Xubuntu on old laptop.. driver questions

**Wox** · 09-08-2007, 01:20 PM

Hi all,
I received this around 20yrs old laptop for free and I'm thinking about replacing XP with Xubuntu, since Xubuntu is lighter.

System Specs
Acer Travelmate [unknown model #]
Intel Pentium III 1.20 (or 1.80?) ghz
ATA hard drive 15gigs
127 mb ram

Now Xubuntu should work out, no doubt about that, but the laptop does NOT have a wireless adapter built-in. I got this Netgear USB wireless adapter that works in XP, but not sure how do I get a linux driver?

Thanks!!!!

feckless_mess · 09-09-2007, 09:24 AM

I found the latest Xubuntu to be fairly gracious when it can to detecting my wireless card. Previous versions had a problem with it despite it having an Atheros chipset. If your wireless adaptor has a supported chipset (I know atheros which uses the built in madwifi driver and prism are both ok) then Xubuntu should have no problem configuring it out of the box.
If not then you may have to start playing around with ndiswrapper. Harldy ideal and I've never had the patience to get it to work..
Here is an ok resource:
http://www.linuxhomenetworking.com/w...ess_Networking

shuuhen · 09-09-2007, 10:13 AM

While booted in Linux, have the adapter plugged in and open a terminal. Type "lspci" (without quotes) and post the output here. If lspci isn't found, type "whereis lspci" and use the entire path with the program name.

This allows us to figure out the chipset, then the driver you'll need to use. If you have questions or problems, feel free to ask about them.

**Wox** · 09-09-2007, 05:32 PM

thanks guys but I haven't installed "Xu" just yet.

will post back with the result later.
P.S. I got the clock speed wrong; it's 498 mhz. (rofl!!)

09-08-2007, 01:20 PM	#1 (permalink)
Wox TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Seattle Posts: 638 OS: XP Pro SP2 My System	Xubuntu on old laptop.. driver questions Hi all, I received this around 20yrs old laptop for free and I'm thinking about replacing XP with Xubuntu, since Xubuntu is lighter. System Specs Acer Travelmate [unknown model #] Intel Pentium III 1.20 (or 1.80?) ghz ATA hard drive 15gigs 127 mb ram Now Xubuntu should work out, no doubt about that, but the laptop does NOT have a wireless adapter built-in. I got this Netgear USB wireless adapter that works in XP, but not sure how do I get a linux driver? Thanks!!!!

09-09-2007, 09:24 AM	#2 (permalink)
feckless_mess Registered User Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: UK Posts: 8 OS: Linux, XP, 2000/2003 Server	Re: Xubuntu on old laptop.. driver questions I found the latest Xubuntu to be fairly gracious when it can to detecting my wireless card. Previous versions had a problem with it despite it having an Atheros chipset. If your wireless adaptor has a supported chipset (I know atheros which uses the built in madwifi driver and prism are both ok) then Xubuntu should have no problem configuring it out of the box. If not then you may have to start playing around with ndiswrapper. Harldy ideal and I've never had the patience to get it to work.. Here is an ok resource: http://www.linuxhomenetworking.com/w...ess_Networking

09-09-2007, 10:13 AM	#3 (permalink)
shuuhen Manager Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Colorado Posts: 986 OS: Mac OS 9.1, Mac OS X 10.5.8, WinXP Pro, FreeBSD 6.0, Gentoo Linux My System	Re: Xubuntu on old laptop.. driver questions While booted in Linux, have the adapter plugged in and open a terminal. Type "lspci" (without quotes) and post the output here. If lspci isn't found, type "whereis lspci" and use the entire path with the program name. This allows us to figure out the chipset, then the driver you'll need to use. If you have questions or problems, feel free to ask about them. __________________ Has it been a few days since I replied to your thread? Don't panic! I'm a busy college student and may forget a post if I'm extra busy (or it might just take me a while to be able to do a decent reply). If you still need help and are awaiting my reply after a few days, PM me about it. When posting what errors you get, please give the full message. It makes helping you much easier.

09-09-2007, 05:32 PM	#4 (permalink)
Wox TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Seattle Posts: 638 OS: XP Pro SP2 My System	Re: Xubuntu on old laptop.. driver questions thanks guys but I haven't installed "Xu" just yet. will post back with the result later. P.S. I got the clock speed wrong; it's 498 mhz. (rofl!!)