My success.........finally!

I acquired my wife's old work laptop, a Dell Inspiron 1300, when her boss bought a replacement due to performance and battery issues. This is a very common issue with these units.

I used the computer for a while with the installed Windows XP os and began playing with various Linux live distributions including Linux Pear, Ubuntu, Mint, Back Track 5 and now Kali Linux.

I attempted to install each of these distros on the Dell, partitioning the HD and removing anything to do with Windows, however I ran into what seems like a standard issue with the Dell and its Broadcom wireless drivers.

I had major issues with Kali, BT5, Pear and even Ubuntu however I learned a lot during each install and while investigating the solution.  I tried Mint 16 Cinnamon - DVD -32 bit and on my first two attempts I failed at successfully activating my wireless on the Dell however on my third attempt I got it.  Here is what I did.

1. Hook your computer up to a network with a LAN cable.  
2. Install Linux mint following the steps on the screen.  This should be easy even for a noobie.  
3. Once the software is installed restart as prompted and login.
4. ***DO NOT do any updates yet!!!!***
5. open a terminal window. (the little black box symbol on the bottom left corner of the screen)
6. type in su 
7. hit the return/ enter key
8. input your password.  The cursor will not move, just type it in and then hit return/ enter key. (you are now logged in as a Super User)
9. type in apt-get install firmware-b43-installer (let the installer do it's magic.  It will also install b43-fwcutter and all required drivers)
10. when the installer is complete RESTART the computer and log in.
11. left click on the network symbol on the bottom right of the desktop
12. Click on Network Settings
13. The networking window should now show you a wireless option on the left side. Click on wireless.
14. Press the blue FN key on your keyboard and the F2 button. (the wireless tab on the top right side of the window should switch on.
15. You should now be able to choose a wireless network to access.

Let me know if this helped you and enjoy your wireless linux distro on your Dell Inspiron 1300.

Jason