put back the bits I'd removed from the etc/network/interfaces stanzas.

I managed to open lsmod and ifconfig but there didn't seem to be anything in them. And as a very wet-behind-the-ears newbie, I didn't know how re-compile the wireless driver.

So I deleted Ubuntu 7.10 and installed 7.4.

Guess what? It immediately told me that it didn't have drivers for my motherboard modem (no problem - I don't use it) or for my broadband adsl modem. It proposed drivers for both - although didn't guarantee they'd work. So I installed the proposed driver for the adsl modem and, once I'd put in my WEP code I was on line!

Of course, Firefox with Foxmarks works fine so I now feel confident to install some of the add-ons. Soon be able to tell Microsoft where to go..

Sorry - the third paragraph above should read "So I deleted Ubuntu 7.4 and installed 7.10." I've just realised that the 7 relates to the year, and the 4 or 10 to the month...