No Wifi on Dell Inspiron 1545 new LL 3.4 install

[JanetBiggar]

Hi,
I recently installed LL 3.4 on a donated Dell Inspiron 1545 and unlike all the other LL 3.4 installs I have done on other computers, the wifi does not automatically work.  My issue is exactly the same as the recent post "No wifi on Acer Aspire new install of LL 3.4"

One catch is that the setup is locked thus I cannot get into the network area to check or change things.  It is saying I require an administrative password which the owner cannot recall having.  In the replies on the Acer Aspire post someone made a comment about LL 3.6 "having additional broadcom support"...not sure if that applies to the wifi I might have or not.

I do know that the Wifi was functioning when I placed it with a youth 7 months ago, however because it picked up a virus (when it was running Win 10) when I got it back I simply wiped it with DBAN as I could not get into the computer to assess anything.

I ran the command that Jerry mentioned in the Acer post and this is what I got:

CPU-Dual core Pentium T$#)) (-MCP-) speed/mas~1600/2100 MHz Kernal~4.4.0-70-generic i686 Up~2 min Mem~251.4/2988.8MB HDD~500.1GB(1.4% used) Proc~170 Client~S*ell inxi~2.2.35
(NOTE* - my photo of the screen cut the letters off a bit hence I put a * in for the letter I could not see after Client).

I'm currently going to search around the house and see if I have an ethernet cord.

1) I have tried the F2 and the Fcn-F2 to see if the Wifi toggles on - no go. I also re-booted in case that was required, still no go.
2) I cannot get into Setup per what I wrote above.

My questions:
1) is it possible installing LL 3.6 might give me Wifi?
2) If I cannot get the wifi resolved will a USB wifi adaptor work?  I have googled some and found one that "says" it works with Linux although it seems it may not be as easy as just putting it in and it works..?

Any suggestions?
Thanks,
Janet

[trinidad]

You have a couple of options here.

1) Try typing "Dell" (no quotes) when prompted for the password as this was often the fall back password for their boxes.

2) If Linux Lite is already running on the machine run dmidecode routines to get the correct hardware information and then contact Dell for the fall back password. Make sure to locate the correct OEM asset number. (See the second link below)

3) If you have a Windows 7, 8, or 10 installation disk you can reset a BIOS or Cmos password using DOS commands. (See the first link below) Be careful to type them correctly as you could brick the board.

https://www.askvg.com/how-to-reset-remov...-password/
https://linux.die.net/man/8/dmidecode

TC

[JanetBiggar]

Update: wifi is working!

Luckily I did not have to do the complex steps Trinidad mentioned (2&3),and unfortunately “Dell” ( no brackets) didn’t work either. So I decided to see if attaching my iPhone via USB cord and using it as a hotspot would work and it did. This was encouraging so I opened up the Ethernet cable and attached it to the router and it connected fine.

This allowed me to perform all the updates and check for drivers. I noticed one of the 2 drivers listed was a Broadcom driver so installed it and when I disconnected my wifi options came up nicely. ?

As an aside - I realized in previous updates I had been misinterpreting the choices under the drivers that were found not realizing that “O Do not use the device “ was an option and not a warning or recommendation! I believe I didn’t pay attention because on previous installs everything seemed to be working fine.  I will post in the right area, but will ask if I should be simply choosing the option to get the new driver when something is listed...

Thanks again all - I will keep in mind some of the tips that have been passed along such as trying LL on a computer before wiping and also connecting via Ethernet when initially doing an install until everything is updated. Good advice!

A very relieved and happy Janet

[trinidad]

[member=7067]JanetBiggar[/member], Congratulations. In the futue test LL live first, and remember when you get a locked Windows machine, (lost Windows admin or unknown password) run chntpw from LL live first. Getting Windows to actually work agan will give you better configuaration options with secured BIOS or EFI machines. Most of the used machines I refurb have broken Windows OSs on them. I never erase the disk without getting Windows working first unless I know the disk parameters and BIOS or EFI versions. That way I know what I'm working with and what I can get away with. Also the DOS commands work on a lot of old machines that people upgraded from Widows 7 to 8.1 or 10. Linux is usually very easy to install on most Windows machines in the 2 to 12 year old range now. Good luck with your worthy endeavors.

TC 

[JanetBiggar]

Thanks Trinidad, I will hope I don't run into this again!  Nonetheless, your point is taken and although chntpw is greek to me I have googled a tutorial should I need it in future