No network on laptop

This is my first time messing with Linux so please forgive my ignorance.

I have an HP Elitebook 840 G8 that I've installed Ubuntu server on. I was trying to install a GUI on it, so I tried pulling the SLiM package from the web, but got "Temporary Failure resolving 'Archive.ubuntu.com'.

This laptop doesn't have an Ethernet Port, so I have to use a Microsoft USB-Ethernet dongle. But I haven't been successful in getting that to work.

Is there a way for me to manually download the driver on a USB, then load it that way?

bigmclargehuge ,
@bigmclargehuge@lemmy.world avatar

My go-to for a workaround to networking issues is to use USB Tethering from my phone. Most Android phones from the past decade or so should support it, not sure about Apple. It's super handy because all the configuration is done via the phone, so the computer needs no drivers or settings. Just plug n play until you get things set up on the computer.

bloodfart ,

your wireless adapter is not connected to your wireless network. you don't have nmtui, but you ought to have nmcli by default, here's ubuntu.com on how to use it to get connected, for free! with education connection

rand_alpha19 ,

This has happened to me on Debian. Try changing your DNS to 1.1.1.1 (Cloudflare's public DNS) and seeing if that fixes anything.

I don't know what causes this or why it works, but there's always a DNS name resolution failure on my system if I don't manually set a DNS.

nightwatch_admin ,
SecretSauces OP ,
@SecretSauces@lemmy.world avatar

the Wifi adapter is recognized, but if I try to ping ANYTHING, including the gateway, I get "ping: connect: network is unreachable"

nightwatch_admin ,

Is your IP address 169.254.x.y by any chance? That would mean you can actually “see” the network but have no usable address (169.254.x.y is APIPA, you could say a fallback basically when no dhcp is available). Try “ip addr” on the commandline or “ifconfig” for us oldtimers

SecretSauces OP , (edited )
@SecretSauces@lemmy.world avatar

ifconfig gives "command not found, but can be installed with sudo apt net-tools. That command gives me "Temporary failure resolving 'archive.ubuntu.com'

ip addr gives:

1: lo: <LOOPBACK, UP, LOWER_UP> mtu ##### qdisc noqueue state UNKNOWN group default qlen 1000

link/loopback 00:00:00:00:00:00 brd 00:00:00:00:00:00

inet 127.0.0.1/8 scope host lo

valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever

inet6 ::1/128 scope host noprefixroute

valid_lft forever preffered_lft forever

2: wlp02s20f3: <BROADCAST, MULTICAST> mtu 1500 qdisc noop state DOWN group default qlen 1000

link/ether [MAC Address] brd [IPv6 MAC Address]

4: enx949aa9857457: <BROADCAST,MULTICAST> mtu 1500 qdisc noop state DOWN group default qlen 1000

link/ether [MAC Address] brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff
nightwatch_admin ,

You only have loopback addresses, that won’t work at all. Odd. Unless Ubuntu doesn’t use dhcp. You can try eg “sudo dhclient” or do a manual configuration in the range of your modem (eg ip 192.168.1.2, netmask /24 aka 255.255.255.0, gw 192.168.1.1, dns 9.9.9.9).
Vivek is (y)our friend: https://www.cyberciti.biz/faq/setting-up-an-network-interfaces-file/

scrion ,

Your USB ethernet adapter is down according to this output.

In case Ubuntu server comes with e. g. dhclient installed, you should be able to get a working network connection by ensuring a cable is properly plugged into your USB ethernet adapter and running

sudo dhclient -v enx949aa9857457

You might want to post the output of that command here. Alternatively, configure the USB adapter using one of the management tools mentioned in this thread already.

just_another_person ,

Just install the Desktop version of Ubuntu. There is no difference if you want a GUI anyway. You can set the run level to not boot into GNOME after you get all your stuff setup.

eruchitanda ,
@eruchitanda@lemmy.world avatar

If you have NetworkManager installed (you should have), you can use nmtui, TUI tool.

TUI is <u>T</u>erminal <u>U</u>ser <u>I</u>nterface, and IMO very user-friendly.

lemmyreader ,

Agree about nmtui. Nice tool.

SecretSauces OP ,
@SecretSauces@lemmy.world avatar

When I try [sudo nmtui] it gives me "Command nmtui not found, but can be installed with: [sudo apt install network-manager].

Which circles me back to my original problem where I don't have network connectivity.

boredsquirrel ,

So the question is what the hell is "Ubi server" and why doesnt it preinstall network-manager?

I would install both tools.

SecretSauces OP ,
@SecretSauces@lemmy.world avatar

Ubi is just my short-hand for Ubuntu. And I'd love to be able to install Network-Manager, but I can't/dont know a work-around

boredsquirrel ,

If you have an android phone and a usb cable for it, use usb tethering!

Connect it to the PC, and in android under connections switch to "usb tethering" under usb options.

But if you dont even have networkmanager installed (which is really really odd) then no idea if autoconnect works, likely not.

fluckx ,

That would've helped to add in the original message. I dont think I've ever heard of "ubi" servers.

You can try installing the deb file I guess? If you google it I'm sure you can find it somewhere.

scrion ,

As a general rule, maybe don't use shorthand terms you invented in posts that are supposed to provide information to the people trying to help you, just so you don't confuse them any further.

SecretSauces OP ,
@SecretSauces@lemmy.world avatar

Sorry, figured it would be an easy shorthand. But with so many different distros out there, I can see how that could be seen as just another one of those. I'll keep that in mind in the future.

Successful_Try543 ,

The first question which arises before proceeding with network manager: is the USB Ethernet dongle recognised?

You can check the output of sudo dmesg shortly after you plug in the dongle into the USB port.

SecretSauces OP ,
@SecretSauces@lemmy.world avatar

Yes. It sees it as "Ethernet Adapter - Microsoft"

Successful_Try543 ,

Does it display further information, e.g. if the device is put into service correctly?

SecretSauces OP , (edited )
@SecretSauces@lemmy.world avatar

I dont see anything standing out.

usb 4-2: new SuperSpeed USB device number 2 using xhci_hcd

usb 4-2: new USB device found: idVendor , idProduct, bcdDevice

usb 4-2: new USB Device Strings: mfr=1 product=2, serialnumber=6

usb 4-2: Product: Ethernet Adapter

usb 4-2: Manufacturer: Microsoft

usb 4-2: SerialNumber: xxxxxxxxxx

usbcore: registered new device driver r8152-cfgselector

r8152-cfgselector 4-2: reset SuperSpeed USB Device number 2 using xhci_hcd

r8152 4-2:1.0: load rtl8153b-2 v2 successfully

r8152 4-2:1.0 eth0: v1.12.13

usbcore: registered new interface driver r8152

usbcore: registered new interface driver cdc_ether

r8152 4-2:1.0 enx949aa22353: renamed from eth0
Successful_Try543 , (edited )

Obviously the dongle is recognised properly and the network interface eth0 enx.... should in principle be configurable with network manager.

Are the services networking and network-manager running?

Edit: As I understand now, you are using Ubuntu server. Then your network is configured by systemd's networkd and netplan, not by network-manager.

boredsquirrel ,

Never heard of nmtui and nm is a pain, thanks!

lemmyreader ,

  • According to this WiFi should work with Ubuntu 20.04 LTS 64 Bit Did you install 24.04 or 22.04 ?

  • I'd expect most USB devices to work out of the box. Did you try : sudo dhclient ?

Easiest is probably to perform an installation that comes with a GUI. If the default Ubuntu installation iso is too large, there's for example Lubuntu.

GolfNovemberUniform ,
@GolfNovemberUniform@lemmy.ml avatar

This won't be very easy to do and installing a GUI on a vanilla server system can cause issues (that are solvable but not welcome anyways). Start with a more user-friendly desktop distro like Ubuntu or Mint. You will have access to the terminal and all the magic of Linux on it so you can learn and practice what you need and then switch to something harder if you want

SecretSauces OP ,
@SecretSauces@lemmy.world avatar

I was following this walk-through (https://lemmy.world/post/6542543) for getting Docker and all its container apps set up, so that's why I went with Ubi Server. I downloaded 24.04 as its the latest version. Would Mint be able to substitute Server for those things?

My Daily Driver has Mint on it and its working just fine. If I can use Mint instead of Server, that'd make things so much easier.

GolfNovemberUniform ,
@GolfNovemberUniform@lemmy.ml avatar

Wait I thought you're using Linux for the first time and went for an obscure server distro as your first one for some reason. Idk anything about servers except that they use ssh, private-public key pairs, firewalls and no DEs. I can't help with them

SecretSauces OP ,
@SecretSauces@lemmy.world avatar

Lol, I AM using Linux for the first time. But yea, I'm trying to use the most user-friendly things to accomplish what I want to do. Thanks anyway for trying. :)

jjlinux ,

If I understand correctly, you seem to be trying to get into self hosting here.

If that's the case, I suggest you try something that works out of the box like CasaOS, Tipi, Umbrel or something similar. That way you'll start getting acquainted with self hosting at a basic level without any of the kinks of much more advanced server options.

Every single one of those options provide easy installs for the services listed in the Lemmy post you referenced.

That should get you up and running fairly quickly, and you can then start learning a bit more while already being able to manage your own stuff.

Shareni ,

Pro tips: research the distro you're trying to install. And try not to follow any random instructions blindly, that's the quickest way to mess something up.

Ubuntu server is made for actual servers, and they don't need features like a GUI or WiFi.

Just use Mint instead if that's what you're comfortable with. It'll use up some extra storage, but you might want to use a GUI at some point instead of SSH.

If you're planning on self-hosting and opening it up to the internet, invest in VLAN first. It's pretty dangerous to have the server running on the home network. More expensive routers have it built in, but you can DIY a solution using software like openwrt or pfsense, and a thin client. There are useful instructionals on YouTube.

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