Linux laptop wifi - was Inspiron 1420n Laptop

[Dennis Kibbe]

Josef Lowder wrote:
> .
> On Sun, 19 Aug 2007 19:10, Dennis Kibbe wrote
>> Intel miniPCI internal wifi cards are well supported under Linux,
>> the most you'll need to do is install the firmware. I've bought a
>> couple of IPW2200 cards off of eBay new for under $25 to replace the 
>> Broadcom wifi card that came with the laptop. Depending on the model 
>> Dell the miniPCI slot is either accessible from bottom or is under 
>> the keyboard.
>>
>> Buy your RAM and HDD upgrades from Newegg and install them yourself 
> 
> I still haven't solved wifi on my HP ZV6100 laptop, so I wonder 
> if I could also replace its Broadcom wifi card with a different 
> card and finally get wifi to work on it?  What do you think? 
> 
> Our daughter has the same problem trying to get Linux wifi to work 
> on an HP 4000m, so we're still looking for solutions for both of 
> our HP laptops.  Mine has an Athlon processor, her's is Intel. 
> 

Joseph,

Thanks for bottom posting. I wish more would do that, it makes it easier
tpo answer and keep the conversation in context.

Most, if not all, laptops that have internal wifi use a standard miniPCI
slot so you should be able to replace the card.

However, I've read that HP has a whitelist of supported cards that is
consulted by the BIOS. If an officially  supported card isn't found the
laptop wou't boot. (Google: HP laptop bios wifi for links).

Hopefully, this form of vendor lockin is no longer being practiced.

Mark Shuttleworth has proposed a project to create a Free Software only
laptop. (http://www.markshuttleworth.com/archives/131)

Dennisk
-- 
Phoenix Linux Users Group
"Penguins in the desert"