This was a life-saver for me and getting 7.04 to run on my Inspiron e1705/9400. X failing was my first hurdle with Ubuntu on this hardware, and here is the article that made me happy again.
http://www.mikesplanet.net/2007/04/installing-ubuntu-704-ati-x-cards/
Look at my other posts, I love Ubuntu. I go to other Distros to see what they have, I keep coming back to Ubuntu. Primary reason for coming back? Hardware recognition. Plain and simple, Ubuntu in the past saw all of my hardware and offered better support than any other Distro I have tried. Not this time. 
A little background — I purchased an Inspiron 6000 3 years ago to take to Vegas with me. I was in Vegas for 4 days, after I got back I installed Ubuntu (see my other posts). I was successful in getting Ubuntu to work (better than Fedora or SuSE). I was happy with Ubuntu on my notebook, which is why I decided to install it on my new notebook. How did I get my new notebook, warranty exchange from Dell. New notebook is an Inspiron e1705/9400.
Run down on hardware:
Originally equipped with Windows Media Center 2005, but eligible for a free upgrade to Vista Home Premium, I’ve had both operating systems on the computer. My choice was Windows Media Center. Vista runs well, but in my opinion not meant for the desktop (or at least mine).
With such great success with my Inspiron 6000 and Ubuntu 6.06, I figured I’d give the e1705 and Ubuntu 7.04 a run. FAILURE. How horrible! The live CD wouldn’t even run on the hardware. X failed, braodcom chipset (wireless) failed. What a mess, and what a step back for Ubuntu. As I was able to get 6.10 to load, though I still didn’t have wireless.
So I installed 6.10, then upgraded to 7.04 through Synaptic, and X FAILED!!! I found an article that fixed my problem, so that part was covered. Still no success with my wireless. After searching Ubuntu Forums, and trying a few things, still no success. Until I found the article that I have linked to below. The solution worked so easily it wasn’t even funny. Why it is not integrated into Ubuntu out of the box, I don’t know. Why Ubuntu has not done something similar, I don’t know. But in my opinion a tool like this is needed for greater wireless support, not just the Broadcom chipsets.
It was frustrating, and the first time in a while that I have been very frustrated with Ubuntu. I know the hardware is not really Linux Specific, had I chosen the components for the computer, it would have had an Nvidia video card and an Intel Wireless card in it, but this is how I got the notebook from Dell.
Next problem…On my Shuttle at home, I can run with the Desktop features on, Beryl is not supported on the ATI X1400 video card. Not to say it hasn’t worked, and I haven’t tried a few things, it is just sad to see Ubuntu in this current state of lack of hardware support.
What will I do? Probably sell this e1705/9400 and replace it with either a Power Book from Mac or a notebook from System76. All in time, but here have been my .03 cents on Ubuntu 7.04 on an Inspiron e1705/9400.
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=405990
Well I found the above on UbuntuForums after I decided to install Ubuntu 7.04 on my Dell Inspiron e1705/9400. If you have a broadcom chipset wireless card, following the above link is in my opinion the best way to do it.
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