I can't get Knoppix to work with DHCP

[jfern]

I've tried several different Linux Live OSes, including the Knoppix 5.0 DVD.
Knoppix says it recognizes my ethernet card, which is a built in NForce as part of this motherboard:
http://www.msi.com.tw/program/support/download/dld/spt_dld_detail.php?UID=702&kind=1

Knoppix says the device is working correctly, but then when I try a URL, I get "Temporary failure in name resolution".
When I try the DHCP configuration with an IP address, I get: "Network is unreachable"
When I try manually configuring using settings from Windows, I get "No route to host".

Everything works fine with DHCP (or a manual configuration) under Windows XP, so it's not a hardware problem.

[rusty]

Hello,

Knoppix sees your network card but may not have loaded drivers for it. Looking at the link for the motherboard it appears that there are two possible chipsets , depending on the model. You need to determine which one you have, then find out if knoppix or any of the other live CD distros come with drivers for it. If they don't you will have to find drivers and download and install them yourself (saving them on other media for use when you boot the live CD).

Once you find the chipset, try googling the name of the chipset with "knoppix" or "linux" and see what comes up.

HTH

[johandev]

I have the same kind of problem with KNOPPIX V5.0 DVD. The KNOPPIX V4.0.2 was working correctly. So I suspect it is the newer kernel in combination with a cheap ADSL-router (Etech), I think the two do not interact properly when they do DHCP configuration.

I use the following script to connect to the internet. In my case the router is set on 10.10.10.100.

#!/bin/bash

ifconfig eth0 10.10.10.105 up
#ifconfig
route add default gw 10.10.10.100
#route

echo nameserver 217.149.196.6 > /etc/resolv.conf
echo nameserver 217.149.192.6 >> /etc/resolv.conf
cat /etc/resolv.conf

Once run I'm connected to the internet perfectly fine.

This way I can continue to use the newest KNOPPIX, but I'm interested in where the problem comes from. Anyone??

[jfern]

I fixed the problem. If you have booted Windows Xp in the last 6 hours or so, you must release the DHCP lease with the Windows command "ipconfig /release". You may also need to disconnect the ethernet or turn off the computer, not sure. It might be OK if you were only briefly in Windows, so that maybe it didn't obtain a new lease.

Now that we know the specific source of this problem, is there some way to have Linux take care of this by itself, especially for the live CD/DVDs that Windows users might try? ifdown eth0, ifup eth0 didn't work. It seems that if there is an active DHCP lease iniated by Windows, Linux can't deal with it. Vice versa is not a problem at all.

This explains the situation.
http://www.janmaes.com/?page=36