Okay, I installed SUSE on to a laptop that a friend gave me for free because it had a bad motherboard and a cracked screen. Well, I bought another cheap, used laptop and want to put SUSE on it instead of XP Pro. However, the Ethernet port in the back of the computer does not work on it. Now, when I installed SUSE on the other laptop, I had it connected to the internet via the Ethernet port, and was therefore able to download ndiswrapper and the necessary bcm43xx Legacy driver to go wireless. But, I don’t want to put SUSe on this laptop without being able to get online wirelessly or wired. My question is: Is there some way to install ndiswrapper and bcm43xx legacy firmware to my computer during installation using the .iso? I know the wireless card works, as I have it in this new computer, and I know that that driver works in SUSE because I had it going in the original laptop. Thanks!
EDIT: Or would it be easier for me to get something like this (http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2703732&CatId=200&SRCCODE=LINKSHARE&cm_mmc_o=-ddCjC1bELltzywCjC-d2CjCdwwp&AffiliateID=je6NUbpObpQ-7thDHBCYaVehtlbh_Ecn.Q) instead of fighting with a broken ethernet port in the back (shows up as “device won’t start” in XP Pro and won’t work in my pseudo-dual booted Ubuntu)
-Matt
If you are going to buy a Network Adapter, make sure it claims to work with Linux.
wireless nic - Google Search
They seem to always work with Windows, but check the version if you need to.
Thank You,
Most broadcom devices work without using ndiswrapper
Best thing you can do is install and post the result of
/sbin/lspci -nnk
Or use a live cd and do the same (without installing)
If you really have a device that uses b43legacy, then you need to run the following:
sudo /usr/sbin/install_bcm43xx_firmware
sudo /sbin/modprobe -r b43legacy
sudo /sbin/modprobe b43legacy
You will need an ethernet connection to complete the first step. If you do not
have one with this computer, then there are some ways described in this forum on
how to get the firmware.
Under NO circumstances should you have ndiswrapper installed on your computer.
That was needed in 2006, but certainly not now.
The USB to Ethernet dongle might be worth investigating. I’ve used it successfully on an embedded Linux system but I have not used one on OpenSUSE.
If above doesn’t work, check my post
How to install Broadcom 43xx wireless driver in linux | Beli’s blog
consists of instruction how to compile and inject driver into kernel.
Well, I know that I have that broadcom device because I used it in the other computer when I did have a functional Ethernet port. However, this new laptop does not, so I guess SUSE’s install DVD does not come with the bcm43xx Legacy firmware already on it. I cannot plug in to the Ethernet port to get it to work like I did last time, that’s why I was asking. Thanks for the tips though…I’ll probably have to find a USB to RJ45 Ethernet adapter that is Linux ready.
Do you know what brand/model it was? That would be great to have! Also, which system was it? Thanks!