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**jglen490** · Oct 04, 2018, 04:28 PM

So your work gave you a Dell XPS 15 9750 - presumably for work purposes. They also told you to install Ubuntu 18.04, is that correct?

Do you know the source for the Ubuntu (i.e., a DVD, a download site, a USB thumb drive)?

I THINK it has an Atheros wifi chip, which is generally well supported by Ubuntu/Kubuntu out of the box.

The video could be generic Intel stuff, but could also be Nvidia-based. Not bad either way, but with a new machine model could present some difficulties.

The respin is not necessarily bad, but apparently was not all that. So I think we may need to start from the beginning, instead of in the middle of the story. With that out of the way, what steps did you take to originally install Ubuntu, and what instructions did you follow?

**Robert24** · Oct 05, 2018, 12:44 AM

First of all, thank you to the person who created a new question out of my new post.

Hello jglen490. Thank you for your answer.
Actually, I did the install myself (but I had to choose Ubuntu and not Kubuntu because Kubuntu is not supported by the IT Compliance department).
I used the dd command to create an Ubuntu live key from the .iso file I found there:
http://releases.ubuntu.com/18.04/
Concerning the Atheros wifi chip, I must say I'm a total ignorant. I just know that this name Atheros appears in the link about respin (Under "What works out of the box").

Today, I turned on my computer and there was no wifi (In the settings it was written "No wifi adapter found"). I turned my computer off, restarted it. Same thing happened. I turned it off again and restarted it and it worked. So for now, I will use my computer as it is, and hope that I will find a solution in the next days to eradicate this problem.

Of course I tried to google the problem and apply some online solutions but I got stuck. For instance, I tried to follow the instructions there:
https://unix.stackexchange.com/quest...d-ubuntu-18-04
but when I entered

Code:

sudo make install

I got

Code:

cc1: error: code model kernel does not support PIC mode

So I looked at this page:
https://askubuntu.com/questions/8514...-for-compiling
but understood none of the two answers (I am not "familiar with patching the source file" and I don't know what the "Makefile" is).

Sorry for the trouble. I must say that my knowledge about operating systems and how internet works is slim to null... Any help is extremely appreciated.

Best,

**Robert24** · Oct 05, 2018, 12:57 AM

I also wonder if I couldn't bypass the problem using an ethernet cable. I've never used one before but yesterday, someone form the office connected me to internet by replacing my power cable by another one passing by a big black box (from DELL). It worked but to make it work, the person had to change things in the bios and after that I noticed that my computer had issues (for instance instead of having my encryption key asked at the beginning in a GUI it was asked in a shell, and more generally I had the impression that the computer had many graphic glitches afterwards, so I reverted to the original settings in the BIOS and reinstalled Ubuntu). My understanding of this black box is that it is a kind of adapter because my computer doesn't have an ethernet port. But can I not buy a cable with a different ending point? The ports on my computer are the following:Thunderbolt 3 with PowerShare, DC-In & DisplayPort (4 lanes of PCI Express Gen 3)
2x USB 3.1 Gen 1 with PowerShareHDMI 2.0SD card reader (SD, SDHC, SDXC)
headset jack
Noble lock slot

Thanks for your help.

Best

**jglen490** · Oct 05, 2018, 04:56 AM

My understanding of the Dell XPS 15 is that it does not have an ethernet port, but that one can be added (maybe that "big black box") that accepts an ethernet cable and then plugs into a USB port. It shouldn't require a BIOS settings change, but could require updating a driver.

To get a better idea of where you are with this machine, please open a konsole in Ubuntu and at the command prompt enter:

Code:

inxi -Fxz

If inxi is not installed, then first at the command prompt enter:

Code:

sudo apt install inxi

Enter your password when asked. After the install, then enter the command, shown above. Copy and paste into a CODE box in your reply here. The CODE box is created with "#" shown in the reply box.

**Robert24** · Oct 05, 2018, 05:44 AM

Thank you for your answer jglen490! I really appreciate.

So yes, it doesn't have an ethernet port but the docker (the actual name of the "big black box" that I learned today) has indeed one. Actually, I will have to use this docker because I need it to connect the new monitor I was given to my laptop. So I could as well use it to have internet.

Here is the output for inxi:

Code:

System:    Host: aritzbercher-XPS-15-9570 Kernel: 4.15.0-36-generic x86_64 bits: 64 gcc: 7.3.0
          Desktop: Gnome 3.28.3 (Gtk 3.22.30-1ubuntu1) Distro: Ubuntu 18.04.1 LTS
Machine:   Device: laptop System: Dell product: XPS 15 9570 serial: N/A
          Mobo: Dell model: 02MJVY v: A00 serial: N/A UEFI: Dell v: 1.4.1 date: 08/31/2018
Battery    BAT0: charge: 87.4 Wh 100.0% condition: 87.4/97.0 Wh (90%)
          model: SMP DELL GPM0365 status: Full
CPU:       6 core Intel Core i7-8750H (-MT-MCP-) arch: Skylake rev.10 cache: 9216 KB
          flags: (lm nx sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx) bmips: 26496
          clock speeds: max: 4100 MHz 1: 1093 MHz 2: 1100 MHz 3: 1100 MHz 4: 1100 MHz
          5: 1100 MHz 6: 1100 MHz 7: 1100 MHz 8: 1100 MHz 9: 1100 MHz 10: 1100 MHz
          11: 1100 MHz 12: 1100 MHz
Graphics:  Card-1: Intel Device 3e9b bus-ID: 00:02.0
          Card-2: NVIDIA GP107M [GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Mobile] bus-ID: 01:00.0
          Display Server: x11 (X.Org 1.19.6 ) drivers: i915,nouveau
          Resolution: 3840x2160@60.00hz
          OpenGL: renderer: Mesa DRI Intel HD Graphics (Coffeelake 3x8 GT2)
          version: 4.5 Mesa 18.0.5 Direct Render: Yes
Audio:     Card Intel Device a348 driver: snd_hda_intel bus-ID: 00:1f.3
          Sound: Advanced Linux Sound Architecture v: k4.15.0-36-generic
Network:   Card-1: Qualcomm Atheros QCA6174 802.11ac Wireless Network Adapter
          driver: ath10k_pci bus-ID: 3b:00.0
          IF: wlp59s0 state: up mac: <filter>
          Card-2: Atheros usb-ID: 001-002
          IF: null-if-id state: N/A speed: N/A duplex: N/A mac: N/A
Drives:    HDD Total Size: 512.1GB (2.7% used)
          ID-1: /dev/nvme0n1 model: KXG50ZNV512G_NVMe_TOSHIBA_512GB size: 512.1GB
Partition: ID-1: / size: 467G used: 12G (3%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/dm-1
          ID-2: /boot size: 705M used: 148M (23%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/nvme0n1p2
          ID-3: swap-1 size: 1.03GB used: 0.00GB (0%) fs: swap dev: /dev/dm-2
RAID:      No RAID devices: /proc/mdstat, md_mod kernel module present
Sensors:   System Temperatures: cpu: 47.0C mobo: N/A gpu: 39.0
          Fan Speeds (in rpm): cpu: N/A
Info:      Processes: 382 Uptime: 5:34 Memory: 3966.6/15682.1MB
          Init: systemd runlevel: 5 Gcc sys: N/A Client: Shell (bash 4.4.191) inxi: 2.3.56

Have a nice day!

**jglen490** · Oct 05, 2018, 09:45 AM

Looks like a nice machine! If you plan to use it like a "desktop" machine where it is in one place most of the time, and if your router is close to where your computer will be used, then an ethernet connection will usually be a better connection. But, it also looks like the wifi chip has met the atheros driver (ath10k), and so the network manager should work if you are moving around with the computer. For wifi, you will need to setup the connection (i.e., WPA-PSK) and router password. There should be an app link in the system tray to do the wifi linkage setup.

Since your employer is requiring Ubuntu rather than Kubuntu, there will be a few differences, but I think most people here will give you good advice, and we won't chase you away. Ubuntu has a good site, also, and is a good resource for answers for the whole Ubuntu family of distributions. Many times you will see problem fixes for Kubuntu make use of Ubuntu solutions - one big happy family

**Robert24** · Oct 05, 2018, 10:21 AM

Thanks a lot for your answer jglen490. Yes I will use it as a desktop. I even received a huge screen as second monitor so I won't be changing place all the time.

When you say

There should be an app link in the system tray to do the wifi linkage setup.

do you mean a kind of icon to set up the wifi? If yes, there is one and I used it to enter the password of the wifi and most of the time the wifi works. Since this morning I had almost no problem so I'm really relieved. Yes I went on the Ubuntu website and I always look online before asking on a forum, but I'm not sure I can post any question on ubuntu forum (there was something written about having 10 or more reputation to edit your profile but I'm not sure if it was to post question or not).

Thanks a lot for your patience and understanding. Receiving spontaneous help from people I never met living on the other side of the world is somehow magical.

Have a great weekend!

**Qqmike** · Oct 05, 2018, 04:42 PM

Yes, Robert24, you are welcome around here. Ubuntu forums is a BIG site as we all know. Although I found good stuff there, I wasn't always as comfortable there as I am here. Don't forget the search syntax:

site:www.kubuntuforums.net <search string>

So to search here for, say, wifi, write
site:www.kubuntuforums.net wifi
and hit go (or enter or search icon).
Same goes for Ubuntu forums: just enter their main address after the "site:".
That might speed up your searches here and there. And you can always just post your questions and we will try to help.

**Robert24** · Oct 06, 2018, 07:07 AM

Thanks a lot for your message Qqmike! I really appreaciate!

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