[Solved]How can I connect LXDE guest VM to a Wireless USB adapter?

[joejac]

Hello,

I copied my LXDE VM inside my new LXDE Host.
I am temporarily in USA and only have a wireless connection via a USB Netgear N150 Wireless USB adapter.

In the Host the USB Netgear N150 is recognized inmediately as:
wlan0: Netgear WNA WNA1100, but in the LXDE Virtual machine no.

I created a second network adapter in VirtualBox for the guest machine
Attached to: Bridged Adapter
Name: wlan0
Advanced Adapter type: Intel PRO/1000 MT Desktop (82540EM), Unchecked cable connection, then
I connected the USB Adapter to the VM via VirtualBox,
I go to Control Center, Set up a new Network interface: Wireless Wi-Fi
But I only have one option: Use a Windows driver
I do not get the option: wlan0: Netgear WNA WNA1100
it opens a list and select: ndiswrapper driver net8185
I hit Ok
and return an error:
"No device supporting the net8185 ndiswrapper driver is present"
It sends me to this address:
http://sourceforge.net/apps/mediawiki/ndiswrapper/index.php?title=Category:USB
But in the list is missing mine that is Netgear WNA1100

I copied the driver from the Windows Installation (the Win 7 HD) and copied to the LXDE guest and installed via Control Center Network & Internet but same message, no device supporting the new driver.

Thanks for your help
joejac

[djohnston]

With wlan0 working on the host, you should be able to use NAT as network adapter #1 on the guest. VirtualBox uses a pseudo adapter. On most of my VMs, I connect the guest that way. I've very seldom had to use bridged adapter, and never with Linux running as a guest. Try it that way with only one net connection for the guest.

[joejac]

Thanks a lot djohnston,

That was the first thing I thought, unfortunately the first time I tried with:

• NAT
• Adapter Type: Intel PRO/1000 MT Desktop (82540EM)
• Promiscuous Mode: Deny
• Cable connected: selected

It did not work.
I just did a new test, I unselected Cable connected and it did not work either.
Should I do something with Port Forwarding? I do not have any there.

Then I deleted all the interfaces in the LXDE guest, and Set up a new Wired network interface in control Center and when I finished the wizard I got:

"Problems occured during the network connectivity test.
This can be caused by invalid network configuration, or problems with your modem or router.
You might want to relaunch the configuration to verify the connection settings."

Should I do something in the LXDE Host to share the connection?

Any other idea?.
Thanks a lot
Regards
joejac

UPDATE:
1. I created my Win7 VM based on the vdi copy, in the same way as the LXDE VM, and the Win 7 VM connected to internet at the first attempt, with no problem. I do not understand what is going on with my LXDE VM.
2. I deleted the LXDE VM and created again with same network settings as the Win 7 VM, and same problem, it do not connect.

[joejac]

Hello,

I got two solutions:

1. The long one,
I created a new Virtual Machine, booted from LiveCD and the connection worked.
So I lost one working day reinstalling all my Linux programs and files in a new VM

2. The short one,
Today I was going to erase the original VM that did not connect when I felt the impulse to change some parameters in Network Settings and when I marked  "Get NTPD server from DHCP" it worked!    And this parameter is not marked in the new VM that I have created, that it also connect to Internet!?.

Does somebody have an explanation to this, please?

3. The lesson I have learned is not to allow the pressure from running out of time to influence in the state of mind, so to be in calm   and always to tweak. Any way, I do not like solutions by intuition, I prefer Logic, but maybe I should use it more often to save time and stress.
 
Regards
joejac

[Just17]

Does somebody have an explanation to this, please?

Not me 

It is a good idea to make a clone of the VM for those times when such things happen 

[joejac]

Hello Just18,

I am not sure, in this case probably the same problem would it happen with the clone.
 
Regards
joejac

[Just17]

Hello Just18,

I am not sure, in this case probably the same problem would it happen with the clone.
 
Regards
joejac

The idea is that the clone is made from a working VM .....  so if anything upsets the working one, there is something to fall back on, such as a bad update or such.
It sure saves a lot of installing ......  instead of starting from scratch, you can start again from a point where most of the apps you need are installed.
A bit like a remaster of a working full install ......

[djohnston]

I got two solutions:

1. The long one,
I created a new Virtual Machine, booted from LiveCD and the connection worked.
So I lost one working day reinstalling all my Linux programs and files in a new VM

2. The short one,
Today I was going to erase the original VM that did not connect when I felt the impulse to change some parameters in Network Settings and when I marked  "Get NTPD server from DHCP" it worked!    And this parameter is not marked in the new VM that I have created, that it also connect to Internet!?.

Does somebody have an explanation to this, please?

In the original VM, when you were not using DHCP, did you assign a static address in the guest OS? Was the assigned address a valid one? Did you assign a valid address for the DNS on the guest OS?

Best I can do is offer possibilities, as I've never encountered this before. I have two wireless machines, one of which does not have enough horsepower to run VirtualBox. On the other one, when selecting NAT for the guest, I've always gotten a connection with Linux from the time I booted the VM from a CD to the time it was installed to the VM. Because you now have the older and the newer VMs, you can compare the details of each, as you have time. Could be a learning experience.

[joejac]

Thanks Just18 and djohnston.

I always let PCLinuxOS do the automatic installation for me, it is very convenient. So all my Linux VMs have marked "Automatic IP (BOOTP/DHCP)" and "Get DNS servers from DHCP" and I never touch the Advanced configuration, it is the PCLinuxOS Default, whatever it is.

I will be offline until probably saturday or sunday, now I have to make the miracle to enter in the cabin of the plane with this little monster, because I returned the ASUS, I got tired of Branded PCs and their half good half bad parts, so I went to CompUSA and requested to assembly a Desktop for me with the parts I wanted, plus the flat panel 23", TriField meter and my books on EMF Pollution and Farming, I do not want this stuff in the normal luggage, ugh..

Regards
joejac