Member Avatar for Dr Windows (XP)

Hello all!
I've been using Linux Ubuntu for 2 days now. Only today I actually realized that I don't have any drivers for any of my Cards build on my Laptop, I've searched in Google but still can't find it. Any help will be well appreciated.
P.S.: No sounds, No Wireless, Video Card not responding, etc.
I'm using a Toshiba Satellite Pro L40 if that can help and look like my sound card is an Intel (Sorry about the infoless).

  • 4 Contributors
  • 7 Replies
  • 218 Views
  • 6 Months Discussion Span
  • Latest Post Latest Post by carlyse_09

Dani AI

Generated

A practical way forward for , building on the earlier replies from and : collect exact hardware IDs, check what drivers the distro can offer, and only then decide whether a proprietary module, a firmware package, or different kernel/tools are needed.

Start by collecting the machine and device identifiers and the running kernel. Paste these (use a paste service) when asking for help so people don’t have to guess:

lsb_release -a
uname -r
lspci -nnk | egrep -i 'vga|network|audio' -A3
lsusb
aplay -l
sudo lshw -C network -C multimedia -short
rfkill list all
dmesg | tail -n 200

These outputs are the minimum needed to identify which driver or firmware is required. (askubuntu.com)

Check the distro’s driver tooling next (GUI: Software & Updates -> Additional Drivers). From a terminal use sudo ubuntu-drivers devices to see recommended packages and sudo ubuntu-drivers autoinstall (or install specific packages). If a driver needs building, the matching linux-headers for uname -r must be installed first. This is the recommended, safe route for graphics/Wi‑Fi/NVIDIA/AMD binaries. (linuxcommandlibrary.com)

For sound: confirm the card is detected (aplay -l, cat /proc/asound/cards), open alsamixer to check mutes/volumes, and try loading the module (example sudo modprobe snd-hda-intel). The Ubuntu ALSA/PulseAudio troubleshooting wiki has step-by-step recovery and reinstall commands if configuration is broken. (help.ubuntu.com)

Wireless and video are chipset-specific. Broadcom chips often need the bcmwl-kernel-source (or the b43 firmware) while Intel, Atheros or Realtek usually work with kernel modules; identify the exact PCI ID from lspci before choosing a driver. For video, Intel is usually supported by the distro stack; NVIDIA/AMD often require the proprietary packages shown in Additional Drivers. If unsure, boot a recent Ubuntu Live USB (“Try Ubuntu”) to see what a newer kernel offers and include the command outputs above when posting back. (help.ubuntu.com)

Notes: include the Ubuntu version in your post, attach the exact command outputs, and mention whether Secure Boot is enabled (it can block unsigned modules). This makes any further advice concrete and actionable.

Recommended Answers

All 7 Replies

Member Avatar for jbennet

Thats normal. Linux has poor support for wireless, 3d graphics and sound.

Member Avatar for Dr Windows (XP)

so what am I supposed to do???

Member Avatar for OlyComputers

At the risk of sounding like a jerk, you are doctor windows. If you can't make it work, go back to windows.

Most of us have tried to install an operating system on a system that wasn't properly supported. I had to completely give up on Windows XP x64 the first time around because of driver support. If your system doesn't have linux drivers then it doesn't have linux drivers. You're only options (assuming they're really not out there) are to go without, write your own, or make a windows driver work.

The last option is REALLY perilous, I've never bothered to do it but it can theoretically be done. Google "use windows drivers in Linux" and see if you can find the information you need (NDIS wrapper is probably a good place to start).

commented: well said. i agree +31
Member Avatar for jbennet

+1.

He is right.

P.S OlyComputers, the tip is to look for hardware which says it is compatible with Server 2003. "XP" 64 is actually server 2003 under the hood, so you tend to have more success with drivers written for that.

Member Avatar for OlyComputers

I was talking about WAY back in the day when it first came out and there was virtually no driver support. I waited a while and used it as my primary OS for about a year before I switched to Vista (tri-boot Vista Ultimate x64, Ubuntu, XP home). After it had been out for a while driver support got a lot better.

Member Avatar for jbennet

better, but still not as good as windows.

Member Avatar for carlyse_09

I also had the same problem because i don't have any sounds in my computer.I figure out that it is the driver but the main problem is getting the compatible driver i need.

commented: useless junk to promote signature -4
Be a part of the DaniWeb community

We're a friendly, industry-focused community of developers, IT pros, digital marketers, and technology enthusiasts meeting, networking, learning, and sharing knowledge.