# computer freezes when connecting to a wireless network



## sykomos (Dec 16, 2005)

if there's a forum thread about this problem already, please direct me to it... i've done some searching around on other forums and googled the heck out of this problem, but nobody seems to have an answer.

ok, i just installed ubuntu 7.10 Gutsy on my laptop. it has a WPC11v4 wireless card. now, i'm an absolute NOOB when it comes to linux or unix commands... i'm having enough fun just trying to find my way around. right now, i just want my internet working.

i have a WEP encrypted wireless network in my house that i'm trying to connect to. i've read thread after thread as to how to manually make the wireless card connect to the network, but it's not working... so i figure the network manager is the way to do it rather than through the command line. 

so, i right click the icon at the top, choose my wireless network, and edit the properties in it. i then type in the long 128bit WEP key that the network has. now, if i leave it like this (set for WPA), it resets itself and then nothing happens, but when i set it to hexadecimal (WEP) it freezes. i lose control of my mouse, my keyboard, and everything...

how do i fix this problem? and please explain it to me like i'm a 3 year old, because i'm absolutely clueless about linux... but i figure it's time to learn it sometime...

thanks

~speedbump


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## sykomos (Dec 16, 2005)

ah well, maybe ubuntu just doesn't like my laptop. i'm gonna install a different distro and see if that helps...


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## sykomos (Dec 16, 2005)

well that didn't solve the problem... heck with it, my laptop is a piece. i'll just go back to windows


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## ncsu1983 (Jan 31, 2008)

sykomos said:


> ah well, maybe ubuntu just doesn't like my laptop. i'm gonna install a different distro and see if that helps...


Alas, it´s the other way around. My laptop only likes certain RH- and Debian-based Linux distros (Ubuntu being one of them) and positively despises Slackware-based distros.

Silly question
After installing Ubuntu, did you go to Synaptic package manager and reload and upgrade the software (System -->Administration-->Synaptic Package Manager-->Reload-->Mark All Upgrades-->Apply)?

You may also want to search Google to see if Linux supports your chipset, and, if so, what driver is needed.

One last suggestion. After reloading and updating, check if your machine needs any restricted drivers (System --> Administration --> Restricted Drivers Manager). You will need your Ubuntu CD and a wired connection to the Internet for this. Follow the prompts and see what happens.

Learning Linux can be frustrating, but patience and perserverance have their rewards.:smile:


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## lensman3 (Oct 19, 2007)

This was suggested in Linux Journal:

1) at the command window run: "/sbin/lspci -nn"
In the output will be your wireless card. It will have a number associated with it of the form xxxx:yyyy. 

2) Enter the xxxx:yyyy: number in google with the card name and see if anybody has previously hit your problem and fixed it. The number is unique (in the whole world) for that piece of hardware. The driver will be for that piece of hardware only.


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