[ubuntu-za] Ubuntu Beginner

[Matthew French]

On 20 Jun 2009, at 10:21 AM, Gareth McNaughton wrote:
> I have loaded Ubunu with out any problem and those programs that were
> installed by default seems to run OK. However I cannot get the modem  
> to
> connect, in fact I'm not sure if the modem is recognised.

The first question is: which iBurst modem are you using?
http://www.iburst.co.za/default.aspx?link=support_drivers

If your modem has an ethernet/RJ45 connection then the process should  
be a whole lot simpler. The instructions you are following probably  
apply to one of the USB-only or PCMCIA modems, which are considerably  
more painful to set up.

If Windows can connect using an Ethernet cable, which is important  
because it means you have the right kind of ethernet cable, then all  
you need to do is set up a PPPoE (PPP over Ethernet) connection using  
your iBurst username and password.

I am sure Ubuntu has a simple way to do this, but unfortunately I am  
too old school to know what it is. The following instructions should  
still work...

If you have found the terminal/command prompt, the process is as  
follows:

1. Edit your pppoe config -

1a. enter this command:
     sudo nano /etc/ppp/peers/dsl-provider
     (enter the password you used when you set Ubuntu up)

1b. Find the line that starts with "user" and put your iBurst username  
between the quotes.

1c. Ctrl-X to save and exit.

2. Edit the password file:

2a. enter the command:
       sudo nano /etc/ppp/pap-secrets

2b. add a line at the end like this:
      "fred.blogs at iburst.co.za" * "myiburstpassword"

2c. Ctrl-X to save and exit.

3. start pppoe, by running the command:
     sudo pon dsl-provider

You should now have internet access. If you don't you can check a few  
things:

- Is the iBurst activity light flashing? If it doesn't flash then you  
might not have a working connection to the modem.

- Run the command:
   sudo ifconfig ppp0

   If it returns gibberish you are probably connected and the problem  
is somewhere else. If it fails with an error it might mean that you  
have used in invalid username or password.

- Run the command:
   tail -f /var/log/syslog

   (press Ctrl-C when you want to stop watching the log file.)

This will show you what the ppp command is doing. A lot of it might  
not make sense, but there should be some obvious sign of what the  
problem is. "Invalid username or password" is a dead giveaway.  
"Timeout waiting for PAD0" means ppp cannot see your modem.

If you still don't come right, feel free to ask for more help. Just  
remember the more information you can provide around the problem, the  
easier it will be for us to help you. :)

Hope this helps.

- Matthew