FIRST LOOK: Ubuntu 7.10 Gutsy Gibbon

I have finally gotten my hands on two downloads: Ubuntu 7.10 Alternate Install and Ubuntu 7.10 Desktop. Three days ago, I was getting an error that I couldn't log in to Ubuntu due to being out of disk space. I logged into Windows, where I had Ext2 IFS installed, deleted some unimportant files out of the partition, rebooted, logged into my Feisty partition, burned my home folder to a DVD, then proceeded to do a fresh install of Feisty that took up my entire hard disk. That's right! No more dual booting for me!

Well, two days ago I decided I would try one last time to make an attempt to get the Gutsy CDs before I returned home from the Iraq to the United States. I found one of the few high-speed connections on the base, and began to download the ISOs for both the alternate and live CDs. Because I couldn't just plug in my computer to this connection, I had no choice but to use the Alternate CD to do my upgrade. Well, they finally downloaded after about seven hours and after many failed attempts at creating discs from the ISOs I gave up, copied them onto my iPod, and brought them back to my computer to try to burn them. This is usually a challenge, because my USB ports on my computer don't like to work most of the time. It's apparently a ThinkPad thing, not an Ubuntu thing, so I'm not mad at the OS. Luckily, it worked this time — albeit on the second try — I got both ISOs onto my desktop where I was able to burn a copy of each after purchasing some new blanks from the Iraqi shop/Internet Cafè.

I did an upgrade from the Alternate disc and it worked perfectly. I rebooted, logged in, and everything was there just as I had left it. Well, even though I did the upgrade, I went ahead and decided I would just do a fresh install, despite the upgrade being performed on a two-day old install. I popped out the Alternate disc, popped in the Live CD, and rebooted. Everything looked like it was going well — and it did — during the install. But when I rebooted to load into my second fresh install in three days, I was met with… nothing.

Now, I wasn't too worried, because I saw hard drive activity. Plus, I saw the Grub menu option show up before it went black. About forty-five seconds later, I was met with a site that allowed me to breathe a sigh of relief: the login screen. I went ahead and rebooted again to see if it was just a fluke, but it seemingly is not, so once I got off work, I brought my computer over to the Iraqi Internet Cafè, and filed a bug report with on Launchpad. A response has been left, and I have changed my Grub menu to reflect what a tutorial in the Forums has instructed. This didn't work, and so it's back to the drawing board.

At present, I am downloading some files I deem to be important, such as DVD playback capabilities and other things. I will make another post that will show what steps I performed to get my PC to what in my opinion is a working computer. With the exception of the load, I'm happy with everything so far. Noticeable changes I've found were that my modem driver was installed. Granted, I've not actually ever used my modem — even when this computer was new in 2004 — but it is nice to know that if I ever needed to use it, I could. Now if only wireless would be this easy! That's one thing that Linux as a whole is way behind on. Broadcom apparently has great support in 7.10. Since my wireless card is an Airgo-based, that doesn't apply to me.

The look overall is better. The icons in the menus are crisper and easier to read. Due to limitations on my graphics card however, I am unable to do anything with Compiz Fusion to really make my desktop fly. Maybe in the home PC I'll build in a couple of months though.

With the DVD player installed, I am happy with my system for now. Once I return to a faster, more reliable connection, I will add more programs. Overall, for me, seemingly due to hardware limitations, there wasn't much of a change (on the outside anyway) from 7.04 to 7.10. I give the distro a rating of 7.5/10. Wireless hardware support is still a long ways off, but that is not the fault of Linux I realize. It made installing all the required codecs easy and painless, something that wasn't so easy under 7.04. It's getting better, and it is in my opinion certainly better than Windows ever could be.

Technorati Tags: 7.10, Alternate Install, Gutsy Gibbon, Live CD, Ubuntu
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HOWTO: Get Airgo-Based WiFi Enabled Using ndiswrapper

*UPDATE* February 21, 2008
Due to some changes in the ndiswrapper software, this tutorial became obsolete. As per comments in the original post, I have changed the instructions to once again make them work.

For months I was trying to get my Belkin F5D8010 Pre-N WiFi card to work in my laptop under Ubuntu Feisty Fawn (7.04). Finally I have figured it out, using the Ubuntu Documentation & the NDISwrapper page on Sourceforge. Now I present these steps to you.

Cards This Will Work On:

Note: This list is from the ndiswrapper wiki. I do not know if these steps will actually work for your card. Verified cards are in bold. If you follow these steps and they work for your card, leave a comment and I will point it out.

• Belkin F5D8010

• Linksys WPC511GX

• Netgear WGM511

• Buffalo WLI-CB-G108

• AeroGuard AGN1023PC

• Planex CQW-NS108AG

• Planex CQW-NS108G

• amsung X20 Laptop

• GemTek WPCO-131G

• Corega CG-WLCB108GM

Ubuntu Version Required:

Ubuntu 6.10 (Edgy Eft) or later

Because I was able to get this to work under Feisty Fawn, I am going to write these steps as if you were using that version. I will post the links for files required by Edgy and Gutsy, but I can't guarantee it will work for you. I am providing two versions of instructions: one if you can get online through a wired connection (the preferred method), and one if you cannot get online through a wired connection.

Online Version

Part One: Installing ndisWrapper

1. Open Terminal.

2. Type lspci -nn

3. Look for the following: 03:00.0 Ethernet Controller: Airgo Networks Inc AGN100 802.11 a/b/g True MIMO Wireless Card [17cb:0001] (rev 01)

• If the line is not present, these instructions will not work for you.

4. Type (or copy/paste) the following lines into Terminal:
   sudo modprobe -r ndiswrapper
sudo apt-get --purge remove ndiswrapper-utils
sudo rm -r /etc/ndiswrapper/
sudo rm -r /etc/modprobe.d/ndiswrapper
sudo rm /lib/modules/$(uname -r)/kernel/drivers/net/ndiswrapper/ndiswrapper.ko

5. Type (or copy/paste) the following line into Terminal:
   sudo apt-get install linux-headers-$(uname -r)

6. Type (or copy/paste) the following line into Terminal:
   sudo apt-get install dh-make fakeroot gcc-3.4 build-essential

7. Navigate to Sourceforge to download the latest version of ndisWrapper.

8. Save the file you download in your Home folder

9. Type (or copy/paste) the following lines into Terminal:
   tar xvfz ndiswrapper-[current version].tar.gz
cd ndiswrapper-[current version]
   (Where [current version] is the version number of the file you downloaded. i.e.: ndiswrapper-1.52.tar.gz)

10. Type (or copy/paste) the following lines into Terminal:
    sudo make uninstall
sudo make

11. Type (or copy/paste) the following lines into Terminal:
    fakeroot
sudo make install

Part Two: Installing the drivers

1. Type (or copy/paste) the following into a terminal to download the drivers:
   wget http://77.91.202.10/~alpoimco/Satanas/belkin_pre-n.tar.gz
   Mirror (If the first link is down): wget http://www.someawe.com/uploads/belkin_pre-n.tar.gz

2. Type (or copy/paste) the following into a terminal to extract the drivers you just downloaded:
   tar xvfz belkin_pre-n.tar.gz
cd belkin_pre-n

3. Type (or copy/paste) the following line into terminal:
   echo 'blacklist bcm43xx' | sudo tee -a /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist

4. Type (or copy/paste) the following line into terminal:
   sudo ndiswrapper -i NetAni.inf

5. Type (or copy/paste) the following line into terminal:
   ndiswrapper -l

6. Look for the following:
   tmimo3p: driver installed
        device (17CB:0001) present

7. Type (or copy/paste) the following into Terminal to activate the driver:
   sudo depmod -a
sudo modprobe ndiswrapper

8. Type (or copy/paste) the following into Terminal to check for errors:
   tail /var/log/messages

9. Type (or copy/paste) the following into Terminal to open the Network Manager:
   gksudo network-admin

10. Verify the connection labeled "Wireless connection" says "Roaming mode enabled" beneath it.

11. Perform the following steps if it does not say "Roaming mode enabled:"

1. Click the Wireless connection to highlight it.

2. Click the Properties button to open the properties window.

3. Click the check box next to Enable roaming mode and click Ok.

4. Verify that the wireless connection now says "Roaming mode enabled."

12. Click the close button on the Network manager to close it and return to the Terminal.

13. Type (or copy/paste) the following into Terminal to create an alias for your wireless card:
    sudo ndiswrapper -m

14. Type (or copy/paste) the following into Terminal to open the modules list:
    gksudo gedit /etc/modules

15. Type the following at the end of the text document that loads (if not already present):
    ndiswrapper

16. Reboot your system to make sure everything is in full working order

Offline Version

1. Open Terminal.

2. Type lspci -nn

3. Look for the following: 03:00.0 Ethernet Controller: Airgo Networks Inc AGN100 802.11 a/b/g True MIMO Wireless Card [17cb:0001] (rev 01)

• If the line is not present, these instructions will not work for you.

4. Download the files you need to install the drivers:

• Download the driver file from either here or here. This file is required for all distributions of Ubuntu.

• Download the ndisWrapper files for your distribution:

• Ubuntu 6.10 (Edgy Eft):
  ndiswrapper-common
  ndiswrapper-utils-1.8
  ndisgtk

• Ubuntu 7.04 (Feisty Fawn):
  ndiswrapper-common
  ndiswrapper-utils-1.9
  ndisgtk

• Ubuntu 7.10 (Gutsy Gibbon):
  ndiswrapper-common
  ndiswrapper-utils-1.9
  ndisgtk

5. Copy the four files you downloaded to your Home folder on your Ubuntu system using a flash drive, CD-ROM, or other means.

6. Open terminal on your Ubuntu system.

7. Type (or copy/paste) the following into Terminal to install ndisWrapper:
   sudo dpkg -i ndiswrapper-common_*.deb
sudo dpkg -i ndiswrapper-utils*.deb
sudo dpkg -i --force-depends ndisgtk_*.deb

8. Type (or copy/paste) the following into a terminal to extract the drivers you just downloaded:
   tar xvfz belkin_pre-n.tar.gz
cd belkin_pre-n

9. Type (or copy/paste) the following line into terminal:
   echo 'blacklist bcm43xx' | sudo tee -a /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist

10. Type (or copy/paste) the following line into terminal:
    sudo ndiswrapper -i NetAni.inf

11. Type (or copy/paste) the following line into terminal:
    ndiswrapper -l

12. Look for the following:
    tmimo3p: driver installed
         device (17CB:0001) present

13. Type (or copy/paste) the following into Terminal to activate the driver:
    sudo depmod -a
sudo modprobe ndiswrapper

14. Type (or copy/paste) the following into Terminal to check for errors:
    tail /var/log/messages

15. Type (or copy/paste) the following into Terminal to open the Network Manager:
    gksudo network-admin

16. Verify the connection labeled "Wireless connection" says "Roaming mode enabled" beneath it.

17. Perform the following steps if it does not say "Roaming mode enabled:"

1. Click the Wireless connection to highlight it.

2. Click the Properties button to open the properties window.

3. Click the check box next to Enable roaming mode and click Ok.

4. Verify that the wireless connection now says "Roaming mode enabled."

18. Click the close button on the Network manager to close it and return to the Terminal.

19. Type (or copy/paste) the following into Terminal to create an alias for your wireless card:
    sudo ndiswrapper -m

20. Type (or copy/paste) the following into Terminal to open the modules list:
    gksudo gedit /etc/modules

21. Type the following at the end of the text document that loads (if not already present):
    ndiswrapper

22. Reboot your system to make sure everything is in full working order

That's it! I hope that this will help you get onto the Internet through Ubuntu using one of the toughest cards to get working through Ubuntu. Again, if you try out any of the other cards in the list, please feel free to leave a comment to let me know you got it to work. Likewise, if you run into issues, leave a comment and I'll do what I can to assist you.

Technorati Tags: Airgo, Belkin, Feisty Fawn, HOWTO, Linux, ndiswrapper, Network, Pre-N, Sourceforge, True Mimo, Ubuntu, WiFi, Wireless, Edgy Eft Add to: | Technorati | Digg | del.icio.us | Yahoo | BlinkList | Spurl | reddit | Furl |

Blogger Template

Well, as you can see, the template on this page isn't one of the standard Blogger Templates. I have taken the default template Minima and modified it, basing it upon the Ubuntu Forums look. If you would like to use it on your Blog, you are more than welcome to do this. Get it here.

Technorati Tags: Blogger Template, Ubuntu, Ubuntu Forums
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Introduction

Well, first off, welcome to my newest - and only currently published - blog I have. A little bit about myself: First, I am Justin Miller and have been using computers now for a little over twelve years. I pretty much knew when I got my first PC in 1994 (I had used a Commodore 128 prior to this) that I had found my calling in life.

The computer I started out on was a Gateway 2000 486sx with 16mb of RAM and a whopping 512 MB hard drive. It also ran Windows for Workgroups 3.11. My first foray into the online world was on a Bulletin Board Service (BBS) which I joined in the summer of 2005 before the World Wide Web became a hit. I was really active in one BBS in particular, and was a junior SYSOP before it finally closed its doors in 1999.

My first time on the Internet was sometime in 1996. Time Warner Cable had begun a test marketing for a new high-speed ISP called RoadRunner in my area and I was one of the first ones to get it. I started making web pages after I started looking at what was underneath, as well as learning about email, the WWW, FTP, and newsgroups. Suffice to say, I am pretty much self-taught on almost all of my computer knowledge.

It was also in the year 1996 that I built my first computer from the Motherboard up. It was an AMD-based system and I was pretty proud of myself for it. I used it throughout my high school years, and when I began college in the fall of 1998 majoring in computer engineering, I had received a new Dell for my HS graduation gift. Long story short, I still have that Dell, and have given it a few upgrades throughout the years. I don't actually use it anymore and really only keep it because of its high initial cost and the fact that I have full replacement value on my renter's insurance policy.

For reasons that don't need to be named here, I never wound up graduating college, and in 2000, I began work in a reputable shipping firm as a senior level tech support representative and was employed by them until mid-2001 when the economy crashed. I jumped from job to job with only a year and a half of professional experience, no degree, and no industry certifications under my belt. Finally in 2003, I joined the US Army, where I am currently working as a Network Administrator at a battalion level. In this position, I've learned how to use Cisco switches and routers, effectively troubleshoot systems, and got my first taste of Linux with Solaris and Red Hat. I also began college again, and am now three semesters away from graduating, this time with a degree in MIS.

Throughout the years, I have always used Windows, from WFW 3.11 through XP (skipping over NT4 and ME). I had always wanted to try out Linux for myself, but never found a distribution that I was comfortable with. I found out through Slashdot about a distro called Ubuntu in early 2007, and gave it a look, finally installing it in June of this year, dual-booting with XP. I have been completely impressed by it, I have had only a few qualms, such as the near-impossibility to install drivers for my WiFi (though from reading, that appears to be no longer an issue in 7.10), and I am looking forward to the day I can have a system that is completely open source. There are still Windows-proprietary things I need for my classes that I will eventually try to get working in Wine, but until then I have to remain a dual-user.

I have recently become an activist for Open Source software. Except for Windows and iTunes, I am using open source programs such as Firefox & OpenOffice.org in lieu of MS Office or Internet Explorer. I encourage others to use Open Source software. As for what this blog is about, I hope to share with you my experiences in using Ubuntu, any tips, tricks, and tweaks I find out, reviews of books on Linux (specifically Ubuntu), and any other stuff about Open Source I can find out that I think will help. I will try to update it at least once a week.

Once again, welcome. I hope you have as good a time reading this as I did writing it.

Technorati Tags: Feisty Fawn, Firefox, Gutsy Gibbon, Kubuntu, Linux, OOo, OpenOffice.Org, Ubuntu, Xubuntu
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