Wireless Card on dell mini 1010 doesn't work

Question

I can't get the wireless card on my dell mini 1010 to work. I need the driver, but I am unable to access the internet from the dell mini 1010. I am able to access it with my lenovo, and I have ubuntu 12.04.3 on it as well. so is there a way to download the driver as a file? That way I can transfer it via a flash drive and then load it through terminal, or something.

I wanted to add that I do not have access to a wired connection, hence needing to transfer between computers.

Solution

Dell Mini 1010 has the BCM4312 wireless by Broadcom, also known as Dell 1397.

~$ lspci -nnk | grep -A2 Net
03:00.0 Network controller [0280]: Broadcom Corporation BCM4312 802.11b/g LP-PHY [14e4:4315] (rev 01)
    Subsystem: Dell Wireless 1397 WLAN Mini-Card [1028:000c]

That card can work with the preinstalled b43 driver, if the b43 firmware is installed, and the required firmware is contained in the linux-firmware-nonfree package.

Simply download linux-firmware-nonfree on Lenovo, transfer it to Ubuntu, and install by double clicking.

In a terminal window, run sudo modprobe b43 to load the module. Wireless should work now.

Comments

[gertvdijk]

Please have a look at My WiFi adapter is not working at all. Where to start troubleshooting? for basic troubleshooting of your issue and to include the exact details of your hardware.

[Cevans0117]

I tried what was posted and because I can not get the dell connected to the web, none of the other post helped. I only have wireless connections, no wired connections due to using my neighbor's internet (with his permission). So I have a net book ( the dell) and a Laptop (the Lenovo). the laptop is connected and running ubuntu 12.04.3 no problems, but I cannot get the dell to connect. Is there a way to download the driver to the lenovo and transfer it to the dell? Then I can install the driver to the dell, is that even possible? It is a Dell 1397 Half Mini Card. That's what dell told me.

[Trev]

2 things: 1. The link to the package no longer works, I found it here 2. Software Center didn't let me install because I had no internet connection (the Install button was greyed out)... I had to use the terminal: dpkg -i linux-firmware-nonfree_1.11_all.deb