"Enable Wifi" on Xubuntu 15.04 Dell Inspiron 1564

Question

I am a new Linux user and I've put xubuntu 15.04 on my laptop and the wifi isn't working (seems to be a common problem). I'm running this same distribution in a virtual box on my office computer and it works fine there. Also the wifi works if I boot my laptop to Windows. I've tried almost everything that I've read about and nothing is working.

Specifically I can't see "enable wireless" in the networking drop down.

Note: sudo rfkill list all doesn't output anything in my terminal which has made it hard to follow through with any tips that begin with that.

the 'lspci' output is here:

00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation Core Processor DRAM Controller (rev 12)
00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation Core Processor Integrated Graphics Controller (rev 12)
00:16.0 Communication controller: Intel Corporation 5 Series/3400 Series Chipset HECI Controller (rev 06)
00:1a.0 USB controller: Intel Corporation 5 Series/3400 Series Chipset USB2 Enhanced Host Controller (rev 06)
00:1b.0 Audio device: Intel Corporation 5 Series/3400 Series Chipset High Definition Audio (rev 06)
00:1c.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 5 Series/3400 Series Chipset PCI Express Root Port 1 (rev 06)
00:1c.1 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 5 Series/3400 Series Chipset PCI Express Root Port 2 (rev 06)
00:1c.5 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 5 Series/3400 Series Chipset PCI Express Root Port 6 (rev 06)
00:1d.0 USB controller: Intel Corporation 5 Series/3400 Series Chipset USB2 Enhanced Host Controller (rev 06)
00:1e.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801 Mobile PCI Bridge (rev a6)
00:1f.0 ISA bridge: Intel Corporation Mobile 5 Series Chipset LPC Interface Controller (rev 06)
00:1f.2 SATA controller: Intel Corporation 5 Series/3400 Series Chipset 4 port SATA AHCI Controller (rev 06)
00:1f.3 SMBus: Intel Corporation 5 Series/3400 Series Chipset SMBus Controller (rev 06)
00:1f.6 Signal processing controller: Intel Corporation 5 Series/3400 Series Chipset Thermal Subsystem (rev 06)
03:00.0 Network controller: Broadcom Corporation BCM4312 802.11b/g LP-PHY (rev 01)
04:00.0 Ethernet controller: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL8101E/RTL8102E PCI Express Fast Ethernet controller (rev 02)
ff:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation Core Processor QuickPath Architecture Generic Non-core Registers (rev 02)
ff:00.1 Host bridge: Intel Corporation Core Processor QuickPath Architecture System Address Decoder (rev 02)
ff:02.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation Core Processor QPI Link 0 (rev 02)
ff:02.1 Host bridge: Intel Corporation Core Processor QPI Physical 0 (rev 02)
ff:02.2 Host bridge: Intel Corporation Core Processor Reserved (rev 02)
ff:02.3 Host bridge: Intel Corporation Core Processor Reserved (rev 02)

Answer 1

This is one of the best linux wifi tutorials out there:

https://www.linux.com/learn/tutorials/374514-control-wireless-on-the-linux-desktop-with-these-tools

Answer 2

yes. It is because your OS in your virtualbox doesnt have hardware of its own and the network card gives you a few options to choose from. Choose bridged network in your virtualbox settings for your OS and restart your virtual OS. And check your browser.

It does not show you a wireless connection but is connected internally as Ethernet.