In need of connection help

Question

I've been stuck at this for a while now and cant figure it out. My friend installed Ubuntu 12.10 on my tower and used his internet cable and it worked fine. I asked him before he did it if it was going to be OK with my Netgear adapter and he said yes.

So I got it back to my place the next day and hooked it up and tried it out. Started up fine but couldn't read the adapter (WN111v2) so I tried entering the disk for it but it didn't work. I tried running a cord from my computer to the router but nothing happened.

I went to the boot menu to access windows to figure it out and there is no more windows. I'm brand new to Linux and have no idea why I can't establish a connection to my router (it's a wgt624v4) and have zero connection to the internet on my computer so i'm using a windows laptop. Is there anything I can do?

Answer 1

Get the router manual and find out the IP address from which the configuration page of the router can be accessed. The manual will also provide the default username/password.

Next, find the router's reset hole. Use a pin and reset it. Next connect your computer to the router. Switch on your router and the computer. Your computer will negotiate with the router and obtain an IP address.

Now, type the IP address of the router (as provided by the manual) in a browser. Enter the default username/password and login.

You should now be able to configure your LAN, WLAN and Internet settings.

Answer 2

Your friend should have tested the Netgear adapter before he stuck you with this. AFAIK there is currently no built-in driver for the WN111v2, which makes it an extreme pain to deal with in Linux (Ubuntu or otherwise).

You have two options at this point: the easy one is just to buy a USB wireless adapter that DOES work with Ubuntu. (Google "wireless USB ubuntu" - you immediately come up with https://help.ubuntu.com/community/WifiDocs/WirelessCardsSupported#By%20Manufacturer, which will give you several examples of inexpensive cards guaranteed to work.)

Alternately, either you or your friend can try to wrestle with making the Windows drivers work for the card you already have. It looks like some people have probably succeeded in this; see http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=885520 - but please note, I do not recommend this unless you have much more time than money and/or just really, really like fiddling with stuff. It's better and easier to just buy something that works in the first place.