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New Install: WIFI Only??

robhwill
robhwill Posts: 4
in Installation

Anyone can tell me which distro will allow install / update with usb-wifi card as only network card? Most distros are

easy to install, provided ethernet card is available *first*. IOW: I have older (P4) system to install/upgrade tux software, but ethernet w/CAT-5 connection is not available?? Any suggestions?? Thanks!!

---rob

Comments

  • mfillpot
    mfillpot Posts: 2,177
    Can you please give us more information about the ethernet card in the system and the Distros that you have run?

    Since I have not seen that as an issue in 6+ years then I would assume that the drivers have been completed since then, but I cannot know without knowing the exact issues and details.
  • robhwill
    robhwill Posts: 4
    Hi Karma, and thanks for your response. But, as the original post says: ethernet is not
    I say again --- there is no
    ethernet card in this system. It *must* be installed and upgraded with USB ---WIFI only. Any suggestion is appreciated.
    The usb--wifi card we have is a Trendnet TEW-424UB usb/wifi stick. RTL8187B chipset. Thanks again.
    rob
  • mfillpot
    mfillpot Posts: 2,177
    I have seen reports that the contents of the archive at http://sourceforge.net/projects/zd1211/ is able to fix the connection problems with that device, you can follow the installation instructions at http://wiki.zenwalk.org/index.php?title=Zd1211-firmware

    Please let me know if that works, if it does not then we may need to try to use ndiswrapper.
  • woboyle
    woboyle Posts: 501
    Most current distributions such as Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, etc will allow the use of a USB WiFi network. First, run a LiveCD version of the OS, plug in the card (or plug it in and then boot from CD), and you should be able to use it. If you can, then install the OS, boot from hard drive, and use the WiFi dongle as you would any network interface. The Gnome desktop on Ubuntu has a network manager tool on the top menu bar. If your WiFi access point is encrypted (WEP/WPA), then you will have to tell the connection tool the passphrase or key to use the first time you connect (or each time when booting from a LiveCD). In any case, this is not an uncommon situation these days, especially when installing Linux on laptops. Even though most have a hardware ethernet port, they are often unused.

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