Getting Wireless Up on Ubuntu 10.10 DELL VOSTRO 1500

After long long hours of searching and head scratching the following two-step process helped in getting the wireless up and running on Dell Vostro

Step 1: Flash BIOS

Go to the link and flash the bios according to latest.
Simply download the file and install the program and reboot.
This would enable the wlan in Ubuntu.

Step 2: Update Driver
Update the wireless driver using the following command.

$ sudo apt-get update

$ sudo apt-get install bcmwl-kernel-source

This should be done and after a reboot the Wireless should be up and running.

Immense help for this was taken from here and here.

Twofolds Joy of using Ubuntu

Frequent inhibitors to migrating to Ubuntu are what if something goes wrong, where will my windows go, what if I don't get everything working and topmost is I have only one partition what to do now don't wish to risk any partition magicians. A quick fix to all this rests in using Windows-based Ubuntu Installer (Wubi). If something goes wrong you don't lose windows, hard disk space and top of all your patience with Linux-derivatives.

All it takes is the following simple steps

1. Go to the Ubuntu Windows Installer Link
2. Let the 1.4 MB or so file to download and then install click.
3. Then let the application take charge while it asks for minimal information like username and password.
4. Boom after a couple of restarts and long download (700+ MB)you will have a copy of Ubuntu lying alongside windows harmless.
5. If you encounter some hiccups then its best to go to the windows and ask around google and then apply the fixes. This is the fun part that such hiccups no longer are fatal.


Best of luck Happy Hunting Ubuntu