how do I easily setup wireless networking on Dell Inspiron 1720

AFAIK, Dell ships several different wifi cards with the 1720 (from wiki).

The best thing to do will be to get a listing of your network hardware.

From a terminal (Ctrl+alt+t), or opening the terminal via launcher, can you cut and paste:

sudo lspci
sudo lsmod
sudo lshw -C network
lsb_release -a
uname -a
/sbin/ifconfig -a

then copy and paste the output back here?

Is this the same for a Inspiron E1705?. I am going to create her own account and access this to copy and paste. Will post results then.

No, it needs to be the device we are troubleshooting from, as we are trying to identify the hardware on that machine. A different machine will give different results.

If you can't get internet access (eg via a wire), then you can copy the results onto a USB key and transfer them that way.

Also run:

sudo rfkill list

And add that to the output. Thanks

I tried a copy and paste from my id and It would not take it in the terminal on her notebook. I have added her own Id but am still waiting on the confirming email,. When I tried the copy and paste it would interject a request for password which I did enter the only one I set up for her but it kept rejecting it.

If she is not in the 'admin' group, it will not be able to use sudo. Remember, sudo gives no visual feedback

She is an admin which in reality I set it up. Later I will relinquish to her. I have to continue with this later.

When I paste

sudo lspci
sudo lsmod
sudo lshw -C network
lsb_release -a
uname -a
/sbin/ifconfig -a

This is the result

cathybuck@ubuntu:~$ sudo lspci
[sudo] password for cathybuck:
cathybuck@ubuntu:~$

See above entry from Cathy Bucks' machine

if you run:

groups

What is output?

Thanks

cathybuck@ubuntu:~$ groups
cathybuck adm dialout cdrom plugdev lpadmin admin sambashare
cathybuck@ubuntu:~$ ^C
cathybuck@ubuntu:~$

Then you are in the admin group and can run the commands given. Sudo will NOT give you any feedback, just keep typing your password and it will be accepted.

You can copy and paste from the terminal to gedit etc. Then copy the file to your NTFS partition (If you dual boot) or uSB stick and you can copy the text to here

Output as follows

cathybuck@ubuntu:~$ sudo lspci
[sudo] password for cathybuck:
00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation Mobile PM965/GM965/GL960 Memory Controller Hub (rev 0c)
00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation Mobile GM965/GL960 Integrated Graphics Controller (primary) (rev 0c)
00:02.1 Display controller: Intel Corporation Mobile GM965/GL960 Integrated Graphics Controller (secondary) (rev 0c)
00:1a.0 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) USB UHCI Controller #4 (rev 02)
00:1a.1 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) USB UHCI Controller #5 (rev 02)
00:1a.7 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) USB2 EHCI Controller #2 (rev 02)
00:1b.0 Audio device: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) HD Audio Controller (rev 02)
00:1c.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) PCI Express Port 1 (rev 02)
00:1c.1 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) PCI Express Port 2 (rev 02)
00:1c.3 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) PCI Express Port 4 (rev 02)
00:1d.0 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) USB UHCI Controller #1 (rev 02)
00:1d.1 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) USB UHCI Controller #2 (rev 02)
00:1d.2 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) USB UHCI Controller #3 (rev 02)
00:1d.7 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) USB2 EHCI Controller #1 (rev 02)
00:1e.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801 Mobile PCI Bridge (rev f2)
00:1f.0 ISA bridge: Intel Corporation 82801HEM (ICH8M) LPC Interface Controller (rev 02)
00:1f.1 IDE interface: Intel Corporation 82801HBM/HEM (ICH8M/ICH8M-E) IDE Controller (rev 02)
00:1f.2 SATA controller: Intel Corporation 82801HBM/HEM (ICH8M/ICH8M-E) SATA AHCI Controller (rev 02)
00:1f.3 SMBus: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) SMBus Controller (rev 02)
03:00.0 Ethernet controller: Broadcom Corporation BCM4401-B0 100Base-TX (rev 02)
03:01.0 FireWire (IEEE 1394): Ricoh Co Ltd R5C832 IEEE 1394 Controller (rev 05)
03:01.1 SD Host controller: Ricoh Co Ltd R5C822 SD/SDIO/MMC/MS/MSPro Host Adapter (rev 22)
03:01.2 System peripheral: Ricoh Co Ltd R5C592 Memory Stick Bus Host Adapter (rev 12)
03:01.3 System peripheral: Ricoh Co Ltd xD-Picture Card Controller (rev 12)
0c:00.0 Network controller: Broadcom Corporation BCM4311 802.11b/g WLAN (rev 01)
cathybuck@ubuntu:~$ cathybuck@ubuntu:~$ groups
cathybuck@ubuntu:~$: command not found
cathybuck@ubuntu:~$ cathybuck adm dialout cdrom plugdev lpadmin admin sambashare
cathybuck: command not found
cathybuck@ubuntu:~$ cathybuck@ubuntu:~$ ^C
cathybuck@ubuntu:~$: command not found
cathybuck@ubuntu:~$ cathybuck@ubuntu:~$
cathybuck@ubuntu:~$: command not found
cathybuck@ubuntu:~$ sudo lspci
00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation Mobile PM965/GM965/GL960 Memory Controller Hub (rev 0c)
00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation Mobile GM965/GL960 Integrated Graphics Controller (primary) (rev 0c)
00:02.1 Display controller: Intel Corporation Mobile GM965/GL960 Integrated Graphics Controller (secondary) (rev 0c)
00:1a.0 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) USB UHCI Controller #4 (rev 02)
00:1a.1 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) USB UHCI Controller #5 (rev 02)
00:1a.7 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) USB2 EHCI Controller #2 (rev 02)
00:1b.0 Audio device: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) HD Audio Controller (rev 02)
00:1c.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) PCI Express Port 1 (rev 02)
00:1c.1 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) PCI Express Port 2 (rev 02)
00:1c.3 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) PCI Express Port 4 (rev 02)
00:1d.0 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) USB UHCI Controller #1 (rev 02)
00:1d.1 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) USB UHCI Controller #2 (rev 02)
00:1d.2 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) USB UHCI Controller #3 (rev 02)
00:1d.7 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) USB2 EHCI Controller #1 (rev 02)
00:1e.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801 Mobile PCI Bridge (rev f2)
00:1f.0 ISA bridge: Intel Corporation 82801HEM (ICH8M) LPC Interface Controller (rev 02)
00:1f.1 IDE interface: Intel Corporation 82801HBM/HEM (ICH8M/ICH8M-E) IDE Controller (rev 02)
00:1f.2 SATA controller: Intel Corporation 82801HBM/HEM (ICH8M/ICH8M-E) SATA AHCI Controller (rev 02)
00:1f.3 SMBus: Intel Corporation 82801H (ICH8 Family) SMBus Controller (rev 02)
03:00.0 Ethernet controller: Broadcom Corporation BCM4401-B0 100Base-TX (rev 02)
03:01.0 FireWire (IEEE 1394): Ricoh Co Ltd R5C832 IEEE 1394 Controller (rev 05)
03:01.1 SD Host controller: Ricoh Co Ltd R5C822 SD/SDIO/MMC/MS/MSPro Host Adapter (rev 22)
03:01.2 System peripheral: Ricoh Co Ltd R5C592 Memory Stick Bus Host Adapter (rev 12)
03:01.3 System peripheral: Ricoh Co Ltd xD-Picture Card Controller (rev 12)
0c:00.0 Network controller: Broadcom Corporation BCM4311 802.11b/g WLAN (rev 01)
cathybuck@ubuntu:~$ sudo lsmod
Module Size Used by
bnep 18436 2
rfcomm 47946 8
parport_pc 36962 0
ppdev 17113 0
lp 17799 0
parport 46562 3 parport_pc,ppdev,lp
snd_hda_codec_idt 70553 1
binfmt_misc 17540 1
snd_hda_intel 33390 2
snd_hda_codec 104802 2 snd_hda_codec_idt,snd_hda_intel
snd_hwdep 13668 1 snd_hda_codec
dell_wmi 12681 0
sparse_keymap 13890 1 dell_wmi
snd_pcm 96755 2 snd_hda_intel,snd_hda_codec
snd_seq_midi 13324 0
snd_rawmidi 30547 1 snd_seq_midi
dell_laptop 13831 0
dcdbas 14490 1 dell_laptop
snd_seq_midi_event 14899 1 snd_seq_midi
joydev 17693 0
snd_seq 61896 2 snd_seq_midi,snd_seq_midi_event
uvcvideo 72711 0
arc4 12529 2
videodev 93004 1 uvcvideo
snd_timer 29991 2 snd_pcm,snd_seq
v4l2_compat_ioctl32 17083 1 videodev
snd_seq_device 14540 3 snd_seq_midi,snd_rawmidi,snd_seq
r852 18277 0
sm_common 16865 1 r852
nand 54966 2 r852,sm_common
nand_ids 12723 1 nand
nand_bch 13147 1 nand
bch 22061 1 nand_bch
nand_ecc 13230 1 nand
b43 341198 0
psmouse 73882 0
mtd 33181 2 sm_common,nand
btusb 18600 2
serio_raw 13166 0
mac80211 310872 1 b43
snd 68266 13 snd_hda_codec_idt,snd_hda_intel,snd_hda_codec,snd_hwdep,snd_pcm,snd_rawmidi,snd_seq,snd_timer,snd_seq_device
bluetooth 166112 23 bnep,rfcomm,btusb
cfg80211 199587 2 b43,mac80211
soundcore 12680 1 snd
i915 566711 3
snd_page_alloc 18529 2 snd_hda_intel,snd_pcm
drm_kms_helper 42558 1 i915
drm 236330 4 i915,drm_kms_helper
wmi 19256 1 dell_wmi
i2c_algo_bit 13423 1 i915
video 19412 1 i915
usbhid 47198 0
hid 95463 1 usbhid
firewire_ohci 40722 0
firewire_core 63626 1 firewire_ohci
b44 36315 0
crc_itu_t 12707 1 firewire_core
sdhci_pci 14032 0
sdhci 32166 1 sdhci_pci
ahci 26002 1
libahci 26861 1 ahci
ssb 52752 2 b43,b44
cathybuck@ubuntu:~$ sudo lshw -C network
  *-network
       description: Network controller
       product: BCM4311 802.11b/g WLAN
       vendor: Broadcom Corporation
       physical id: 0
       bus info: pci@0000:0c:00.0
       version: 01
       width: 32 bits
       clock: 33MHz
       capabilities: pm msi pciexpress bus_master cap_list
       configuration: driver=b43-pci-bridge latency=0
       resources: irq:17 memory:fe8fc000-fe8fffff
  *-network
       description: Ethernet interface
       product: BCM4401-B0 100Base-TX
       vendor: Broadcom Corporation
       physical id: 0
       bus info: pci@0000:03:00.0
       logical name: eth0
       version: 02
       serial: 00:1d:09:b5:31:15
       size: 100Mbit/s
       capacity: 100Mbit/s
       width: 32 bits
       clock: 33MHz
       capabilities: pm bus_master cap_list ethernet physical mii 10bt 10bt-fd 100bt 100bt-fd autonegotiation
       configuration: autonegotiation=on broadcast=yes driver=b44 driverversion=2.0 duplex=full ip=192.168.2.102 latency=64 link=yes multicast=yes port=twisted pair speed=100Mbit/s
       resources: irq:17 memory:fe5fe000-fe5fffff
  *-network DISABLED
       description: Wireless interface
       physical id: 2
       logical name: wlan0
       serial: 00:1e:4c:73:1d:79
       capabilities: ethernet physical wireless
       configuration: broadcast=yes driver=b43 driverversion=3.0.0-12-generic firmware=N/A link=no multicast=yes wireless=IEEE 802.11bg
cathybuck@ubuntu:~$ lsb_release -a
No LSB modules are available.
Distributor ID: Ubuntu
Description: Ubuntu 11.10
Release: 11.10
Codename: oneiric
cathybuck@ubuntu:~$ uname -a
Linux ubuntu 3.0.0-12-generic #20-Ubuntu SMP Fri Oct 7 14:56:25 UTC 2011 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux
cathybuck@ubuntu:~$ /sbin/ifconfig -a

additional command per instruction

cathybuck@ubuntu:~$ sudo rfkill list
0: hci0: Bluetooth
 Soft blocked: no
 Hard blocked: no
1: phy0: Wireless LAN
 Soft blocked: no
 Hard blocked: no
2: dell-wifi: Wireless LAN
 Soft blocked: no
 Hard blocked: no
3: dell-bluetooth: Bluetooth
 Soft blocked: no
 Hard blocked: no
cathybuck@ubuntu:~$

now ??

I would like to have windows and ubuntu running simultaneosly is that possible or is asking for trouble?

No, it's completely doable. This guide will get your wifi setup:
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/WifiDocs/Driver/bcm43xx

Thanks I'm off to check it out

I followed the instructions on the link to the letter using the terminal commands. I then unplugged the wired connection rebooted chose UBUNTU, not windows to boot from but was not able to connect wirelessly. What next?

I went to network and it shows under wired. Cable unplugged. My other choice is network proxy do I set up wireless access through it?? help again sorry

when I select network proxy I selected Automatic but it asks for a config URL

Found
 more instructions in the link

This is the most convoluted way to install wireless networking I have ever seen. I still am not connected wireless !!

Cathy is certainly not happy yet !

when I try to open the downloaded file wl_apsta-3.130.20.0.0 I get nautilus requires to install software to open files of the following file type:object code. Object code is not supported. What do I use to open this "downloaded automatic file"

cathybuck@ubuntu:~$ sudo apt-get install b43-fwcutter
[sudo] password for cathybuck:
Sorry, try again.
[sudo] password for cathybuck:
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information... Done
b43-fwcutter is already the newest version.
0 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 0 to remove and 0 not upgraded.
cathybuck@ubuntu:~$ sudo apt-get install b43-fwcutter firmware-b43-installer
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information... Done
b43-fwcutter is already the newest version.
firmware-b43-installer is already the newest version.
0 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 0 to remove and 0 not upgraded.
cathybuck@ubuntu:~$ ^C
cathybuck@ubuntu:~$

Ok then reboot then use the driver application and enable the driver.

I rebooted unplugged the LAN wired connection from the router. I then went to the driver app this info was there

This package contains Broadcom 802.11 Linux STA wireless driverfor use with Broadcom's BCM4311-, BCM4312-, BCM4313-, BCM4321-,BCM4322-, BCM43224-, and BCM43225-, BCM43227- and BCM43228-basedhardware.

This driver is activated and currently in use

However I have no wireless connectivity. I plugged back in again. Now what ?

whenever I get done with this and it finally works wirelessly I will be an expert !

plug and play? where are you when I need you

My wireless device is BCM4311

Al I can recommend is report a bug

reported bug no action on that or this question. Help!

still not working I reverted her back to windows Vista. Something must have happened though there was a duplicate of my network when I started windows up. It was an open network with security flaws. I deleted it and she is back working on Windows Vista with wireless networking.

still awaiting some help. I am off to worship the Lord Jesus. When I return perhaps a Divine revelation will provide an answer.

Success !!! Cathy is so happy and I am as well now to submit this same question for a different laptop.