[WirelessMonkey]

Ok so i just install Debian on my old laptop, i have both a pcmcia and usb Wifi adapter, they dont show up when i plug them in, apparently i have to type in shed load of code to even think about installing programs or drivers?

So i go on Terminal, but when i type things like:

apt-get install wireless-tools
it says:
E: could not open lock file /var/lib/dpkg/lock - open (13 permission denied)
E: Unable to lock the administration directory (/var/lib/dpkg/), are you root?

I dont have a clue what im doing, so in REALLY simple terms, how do i get either my usb or pcmcia card to connect to my Wifi network!

What do i have to type, and tell me were to type it. Give me detail...
P.S i cant move anything into / because i dont have permission apprently

[ozar]

I've never run wireless before so I can't offer any specific help, but maybe this HowTo will help you to get up and running:

http://www.linuxforums.org/forum/lin...lan-linux.html

[LlNUX]

you need to be root in order to install new packages.

[waterhead]

First, you will enter commands not code. You do this in a terminal, in windows it is called a command line.

Device drivers are loaded as modules to the Linux kernel, so they are referred to simply as modules.

To know which modules your wireless cards need, we need to know the chipset that is used on the circuit board. The name of the card is not as important as the name of the chipset.

To find out which chipsets you have, first you need to be root. I'm not sure how Debian does it, so I will give two examples. The first method will log you in for as long as you have the terminal open. (The # is a prompt, don't enter it)

# su
# password <enter your root password here>

The next way will enable you to do only one command, after you enter the password.

# sudo <enter command here>
# password <enter your root password here>

Now enter this for a card that is inside the laptop (on-board).

# lspci

It will print out all PCI devices on your system. Copy and post the output.

For USB devices enter this.

# lsusb

You can copy and post that too, but I think it will be easier to configure the on-board device, so let's do that one first.

[WirelessMonkey]

I only have the USB adapter now, but ill copy and paste what it said:

Bus 002 Device 001: ID 0000:0000
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 050d:7051 Belkin Components
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 0000:0000

[waterhead]

Unfortunately this isn't giving us the information that we need.

Let's try something else. Is there an installation CD that came with this card? It should have the WinXP drivers on it. Copy it to a folder in your /home directory, and post the name of it. Then I'll tell you how to unpack it in Linux.

If you don't have a CD, can you download the WinXP driver?

[WirelessMonkey]

I have a cd somewere around with WinXP drivers yes, but if not they are downloadable from the belkin website.

Oh btw i cant copy anything into any / directories (maybe home not sure) because im not authorised apparently?

EDIT: Drivers (.exe) are in the home folder under my name, so continue...

[waterhead]

OK, What you do next may vary, according to the type of .exe file it is. There are three ways to extract the needed files, I'll give you all three in order that you should try them.

First you need to direct the terminal to the folder that the file is in. To do this use the cd command, followed by the folder location.

> cd /home/WirelessMonkey/WinXP_driver

This is just an example, as I don't know the exact name of the user folder or the driver folder.

Then extract the files with one of these commands. Change "drivername" to the exact name of the file. Caps are important, if any of the letters are capitalized.

> cabextract drivername.exe
or
> unzip -a drivername.exe
or
> wine drivername.exe

When using the wine method, it will actually try to run the windows installer. Make sure you direct it to install to the directory/folder that the .exe file is in, or another folder that you created in your /home directory.

[WirelessMonkey]

ok so its all unzipped, now?

[waterhead]

I need you to look for your WinXP driver, or any documentation that will tell us more about the card's chipset

If it is a Broadcom chipset, the driver may be this: bcmwl5.sys. If you have this you can use NDISwrapper. Dig around and see what you can find.