Installing WiFi USB on old Laptop (Linux newb/Linux Mint)

Software & Web Applications
1

Over the years I’ve given Linux a try several times and never really got my head wrapped round it. This is going back to the early 2000s when I installed RedHat on an old 486. My only real success was installing a SendMail server once, but I had an expert walk me through every step.

I’m really wanting to get a good grasp on it now for professional reasons so I’ve installed it on several machines both at home and at the office (non critical systems).

I have an old Compaq 6715b laptop that I’ve installed Linux Mint on, which I’m using right now to type this. The only problem is that it’s WiFi adapter died years ago. I purchased a Panda Wireless USB adapter but I’m not sure how to get it working.

Any suggestions on how to go about getting it to work? This is a Panda Wireless Model PAU03 adapter.

Thanks!

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Once upon a time there was a wrapper for wifi dongles but that was 8 years back. I 've used Asus dongles since, did for a desktop where wired was not yet in place. The particular one I don’t recall have it tucked away, when I dig it out I’ll post it for you. Some dongles still don’t have Linus compatibility. What chipset is the Panda using?