Configuring connection to my home WiFi router

[M0sk]

I just installed Debian Jessie and have yet to do anything with it. My first inclination is to connect to the internet, yet doing this has not been clear to me all day. I found a wiki saying that to connect, you can install a package with the command

Apt-get install network-manager-gnome

After doing so I am supposed to log off then back in to find a new icon in the system tray which will act as a connection interface to connect to WiFi motems in the area. However, when I input the command, it says that network manager is already installed and thus that new icon doesn't appear, and needless to say the icon was/is not there from the start.

If it is already installed where is it?
My end goal is to connect to the internet w/o Ethernet.

Help?

EDIT:
I am Using Gnome

[dilberts_left_nut]

https://wiki.debian.org/WiFi

[M0sk]

I cannot see network manager and thus cannot connect to WiFi.

I have been told to user Network Manager gnome to connect to WiFi.

However, it is not available to me for some reason

I am part of netdev group, and I have it installed, and I have logged off and back in after joining the group, but it won't become visible.

Help?

[dilberts_left_nut]

Don't start separate threads for the same problem.

Can you run /usr/bin/nm-applet from a terminal?

[M0sk]

I apologize. I didn't realize that I was asking the same question. Thank you for your support.

I am new to Linux is general and so I am not sure what you mean by run, but I typed the path you gave in the terminal and it seemed to do nothing, but I couldn't use that terminal window anymore, as if it was busy with something else

[dilberts_left_nut]

Jessie is probably not what you want to be running then.
It's currently at the pointy end of the testing cycle and frustration is guaranteed without some basic knowledge and troubleshooting skills.
Use wheezy - it just works.

[Bulkley]

I have been told to user Network Manager gnome to connect to WiFi.

Who's telling you? Did he/she not tell you the rest? Network Manager is one option.

This subject has been beaten to death on this forum so a little searching should help.

Have you installed the appropriate firmware for your wifi card ?

Why did you install Testing (Jessie)? Are you sure you are ready for a testing OS?

[M0sk]

I have spent all day today trying to connect my laptop to the internet, something that would seem painfully easy.

When I say told, I am using the 5 step instructions from https://wiki.debian.org/WiFi/HowToUse

I have done all it says yet I cannot for the life of me connect to my router.

And I am using Jessie because when I went to download a Debian iso, Jessie was suggested. I am ready I do think, I just need to get past this stupid roadblock and move on to learning the rest of it

[M0sk]

Jessie is probably not what you want to be running then.
It's currently at the pointy end of the testing cycle and frustration is guaranteed without some basic knowledge and troubleshooting skills.
Use wheezy - it just works.

Well then it looks like I took the wrong path, yet it is the one I have so the help you have given, and might give is really appreciated. If the problem cannot be fixed, I will take the several hours to reinstall Debian, but I would really prefer not to do that

[dasein]

I am ready I do think, I just need to get past this stupid roadblock and move on to learning the rest of it

At the risk of seeming to "pile on," your assessment is quite simply mistaken. By definition, if you have to post in "Beginners' Questions," you aren't ready for Jessie.

And if your goal is to learn how Debian is supposed to work, you will definitely want to learn on Stable (currently named Wheezy).

[M0sk]

I am ready I do think, I just need to get past this stupid roadblock and move on to learning the rest of it

At the risk of seeming to "pile on," your assessment is quite simply mistaken. By definition, if you have to post in "Beginners' Questions," you aren't ready for Jessie.

And if your goal is to learn how Debian is supposed to work, you will definitely want to learn on Stable (currently named Wheezy).

I posted this in beginner because it seemed to be a simple problem, that is all. And I can understand that, but reinstalling is not something I want to do, so if this problem is fixed that is all I want

[dasein]

...if this problem is fixed that is all I want

You're new to Linux, you won't/can't follow instructions in the Wiki, you can't use the CLI, and you can't do basic troubleshooting on your own.

But you're ready to tackle a development release at the single most buggy moment in its life.

If you had bothered to read the Debian Wiki before choosing to download Jessie, you'd have discovered that it says exactly what everyone in this thread has already told you. Testing is not at all suitable for Linux novices, and folks who choose to run Testing users are expected to be able to do first-cut diagnosis/troubleshooting all by themselves. That is the problem that needs fixing, even if you don't realize it yet.

[andre@home]

I sometimes get also problems with NetworkManager.
You may have to reinstall that one, soemtimes it solves the problem.
Maybe it is good to look in the config files:
/etc/NetworkManager/NetworkManager.conf
and the other files that may be used there.

Look also to /etc/resolv.conf and see whats there in.

Restart the network with
/etc/init.d/networking restart
or
service network-manager restart