I am back in Saudi Arabia after having bought a new laptop in the US. The new MacBook Pro is running Lion of course. The migration went very nicely.
But here in Saudi I use a little wireless modem to connect to the internet. Lion does not like that. I have taken the machine to a few local gurus, but most have not even seen Lion before. One said he expected a hack in a few days.
Anyone know how to handle this? I am online only from time to time so I may not be able to reply promptly. Remember to type slowly if you are giving directions as I am slow-witted about computer stuff.
(Also, what comes after “Lion?” I am betting “Calico.”)
It can be due to a million things but I’d bet money on there being no 64-bit device drivers for the modem.
OS X Snow Leopard booted into 64-bit user space and could either boot into 32-bit or 64-bit kernel mode. This is an oversimplification, but you can think of it as your applications always ran in 64-bit mode but your devices (like a wireless modem) would either run in 32-bit or 64-bit mode, depending on your choice.
OS X Lion does not allow that option - it always boots into 64 bit kernel mode which means any hardware you want to use needs 64-bit drivers.
So you need to find drivers for your wireless modem that are Lion ready, except because they’d have had to convert from 32 to 64 bit they may not have yet or don`t plan to.
The wireless modem in a nameless, cheapie dongle that I have to stick into the USB port. When I try to fire it up, I get a message that no modem is connected to the computer. The local Mac Gurur says he expects a software fix for this topop up in a few days. Does this sound likely, or ought I to look for a more expensive hardware fix?
This thread for a similar (Canadian) device suggests that your guru is right; Lion does not yet have a driver for that.
I personally looked at an Air, but only with the caveat that I wanted it to dualboot windows 7 as well, so that I had the freedom to switch between the two operating systems. However, the hard drive on an air is too tiny to accomplish that…EDIT: Oh, you have a pro. Dual boot windows? It’s expensive-ish…but I’d do if I were you!
I’d wait. I can’t imagine you’re the only one. An expensive fix would be…I don’t know. Do you get that dongle through a cell phone provider? Could you tether a cell phone to your laptop instead, see if that gives you internet?
Nevermind. Apparently you need to manually install drivers. I’m working on the assumption that whatever you’re surfing with is similar to the rocket stick!