== Installing Ubuntu (Jaunty) ==

This is perhaps the easiest installation I've ever done. It's the same machine as below, so I'll leave the specifications out. Dell Latitude D620.

= Steps =
    1. Download Ubuntu Desktop Edition (32-bit) from http://www.ubuntu.com
    2. 


=== About Me ===

Hello, I'm a Linux/Unix user. I've been using Ubuntu now since 2003 (or thereabouts). I enjoy converting people by preaching about Linux and Open Source. I've been a Linux user since the mid 90's. Yes, I'm that old. My first distribution was Slackware, followed by RedHat, followed by Fedora. I'm keeping a close eye on openSuSE.

I'm a trained Architect and love to chat about Art and Writing. I love to sketch using 8B pencils and charcoal. I haven't built anything for the longest time since I converted to a full-time computer job but both activities are a lot of fun for me. I've written software in C/C++, Perl, PHP/MySQL and PostgreSQL. Because of Ubuntu, I'm learning Python.

I'm an inactive member of the Kenya Team since I move back and forth between Nairobi and Toronto (Canada). My wish is to bring Linux, especially Ubuntu, to the public schools in Kenya and possibly into small businesses. I already converted our family business into a complete Linux solution, albeit using Fedora.

== Installing Ubuntu on a Dell Latitude D620 ==

=== Specifications ===
    * Intel Core Duo T2400 1.83GHz
    * 4GB 533MHz DDR2 RAM (2 x 512MB config)
    * 5400RPM HD
    * 14.1-inch WXGA screen
    * Integrated graphics (Intel Media Accelerator 950) '''nVidia''' driver.
    * 24X CDRW / DVD Combo
    * Windows XP Pro
    * Dell Wireless 1490 802.11 a/g and built-in Bluetooth

Upgrade to Gutsy was done online using '''Synaptic'''. The upgrade completed successfully with two problems:

    1. Sound stopped working
    2. Wireless NIC not detected

Sound was fixed by running the following:
{{{
sudo apt-get install module-assistant
sudo m-a update
sudo m-a prepare
sudo m-a a-i alsa
}}}
Wireless NIC is a Broadcomm chipset. The installed drive bcm43xx was causing kernel error messages so had to be blacklisted. To blacklist a driver, open the file '''/etc/modprobe.d/blacklist''' and add an entry to blacklist the driver. In my case, I typed in:
{{{
blacklist bcm43xx
}}}
Then I saved the file and rebooted the laptop. On reboot the driver was not loaded. This is a very important step since the method I used to install a working driver uses the ndiswrapper package. You cannot have both the kernel driver provided and the ndiswrapper driver installed at the same time.

==== Problem with ndiswrapper ====

After the upgrade, the ndiswrapper package did not include a new kernel level driver for ndiswrapper. This driver should have been installed in '''/lib/modules/2.6.22-14-386/misc'''. This is because my particular kernel after installation was 2.6.22-14-386. You can get this information by typing '''`uname -r`''' at a command prompt.

Reinstalling ndiswrapper using Synaptic did not install a kernel driver so I had to remove the existing ndiswrapper tools and reinstall ndiswrapper from the source files. To do this I did the following:

    1. Launched Synaptic and removed ndiswrapper. The two packages I removed were '''ndiswrapper-common''' and '''ndiswrapper-utils-1.9'''.
    2. Downloaded the ndiswrapper source from '''http://ndiswrapper.sourceforge.net/joomla/'''. The current version at the time that I did the download was 1.48. The file that I downloaded was '''ndiswrapper-1.48.tar.gz'''.
    3. Then I also downloaded the Windows XP drivers for my wireless NIC from '''http://ftp.us.dell.com/network/R151517.EXE'''. 

The NIC is a '''Dell Wireless 1490 802.11 a/g and built-in Bluetooth'''. Running '''lspci -v''' reports that the card is a '''Network controller: Broadcom Corporation BCM4312 802.11a/b/g (rev 01)''', however the driver we need from Dell is for the Dell Wireless 1490. You'll need a Windows machine to extract the files since the download is a Windows executable. Once you extract the files, you'll only need two of them. '''bcmwl5.inf''' and '''bcmwl5.sys'''. Put them in a folder somewhere on your filesystem.

    5. Open a command prompt and locate the ndiswrapper file that you downloaded.
    6. Untar the ndiswrapper source with the following command: '''tar -xvzf ndiswrapper-1.48.tar.gz'''. This will create a folder named '''ndiswrapper-1.48'''.
    7. Change into the '''ndiswrapper-1.48''' folder and compile the source with the following command: '''make'''.
    8. Install ndiswrapper with the following command: '''sudo make install'''. You'll be prompted for your password.
    9. Locate the folder where you copied the two Windows driver files. In my case, I put the files in a folder named '''wireless''' in my home folder. '''/home/andrew/wireless'''.
   10. Use ndiswrapper to install the Dell drivers. '''sudo ndiswrapper -i /home/andrew/wireless/bcmwl5.inf'''.
   11. Once you load the drivers, type the following command '''ndiswrapper -l'''. When I typed in that command, I saw the output below:
{{{
bcmwl5 : driver installed
        device (14E4:4312) present (alternate driver: bcm43xx)
}}}
   12. Next, load the ndiswrapper module with the following commands:
{{{
depmod -a
sudo modprobe ndiswrapper
}}}
Hopefully all goes well. At this point you should see an additional entry for wireless networks in the network control panel. This can be found under '''System''' --> '''Administration''' --> '''Network'''.
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