Kitz Forum
Computer Software => Linux => Topic started by: Ratae on December 28, 2011, 02:45:18 PM
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Ok guys...I'm back with some more problems. ???
So, I've just this week installed Mint 11 on an old Toshiba laptop. I decided to put Mint on it because I have Ubuntu 10.04 on a partition on my netbook, and I read somewhere that Mint is very similar.
The installation ran ok (eventually), and once loaded, it found my w/less and connected. The w/less icon shows as connected to my SSID anyway.
However...when I click on the Firefox icon to connect, I get a message "Firefox can't find the server at."
Does this mean that Mint has a dedicated server, and if so, why can't FF connect to it?
All help appreciated!
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I'm not exactly sure what you mean by "when I click on the Firefox icon to connect,..." but if it just means that you can't connect to web sites, then that's presumably because the wireless interface isn't working. You could check by temporarily connecting the laptop to the router by ethernet cable, and if that works then you need to configure the wireless interface. I believe that Mint has a utility for doing that.
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I'm not exactly sure what you mean by "when I click on the Firefox icon to connect,..." but if it just means that you can't connect to web sites, then that's presumably because the wireless interface isn't working. You could check by temporarily connecting the laptop to the router by ethernet cable, and if that works then you need to configure the wireless interface. I believe that Mint has a utility for doing that.
Ok Eric.... I assumed that that the Firefox link in the 'Applications' > 'Internet' menu would connect me to the FF homepage, so that's what I tried.
Anyway...I shall try connecting by ethernet and let you know what happens! :shrug2:
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That Firefox link is just to start Firefox, but it will be configured by default to open its defined home page, which is probably the Mint website in this case. So it does seem to be the case that your wireless interface isn't working.
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That Firefox link is just to start Firefox, but it will be configured by default to open its defined home page, which is probably the Mint website in this case. So it does seem to be the case that your wireless interface isn't working.
It does seem so Eric. I've just connected by ethernet, and it still doesn't connect to the internet, so it isn't just the w/less interface that isn't working! :(
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Just to be clear, did you reboot the laptop after connecting the ethernet cable? You would need to do that so that the laptop picked up a proper IP address from the router. If you did, and it still doesn't work, then it looks as though your ethernet interface isn't working either. I don't know how you configure these interfaces in Mint, but there should (I think) be utility programs for doing it.
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Just to be clear, did you reboot the laptop after connecting the ethernet cable? You would need to do that so that the laptop picked up a proper IP address from the router. If you did, and it still doesn't work, then it looks as though your ethernet interface isn't working either. I don't know how you configure these interfaces in Mint, but there should (I think) be utility programs for doing it.
Ah no!.... I didn't reboot the laptop, only the router. I'll try again tomorrow Eric!
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In addition to Roseway's comments.It sounds like the interface has been given a static ip address. That would be why the laptop is showing as connected.
Ratae, you need to configure your laptop connection with a dynamic ip address. The router should be able to supply that for you. If not you will need to dive in to the router settings and set it up to give out ip addresses. Usually they are set up as default.
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In addition to Roseway's comments.It sounds like the interface has been given a static ip address. That would be why the laptop is showing as connected.
Ratae, you need to configure your laptop connection with a dynamic ip address. The router should be able to supply that for you. If not you will need to dive in to the router settings and set it up to give out ip addresses. Usually they are set up as default
Hi....the w/less router delivers dynamic ip addresses to all three of my windows laptops so I guess that it is the default setting.
Presumably then, it's the Mint interface that needs configuring. Can someone tell me where and how please!
Thanks to each for the help!
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I've not played with mint for a long time, and I think it has changed dramatically. So I don't know how to change the network settings. Sorry.
Can you tell us what flavour of Linux it is based on these days?
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I've not played with mint for a long time, and I think it has changed dramatically. So I don't know how to change the network settings. Sorry.
Can you tell us what flavour of Linux it is based on these days?
Surfer..... I'll wait for Eric to tell us that, 'cos it could be strawberry flavour for all I know! :'(
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;D
As far as I know, the regular Mint is based on Ubuntu, but they also do a Debian-based version.
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Ok fellas, I had a cunning plan! ::)
So, I switched on my netbook and booted with the Ubuntu partition. Found the w/less network settings window, and it's exactly the same window in Linux mint. So I copied the ubuntu settings for my router into the Mint laptop.
:( ... Still doesn't work!
The only thing that I've left to try, is rebooting the laptop with the ethernet connected. If that doesn't work, then I'm afraid that it's goodbye to Linux Mint!
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Well guys...I think that I've rolled the dice for the last time with Mint. :'(
Yup.....connected the lappy and router with the ethernet cable, and then rebooted them both. Still didn't connect to the damned internet!
I went back to w/less and checked the network settings.
"Active Network Connections"
Interface .. 802.11 WiFi (WLan0)
All of the following fields are filled in correctly.
Hardware
Driver
Speed
Security
IPV4
IP Address
Broadcast Address
Subnet Mask
So.... stumped! ???
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Just to determine the wireless interface is getting a proper ip address could you tell us if it is in the range of
192.168.something.something.
it maybe 10.*.*.*
if it's 127.0.0.1 then it is not from the router. It is the local network within laptop system.
It's quite safe to display the ip address as long as it's not an ip address from the internet.
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Actually, the IP address is 169.254.8.164
Strange!
Ah!....Apparently this address is assigned when a server can't be found!
Possibly I need a static IPA for that machine!
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If you assign it a static address it will always show as connected.
The address you have posted looks like what Windows would give out.
I think that Mint is using a thing called ndiswrapper which allows you to use a Windows driver for your network card(s). I don't think it is going to work without some-one with in depth knowledge nearby. :(
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Ok guys, I appreciate all of the help that's been offered. Time to bale out I think, life's far too short and my blood pressure is far too high for this! :lol:
So...plan 'B'. I'll give it a go with Ubuntu 10.04, and if that doesn't work, it'll either be back to Windows or the lump hammer option! ;)
Thanks again fellas!
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Give PCLinuxOS (www.pclinuxos.com) a try, you may find it configures all the settings by it self.
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Any linux that is running a dhcp client (there are a few) should pick up an IP address from your router. The only catch is that it should first have the correct drivers for its wired/wireless NIC.
So, starting from the top let's look if the correct drivers are running:
lspci -k
and look for your NIC cards in there.
Then let's see if the devices are configured, are activated and get connected:
ifconfig -a
You may need to run the above with sudo or su to root first.