Your webbook comes with a wireless card built in, it does 802.11b and 802.11g. I don’t think it does 802.11n but I am prepared to be proved wrong on that one.
The wireless radio circuit can be turned on and off by pressing Fn+F1. By default it is switched off. There is a bit of an issue on the early models, the wifi light on the front of the webbook does not get turned on when the wireless is activated, making it a bit tricky to tell whether wireless is on or off. Don’t worry, there is a fix for this.
press alt+F2 to get the run program dialog and type in
gksudo gedit /etc/modprobe.d/options
gksudo means “I want to be superuser when I do this”
gedit is the name of the text editor (lke notepad.exe but lots better)
/etc/modprobe.d/options is a file where we can pass options to hardware drivers as they are loaded.
Because you asked to edit the file in the text editor as the superuser you will have to put your password in first.
Add a line at the end and type the following
options ipw2200 led=1
this tells the wireless driver that it is also responsible for turning on and off the LED on the front of the webbook. Normally this should flicker every few seconds when active, it will be on constantly when associated with a hotspot.
Later models will have this set by default, unfortunately the first batch escaped without it.
When you have wireless turned on you can click the little computer symbol at the top right of the screen to see a list of hotspots within range. Click on one to join it, you may need to enter a WEP or WPA key.
Tags: fix, Networking, wireless
Hi Alan, dagesh from Peet’s Mustardland here (the Archers site).
Such a nice surprise to see you there!
I love my new webbook! it’s a great little machine.
I’m having trouble getting video files to play in the bundled media player.
I found a web page http://sernaonubuntu.wikidot.com/setting-up-audo-video-codecs
and followed the instructions there, but the avi and mpg files still don’t play video
(the audio plays fine).
i’m totally new to Linux, I got the Webbook with Ubuntu as a way into it having heard so much about it.
That’s why I’m asking about codecs here! I hope that’s OK.
Kind regards and thanks
Richard (dagesh)
I got the wireless light working BTW, thanks for that fix.
Hi dagesh/Richard. I think I need to do another post in the Errata category! Your codecs are fine, otherwise you would not get the audio playing. The problem is something called the X Video overlay which is a way of getting the graphics card to do more of the work of playing the video than the CPU. There is a fairly simple fix, I just need to take some screenshots and write up another article.
I understand those instructions. But if I get my mom one of these laptops will she be able to follow? Or will I have to be her call center?
Ubuntu is quite mom-friendly in general
Why not get her a webbook and see how she gets on with it. Maybe after she has had a play with it for a few weeks she could write about her experiences with it, I need a few “guest bloggers”! Same offer goes for anyone else, write about cool stuff you have done with your webbook and I will publish it here.
Managed to trash my Ubuntu install on my webook… reinstalled from Live CD but cant get the display to work properly.. when I try to change the res it locks up.. any ideas.. have checked the chrome is installed and it all looks okay.. but someone mentioned somehwere that this was one of the things customised to get ubuntu onto the webbook ?
Many Thanks
Craig
oops! OK Craig, don’t worrry. I will send you a script to run which will get you on your way. Basically this adds a couple of lines to your sources.list and gets some packages that reconfigure ubuntu for the webbook with a different xorg.conf and a few other bits and bobs. It isn’t quite the official webbook rebuild technique so I won’t publish it here, but will mail it to people who need it and sound like they know what they are doing!
Alan, many thanks, sorted now…
Have started building a useful resources page for the Webbook, wont repeat what you have done but might be useful for others.. bit basic at the mo but will add to it as I go along http://www.thejumps.mine.nu/webbook/
hi, i’ve got the same wifi issues but the fixes don’t seem to be working. i added the line for the led switch on but i fear it may be another issue. before i discovered this forum i tried installing ndiswrapper and wifitools without success mainly because i didn’t now how to log in as root and the install instructions only explained how to install if you logged in as root which i’ve read you’re not allowed to do?! the fn f1 command doesn’t seem to be working but this maybe because i’m not near a hotspot but surely the led would light up even if i wasn’t. network manager and a program called wifi radar don’t seem to be much help either.
i also have a problem playing video. on the web it works fine but avi files in the xvid codec only play audio when i save them to my computer and run them in mplayer, vlc or the movie which came installed.
i have an elonex webbook of course, running ubuntu on the orange “free” contract. any help will be greatly received.
gareth mcintyre
Hi Gareth,
when the wireless is on, but not associated the light is mostly off, it just flickers very very briefly every couple of seconds. It only goes on solid when you are logged on to a hotspot. As for the video I think the problem is that you need to turn off the XV extension.
In Ubuntu you tend to try not to be root for very long and use the sudo command to be root for just one operation (Super User During Operation). If you want to be root for a bit longer you can do “sudo su” or if you really really want to be able to log in as root then you can do sudo passwd root and give the root user a password. This also secures the recovery mode console which is a good thing, as long as you don’t forget the root password.
Headphone jack. I’ve just noticed, that plugging some earphones into the front socket does not disable the Webbook speakers?
I tried fiddling with the mixer sliders, but everything just alters both the headphone and speakers at the same time.
Is this a known problem? Bit of a shame if you want to watch video on the train.
Jon
Yes that is a known problem. It is solvable and I am working on an article about it and we are going to try to push out a fix.
thanks alan,
the wifi is now operational and i am really excited about this. however i still have an issue with video. i tried this fix i.e. switching off xv extension but still no joy. could it be i need a divx codec? mplayer and vlc claim to have these codecs already. someone mentioned totem player. maybe that would be better. web video works fine. i didn’t know you could run the iplayer on this thing too. i also read somewhere in the blog that you can upgrade the ram but i can’t find that part. is it pc 5200 sdram or something?
cheers,
gareth
what video exactly are you trying to play? You can upgrade the ram, it is a SODIMM in the slot below the trackpad. When you install the new one try the memtest86 option from the Grub menu to check it. Let a few tests run and just switch off when you get bored.
i got video working on mplayer now. woohoo. thanks.
gareth
hello alan,
ok i found some sodimm on amazon http://www.amazon.co.uk/Corsair-VS2GSDS667D2-667MHz-SODIMM-Laptop/dp/B000Q76LBY and i just wanna check with you if it’s right kind. i’m trying to be super careful here and not buy the wrong thing which i have done in the past with my desktop pc. a little bit of know how can help me circumvent the trial and error approach.
thanks again,
gareth
what was the trick to get the video working? The RAM fitted to the webbook is a SODIMM PC2-4200 module, with DDR2. The module you are looking at will fit (the notch on the DDR2 ones is different to the DDR ones) and as it is PC2-5300 it is slightly faster than the factory RAM module. Speed is supposed to be downwards compatible, whether the webbook takes advantage of the faster RAM I don’t know. I am quite tempted by this one which runs at 800Mhz. No idea if it will work, but there is one way to find out. In the Grub menu there is a memtest86 option which should test and benchmark the ram quite nicely.
i’m not entirely convinced there was a trick to the video. i did the fix you’d provided – which i thought didn’t work but i hadn’t tested the avi file in the basic movie player that comes with the webbook since applying it. i was too busy trying out the mplayer and vlc which still can’t seem to play it. i have a new challenge though. i’m trying to “mount” an external hard drive. any clues? the programming manual which popped up in the terminal was rather complicated looking, so i need a plain english step by step guide. i must say that i find this process of learning how to use linux very satisfying, especially after significant breakthroughs like wifi and video playback which i foolishly assumed to be basic, straight-out-of-the-box features.
gareth
I’ve just put a 1 gig stick into my Webbook. from http://www.crucial.com/uk. Cost 15ukp delivered.
(CT12864AC667)
1GB 200PIN DDR2 SODIMM 128MX64 PC2-5300
Jon
Hi Gareth!
I’m experiencing similar issues with my wifi.. no connection, just the blinking light. The network manager doesn’t see any wireless networks.
How did you resolve this? any hints? Please?!?!
Pookie
@Gareth, an external USB drive if formatted should just appear as a link on the desktop or in the file manager. It should auto-mount, however it should not auto-open the file manager. Ubuntu does normally auto-open but we turned this off because some of the mobile broadband dongles have an irritating pseudo CDRom on them which contains Windows drivers. We didn’t like this opening up all the time. What type of drive is it?
hi not been checking this blog too often since i resolved the wifi and video issues. it’s a phillips branded external drive with a hitatchi drive inside. to the person struggling with wifi i think i’ll need some time to retrace my steps but alan can help you out. alan i finaly got my ram upgrade and did the test. it’s a 2gb card pc6400 but although i don’t really understand the test screen it looks like it’s only recognising 1gb of ram. maybe you could help me out with what to look for and i can fill you in on how this particular card performs on the webbook.
thanks,
gareth
@Garath, yes it will only recognise 1GB ram. The chipset technically can deal with 2GB total with 2 1GB chips in 2 slots. The webbook only has one ram slot so we are limited to 1GB ram. I am fairly sure that we can’t do anything about that in terms of a BIOS update or anything like that. It is also limited by the frontside bus speed so your PC-6400 ram is only going at the speed of PC-4200. Not quite as exciting as we had hoped, but at least we understand it now.
HELP!!
I’m afraid you may have to speak to me like a 4 yr old child because I’m afraid I have NO idea what root or sudo or bios etc are! I’m trying to get on the internet using my home wifi connection…is this possible? I’ve managed to try your “gksudo……” thing (and was hoping it would work as well as black magic, after all that’s what it sounds like!) but to no avail.. How do you “add a line”?
Someone at work mentioned that it seems I don’t have full authority and that there is an “administrator” password…but I never chose one? My user password doesn’t seem to work when it asks for an administrator password…might this be why I can’t get online? Is there a fix?
My WiFi LED is working perfectly…in fact I never had to turn it on. It’s definitely picking up the WiFi signal but when I click on “Manual Network configuration” I can put in the WEP/WPA thingamejig and press “OK” but it doesn’t do a thing.
It’s a webbook…but I can’t use the web! I sound so pathetic…
@Amy
hey, it is OK! Everyone starts somewhere and there are no silly questions, just silly answers. Now if the webbook is picking up a WiFi signal then when you click on the icon of the two computers at the top right of the screen you should see a list of the WiFi hotspot names it can see. If you don’t see anything there then it sounds to me like you need to press FN+F1 to turn on the wireless radio.
On Linux the administrator account is called ‘root’
On Ubuntu there isn’t a separate administrator/root password, the first user has priviledges to do superuser things, by using the sudo command (or gksudo which is the same thing as sudo but it asks for the password in a popup window)
Adding a line just means pressing return at the end of the text file.
Another cry for HELP from a novice!
I got my webbook yesterday, and i cannot get it to work with internet.
We have broadband wireless networking here. so i was thinking my webbook would just see it and connect up. but when i goto the monitors bit it just says about wired connections. so when i found your page, i got excited to see my problem was just doing the fn f1 thing….. but no, still no joy! please help! i have tried the gksudo thing as well…….. no good!
I have also tried the kids dongle thingy i knicked out of their pcs that connect to our wireless network. oh and it works if i plug it straight into our router via the yellow leady thing! (hope this isnt too technical for you!!!!!!!)
any tips? its probably something really simple but i cant work it out.
thank you!
Hi again,
no idea how i did it but i spent a while messing with my webbiebook and am now online!
thanks anyway, i will be checking your site out regular
jackie
Hi
I got my webbook yesterday and had no joy with the wifi. I called t-mobile – no joy. I called carphone warehouse – no joy. I then visited my carphone warehouse and t-mobile high street stores today – no joy. The O/S help instructions didn’t match the drop-down menu – absolutely no joy!! I went into the linux code using help and figured out that the wireless wasn’t turned on. Carphone warehouse started giving me a song and dance and I started to get extremely cross. I said that I took the deal specifically because I had unlimited hotspot usage and that this webbook is supposed to be usable…I said I’d investigate later this afternoon and found your page – JOY!
However it seems remiss that no where does it mention this problem and that the help instructions do no match the drop down menu in the O/S. I’m a very technically literate person without being an IT geek and I found this impossible. How are regular users supposed to cope?
Thanks for your blog and help. You’re my fourth bookmark!!
Marie
Hi Marie,
yes, this is a problem that flummoxed many people. The documentation wasn’t really as good as it should be and I was very surprised that they came out of the factory off by default. I think they have changed that now. The icon on the F1 key is one of those things that is obvious when you know it, but not before.
have fun with your webbook!
Hi,
I got my new webbook (Ubuntu, contract with T mobile) a few day ago and so far i have had no luck at getting connected to the web. I have tried all the tips from this webpage but it is still not connecting. The wireless light is on and I have managed to enable the network setting to wireless. It is as if it is not detecting the USB modem but it is hard to tell as the ‘Few’ instructions that came with it do not match what is on my screen. I have a small icon in the shape of a computer called mobile broadband and when i click on it it looks like it is connecting but never does also at the side of the bars it says ‘unknown registering UMTS’. Any Ideas???
Thanks
Angela
@angela,
two things going on here, Wireless networking or WiFi hotspots is short range networking (20 meters or so from your base station). This blog article and the wireless light on the front of the webbook are about that short range wireless. The USB mobile broadband dongle is completely different. That connects to the mobile phone network and not to your wireless hotspot. If the mobile broadband client is stuck at “Registering” and never gets to “Registered” then that sounds like it might be a problem with the SIM card not being activated, or a problem with the profile. I am doing a few articles in the next couple of days on troubleshooting mobile broadband connections and I will make sure you get online. Do you have a regular wired network at home you can plug in to?
I have a free webbook from CPW when I changed my phone contract last week. I do not have mobile broadband so I am trying to connect wirelessly to home broadband (still struggling with that!) I have managed to connect to the internet via wire (you may have heard the cheering this afternoon?)
Anyway my questions are: Do I need a firewall? (or have I got one???) What about antivirus? Do I need to do anything to the settings in Firefox for better security? As an XP / IE PC user I know I need lots of security but I haven’t a clue about what I need for Linux. Thanks
BTW – What a great site!
@Gakusei
Hi, welcome to the wonderful world of Linux. You don’t need a firewall, all the ports on the webbook are closed by default. You don’t need anti-virus either. Firefox on the webbook is fully updated and you can keep it updated with the automatic updates.
Hi Alan
Just to let you know I’m also new to Linux but I’ve spent the last couple of days rooting around.
I was having a lot of problems connecting to my wireless network, either the system would forget my passkey or I’d be forever “waiting for a Network Key”. After a bit of searching I discovered an article about Wicd http://wicd.sourceforge.net. After installation my problems seem to have gone away. I hope this helps.
Good afternoon all, how is everyone? good i trust?
Anyway, onto bigger things, problems mostly, annoyances the rest…
I have a webbook, which i’m dying to use more often, however i can’t…..
The reason, mostly, is the issues i have with the wireless connectivity. namely, it doesn’t want to.
I am currently sat in a Wetherspoons (other pub chains are available for those who think i’m advertising!) establishment, abusing their free wifi access, the problem is, i’m having to use my eeepc to access it. My webbook doesn’t even want to know it’s there. while this informs me i have 100% signal, the webbook shows approximately 40 – 45% on the signal bar thingie! and then, it doesn’t connect to it, just constantly tries to. it’s most odd! I know the wireless works, having connected in work (at 75p for 10 mins sadly, hence why i don’t do it more often!) but not being able to use it here, or other locations, puts a crimp in it’s use…
So i’m putting out a call for help, assistance, help, or at least someone to sit in the pub with….
Thanks in advance!
Oh, and apologies for spelling mistakes, teeeeeeny tiny keyboard of the eeepc…
Evanski
@Evanski, a problem that requires me to sit in a pub! I like that kind of problem. I have had problems connecting to wireless hotspots with low signal strength, I thought that was just a wireless thing though, nothing specific to the webbook.
Hi Alan,
I couldn’t believe my luck when I found your blog! I’ve been trying to come to grips with my new webbook most of the afternoon now, as I’ve never used Ubuntu before, but I don’t appear to be having much luck when it comes to connecting to the internet.
I figured that the wifi was switched off initially when no wireless networks were displayed, so no biggie. Wifi now switched on, I can see a nice big list of networks nearby including my home wifi. So I chose my home wifi, entered my network key, clicked on firefox…and nothing happened. The firefox application starts up fine, but just doesn’t connect to the internet. Interestingly, the wifi led seems to be flashing intermittently instead of staying as a solid light.
Admittedly, I am completely bewildered at this point. Please save me from my webbook!
@Sheona
that sounds like it has not actually connected to the access point. Did the icon in the tray turn to a signal strength meter?
re:Alan
Yes, it did change to the signal strength meter. After some more faffing around, I eventually decided to switch the thing off and go shopping. Arriving home this evening refreshed I decided to try again. Lo and behold, it worked! I have no idea what was going wrong before, but it looks like both my webbook and myself just needed a timeout and a fresh go of things. So here I am, online with my dinky little webbook and delighted.
Thank you for responding so quickly, though. This site is exactly the kind of user manual that should have come in the box – it’s brilliant. I’ll be sure to pass the address of your blog onto any other webbook users I happen to come across!
Thanks again
Hi Alan, Having managed to connect to the internet with the wire (see firewall qustion above) I have been trying to connect wirelessly over the last few days. I have put the webbook next to the wireless router and the network name is visible in the drop down under the icon of the 2 computers. I can select it and a dialog box appears saying ‘wireless network key require’. I type in the passcode, the computer icon changes to a blue shape wizzing around between 2 dots … and then the dialog box appears, so I type in the password etc, etc. I am using a Dynamode BR-6004 W-G1 (802.11g), I have set it to WEP, and I have disabled the MAC filtering security option and still no joy. I feel a bit like the blue shape wizzing around and not getting anywhere! Is there anything else I can try?
@Gakusei,
Try turning off security altogether on the router temporarily to test whether it is simply the security not working. This is just to isolate the problem.
If you are using a passphrase try using a wep to hex converter like this one http://www.corecoding.com/utilities/wep2hex.php to put in your passphrase and get the hex equivalent and try connecting with that.
I’m back in the pub…… god bless the webbook which now works!
After getting more and more anoyed with this little beasty, i may have sat it somewhere not quite flat, which resulted in a 10″ or so fall onto a carpet. but after this unplanned trip, the wireless works fantastically. (in 3 different locations no less!)
I’m presuming loose connection possibly, or the knock moved the wifi aerial. either way, it works, and i’m content!
now, where did my drink go…
Evanski
Wow Evanski, go down the pub and drop the webbook on the floor to make it work, now that sounds like my kind of solution!!
although for my difficulty I think I will try Alan’s suggestion first, just in case …
Hi Alan
My Network Manager applet shows only Manual Configuration though I have seen a list of available wireless networks previously. (Though I can’t connect to my Linksys WRT54GS Router.
My question is can I do a reset to take my WebBook back to its factory settings?
regards
Tony Prodger
Has anyone tried Backtrack 3 with the webbook – does it work and does the card support injection?
Thanks – Shaun
Hi alan,
Just wanted to say thanks for your advice. I took the webbook back to Car Phone Warehouse and after several days and many calls they finally exchanged the webbook stating that it was faulty. I have been able to use the new webbook no problem.
Thanks
Angela
Hi Alan,
I was wondering if you could help me, i’m having a problem with my webbook wifi.
I’ve tried all the tutorials for “fixes” to no avail.
Basically the problem is that i can connect to my router via ethernet, no wifi secruity, mac only connection, and wep with full internet connection.
now the problem is, i can connect to my router via wpa2 + aes+ccmp (wpa doesn’t work), and my router gives it a ip address and everything else in connection info. i can’t use firefox so i was wondering if you know of a real fix. As for my Linux skills over the pass few days i have picked up some tricks and understand abit, so please be as details as possible.
thanks – Jack
Hi
I bought my webbook just yesterday and I cant connect to my wireless network.I followed the instructions press alt+F2 but strange as it is nothin’ happens when I do that! what am I supposed to do?
gül
@gül well it is Fn+F1 to turn on the wireless, not alt+F2. Alt+F2 is the shortcut to bring up the run program dialog.
@jack
when you say you can’t use firefox, what happens? Can you use firefox to see the web console of your router? can you go to a terminal window and type in
tracepath webbookblog.comand let me know what it says?