My mom gave me her old computer and I installed Linux Mint on it and eventually I want to put RetroArch on it. This computer lacks wi-fi capabilities. However, I don't know if it's because I'm missing drivers or something but the computer refuses to connect to my wired connection. It says "Connecting..." at the bottom of the screen then a minute later a notification saying that the connection failed.
The connection works fine when I am using my Windows 10 computer so it's not the cable. Also, before retiring this computer, my mom was still using it to access the internet, so it's not the ethernet port either.
I could not find any help online regarding such problem, as all help was about wi-fi connections.
Any help would be appreciated.
Step 1: Identify your ethernet device
Open a terminal and type this:
lspci | grep Ethernet
That would be easier to google if you know what it is, and if it's detected at all.
Step 2: Check if the lights on the ethernet port on both sides are on. If not, either the port or the cable might be dead.
Qualcomm Atheros ar8152 v2.0 fast ethernet (rev c1)
And the lights are ON.
(EDIT: Semi-offtopic: This is the computer: https://support.hp.com/ca-en/document/c03395982 . It doesn't even have an internal PSU, I think)
Okay, it looks good so far. What about this?
ip addr
(edit: we're checking it out in dms, will post results)
Good news: I bought a router and for some reasons everything works now! Not sure why Mint refused to connect directly to my modem ???
Oh, you plugged it directly into the modem, that might be why.
Does it mean it's not possible or did I need to do another step to connect directly to the modem? I'm curious, in case this new router decides to act up or something.
I'm not sure. I also had the same problem when I tried to plug something that isn't the router my ISP gave me. (Which is also your ISP.) I suspect MAC filtering, or maybe some weird unsupported or unconfigured feature the modem or the ISP needed.
In any case, it's not super secure to plug a desktop computer directly on the Internet these days, unless it's been configured correctly.
Yeah I had no choice because my ISP's router died and I couldn't afford a new one until like now (got my provincial tax return yesterday).