The big switch and first problem already

[Corp]

Hey guys, I have come to a point that I decided I want to move away from Windows. With the new Ubuntu included in this months PCFormat I decided to see whether I really want this distro or not. When installing it I only chose the option to install within Windows. I currently not in mood to do the whole hdd partition thing. This has been installed on my gf pc as I have not owned a pc in two years...hence the dual OS thing so long. Don't want to mess with her setup to much as it is I who will need to fix it. Getting to the point soon...I used to be clued up with a computers and nothing could stop me but it (mostly). I had used it mainly for gaming and pic editing. I eventually gave in to owning a console and using that solely for games (xbox is king). Now that I no longer am in the PC thing I have found that I am pretty useless these days with the advanced stuff. Now the point reached...I don't know what to do with Ubuntu. I don't know how to get the internet working (through router), don't know how to input any settings, nothing. I want to make the switch as I am tired of Windows and want to use that solely. I would be used for picture editing, listening to music, burning dvds, watching movies, basic office work and etc. Without internet settings I can't seen to install the other applications, browse internet, unlock advanced visuals nothing. I am stuck at the beginning and need to get past that so I can start to experience the rest of Ubuntu as I will be buying pc soon again (only something that meets my needs as gaming is sorted already) and I not sure if I want to go the Windows7 route. I have been fancying running linux for couple years but never taken the plunge.

Please treat any replies as if I were you grandmother as I really don't know what I am doing in Linux. If I can get the basics sorted I will slowly work my way to knowing all I need to know in time (good foundations always a key).

[po10cy]

http://www.ubuntux.org/

[shiv]

Go back to Windows... you know you want to

[Stuart]

Please treat any replies as if I were you grandmother as I really don't know what I am doing in Linux. If I can get the basics sorted I will slowly work my way to knowing all I need to know in time (good foundations always a key).

Okay ...

[rustypup]

what version of Ubuntu?

using a wireless NIC?

static IP or DHCP from the router? - if static, verify the IP isn't in use...

does your NIC, (network card), show up under the Network Manager applet - (check the top right corner of the screen, Right Click and pick 'Edit Connections' from the context menu)

if your NIC appears under Wired/Wireless, then open a console:
1) Type - Alt+F2
this will open the "Run Application" dialog. in the text box provided, type in
2)

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gnome-terminal

3) and hit [Enter]. this will launch a new console...

first verify whether the loopback itself is up:

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ping localhost

you should see responses similar to :

PING localhost (127.0.0.1) 56(84) bytes of data.
64 bytes from localhost (127.0.0.1): icmp_seq=1 ttl=64 time=0.032 ms
64 bytes from localhost (127.0.0.1): icmp_seq=2 ttl=64 time=0.035 ms

press CTRL+C to terminate the ping app... (be aware, localhost responds almost instantaneously, so any delay of more than a few seconds means there's an issue... simply CTRL+C at that point and continue...)

please post the output from the following commands, (the first two will spit out the hardware detail, the third your current IP configuration, the last will hopefully provide hints on connection issues...) - NB the '|' character below is a pipe, not an I or an L

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lspci | grep Network
lspci | grep Ethernet
ifconfig
dmesg | grep eth

if you're behind a router, your local IP is meaningless, but it's always good practice to mask IPs on public forums

if you'd like to browse the system logs for obvious errors, use the ALT+F2 command and enter:

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gnome-system-log

and [Enter]. Check the daemon log first, but anything prefixed with "nm" or NetworkManager is going to be of interest.

i have been using Ubuntu for some time now, and have never had trouble connecting to either a wired or wireless routers - (modems are a different story altogether as driver support from the fabricators is typically shoddy) - if the router is kosher, the connection generally happens with no prodding required. this means our first suspect should be either an IP conflict, a driver hiccup or an account restriction issue...