Wifi not showing in Linux distros and one more problem

[THE_UNKNOWN_MAN]

I wanted to ditch the win 10 Pro coz it was lagging so much so I downloaded zorin os 17.3 lite and lUbuntu but both had the same problem i.e wifi button not showing I have wifi adaptor Realtek RTL8188EE . I'm completely new to Linux please tell me how to solve it also can you guys recommend me some distros for my PC (9-10 yrs old) specs
RAM: 4GB DDR3

Storage: 456 GB HDD

Wi-Fi Adapter : Realtek RTL8188EE

Processer - Intel Pentium J2900

Also guys I tested both the distros in live environment and zorin os was taking about 1.2 GB idle (should I consider another distro), and the lUbuntu one was taking about only 600 MB but the interface was quite old

 

[KGIII]

Do you have wired internet as an option?

Can you tether your phone via USB and use it as a hotspot?

 

[Brickwizard]

Your machine is indeed 10 years old and is quite capable of running any 64-bit Linux you fancy, but would run better on a medium or lightweight distro, I only run medium weight distros, my desktop is about 8 yrs old, however you will have the same problem with the 8188EE chipset, you will need alternative means to connect to the net [Ethernet or tethered mobile]
Or a cheap compatible usb dongle [any old ones hanging around? Any friends to borrow from?] you will also need to put aside a little time and a lot of patience to install the correct drivers.

 

[MikeWalsh]

@Brickwizard :-

My bet, Brian, is that the drivers are present....but not the firmware. This is all too common an occurrence with the Realtek wifi adapters.....


Mike.

 

[Brickwizard]

My bet, Brian, is that the drivers are present

Yep a good possibility,

 

[KGIII]

It's also worth noting that, by its very nature, a 'live' Linux instance is going to consume more RAM than an installed Linux will. In the live environment, everything that you need/open/do is loaded into RAM andstays present in the RAM until otherwise told (by the OS, not necessarily you). It's not sitting on a drive waiting to be loaded, it's loaded into RAM.

So, RAM consumption in a live environment does not represent what you'll see with an installed Linux. There's some correlation but it's a fuzzy correlation that depends heavily on what you're doing at the time.

 

[kc1di]

Hello @THE_UNKNOWN_MAN
Realtek can be a pain but they can run on linux. You have already received good advice So I won't add to it. But want to Welcome you to the Linux.org forum, enjoy!

 

[THE_UNKNOWN_MAN]

Do you have wired internet as an option?

Can you tether your phone via USB and use it as a hotspot?

Ya, last night I tethered but I'm unable to download it even via the command I pasted (from chatgpt) into terminal

 

[THE_UNKNOWN_MAN]

@Brickwizard :-

My bet, Brian, is that the drivers are present....but not the firmware. This is all too common an occurrence with the Realtek wifi adapters.....


Mike.

Thanks for the advice , can you tell me how to fix that

 

[THE_UNKNOWN_MAN]

It's also worth noting that, by its very nature, a 'live' Linux instance is going to consume more RAM than an installed Linux will. In the live environment, everything that you need/open/do is loaded into RAM andstays present in the RAM until otherwise told (by the OS, not necessarily you). It's not sitting on a drive waiting to be loaded, it's loaded into RAM.

So, RAM consumption in a live environment does not represent what you'll see with an installed Linux. There's some correlation but it's a fuzzy correlation that depends heavily on what you're doing at the time.

How much (approx) less ram consumption can I see when I fully install it , do you have a rough idea how much

 

[Brickwizard]

How much (approx) less ram consumption can I see when I fully install it , do you have a rough idea how much

this will depend on 1, your system, 2, your distribution. 3,your usage , Below is my current INXI, on my desktop running Mint LMDE, with around 6 background apps running [whats app, mail, news feeds etc] 2 internet windows open and background music streaming,
Memory: 7.68 GiB used: 2.81 GiB (36.5%)

I do not have a swap file, if I were gaming or rendering large video files I would be using far more Ram

 

[f33dm3bits]

Don't have any recent experience with Realtek but this one might still be worth a try, even though the kernels listed are older than more current kernels that are supported.

GitHub - FreedomBen/rtl8188ce-linux-driver: This modified version of the RealTek WiFi driver fixes some issues with RealTek cards on Linux.

This modified version of the RealTek WiFi driver fixes some issues with RealTek cards on Linux. - FreedomBen/rtl8188ce-linux-driver

github.com

 

[wizardfromoz]

Below is my current INXI,

I think you missed the inxi output, Brian, unless my specs are worse than yours.

 

[Brickwizard]

I think you missed the inxi output, Brian, unless my specs are worse than yours.

I have made you an appointment...... Memory: 7.68 GiB used: 2.81 GiB (36.5%)

 

[wizardfromoz]

I hope it is at SpecSavers?

Fair call. Better for me (I have Asperger's, I was looking for code tags) would have been "from my current INXI (output)"

Below is my current INXI,

... but ultimately, my bad. I'll slink quietly away and bid you a good evening, lol.

 

[Brickwizard]

away and bid you a good evening,

enjoy your pint

 

[kc1di]

My inxi out put. on Cinnamon
7.46 GiB used: 2.31 GiB (31.0%)
With maybe 8 background programs running at the time.
So not much difference with @Brickwizard

 

[osprey]

Thanks for the advice , can you tell me how to fix that

The @MikeWalsh bet in post #4 is often a winning gamble

The firmware for the 8188ee driver is in the package: linux-firmware, which is in the ubuntu repositories which zorin can access and install.

The 8188ee driver itself is in recent kernels so any recent installation should contain it.

Once both the driver and firmware are installed, it may be wise to reboot and then see if the system can see what it's supposed to see and activate the wifi.

For confirmation of the linux-firmware package contents one can check here: https://packages.ubuntu.com/plucky/all/linux-firmware/filelist

To ascertain if the driver is in the current kernel one can run:

$ find /lib/modules/$(uname -r) -name "*8188ee*"
/lib/modules/6.12.30-amd64/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/realtek/rtlwifi/rtl8188ee
/lib/modules/6.12.30-amd64/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/realtek/rtlwifi/rtl8188ee/rtl8188ee.ko.xz

The output shows the 8188ee driver file.

 

[KGIII]

Ya, last night I tethered but I'm unable to download it even via the command I pasted (from chatgpt) into terminal

That's a good thing. I asked because now we know you can (hopefully) connect to the 'net long enough to install any needed drivers.