How to install Linux and get wifi working on an old laptop without internet cable?











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I have a really old laptop and no Linux so far had drivers built-in for it. I also don't have access to the router, so I can only use wifi, and I do want to be able to use wifi. So how do I get it working? I tried finding the package, but they just fail installation/don't work/require a few dozens of other packages. I only got a couple of Linux (out of over 10) booting up on it in the first place, and I did manage to get wifi working on Lubuntu awhile back when I had access to ethernet cable - took maybe 10 minutes to install all the packages (well, wait for them to be installed), but it worked after that.



The Wifi adapter is Broadcom Limited BCM4311 802.11b/g WLAN (rev 01).










share|improve this question
























  • Without giving the exact laptop model and the wifi chipset you won't get much help. Do you have some CDROM on that laptop? Some bootable USB port?
    – Basile Starynkevitch
    May 5 at 7:15










  • Adding the output of lspci and lsusb can help determine what pieces may be required: some WiFi chipsets need binary firmware in order to function, in addition to kernel modules. With the information that you provided, the answers that you will receive will be extremely general in nature as there have no specifics to base an answer on.
    – ErikF
    May 5 at 7:30










  • @ErikF Thank yo ufor the suggestion! I edited the question, and the adapter is Broadcom Limited BCM4311 802.11b/g WLAN (rev 01).
    – Jack
    May 5 at 9:24










  • Please edit your question : Add the lspci -vv output relevant for "WiFi". lsusb -vv : The same. My example (ZyXEL) : $ lsusb -vv | grep -i zyxBus 002 Device 005 : ID 0586:3412 ZyXEL Communications Corp. 802.11bg ... idVendor : 0x0586 ZyXEL Communications Corp.
    – Knud Larsen
    May 5 at 10:02






  • 2




    Try the b43 module : sudo modprobe -v b43
    – GAD3R
    May 5 at 10:19















up vote
-1
down vote

favorite












I have a really old laptop and no Linux so far had drivers built-in for it. I also don't have access to the router, so I can only use wifi, and I do want to be able to use wifi. So how do I get it working? I tried finding the package, but they just fail installation/don't work/require a few dozens of other packages. I only got a couple of Linux (out of over 10) booting up on it in the first place, and I did manage to get wifi working on Lubuntu awhile back when I had access to ethernet cable - took maybe 10 minutes to install all the packages (well, wait for them to be installed), but it worked after that.



The Wifi adapter is Broadcom Limited BCM4311 802.11b/g WLAN (rev 01).










share|improve this question
























  • Without giving the exact laptop model and the wifi chipset you won't get much help. Do you have some CDROM on that laptop? Some bootable USB port?
    – Basile Starynkevitch
    May 5 at 7:15










  • Adding the output of lspci and lsusb can help determine what pieces may be required: some WiFi chipsets need binary firmware in order to function, in addition to kernel modules. With the information that you provided, the answers that you will receive will be extremely general in nature as there have no specifics to base an answer on.
    – ErikF
    May 5 at 7:30










  • @ErikF Thank yo ufor the suggestion! I edited the question, and the adapter is Broadcom Limited BCM4311 802.11b/g WLAN (rev 01).
    – Jack
    May 5 at 9:24










  • Please edit your question : Add the lspci -vv output relevant for "WiFi". lsusb -vv : The same. My example (ZyXEL) : $ lsusb -vv | grep -i zyxBus 002 Device 005 : ID 0586:3412 ZyXEL Communications Corp. 802.11bg ... idVendor : 0x0586 ZyXEL Communications Corp.
    – Knud Larsen
    May 5 at 10:02






  • 2




    Try the b43 module : sudo modprobe -v b43
    – GAD3R
    May 5 at 10:19













up vote
-1
down vote

favorite









up vote
-1
down vote

favorite











I have a really old laptop and no Linux so far had drivers built-in for it. I also don't have access to the router, so I can only use wifi, and I do want to be able to use wifi. So how do I get it working? I tried finding the package, but they just fail installation/don't work/require a few dozens of other packages. I only got a couple of Linux (out of over 10) booting up on it in the first place, and I did manage to get wifi working on Lubuntu awhile back when I had access to ethernet cable - took maybe 10 minutes to install all the packages (well, wait for them to be installed), but it worked after that.



The Wifi adapter is Broadcom Limited BCM4311 802.11b/g WLAN (rev 01).










share|improve this question















I have a really old laptop and no Linux so far had drivers built-in for it. I also don't have access to the router, so I can only use wifi, and I do want to be able to use wifi. So how do I get it working? I tried finding the package, but they just fail installation/don't work/require a few dozens of other packages. I only got a couple of Linux (out of over 10) booting up on it in the first place, and I did manage to get wifi working on Lubuntu awhile back when I had access to ethernet cable - took maybe 10 minutes to install all the packages (well, wait for them to be installed), but it worked after that.



The Wifi adapter is Broadcom Limited BCM4311 802.11b/g WLAN (rev 01).







linux wifi software-installation system-installation internet






share|improve this question















share|improve this question













share|improve this question




share|improve this question








edited May 5 at 9:24

























asked May 5 at 6:50









Jack

12817




12817












  • Without giving the exact laptop model and the wifi chipset you won't get much help. Do you have some CDROM on that laptop? Some bootable USB port?
    – Basile Starynkevitch
    May 5 at 7:15










  • Adding the output of lspci and lsusb can help determine what pieces may be required: some WiFi chipsets need binary firmware in order to function, in addition to kernel modules. With the information that you provided, the answers that you will receive will be extremely general in nature as there have no specifics to base an answer on.
    – ErikF
    May 5 at 7:30










  • @ErikF Thank yo ufor the suggestion! I edited the question, and the adapter is Broadcom Limited BCM4311 802.11b/g WLAN (rev 01).
    – Jack
    May 5 at 9:24










  • Please edit your question : Add the lspci -vv output relevant for "WiFi". lsusb -vv : The same. My example (ZyXEL) : $ lsusb -vv | grep -i zyxBus 002 Device 005 : ID 0586:3412 ZyXEL Communications Corp. 802.11bg ... idVendor : 0x0586 ZyXEL Communications Corp.
    – Knud Larsen
    May 5 at 10:02






  • 2




    Try the b43 module : sudo modprobe -v b43
    – GAD3R
    May 5 at 10:19


















  • Without giving the exact laptop model and the wifi chipset you won't get much help. Do you have some CDROM on that laptop? Some bootable USB port?
    – Basile Starynkevitch
    May 5 at 7:15










  • Adding the output of lspci and lsusb can help determine what pieces may be required: some WiFi chipsets need binary firmware in order to function, in addition to kernel modules. With the information that you provided, the answers that you will receive will be extremely general in nature as there have no specifics to base an answer on.
    – ErikF
    May 5 at 7:30










  • @ErikF Thank yo ufor the suggestion! I edited the question, and the adapter is Broadcom Limited BCM4311 802.11b/g WLAN (rev 01).
    – Jack
    May 5 at 9:24










  • Please edit your question : Add the lspci -vv output relevant for "WiFi". lsusb -vv : The same. My example (ZyXEL) : $ lsusb -vv | grep -i zyxBus 002 Device 005 : ID 0586:3412 ZyXEL Communications Corp. 802.11bg ... idVendor : 0x0586 ZyXEL Communications Corp.
    – Knud Larsen
    May 5 at 10:02






  • 2




    Try the b43 module : sudo modprobe -v b43
    – GAD3R
    May 5 at 10:19
















Without giving the exact laptop model and the wifi chipset you won't get much help. Do you have some CDROM on that laptop? Some bootable USB port?
– Basile Starynkevitch
May 5 at 7:15




Without giving the exact laptop model and the wifi chipset you won't get much help. Do you have some CDROM on that laptop? Some bootable USB port?
– Basile Starynkevitch
May 5 at 7:15












Adding the output of lspci and lsusb can help determine what pieces may be required: some WiFi chipsets need binary firmware in order to function, in addition to kernel modules. With the information that you provided, the answers that you will receive will be extremely general in nature as there have no specifics to base an answer on.
– ErikF
May 5 at 7:30




Adding the output of lspci and lsusb can help determine what pieces may be required: some WiFi chipsets need binary firmware in order to function, in addition to kernel modules. With the information that you provided, the answers that you will receive will be extremely general in nature as there have no specifics to base an answer on.
– ErikF
May 5 at 7:30












@ErikF Thank yo ufor the suggestion! I edited the question, and the adapter is Broadcom Limited BCM4311 802.11b/g WLAN (rev 01).
– Jack
May 5 at 9:24




@ErikF Thank yo ufor the suggestion! I edited the question, and the adapter is Broadcom Limited BCM4311 802.11b/g WLAN (rev 01).
– Jack
May 5 at 9:24












Please edit your question : Add the lspci -vv output relevant for "WiFi". lsusb -vv : The same. My example (ZyXEL) : $ lsusb -vv | grep -i zyxBus 002 Device 005 : ID 0586:3412 ZyXEL Communications Corp. 802.11bg ... idVendor : 0x0586 ZyXEL Communications Corp.
– Knud Larsen
May 5 at 10:02




Please edit your question : Add the lspci -vv output relevant for "WiFi". lsusb -vv : The same. My example (ZyXEL) : $ lsusb -vv | grep -i zyxBus 002 Device 005 : ID 0586:3412 ZyXEL Communications Corp. 802.11bg ... idVendor : 0x0586 ZyXEL Communications Corp.
– Knud Larsen
May 5 at 10:02




2




2




Try the b43 module : sudo modprobe -v b43
– GAD3R
May 5 at 10:19




Try the b43 module : sudo modprobe -v b43
– GAD3R
May 5 at 10:19










4 Answers
4






active

oldest

votes

















up vote
2
down vote













I had the same problem with my oldest laptop, in order to solve the problem I recommend using Debian distribution or a flavour of it. Debian maintains plenty of devices' drivers, and on Debian wiki you can find a complete solution for bcm43xx network family card. Plus, on Ubuntu-forum, a user has provided a comprehensive solution to overcome the issue.






share|improve this answer




























    up vote
    2
    down vote













    Take out the harddisk of the laptop, connect harddisk to another computer with a working wifi, install some distribution with all the necessary drivers on it, put harddisk back in laptop, boot.



    Alternatively: Prepare an USB stick with a live distribution which has all the necessary drivers, boot from USB stick (unless your laptop is really old, and can't boot from USB sticks).






    share|improve this answer




























      up vote
      1
      down vote



      accepted










      The problem was that I needed to do this (for some reason Linux did not do this by default):



      sudo nano /etc/NetworkManager/NetworkManager.conf
      change the line managed=false to managed=true

      Save, stop and start network manager:

      sudo service network-manager restart


      Took it from here after spending hours looking for a problem through info provided in my own thread (which is how I even got to the answer in the first place): https://askubuntu.com/questions/71159/network-manager-says-device-not-managed






      share|improve this answer






























        up vote
        -1
        down vote













        You can install from DVD and install "firmware-iwlwifi_20161130-4~deb8u1_all.deb", or as mentioned above, put hard drive in another computer, select expert install and select to install all drivers. Since I dont like non-free firmware that I can not compile myself, I found it easier to buy a wifi card from ebay that debian had already included in their DVD ios for $3.99






        share|improve this answer








        New contributor




        user327030 is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
        Check out our Code of Conduct.


















        • Welcome, As said it is a Broadcom wifi card not Intel.
          – GAD3R
          yesterday










        • debian has packages for b43xx and b43legacy (wiki.debian.org/bcm43xx#supported-b43) if all fails, there is a possibility that your hardware is bad. As I said, I had some what of a similar issue. Spent 2 days research and 1 migraine later, I bought a used card from ebay. $3.99 later, problem was fixed on boot. I wish "i had a better answer for you,
          – user327030
          yesterday










        • firmware-iwlwifi provide the drivers for Intel wifi card. The last line in the question say it is a Broadcom wifi card. As you can see in the accepted answer it is not a driver problem.
          – GAD3R
          yesterday











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        4 Answers
        4






        active

        oldest

        votes








        4 Answers
        4






        active

        oldest

        votes









        active

        oldest

        votes






        active

        oldest

        votes








        up vote
        2
        down vote













        I had the same problem with my oldest laptop, in order to solve the problem I recommend using Debian distribution or a flavour of it. Debian maintains plenty of devices' drivers, and on Debian wiki you can find a complete solution for bcm43xx network family card. Plus, on Ubuntu-forum, a user has provided a comprehensive solution to overcome the issue.






        share|improve this answer

























          up vote
          2
          down vote













          I had the same problem with my oldest laptop, in order to solve the problem I recommend using Debian distribution or a flavour of it. Debian maintains plenty of devices' drivers, and on Debian wiki you can find a complete solution for bcm43xx network family card. Plus, on Ubuntu-forum, a user has provided a comprehensive solution to overcome the issue.






          share|improve this answer























            up vote
            2
            down vote










            up vote
            2
            down vote









            I had the same problem with my oldest laptop, in order to solve the problem I recommend using Debian distribution or a flavour of it. Debian maintains plenty of devices' drivers, and on Debian wiki you can find a complete solution for bcm43xx network family card. Plus, on Ubuntu-forum, a user has provided a comprehensive solution to overcome the issue.






            share|improve this answer












            I had the same problem with my oldest laptop, in order to solve the problem I recommend using Debian distribution or a flavour of it. Debian maintains plenty of devices' drivers, and on Debian wiki you can find a complete solution for bcm43xx network family card. Plus, on Ubuntu-forum, a user has provided a comprehensive solution to overcome the issue.







            share|improve this answer












            share|improve this answer



            share|improve this answer










            answered May 5 at 13:00









            Esmaeil Mirzaee

            17112




            17112
























                up vote
                2
                down vote













                Take out the harddisk of the laptop, connect harddisk to another computer with a working wifi, install some distribution with all the necessary drivers on it, put harddisk back in laptop, boot.



                Alternatively: Prepare an USB stick with a live distribution which has all the necessary drivers, boot from USB stick (unless your laptop is really old, and can't boot from USB sticks).






                share|improve this answer

























                  up vote
                  2
                  down vote













                  Take out the harddisk of the laptop, connect harddisk to another computer with a working wifi, install some distribution with all the necessary drivers on it, put harddisk back in laptop, boot.



                  Alternatively: Prepare an USB stick with a live distribution which has all the necessary drivers, boot from USB stick (unless your laptop is really old, and can't boot from USB sticks).






                  share|improve this answer























                    up vote
                    2
                    down vote










                    up vote
                    2
                    down vote









                    Take out the harddisk of the laptop, connect harddisk to another computer with a working wifi, install some distribution with all the necessary drivers on it, put harddisk back in laptop, boot.



                    Alternatively: Prepare an USB stick with a live distribution which has all the necessary drivers, boot from USB stick (unless your laptop is really old, and can't boot from USB sticks).






                    share|improve this answer












                    Take out the harddisk of the laptop, connect harddisk to another computer with a working wifi, install some distribution with all the necessary drivers on it, put harddisk back in laptop, boot.



                    Alternatively: Prepare an USB stick with a live distribution which has all the necessary drivers, boot from USB stick (unless your laptop is really old, and can't boot from USB sticks).







                    share|improve this answer












                    share|improve this answer



                    share|improve this answer










                    answered May 5 at 15:36









                    dirkt

                    16.4k21335




                    16.4k21335






















                        up vote
                        1
                        down vote



                        accepted










                        The problem was that I needed to do this (for some reason Linux did not do this by default):



                        sudo nano /etc/NetworkManager/NetworkManager.conf
                        change the line managed=false to managed=true

                        Save, stop and start network manager:

                        sudo service network-manager restart


                        Took it from here after spending hours looking for a problem through info provided in my own thread (which is how I even got to the answer in the first place): https://askubuntu.com/questions/71159/network-manager-says-device-not-managed






                        share|improve this answer



























                          up vote
                          1
                          down vote



                          accepted










                          The problem was that I needed to do this (for some reason Linux did not do this by default):



                          sudo nano /etc/NetworkManager/NetworkManager.conf
                          change the line managed=false to managed=true

                          Save, stop and start network manager:

                          sudo service network-manager restart


                          Took it from here after spending hours looking for a problem through info provided in my own thread (which is how I even got to the answer in the first place): https://askubuntu.com/questions/71159/network-manager-says-device-not-managed






                          share|improve this answer

























                            up vote
                            1
                            down vote



                            accepted







                            up vote
                            1
                            down vote



                            accepted






                            The problem was that I needed to do this (for some reason Linux did not do this by default):



                            sudo nano /etc/NetworkManager/NetworkManager.conf
                            change the line managed=false to managed=true

                            Save, stop and start network manager:

                            sudo service network-manager restart


                            Took it from here after spending hours looking for a problem through info provided in my own thread (which is how I even got to the answer in the first place): https://askubuntu.com/questions/71159/network-manager-says-device-not-managed






                            share|improve this answer














                            The problem was that I needed to do this (for some reason Linux did not do this by default):



                            sudo nano /etc/NetworkManager/NetworkManager.conf
                            change the line managed=false to managed=true

                            Save, stop and start network manager:

                            sudo service network-manager restart


                            Took it from here after spending hours looking for a problem through info provided in my own thread (which is how I even got to the answer in the first place): https://askubuntu.com/questions/71159/network-manager-says-device-not-managed







                            share|improve this answer














                            share|improve this answer



                            share|improve this answer








                            edited yesterday









                            Rui F Ribeiro

                            38.6k1479128




                            38.6k1479128










                            answered May 8 at 5:57









                            Jack

                            12817




                            12817






















                                up vote
                                -1
                                down vote













                                You can install from DVD and install "firmware-iwlwifi_20161130-4~deb8u1_all.deb", or as mentioned above, put hard drive in another computer, select expert install and select to install all drivers. Since I dont like non-free firmware that I can not compile myself, I found it easier to buy a wifi card from ebay that debian had already included in their DVD ios for $3.99






                                share|improve this answer








                                New contributor




                                user327030 is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                                Check out our Code of Conduct.


















                                • Welcome, As said it is a Broadcom wifi card not Intel.
                                  – GAD3R
                                  yesterday










                                • debian has packages for b43xx and b43legacy (wiki.debian.org/bcm43xx#supported-b43) if all fails, there is a possibility that your hardware is bad. As I said, I had some what of a similar issue. Spent 2 days research and 1 migraine later, I bought a used card from ebay. $3.99 later, problem was fixed on boot. I wish "i had a better answer for you,
                                  – user327030
                                  yesterday










                                • firmware-iwlwifi provide the drivers for Intel wifi card. The last line in the question say it is a Broadcom wifi card. As you can see in the accepted answer it is not a driver problem.
                                  – GAD3R
                                  yesterday















                                up vote
                                -1
                                down vote













                                You can install from DVD and install "firmware-iwlwifi_20161130-4~deb8u1_all.deb", or as mentioned above, put hard drive in another computer, select expert install and select to install all drivers. Since I dont like non-free firmware that I can not compile myself, I found it easier to buy a wifi card from ebay that debian had already included in their DVD ios for $3.99






                                share|improve this answer








                                New contributor




                                user327030 is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                                Check out our Code of Conduct.


















                                • Welcome, As said it is a Broadcom wifi card not Intel.
                                  – GAD3R
                                  yesterday










                                • debian has packages for b43xx and b43legacy (wiki.debian.org/bcm43xx#supported-b43) if all fails, there is a possibility that your hardware is bad. As I said, I had some what of a similar issue. Spent 2 days research and 1 migraine later, I bought a used card from ebay. $3.99 later, problem was fixed on boot. I wish "i had a better answer for you,
                                  – user327030
                                  yesterday










                                • firmware-iwlwifi provide the drivers for Intel wifi card. The last line in the question say it is a Broadcom wifi card. As you can see in the accepted answer it is not a driver problem.
                                  – GAD3R
                                  yesterday













                                up vote
                                -1
                                down vote










                                up vote
                                -1
                                down vote









                                You can install from DVD and install "firmware-iwlwifi_20161130-4~deb8u1_all.deb", or as mentioned above, put hard drive in another computer, select expert install and select to install all drivers. Since I dont like non-free firmware that I can not compile myself, I found it easier to buy a wifi card from ebay that debian had already included in their DVD ios for $3.99






                                share|improve this answer








                                New contributor




                                user327030 is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                                Check out our Code of Conduct.









                                You can install from DVD and install "firmware-iwlwifi_20161130-4~deb8u1_all.deb", or as mentioned above, put hard drive in another computer, select expert install and select to install all drivers. Since I dont like non-free firmware that I can not compile myself, I found it easier to buy a wifi card from ebay that debian had already included in their DVD ios for $3.99







                                share|improve this answer








                                New contributor




                                user327030 is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                                Check out our Code of Conduct.









                                share|improve this answer



                                share|improve this answer






                                New contributor




                                user327030 is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                                Check out our Code of Conduct.









                                answered yesterday









                                user327030

                                61




                                61




                                New contributor




                                user327030 is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                                Check out our Code of Conduct.





                                New contributor





                                user327030 is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                                Check out our Code of Conduct.






                                user327030 is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                                Check out our Code of Conduct.












                                • Welcome, As said it is a Broadcom wifi card not Intel.
                                  – GAD3R
                                  yesterday










                                • debian has packages for b43xx and b43legacy (wiki.debian.org/bcm43xx#supported-b43) if all fails, there is a possibility that your hardware is bad. As I said, I had some what of a similar issue. Spent 2 days research and 1 migraine later, I bought a used card from ebay. $3.99 later, problem was fixed on boot. I wish "i had a better answer for you,
                                  – user327030
                                  yesterday










                                • firmware-iwlwifi provide the drivers for Intel wifi card. The last line in the question say it is a Broadcom wifi card. As you can see in the accepted answer it is not a driver problem.
                                  – GAD3R
                                  yesterday


















                                • Welcome, As said it is a Broadcom wifi card not Intel.
                                  – GAD3R
                                  yesterday










                                • debian has packages for b43xx and b43legacy (wiki.debian.org/bcm43xx#supported-b43) if all fails, there is a possibility that your hardware is bad. As I said, I had some what of a similar issue. Spent 2 days research and 1 migraine later, I bought a used card from ebay. $3.99 later, problem was fixed on boot. I wish "i had a better answer for you,
                                  – user327030
                                  yesterday










                                • firmware-iwlwifi provide the drivers for Intel wifi card. The last line in the question say it is a Broadcom wifi card. As you can see in the accepted answer it is not a driver problem.
                                  – GAD3R
                                  yesterday
















                                Welcome, As said it is a Broadcom wifi card not Intel.
                                – GAD3R
                                yesterday




                                Welcome, As said it is a Broadcom wifi card not Intel.
                                – GAD3R
                                yesterday












                                debian has packages for b43xx and b43legacy (wiki.debian.org/bcm43xx#supported-b43) if all fails, there is a possibility that your hardware is bad. As I said, I had some what of a similar issue. Spent 2 days research and 1 migraine later, I bought a used card from ebay. $3.99 later, problem was fixed on boot. I wish "i had a better answer for you,
                                – user327030
                                yesterday




                                debian has packages for b43xx and b43legacy (wiki.debian.org/bcm43xx#supported-b43) if all fails, there is a possibility that your hardware is bad. As I said, I had some what of a similar issue. Spent 2 days research and 1 migraine later, I bought a used card from ebay. $3.99 later, problem was fixed on boot. I wish "i had a better answer for you,
                                – user327030
                                yesterday












                                firmware-iwlwifi provide the drivers for Intel wifi card. The last line in the question say it is a Broadcom wifi card. As you can see in the accepted answer it is not a driver problem.
                                – GAD3R
                                yesterday




                                firmware-iwlwifi provide the drivers for Intel wifi card. The last line in the question say it is a Broadcom wifi card. As you can see in the accepted answer it is not a driver problem.
                                – GAD3R
                                yesterday


















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