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I downloaded Ubuntu and can't access the internet. I have Windows XP. Can you help?

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There's really way too little details in your question, which makes it impossible to answer. What are you doing? What's happening? What do you expect to happen? What are the specs of your machine? How are Windows XP and firestarter relate to all this? – Sergey Feb 8 '12 at 2:53

closed as not a real question by The Lord of Time, Lekensteyn, Octavian Damiean, Bruno Pereira♦, jokerdino♦ Feb 8 '12 at 14:52

It's difficult to tell what is being asked here. This question is ambiguous, vague, incomplete, overly broad, or rhetorical and cannot be reasonably answered in its current form. For help clarifying this question so that it can be reopened, see the FAQ.

1 Answer

up vote 15 down vote

You have scarcely any detail in your question, so it is very hard to help you. But, I will try to touch on the most common issues with getting online and Ubuntu. I hope this helps, and if you need clarification, please ask. But next time, please be a little more specific.

You said that you use Windows XP. I'm guessing you mean you downloaded Ubuntu in windows using WUBI, the Windows UBuntu Installer. This is a great way to get acquainted with Ubuntu and to help you decide whether or not you want to dual boot. I'm also assuming that your internet works just fine in Windows XP, or otherwise you couldn't have downloaded Ubuntu. The issue that your'e probably having is that you lack a wireless driver. If you can't access the internet through ethernet, then things get a lot trickier. But I'm assuming you can connect through ethernet just fine and want to get the wireless working. Try connecting through ethernet and the opening the "Additional Drivers" application. Here is a picture of what it looks like:

additional drivers screenshot

If there are any drivers listed there, install them. Once the installation has finished, disconnect from ethernet and try to connect through Wi-Fi.

If this doesn't work, we can still help you but we need a lot more information. A good place to start would be your computer model. Can you connect to the internet through Ethernet? Or are you asking something entirely different. I hope this helps, I did the best I could with what I had. If it doesn't, please, I beg of you, more information.

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I have never seen so much dedication to such a vague question before. Salutations! – user6658 Feb 8 '12 at 3:32
Thank you for recognizing this. – William Feb 8 '12 at 3:32
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Someone downvoted me. Could he/she please explain why? I would love to hear if you think this post could be improved. – William Feb 9 '12 at 3:43

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