Translations by Joel Goguen

Click <guibutton>OK</guibutton>.

This troubleshooting guide is designed to be carried out in order.

Check for device recognition

Open a <application>Terminal</application> (<menuchoice><guimenu>Applications</guimenu><guimenuitem>Accessories</guimenuitem><guimenuitem>Terminal</guimenuitem></menuchoice>) and type the command: <code>sudo lshw -C network</code>

Check for a connection to the router

Open a <application>Terminal</application> (<menuchoice><guimenu>Applications</guimenu><guimenuitem>Accessories</guimenuitem><guimenuitem>Terminal</guimenuitem></menuchoice>) and type the command: <code>iwconfig</code>.

If there is an entry that says <code>ESSID=""</code> then see <xref linkend="security-wpa"/>.

If the ESSID for our router is shown there may be a problem with ACPI support. Boot the kernel with the <code>pci=noacpi</code> option.

Check IP assignment

Open a <application>Terminal</application> (<menuchoice><guimenu>Applications</guimenu><guimenuitem>Accessories</guimenuitem><guimenuitem>Terminal</guimenuitem></menuchoice>) and type the command: <code>ifconfig</code>.

If there is an IP address shown see <xref linkend="troubleshooting-dns"/>.

From the <application>Terminal</application> enter the command: <code>sudo dhclient if_name</code> where if_name is the connection listed earlier.

If you receive a message that says <code>bound to xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx</code> then see <xref linkend="troubleshooting-dns"/>

If not then reboot the system.

Check DNS

Now type the command: <code>ping www.ubuntu.com</code>. If you get a response from the both then see <xref linkend="troubleshooting-ipv6"/>.

Type the command: <code>cat /etc/resolv.conf</code>. If there is no nameserver listed then contact your ISP and find out your primary and secondary domain name servers. Once you have this information see <xref linkend="wireless-connecting"/>.

IPv6 Not Supported

IPv6 is supported by default in Ubuntu and can sometimes cause problems.

To disable it, open a <application>Terminal</application> (<menuchoice><guimenu>Applications</guimenu><guimenuitem>Accessories</guimenuitem><guimenuitem>Terminal</guimenuitem></menuchoice>) and type the command: <code>gksudo gedit /etc/modprobe.d/aliases</code>.

Find the line <code>alias net-pf-10 ipv6</code> and change it to read <code>alias net-pf-10 off</code>.

Reboot Ubuntu.

Using Windows Wireless Drivers

Ubuntu supports a system known as NDISWrapper. This allows you to use a Windows wireless device driver under Ubuntu.

Obtain the Windows Driver for your system and locate the file that ends with <code>.inf</code>.

Install <application>ndisgtk</application> (<menuchoice><guimenu>System</guimenu><guimenuitem>Administration</guimenuitem><guimenuitem>Synaptic Package Manager</guimenuitem></menuchoice>).

Open <application>ndisgtk</application> (<menuchoice><guimenu>System</guimenu><guimenuitem>Administration</guimenuitem><guimenuitem>Windows Wireless Drivers</guimenuitem></menuchoice>).

Select <guilabel>Install new driver</guilabel>.

Choose the location of your Windows .inf file and click <guibutton>Install</guibutton>.

Wireless network security

Configuring WPA support.

If you need to manually configure WPA support, see the <ulink url="https://help.ubuntu.com/community/WifiDocs/WPAHowTo?highlight=%28wpa%29">Wiki Entry</ulink>.

Internet Applications

This section provides information on using common Internet applications, such as web browsers and email clients.

Web browsing with Firefox

The powerful and secure <application>Mozilla Firefox</application> web browser is included in Ubuntu. <application>Firefox</application> features tabbed browsing, pop-up blocking, built-in search, and live bookmarks. Also supported are popular plug-ins such as Java, Flash, and RealPlayer.

<application>Firefox</application> can be launched by clicking <menuchoice><guimenu>Applications</guimenu><guisubmenu>Internet</guisubmenu><guimenuitem>Firefox Web Browser</guimenuitem></menuchoice>.

Alternative web browsers

As well as the default <application>Firefox Web Browser</application>, Ubuntu also provides a large selection of alternative browsers. A list of some of these is given below:

Epiphany Web Browser

Konqueror

Mozilla Web Browser

Opera

See <ulink type="help" url="ghelp:add-applications">Add Applications</ulink> for help on installing new software.

Get plugins for your web browser

To view a list of currently-installed plugins in the <application>Firefox Web Browser</application>, type <quote>about:plugins</quote> into the address bar and press <keycap>Return</keycap>.

Quickly install common plugins

It is possible to install a whole set of commonly-used restricted plugins at once, by installing the <application>Ubuntu restricted extras</application> package.

<emphasis>Restricted plugins</emphasis> are those which cannot be distributed with Ubuntu because of legal issues surrounding their use in some countries. Check that you are allowed to use this software before installing it. See the <ulink url="http://www.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/licensing">Ubuntu website</ulink> for more information on restricted software.

Install the <application>Ubuntu restricted extras</application> package from the <quote>Multiverse</quote> repository (see <ulink type="help" url="ghelp:add-applications">Add Applications</ulink>).