NIC connection problems

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01-28-2006, 09:05 AM
tacobueno

NIC connection problems

Greetings, I am wanting to use a linux live cd on the guts of my roommates old pc which consists of a SY-K7VME soyo motherboard with built in eth/vid/snd etc and a cd drive, the problem is that I cannot seem to get the ethernet to acquire an IP. I am using an Ambit 60678EU cable modem and a wireless/wired netgear WGT624 v2 (wired option of course). I removed the hdd from this newer pc and ran the live cd and it acquired an IP just fine from both my modem and my router so I don't believe they are at fault, but I have also tried 2 other NIC pci cards on the soyo system and neither of them worked either. I have tried manually entering in the IPs in multiple variations on all the NICs with no luck as well, it will go through and look like it has an IP but my router doesnt show anything except the MAC address without an IP, nothing will ping or load (and I am entering in the correct data).. My hunch is that linux doesnt have driver support for these NICs, (they are older NICs I pulled as spare parts, one is a 3com and the other im not sure, and the onboard is probably the newest one, a VIA Technologies, Inc. VT6102 [Rhine II] Embeded Ethernet Controller on VT8235..) and I am just seeing if there is a way to get support for them if this is the case (or to get it working by some other means if this is not the case) such as downloading a driver or something.. I couldn't find any linux drivers for the motherboard from the manufacturer.. and I am not too sure how the linux community handles situations like this without programming something themselves (which is far too complicated for me)

anyway.. here are some command results i typed in if they help at all (this is a failed dhcp attempt with just the onboard NIC, i could get the other configs if needed, its just a pain though since Im using the floppy drive on a digital camera as a USB drive) any suggestions or help is appreciated, thanks.

knoppix@2[knoppix]$ ifconfig -a
eth0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:50:2C:A5:27:1C
BROADCAST MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1
RX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:0 errors:12 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
RX bytes:0 (0.0 b) TX bytes:0 (0.0 b)
Interrupt:11 Base address:0xce00

lo Link encap:Local Loopback
inet addr:127.0.0.1 Mask:255.0.0.0
UP LOOPBACK RUNNING MTU:16436 Metric:1
RX packets:124 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:124 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:0
RX bytes:12982 (12.6 KiB) TX bytes:12982 (12.6 KiB)

knoppix@2[knoppix]$ lsmod | sort
8250 42844 0
Module Size Used by
ac97_codec 20236 1 via82cxxx_audio
af_packet 24328 0
agpgart 31440 6 sis_agp,intel_agp,efficeon_agp,amd64_agp,ali_agp,v ia_agp
ali_agp 9216 0
amd64_agp 13640 0
apm 22252 2
autofs4 19076 1
cloop 19232 1
efficeon_agp 10144 0
i2c_core 20992 1 i2c_viapro
i2c_viapro 10512 0
ieee1394 297432 2 sbp2,ohci1394
intel_agp 22300 0
mii 8320 1 via_rhine
ohci1394 33460 0
ohci_hcd 21764 0
parport 33480 1 parport_pc
parport_pc 38724 0
pcmcia 23696 0
pcmcia_core 43268 3 pcmcia,yenta_socket,rsrc_nonstatic
rsrc_nonstatic 14080 1 yenta_socket
rtc 13900 0
sbp2 24584 0
serial_core 21120 1 8250
sis_agp 9988 0
snd 46820 1 snd_mixer_oss
snd_mixer_oss 18304 0
sound 71684 2 via82cxxx_audio,uart401
soundcore 11104 5 snd,via82cxxx_audio,sound
uart401 13124 1 via82cxxx_audio
uhci_hcd 31632 0
unionfs 68088 1
usb_storage 68544 0
usbcore 102492 5 usbhid,usb_storage,ohci_hcd,uhci_hcd
usbhid 42464 0
via82cxxx_audio 27656 2
via_agp 11392 1
via_rhine 23172 0
yenta_socket 22152 0
knoppix@2[knoppix]$ lspci -v
0000:00:00.0 Host bridge: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT8378 [KM400] Chipset Host Bridge
Subsystem: Unknown device a723:10fd
Flags: bus master, 66MHz, medium devsel, latency 8
Memory at e0000000 (32-bit, prefetchable) [size=64M]
Capabilities: <available only to root>

0000:00:01.0 PCI bridge: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT8237 PCI Bridge (prog-if 00 [Normal decode])
Flags: bus master, 66MHz, medium devsel, latency 0
Bus: primary=00, secondary=01, subordinate=01, sec-latency=0
Memory behind bridge: dde00000-dfefffff
Prefetchable memory behind bridge: d5d00000-ddcfffff
Capabilities: <available only to root>

0000:00:10.0 USB Controller: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT82xxxxx UHCI USB 1.1 Controller (rev 80) (prog-if 00 [UHCI])
Subsystem: Unknown device a723:10fd
Flags: bus master, medium devsel, latency 32, IRQ 11
I/O ports at e400 [size=32]
Capabilities: <available only to root>

0000:00:10.1 USB Controller: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT82xxxxx UHCI USB 1.1 Controller (rev 80) (prog-if 00 [UHCI])
Subsystem: Unknown device a723:10fd
Flags: bus master, medium devsel, latency 32, IRQ 5
I/O ports at e800 [size=32]
Capabilities: <available only to root>

0000:00:10.2 USB Controller: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT82xxxxx UHCI USB 1.1 Controller (rev 80) (prog-if 00 [UHCI])
Subsystem: Unknown device a723:10fd
Flags: bus master, medium devsel, latency 32, IRQ 5
I/O ports at ec00 [size=32]
Capabilities: <available only to root>

0000:00:10.3 USB Controller: VIA Technologies, Inc. USB 2.0 (rev 82) (prog-if 20 [EHCI])
Subsystem: Unknown device a723:10fd
Flags: bus master, medium devsel, latency 32, IRQ 10
Memory at dfffff00 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=256]
Capabilities: <available only to root>

0000:00:11.0 ISA bridge: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT8235 ISA Bridge
Subsystem: Unknown device a723:10fd
Flags: bus master, stepping, medium devsel, latency 0
Capabilities: <available only to root>

0000:00:11.1 IDE interface: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT82C586A/B/VT82C686/A/B/VT823x/A/C PIPC Bus Master IDE (rev 06) (prog-if 8a [Master SecP PriP])
Subsystem: Unknown device a723:10fd
Flags: bus master, medium devsel, latency 32
I/O ports at fc00 [size=16]
Capabilities: <available only to root>

0000:00:11.5 Multimedia audio controller: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT8233/A/8235/8237 AC97 Audio Controller (rev 50)
Subsystem: Unknown device a723:10fd
Flags: medium devsel, IRQ 5
I/O ports at e000 [size=256]
Capabilities: <available only to root>

0000:00:12.0 Ethernet controller: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT6102 [Rhine-II] (rev 74)
Subsystem: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT6102 [Rhine II] Embeded Ethernet Controller on VT8235
Flags: bus master, medium devsel, latency 32, IRQ 11
I/O ports at dc00 [size=256]
Memory at dffffe00 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=256]
Capabilities: <available only to root>

0000:01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT8378 [S3 UniChrome] Integrated Video (rev 01) (prog-if 00 [VGA])
Subsystem: Unknown device a723:10fd
Flags: bus master, 66MHz, medium devsel, latency 32, IRQ 11
Memory at d8000000 (32-bit, prefetchable) [size=64M]
Memory at de000000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=16M]
Expansion ROM at dfef0000 [disabled] [size=64K]
Capabilities: <available only to root>

knoppix@2[knoppix]$ dmesg | grep -i eth
eth0: VIA Rhine II at 0xdffffe00, 00:50:2c:a5:27:1c, IRQ 11.
eth0: MII PHY found at address 1, status 0x7869 advertising 05e1 Link 41e1.
eth0: link up, 100Mbps, full-duplex, lpa 0x41E1
eth0: link up, 100Mbps, full-duplex, lpa 0x41E1
eth0: link up, 100Mbps, full-duplex, lpa 0x41E1
NETDEV WATCHDOG: eth0: transmit timed out
eth0: Transmit timed out, status 4003, PHY status 786d, resetting...
eth0: link up, 100Mbps, full-duplex, lpa 0x41E1
NETDEV WATCHDOG: eth0: transmit timed out
eth0: Transmit timed out, status 0003, PHY status 786d, resetting...
eth0: link up, 100Mbps, full-duplex, lpa 0x41E1
NETDEV WATCHDOG: eth0: transmit timed out
eth0: Transmit timed out, status 0003, PHY status 786d, resetting...
eth0: link up, 100Mbps, full-duplex, lpa 0x41E1
NETDEV WATCHDOG: eth0: transmit timed out
eth0: Transmit timed out, status 0003, PHY status 786d, resetting...
eth0: link up, 100Mbps, full-duplex, lpa 0x41E1
NETDEV WATCHDOG: eth0: transmit timed out
eth0: Transmit timed out, status 0003, PHY status 786d, resetting...
eth0: link up, 100Mbps, full-duplex, lpa 0x41E1
NETDEV WATCHDOG: eth0: transmit timed out
eth0: Transmit timed out, status 0003, PHY status 786d, resetting...
eth0: link up, 100Mbps, full-duplex, lpa 0x41E1
NETDEV WATCHDOG: eth0: transmit timed out
eth0: Transmit timed out, status 0003, PHY status 786d, resetting...
eth0: link up, 100Mbps, full-duplex, lpa 0x41E1
NETDEV WATCHDOG: eth0: transmit timed out
eth0: Transmit timed out, status 0003, PHY status 786d, resetting...
eth0: link up, 100Mbps, full-duplex, lpa 0x41E1
NETDEV WATCHDOG: eth0: transmit timed out
eth0: Transmit timed out, status 0003, PHY status 786d, resetting...
eth0: link up, 100Mbps, full-duplex, lpa 0x41E1
NETDEV WATCHDOG: eth0: transmit timed out
eth0: Transmit timed out, status 0003, PHY status 786d, resetting...
eth0: link up, 100Mbps, full-duplex, lpa 0x41E1
NETDEV WATCHDOG: eth0: transmit timed out
eth0: Transmit timed out, status 0003, PHY status 786d, resetting...
eth0: link up, 100Mbps, full-duplex, lpa 0x41E1
NETDEV WATCHDOG: eth0: transmit timed out
eth0: Transmit timed out, status 0003, PHY status 786d, resetting...
eth0: link up, 100Mbps, full-duplex, lpa 0x41E1
01-28-2006, 01:56 PM
Harry Kuhman

Re: NIC connection problems

Quote:

Originally Posted by tacobueno

....acquired an IP just fine from both my modem and my router so I don't believe they are at fault, but I have also tried 2 other NIC pci cards on the soyo system and neither of them worked either. I have tried manually entering in the IPs in multiple variations ....

The modem's certainly not an issue, since Knoppix will talk to the router and it will deal with the modem.

Since you're showing a MAC address, I rather think Knoppix does see the NIC and have support for it. Of course, if you are using an old version of Knoppix that may have come out even before the motherboard, all bets are off, but if you are on the current release then lets move on and see if we can't get it working.

I'm not real happy about that "miultiple variations" comment above. Rather than multiple variations, it would be better to try the correct variation. Why not give us more details about what you are trying and see if we can't give you the right settings?

I don't have any first hand experience with your particular router. But look at it's setup and see if there is any feature that is limiting access by MAC address and if so turn this off. I don't really expect this to be the problem, but it is worth ruling out. And yes, at least for now I mean disable the "feature", adding the NIC to the table may not be enough.
01-28-2006, 07:18 PM
tacobueno

hmmm

I am using knoppix version 4.0.2 that i just downloaded 3 days ago.

Ok, as far as the settings I put in to the manual configuration I enter in:
IP 192.168.0.(something between 2 and 254 tried both inside and outside the predefined dhcp range though I'm fairly certain that doesnt even matter)
mask 255.255.255.0 (which is what the router settings say)
gateway 192.168.0.1 (again router settings)
broadcast address 192.168.0.255 (is correct from what I have read online about this address)
and nameservers i have tried leaving blank or putting the gateway address. (dont have anything set up to need this)

this information seems to enter in OK but if access my router settings from a different computer (since I cant access it from linux) it doesnt show up as having an IP at all. And I am fairly certain that there is no MAC address limiting since I cannot find a setting anywhere inside the settings and I am able to connect to both my router and modem with any other computer I have ever had running windows with no problems.

I also tried a slax live cd and it didnt connect either. though if I use windows it works.. the motherboard is probably 2 years old or so. anyway.. thanks for any help or suggestions you are able to provide..
01-28-2006, 07:41 PM
rusty

Just a hunch,

with just the onboard nic , try from a root shell: pump -i eth0 , from a freshly booted cd.
01-28-2006, 08:09 PM
tacobueno

Quote:

Originally Posted by rusty

Just a hunch,

with just the onboard nic , try from a root shell: pump -i eth0 , from a freshly booted cd.

I get operation failed.
01-29-2006, 05:55 AM
rusty

Bad cable ?
01-29-2006, 06:00 AM
tacobueno

Quote:

Originally Posted by rusty

Bad cable ?

Nope, already tested it.. using the same one now on this pc..
01-29-2006, 06:18 AM
Harry Kuhman

Re: hmmm

Quote:

Originally Posted by tacobueno

Ok, as far as the settings I put in to the manual configuration I enter in:
IP 192.168.0.(something between 2 and 254 tried both inside and outside the predefined dhcp range though I'm fairly certain that doesnt even matter)
mask 255.255.255.0 (which is what the router settings say)
gateway 192.168.0.1 (again router settings)
broadcast address 192.168.0.255 (is correct from what I have read online about this address)
and nameservers i have tried leaving blank or putting the gateway address. (dont have anything set up to need this)

All info here looks right except leaving nameserver blank. You do need it, at least if you ever use a browser or anything else with a URL (like e-mail without an IP address of the mail server, FTP sites, news servers and so on). Many routers will let you put in their own address (the gateway address as you called it in this case, 192.168.0.1) but I'm not 100% certain that your router does. You should be able to get what this should be set to either from the routers status pages or right from your ISP (just ask the support person what DNS setting to use; don't mention Linux or Knoppix, that often scares them and they say they don't support Linux and hang up as fast as they can).

Hint: If you can't log into the router's own setup page from Konquror (192.168.0.1 in your case) then the DNS setting isn't your only issue. If you can log into that page and you still find that you can't surf the web then the DNS setting is likely the issue.
01-29-2006, 06:30 AM
tacobueno

Re: hmmm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Harry Kuhman

All info here looks right except leaving nameserver blank. You do need it, at least if you ever use a browser or anything else with a URL (like e-mail without an IP address of the mail server, FTP sites, news servers and so on). Many routers will let you put in their own address (the gateway address as you called it in this case, 192.168.0.1) but I'm not 100% certain that your router does. You should be able to get what this should be set to either from the routers status pages or right from your ISP (just ask the support person what DNS setting to use; don't mention Linux or Knoppix, that often scares them and they say they don't support Linux and hang up as fast as they can).

Hint: If you can't log into the router's own setup page from Konquror (192.168.0.1 in your case) then the DNS setting isn't your only issue. If you can log into that page and you still find that you can't surf the web then the DNS setting is likely the issue.

I am fairly certain using the gateway on the router would work fine, since it works automatically when using a different computer all together with knoppix and the same router.. but yeah thats the least of my problems since I dont get 192.168.0.1 at all, and even though knoppix claims to have an ip when I manually enter it in, only the mac address shows up in the router settings with no IP (when viewing the router settings from a different computer) so its like the router sees me but there is no communication whatsoever...
01-29-2006, 06:38 AM
Harry Kuhman

Sounds like it may be time to learn to use ethereal (included on the CD) to "sniff the connection" and watch what the NIC and router are saying to each other. That would tell you several things, like does the computer see the ARP packets that should be there every few minutes? Is there any response at all when the computer tries to send a packet? You could also watch the DHCP exchange and see where it goes wrong (by comparing it to an exchange on your good Knoppix system).
01-29-2006, 11:21 AM
tacobueno

Quote:

Originally Posted by Harry Kuhman

Sounds like it may be time to learn to use ethereal (included on the CD) to "sniff the connection" and watch what the NIC and router are saying to each other. That would tell you several things, like does the computer see the ARP packets that should be there every few minutes? Is there any response at all when the computer tries to send a packet? You could also watch the DHCP exchange and see where it goes wrong (by comparing it to an exchange on your good Knoppix system).

hmm, I have just tried messing with ethereal a bit.. and am not too sure what I am doing with it but I have run a few captures through capture options on eth0 (and the psuedo-device), such as sticking in the mac address on the first ethernet address option and a few others to see if results came up.. and the results on everything I have run pretty much show no communication with the router, I see outgoing stuff like asking who is 192.168.0.1 with no replys (i get replys on this system just fine), and my dhcp discovers come back with offers on this system as well but nothing comes back on the problem system.. I have also run windows on the problem system just to make sure the ethernet still worked and it worked just fine, connected without any problem.. so the ethernet is fine, the router and modem are fine, the cords are fine.. the systems seem all fine as far as hardware.. just one connects when running knoppix and one does not.. and I guess I'm stuck there and don't know enough about linux OS's to figure out how to solve the problem....
01-29-2006, 03:42 PM
rusty

I'm not sure whether you can do this, but is it possible to plug into your cable/dsl modem directly? Get the router out of the picture for a bit. See if you can obtain an address from the internet or some other dhcp server.

The othe rthings that you've probably tried are things like removing, reinserting the module: modprobe -r via-rhine, then ; modprobe -v via-rhine.

Booting with some cheatcodes: knoppix nopcmcia, nousb etc. on the theory that some conflict exists between the hardware drivers on that board.

Trying an older knoppix with the 2.4 kernel.

Other distros that sometimes have better hardware detection: mepis, ubuntu, kanotix.

The irc channel #knoppix has people that can sometimes help too.
01-31-2006, 02:58 AM
tacobueno

hmmmm noapic??

I have finally narrowed it down and found a solution, cheat code noapic solves all my problems... so now I am curious.. what exactly IS noapic/apic??? and what does it do?? googling it I only find forum threads of people disabling it to fix similar problems but no explanations to just what it is..

anyway, thanks for all the suggestions and help