(SOLVED) Wifi drivers not installing via Additional Drivers

Hi, I have just installed Zorin OS 9 on a Dell Latitude D630 to replace the old XP operating system. The install went smoothly (via Ethernet), but I can't get the wifi to work.

Having researched it I found the trip of going to Synaptic > Settings > Repositories > Additional drivers and there was the driver listed. It told me I had a Broadcom Wireless 1395 WLAN Mini-Card and gave me the option of applying the Broadcom 802.11 Linux STA wireless drive source from bcmwl-kernel-source (proprietary).

However, when i select that and try and 'apply changes' the box greys out and the system seems to hang. If i move the cursor off the box onto the background i get a rotating 'busy/working' icon. However, I've left it 'working' for an hour and no change. Selecting 'Close' closes the screen and the driver change is not applied.

Is there another way to apply the driver. If so, where do i get the driver from and how do i apply it?

Many thanks in advance.

Open a terminal (Ctrl+ Alt+ T) and enter:

Code:

sudo ifconfig -a

this should list all your devices - if you see 'eth1' this will be your wireless card - make a note of the mac address and enter that in network manager for wireless (speaking from personal experience! )

Thanks for this. As it happens i left it running overnight and it, despite, seemingly having done nothing and being in the same state, it seemed to so have sorted itself out and it's now working! So problem solved.

Out of interest, i was trying to execute your commends when i noticed the wifi light on! In trying to execute your commands I got a 'command not recognized' for both the 'CODE: SELECT ALL' and the 'sudo ifconfig -a' when run in the terminal window.

Thanks for your help.

Hi,

I recommend you run this terminal command too (Ctrl + Alt + t) and then restart:

Code:

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get dist-upgrade -f

Can we mark this as solved?:

Command run and everything re-booted - all via wifi. So, solved it is!

Thanks

Hi, For clarity, 'Code Select All' is the same ast 'Ctrl+ C'' - the commands I place in a thread with [code][/code] around means you can copy and paste without fear of making a mistake - the only command you put in a terminal (I will leave out the [code] bits is:


sudo ifconfig -a

this is equivalent to: ipconfig -all in a Windows Terminal (cmd).

Got you. I'm a newbie to this. Thanks.