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I recently installed Debian Lenny 5.0.3 on a macbook (black, model 4,1). The system seems to work.

However, I found out that my ethernet port is not working (I have only used wireless so far), and getting my computer repaired for 6 months is currently not an option.... so I need to get my WiFi up and running!

I found a guide on how to do that here, but this assumes that I have acces to either synaptic (no internet) or make/automake, but (root)terminal says:

batman@debian:~$ make foo
bash: make: command not found
batman@debian:~$ automake bar
bash: automake: command not found
batman@debian:~$

So, long story short, I need to:

  1. get make or automake using the internet on another computer, and then transfer with a usb stick or
  2. get packages with apt-get / synaptic the same way.

My wireless card is a Broadcom Corporation BCM4328 802.11a/b/g/n (rev 03), by the way.

Any ideas will be much appreciated!

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3 Answers 3

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  1. Doing this via Sneakernet (eg, thumbdrive) is possible, but it won't be pretty. Basically, you get to do Apt's job and search through http://packages.debian.org by hand for the packages you need (and all their dependencies).

    1. Start with searching by package name on the front page. make is an easy one (there's only one). Unfortunately, there are lots of automake packages (automake, automake1.4, automake1.7, automake1.9 ...), and the package you're compiling may require a specific version.

    2. Go to the main page for each package, and find your architecture in the table at the bottom (i386, ia64, amd64, etc). That links to a download page for the package.

    3. Repeat step 2 for any dependencies listed on the package page (the red dots) you don't already have, and any suggested packages you might need.

    4. Repeat step 3 for each dependency you downloaded.

  2. You can do this with apt-get/synaptic on another Debian Lenny system (that is internet-capable) if you have one available. Just use apt-get or Synaptic to install the packages you need on that system. The downloaded packages are placed in /var/cache/apt/archives after installation. Just:

    • Copy files from /var/cache/apt/archives onto your thumbdrive, and

    • Use dpkg -i package.deb to install the package files to the offline system.

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  • This is definitely the answer to the question I asked! However, I'll try installing from a cd first - that seems easier..
    – trolle3000
    Jan 27, 2010 at 6:46
  • note for option 2 (works with rescdsk's answer too): you can do this from a LiveCD, too; the packages won't get installed permanently, but will be available in the Apt cache until you shut the system down. the apt-cross tool might even allow you to grab Debian packages from an Ubuntu LiveCD. might be handy for one-off situations.
    – quack quixote
    Jan 29, 2010 at 1:23
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You can install make (and other needed tools) from DVD.

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(was a recommendation for apt-zip, but upon further reflection, there's another package that's better:)

apt-cross might be appropriate for you, if you have another Debian system: you tell it the architecture and suite (lenny), and it can download the appropriate packages for you.

http://packages.debian.org/lenny/apt-cross

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  • Don't have another debian system
    – trolle3000
    Jan 27, 2010 at 6:48

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