Automatic driver detection and installation like ubuntu

[fedoralis]

Hi,

so I have been playing with a few live cd linux distributions on a MC238LL/A mac mini... and I couldn't help falling in love with fedora 17...

F17 looks and behaves so good that now whenever I'm using OSX or W7 I'm just thinking about it...


I need to install it ASAP... but here's the problem: a lot of the hardware doesn't work.


I've noticed when I start Ubuntu 12.10 it immediately shows me a 'Device Driver' detection program and asks me to install proprietary drivers (otherwise wi-fi etc won't work), and this is amazing since you just have to click around and the thing installs the proprietary drivers for you.


My question is this:

Should I go to ubuntu and write down the name of the drivers that show up on that detection program and then go to F17 and download them one by one and install them one by one? I take it since there are drivers availale in ubuntu the same drivers work in F17 right?


or

Is there a automatic detection program for F17 like the one in ubuntu that I can download and use?


thx in advance

[stoat]

You probably are long gone from here. Anyway...

Originally Posted by fedoralis

I've noticed when I start Ubuntu 12.10 it immediately shows me a 'Device Driver' detection program and asks me to install proprietary drivers (otherwise wi-fi etc won't work), and this is amazing since you just have to click around and the thing installs the proprietary drivers for you.

That always has been an important difference between Fedora and Ubuntu: proprietary drivers. And it probably never will change.

Originally Posted by fedoralis

My question is this:

Should I go to ubuntu and write down the name of the drivers that show up on that detection program and then go to F17 and download them one by one and install them one by one? I take it since there are drivers availale in ubuntu the same drivers work in F17 right?


or

Is there a automatic detection program for F17 like the one in ubuntu that I can download and use?

It's probably a good idea to know what drivers are being used in Ubuntu. And you probably can find the drivers you need in various places and install them in Fedora. But I don't know of an application in Fedora that will determine what proprietary drivers you need, find them, and install them.

It's possible that some, if not all, of the drivers you need can be installed from the RPM Fusion repository. You should identify in detail the hardware that is not working (wireless chipset, model numbers, etc.). Maybe somebody will recognize them and tell you how to get them working in Fedora.