Linux - NetworkingThis forum is for any issue related to networks or networking.
Routing, network cards, OSI, etc. Anything is fair game.
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ARghh! I am very new to Linux but have X up and running. The only problem is that on bootup, the kernel can't start eth0, it's the only thing that fails. the box is a Dell Optiplex GX1 with a 3Com Fast Etherlink 10/100 TX (3C905B-TX). Is there some configuring i have to do before it will recognize my card? I haven't done ANYTHING with linuxconf or anything like that so i probably just ahven't set it up correctly! X says it recognized the card and automatically assigned a driver thing but any time I try to activate eth0, it won't work!! Any help would be greatly appreciated.
You didn't say which distro you're using, but here are a few of the standard things to try when your NIC is being uncooperative (I'm using RH 6.2, but the basics should apply):
1. Check the screen output at bootup. If the NIC is being properly initialized, you should see a line that says: "Bringing up eth0- O.K." If you see "failed" or "delaying" instead, you've got problems (see #3).
2. Assuming the NIC comes up, you can do the configuration with the graphical configuration tools linuxconf or netconf. Click on Basic host information->Adaptor 1. From there, select eth0 as the device, choose the correct module (3c90x or 3c59x I think) from the drop-down list of kernel modules, and enable the device. Then either choose DHCP (if you're using it), or enter your IP information manually. After that, fill in your DNS and gateway/routing info under the appropriate sections.
3. If you get a failure on bootup, you may have a resource conflict with another device. Try turning off Plug-N-Play support in your BIOS, it can cause conflicts with some cards.
4. Log in as root, go to the command line or terminal window, and type "cat /proc/pci" and verify that your NIC is being recognized. Type "cat
/proc/interrupts" and make sure your NIC's IRQ isn't conflicting with another device. Type "cat /proc/ioports" and check the address ranges for conflicts. If you have resource conflicts, you can try rearranging the slot order of your PCI cards.
5. You can also verify the IRQ/address info by typing "ifconfig". There should be stats for the loopback device (lo) and eth0.
6. If you get card recognized, but the module isn't loading, try to load it manually by typing "insmod <your module's name>" or "modprobe <your module's name>". After that, type "lsmod" to list all loaded modules; the module should show up there.
7. You can then manually configure the NIC by typing "ifconfig eth0 xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx up", where xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx is your IP address.
8. Last, type "alias eth0 <your module's name>" to associate the driver with the card.
Those are the most basic steps; try them and see what happens. If you still have issues, repost with specifics on the problems.
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