Get wireless working on your Linux Mint laptop

Are you having trouble getting your wireless working on your laptop running a Linux Operating system?  This is happening because your laptop probably has a wireless chipset from Broadcom, which is non-free and proprietary.

The good news is that it's very easy to fix:

•  Go into the Terminal (in your Mint Menu) and type;

lspci -vnn | grep 14e4

• you should see something like:

 09:00.0 Network controller [0280]: Broadcom Corporation BCM4312 802.11b/g LP-PHY [14e4:4315] (rev 01)

• Look at the wireless chip model (in bold) and compare it with the table below.  In my case, BCM312 falls under the Firmware-b43-installer column.  This tells me I need to download Firmware-b43-installer.

•  Just start your Software Manager (you'll see it on your Desktop) and type in you password (the default is 12345).

• In the search field, type b43 and download the appropriate driver.  Hint: the description of each driver also tells you the supported wireless chip.  Hint# 2:  most of the time you will download Firmware-b43-installer.

b43 search results

firmware-b43-installer description

• You will most likely need to reboot your computer.

Firmware-b43-installer	Firmware-b43legacy-installer
BCM4306/3	BCM4301
BCM4311	BCM4306/2
BCM4318	BCM4306
BCM4321
BCM4322 (only 14e4:432b)
BCM4312 (with Low-Power a.k.a. LP-PHY)

There is another useful table here.  If this fails, you can try installing linux-firmware-nonfree.

Your wireless should now be working.

Let's add repositories to Linux Mint for more software

We need to add software repositories to get some software we need for added functionality.  For this, we turn to the Software Sources.  Within the Mint Menu, search for Software Sources and enter the default password: 12345.

You will see several categories, and the ones we need to look are is illustrated below:

Additional Repositories

deb http://dl.google.com/linux/chrome/deb/ stable main - Google Chrome (for watching Netflix)

PPAs

ppa:tualatrix/ppa - Ubuntu Tweak

ppa:webupd8team/y-ppa-manager - Y PPA Manager

ppa:mutse-young/remastersys - Remastersys

ppa:alessandro-strada/ppa – Ocamlfuse (Google Drive)

Alternative method

1. Find Caja root in the Mint menu and enter 12345 in the password field.
2. Split the ...(as superuser) window into two panes by hitting f3
3. In the first pane, follow the path: /home/user/Desktop/Backups - NHU/Repositories to add
4. In the second pane, follow the path: /etc and copy apt from pane 1 to pane 2, effectively replacing the currently installed apt folder
   
   
    
   
   
   We are now able to get the additional software: Google Chrome, Ocamlfuse (to enable the mounting of Google Drive), Remastersys, Ubuntu Tweak, and Y PPA Manager.

Easily repair LibreOffice's corrupted profile

Sometimes, for some reason, after you restore your Linux files your LibreOffice configuration profile gets corrupted.  The steps to fix this are outlined below:

• Within Caja, or your favorite file manager, make sure you're in your user directory.
• Unhide all files and folders by holding down control-H.
• Double-click on the .config folder, as illustrated below.
• Look for the libreoffice folder and delete it.

  

• Open LibreOffice again and reconfigure it then you're done.

How to fix IceTea's permission problem

So, you're trying to test out Java on your new Linux machine just to get errors.  What is happening is that somehow the owner of the icedtea-web folder goes from being User to Root.  Therefore, you're are denied write access because you cannot write outside your Home folder.

The easy fix is as follows:

• Search for Caja root in the Mint menu.
• Within Caja (as superuser), or your favorite file manager, make sure you're in your user directory.

  You must be Superuser to gain write access to Root-owned Directories.

• Unhide all files and folders by holding down control-H.
• Double-click on the .cache folder, as illustrated below.

•  Now right-click on the icedtea-web folder and select Properties.
•  Click on the Permissions tab and make sure it matches the screenshot below.

 

• Now Apply Permissions to Enclosed Files and you're done.

Netflix on Linux is finally getting the "out-of-box" treatment

This is finally possible without a hodgepodge of hacks (WINE, Pipelight, Etc.) and is only getting better.

Necessary Ingredients:

• Additional Chrome repository in Software Sources. Alternatively, you can download the .deb file. 

• Additional repository: deb http://dl.google.com/linux/chrome/deb/ stable main. Make sure you update the software list before you search and install from the Software Manager. 

• .deb package: click on the link for the package: https://www.google.com/chrome/browser/. Keep in mind that Chrome will not get updated with the rest of the software. 

• Updated libnss components (version 3.17 is now on the Ubuntu server). Simply make sure Linux Mint is fully up to date. 

• Custom User Agent via the User-Agent Switcher

• Once installed, right-click on the newly installed button right next to the URL bar, click options, and add the following user agent:

Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 6.3, Win64, x64) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/38.0.2114.2 Safari/537.36

I have tried the above and it works flawlessly; however, keep these points in mind:

• For now, only Chrome will work.
• No other user-agent will work, not even the default.
• With everything moving forward, soon there won't even be a need for custom user-agents.

Update: you no longer need an user agent to view Netflix videos; however, you do still need Google Chrome because only Chrome provides the necessary Encrypted Media Extensions (EME)

Some malware may completely disable Windows Update

We at New Horizons Un-Limited are definitely no strangers at receiving Windows computers from clients that are infected with numerous viruses.  Much of what we see is extremely nasty.

I recently repaired an infected computer that had the registry key information associated with windows updates completely removed.  Now, playing with the registry can be bad if you do not know what you are doing. WARNING!  Unless you know what you are doing, or you are following instructions from someone who does, do *NOT* make changes to your Windows Registry!  You can seriously harm your computer, causing programs not to function properly, or even prevent Windows from starting at all!!  Before making any changes to your Windows Registry it is highly recommended that you create a system restore point!

The first part of this requires a windows vista or windows 7 OS that is uninfected and working properly (including windows updates), a portable USB drive, or other means of transferring files from one computer to another. This procedure requires administrative credentials in order to complete, and you may need to restart your computer once the procedure is complete in order for the changes to take effect.

On your uninfected system:

• Click on start then type "regedit" (without the quotes). When regedit appears in the start menu, click it. If you have UAC enabled, you must give permission, or enter your credentials to continue.
• Find the following key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\wuauserv
• Right click the key itself and choose "Export" (Make sure you are right clicking on the word wuauserv in the left pane)
• Save the export to a USB drive, or other means of transferring files between computers, and name it something like "Windows Updates registry fix" (without the quotes)

On your problem system:

• Insert the removable USB drive or other means of transferring files between computers.
• Find the file you exported to the drive from your uninfected system.
• Double click the file (You may be prompted by UAC if it is enabled. Please provide credentials)
• You will get a warning from Windows about adding registry information. Please click Yes to continue, then click ok.
• Restart your computer for the changes to take effect.

A 0x80070424 error message may also occur when the following services are stopped. To resolve this issue, follow these steps:

Click Start, type services.msc in theSearch box, and then press Enter.

• If you are prompted for an administrator password or for a confirmation, type the password or click Continue.
• Locate Background Intelligent Transfer Service and check the Status.
• If the Status is Stopped, right-click Background Intelligent Transfer Services, and then click Start in the menu.
• Locate Windows Update and check the Status.
• If the Status is Stopped, right-click Windows Update, and then click Start in the menu.
• Locate Workstation and check the Status.
• If the Status is Stopped, right-click Workstation, and then click Start in the menu.
• Close Services.

CDs read, but not DVDs

I was repairing a computer that had a DVD rom player but would not read DVDs, only CDs.  So I put in a video DVD and got a message that it couldn't find the proper extension, but according to Add/remove Programs, they were indeed installed.  I then suggested that DVDs may be incompatible with Gateway E-6100s running Windows XP, which to be perfectly honest made no sense to me, but I was reaching to come to a conclusion.  I came up with this after cleaning the DVD player's lens with a cleaning disc.

The fact is if Windows Explorer is able to display the contents of a data CD but not a data DVD, then the optical pickup is probably faulty. The pickup has two lasers, one for reading CDs, and the other for DVDs. Their wavelengths are different.  OK, this part I know, but why did this happen to me after connecting several DVD drives?  This part is still a mystery.

Power adapters cross reference

The model Dell PA-1900-02D laptop adapter also fits in:

Dell Inspiron 1150	Dell Inspiron 8500	Dell Latitude D531
Dell Inspiron 1420	Dell Inspiron 8600	Dell Latitude D600
Dell Inspiron 1501	Dell Inspiron 9200	Dell Latitude D610
Dell Inspiron 1520	Dell Inspiron 9300	Dell Latitude D620
Dell Inspiron 1521	Dell Inspiron 9400	Dell Latitude D630
Dell Inspiron 1525	Dell Inspiron E1405	Dell Latitude D630c
Dell Inspiron 1545	Dell Inspiron E1505	Dell Latitude D631
Dell Inspiron 1720	Dell Inspiron E1705	Dell Latitude D800
Dell Inspiron 300M	Dell Latitude 100L	Dell Latitude D810
Dell Inspiron 500M	Dell Latitude D400	Dell Latitude D820
Dell Inspiron 6000	Dell Latitude D410	Dell Latitude D830
Dell Inspiron 600M	Dell Latitude D420	Dell Latitude X300
Dell Inspiron 630M	Dell Latitude D500	Dell Vostro 1000
Dell Inspiron 6400	Dell Latitude D505	Dell Vostro 1400
Dell Inspiron 640M	Dell Latitude D510	Dell Vostro 1500
Dell Inspiron 700M	Dell Latitude D520	Dell XPS M1210
Dell Inspiron 710M	Dell Latitude D530	Dell XPS M140

This Dell PA-1900-02D laptop adapter replaces the adapters:

Dell 09T215	Dell 7W104	Dell PA-1900-02D2
Dell 310-2862	Dell 9T215	Dell PA-1900-04
Dell 310-399	Dell C2894	Dell U7809
Dell 320-1389	Dell C440H	Dell UC473
Dell 330-2140	Dell NADP-90KB	Dell Y807G
Dell 330-2965	Dell PA-10
Dell 5U092	Dell PA-1900-02D

The model Li Shin LSE0110A20120 laptop adapter also fits in:

Aspire 1200	Pavilion N3000	TravelMate 220
OmniBook 4100	Satellite A100	TravelMate 223X

This Li Shin LSE0110A20120 laptop adapter replaces the adapters:

Liteon EA-RD1V	Liteon CE-RD1V	Liteon FSP 9NA1200104
Liteon LSE0110A20120	Liteon FSP120-1ADE21

The model Compaq PPP012L laptop adapter also fits in:

	Acer Aspire 5650	Acer TravelMate 4050
Acer Aspire 1200	Acer Aspire 5680	Acer TravelMate 4051
Acer Aspire 1300	Acer Aspire 5920	Acer TravelMate 4060
Acer Aspire 1410	Acer Aspire 5920G	Acer TravelMate 4100
Acer Aspire 1414WLCI	Acer Aspire 9100	Acer TravelMate 4150
Acer Aspire 1450	Acer Aspire 9500	Acer TravelMate 4230
Acer Aspire 1640	Acer Aspire One 751	Acer TravelMate 4260
Acer Aspire 1640Z	Acer Aspire One 751h	Acer TravelMate 4280
Acer Aspire 1642WLMI	Acer Ferrari 1100	Acer TravelMate 4400
Acer Aspire 1650	Acer Ferrari 3000	Acer TravelMate 4500
Acer Aspire 1680	Acer Ferrari 3200	Acer TravelMate 4600
Acer Aspire 1690	Acer Ferrari 3400	Acer TravelMate 4650
Acer Aspire 2920	Acer TravelMate 220	Acer TravelMate 520
Acer Aspire 3020	Acer TravelMate 225X	Acer TravelMate 521
Acer Aspire 3030	Acer TravelMate 230	Acer TravelMate 525
Acer Aspire 3050	Acer TravelMate 2300	Acer TravelMate 527
Acer Aspire 3200	Acer TravelMate 2301	Acer TravelMate 5310
Acer Aspire 3500	Acer TravelMate 2302	Acer TravelMate 5320
Acer Aspire 3600	Acer TravelMate 2303	Acer TravelMate 550
Acer Aspire 3610	Acer TravelMate 2310	Acer TravelMate 5520
Acer Aspire 3620	Acer TravelMate 2350	Acer TravelMate 5710
Acer Aspire 3640	Acer TravelMate 2353	Acer TravelMate 5720
Acer Aspire 3670	Acer TravelMate 2400	Acer TravelMate 6000
Acer Aspire 3680	Acer TravelMate 2410	Acer TravelMate 620
Acer Aspire 4310	Acer TravelMate 2420	Acer TravelMate 6231
Acer Aspire 4520	Acer TravelMate 260	Acer TravelMate 6292
Acer Aspire 4710	Acer TravelMate 270	Acer TravelMate 630
Acer Aspire 4720	Acer TravelMate 280	Acer TravelMate 6410
Acer Aspire 4920	Acer TravelMate 290	Acer TravelMate 6460
Acer Aspire 4920G	Acer TravelMate 290E	Acer TravelMate 650
Acer Aspire 5000	Acer TravelMate 3200	Acer TravelMate 6592
Acer Aspire 5020	Acer TravelMate 321	Acer TravelMate 660
Acer Aspire 5030	Acer TravelMate 3220	Acer TravelMate 7320
Acer Aspire 5050	Acer TravelMate 3240	Acer TravelMate 7520
Acer Aspire 5100	Acer TravelMate 328	Acer TravelMate 7720
Acer Aspire 5315	Acer TravelMate 330	Acer TravelMate 800
Acer Aspire 5500	Acer TravelMate 330	Acer TravelMate 8000
Acer Aspire 5510	Acer TravelMate 3300	Acer TravelMate C100
Acer Aspire 5520	Acer TravelMate 340	Acer TravelMate C110
Acer Aspire 5535	Acer TravelMate 340T	Acer TravelMate C200
Acer Aspire 5536	Acer TravelMate 342T	Acer TravelMate C210
Acer Aspire 5536G	Acer TravelMate 370	Acer TravelMate C300
Acer Aspire 5550	Acer TravelMate 380	Acer TravelMate C300XCi
Acer Aspire 5560	Acer TravelMate 4000	Acer TravelMate C310
Acer Aspire 5570	Acer TravelMate 4001	Compaq Presario 300
Acer Aspire 5570Z	Acer TravelMate 4001LMI	Compaq Presario 305
Acer Aspire 5580	Acer TravelMate 4002
Acer Aspire 5590	Acer TravelMate 4010
Acer Aspire 5600	Acer TravelMate 4020

This Compaq PPP012L Laptop adapter replaces the adapters:

Acer K386S	HP/Compaq 287515-001	HP/Compaq ACCOM-C16
Acer M201T	HP/Compaq 310744-002	HP/Compaq F4600A
Acer V386SL	HP/Compaq 310925-001	HP/Compaq F4813A
Acer V386SL-25	HP/Compaq 324816-001	HP/Compaq F5104A
Acer V486S	HP/Compaq 324816-002	HP/Compaq OL091B13
HP/Compaq 239705-001	HP/Compaq 324816-003	HP/Compaq PPP012L-PA
HP/Compaq 283884-001	HP/Compaq 325112-001
HP/Compaq 286755-001	HP/Compaq 325112-021

The ViewSonic UP06031120A adapter also fits in: ViewSonic VG181 monitor

The Netgear t012lf1209 adapter also fits in: Netgear router we might have

This Dell 6G356 laptop adapter also fits in:

Dell Inspiron 1100	Dell Latitude C510	Dell Latitude CPIR
Dell Inspiron 2600	Dell Latitude C540	Dell Latitude CPT
Dell Inspiron 2650	Dell Latitude C610	Dell Latitude CPtC
Dell Inspiron 4150	Dell Latitude C640	Dell Latitude CPtS
Dell Inspiron 5100	Dell Latitude CPI	Dell Latitude CPX
Dell Inspiron 8200	Dell Latitude CPIA	Dell Latitude CPxH
Dell Latitude C	Dell Latitude CPiA366ST	Dell Latitude CPxJ
Dell Latitude C400	Dell Latitude CPiA366XT	Dell Precision M50

This model Dell 6G356 laptop adapter replaces:

Dell 6G356	Dell ADP-90FB REV.B	Dell 310-1093
Dell PA-9	Dell 3K360

This Dell AA20031[6] Adapters Laptop Adapter Also Fits in:

Dell Inspiron 2500	Dell Inspiron 8100	Dell Latitude CPIR
Dell Inspiron 2600	Dell Latitude C400	Dell Latitude CPT
Dell Inspiron 2650	Dell Latitude C510	Dell Latitude CPt S500GT
Dell Inspiron 3700	Dell Latitude C610	Dell Latitude CPtC
Dell Inspiron 3800	Dell Latitude CP	Dell Latitude CPtS
Dell Inspiron 4000	Dell Latitude CPI	Dell Latitude CPX
Dell Inspiron 5000	Dell Latitude CPIA	Dell Latitude CPxH
Dell Inspiron 5000E	Dell Latitude CPiA366ST	Dell Latitude CPxJ
Dell Inspiron 8000	Dell Latitude CPiA366XT

This model Dell AA20031 laptop adapter replaces:

Acer 25.10037.031	Dell 7E10981407	Dell ADP-70EB
Dell 310-3432	Dell 85391	Dell PA-2PA-6PA-8
Dell 310-4615	Dell 85391936	Dell PA-6
Dell 4983D	Dell 9364U	Dell ZVC70NS18.5P28
Dell 4UAA20031	Dell AA20031