another ethernet problem...

Forum: Networking
Topic: another ethernet problem...
started by: matrulesok

Posted by matrulesok on June 30 2005,13:09

I have an old machine -400mhx hp with 64mb ram. It used to run windows 98 and connect to internet via dialup and more recently usb broadband.
Yesterday i replaced the analogue modem with a (cheap unbranded) ethernet card. Windows connected fine via the router.
Next I installed red hat 9 - too slow, so i came here! DSL is up and running ok, but has never connected to the net. I have also tried it from my main machine which uses a broadcom ethernet controller built into the motherboard (abit KD7-S).
So I assume that because other O/s's using the same lan cable can access the net it is a matter of making DSL configure the ethernet controller.
I have searched and not got very far (mainly because I am not entirely sure what im searching for). So I would be grateful for any help.
As stated above I dont have any info on the ethernet card, but if there is a command i can use to get info, i can do that.
thanks in advance for any help!

Posted by hawki on June 30 2005,15:56

Hi
There are lots of reasons it's not working. The default boot up looks for and tries to load the modules for your net card. It then tries to start the net card and use DHCP to get it's address.

To see if it found your card at a shell prompt type

dmesg

look for messages that mention eth0. That should let you know if it was found.

Next at a shell prompt type

ifconfig

If eth0 was started you should see information about your net card.

If it is started and does not have an address it did not receive an address using DHCP.

If that is the case you probably net to set the address using the netcardconfig script.

good luck

Posted by matrulesok on June 30 2005,16:23

thanks hawki, ill let you know, gotta go out now, but i will try later!

Posted by matrulesok on June 30 2005,21:52

Ok, here are the relavent responces....

dmesg - eth0 appears in the middle and all seems well, then the last 5 lines contain things such as "transmit time out"

Ifconfig - eth0 does not appear until "ifconfig eth0 up" is run, then there is no assigned ip address.

netcardconfig - failed.

pinging my router fails because "network unreachable".

So I guess there is a problem with this DHCP thingamboby.....I belive that this lan cable is always assigned the same ip, so i assume that this is a static ip, does this make a difference?? Thanks for any further info!!

Posted by hawki on July 01 2005,12:54

Hi

I'm not sure what you mean about
netcardconfig - failed

My guess is that either your cable connection is not working or your router is not configured to assign addresses correctly.

You can further test your netcard by assigning it an address with the netcardconfig script in DSL panel.

Set it to something like 192.168.0.10

Then at a shell prompt type

sudo ping 192.168.0.10
ctrl-c to end

If that works your netcard should be functional.

You will then have to troubleshoot the cable and router.
good luck

Posted by matrulesok on July 01 2005,13:56

Ok, a new twist! After those suggestions I rebooted and internet was on! stayed on no problems and i was downloading at full speed. I then turned it off (the machine), and next time i restarted - no internet! nor the next 50 times.....This came about despite NO changes to anything on my behalf, it was connected when i turned it on.

I will try the pinging idea later. Also, when i said netcardconfig - failed, i was refering to the dhcp broadcast, sorry for my brevity.

I can only repeat that I am using the same lan cable that connects to my windows xp/suse9.1/9.2 machine (i have a tri boot). All I am doing is unplugging it from there and in the back of the slow machine, so any problem lies in the ethernet card/machine/setup of the slow machine....but it did have the internet on windows 98.

Also, I have tried knoppix (which runs very slow), morphix and minislack. Knoppix and morphix have the same problem (i.e. no internet), and because of minislack running even slower, i didnt get the chance to test it here.

Thanks again!

Posted by hawki on July 01 2005,16:24

Since it worked once I have to believe it is a problem with your DHCP configuration. This function is probably provided by your router. You probably need to check/change the setup.
One thing you might try is after unplugging the W98 machine and before you connect and boot the DSL machine is power cycle the router. That might cause the DHCP leases to be cleared out and released.

good luck

Posted by matrulesok on July 02 2005,11:30

I found out a bit of info on the lan card, it doesnt mean much to me - sis900/7016.
I reinstalled DSL and first time in internet worked for about a minute, and card hasent even been recognised since then.....I feel like I am getting so many symptoms that the problem is undiagnosable. So frustrating!
My router is a ASR-8100, it is definently set up for DHCP, since this is how xp/suse get their ip.
Thanks again

Posted by cbagger01 on July 02 2005,19:15

FYI,

I tried connecting to the net using a computer which supposedly had a sis900 network card.

This was a wired corporate LAN, no special stuff. Networking worked for a while, but then I got disconnections when doing SAMBA file transfers.

If possible, I would try a different Network card.

Posted by matrulesok on July 02 2005,21:00

Have done a bit more googling since i found those card details, it seems a few people have problems with this type card. I dont have another (everything else i got is mb based) but next time i get an order in ill try a new card.
Thanks for all suggestions, and if anything springs to mind, lemmie know!
P.s. i have jusd added acpi=off to lilo.conf, then ran lilo from prompt, but this doesnt seem to have made any difference. I also messed a bit in the bios, and now it tends to boot without finding the card at all, but occasionally it sees it and connects!!! Why are there ANY inconsistencies???

Posted by cbagger01 on July 02 2005,23:12

FYI,

Circuit City and Compusa both have PCI network cards on sale for $9.99 after rebates today.

Posted by matrulesok on July 03 2005,00:03

I'm in England....thanks though!

Posted by matrulesok on July 05 2005,07:39

Got a new card for about $5 - works fine.
Thanks for your help - shame I couldnt get it to work, but not to worry!