Problem connecting to network

**Override** · 12-08-2005, 02:47 PM

Hello, first of all im new here and new to linux.. i bought the o'reily book called Running Linux but it doesnt explain much on which ethernet cards are supported and how to configure it step by step.

anyway ive been having problems on connecting to the net with linux on ADSL, i was wondering that maybe my ethernet card isnt supported so i decided to post here for an answer.. My network adapter is an MSI/Broadcom 440x 1/100 intergrated controller and also my modem is a B-FoCus Multiport 342+ one. any info if its supported? (or am i posting wrong info :S?)

btw.. im not using my 56kmodem since i have a high speed connection which i already posted above, but my 56k modem is a Lucent Win Modem (yes i know that win modems arent supported) but does this have anything to do with me not being able to connect?

if u have any answer please share them.. the website for my ADSL Modem is http://www.inoviatele.com/Products_Hi/HiBFOCuS_342+.asp
apparantly it has a built in router and firewall.. need help!!! pls!!

Thank you for taking the time to read this.

PS:i used the ADSL/pppoe Configuration tool.. it finds an ethernet device at eth0 but it doesnt seem to be able to configure it or something..

heres a picture from what i get after i do ifconfig and run the net card configuration

**Harry Kuhman** · 12-08-2005, 05:59 PM

I don't have any insight to share about your built-in NIC, hopefully someone else may join in who does. I can give a little insight on a few things though:

Your Winmodem being present in the system is not known to cause any network problems.

Having a built-in router is great, as long as it's really there, and enabled and set up properly. It should allow you to connect to the high speed connection with no setup at all in Knoppix (Knoppix gets all of it's setup information by DHCP). and you will not need to run or setup any PPPoE software. To confirm that the router is present and working, check the IP address of your computer in Windows. Don't go to an Internet site that gives you your address, check it in the networking section of the control panel, or even ping an address (such as ping knoppix.net at a command prompt) and it should show you the local IP address. If you see an address that begins with 192.168 or even one that fits the 10.xxx.xxx.xxx pattern, you are using a router. If you see alocal address that in your case begins with 81, then you are not using a router and should look into how to enable it in your modem.

This is not intended as an insult, but at least one person asked a lot of setup questions before we determined that his network connection was set-up and working fine. If you put a URL into the Konquror browser that comes up as Knoppix boots, you don't get to a website, right?

Knoppix support for on board NICs has improved a lot, particularly for 10/10o NICs, which is what I think you are saying you have, and even to some extent for 10/100/1000 NICs. You don't say what version of Knoppix yiou are using. Hopefully it is 4.0.2, but some people lately have shown up as new users with old versions like 3.4 that may well not support that hardware. If you have an old version of Knoppix I would suggest that you upgrade and I would suggest stating the Knoppix version whenever starting a threrad.

Also I'm assuming that you are running Knoppix from disc, and have not tried to "install" it to the hard disk, which often breaks networking.

**Override** · 12-08-2005, 06:19 PM

Thank you for answering Harry Kuhman.

well, my ip begins with 10.***.***.** so im guessing its using a router? and yes im running knoppix 4.0.2 from the CD, i havent tried to install it since i dont want to mess up anything on this hard drive until im sure the internet works. and also yes whenever i put a website url in konquror and it doesnt open it..

im really lost here about the internet.. have you got any more information?

Thank you again.

**Harry Kuhman** · 12-08-2005, 07:07 PM

I'm not sure what additional information I can provide you. With a 10.xxx.xxx.xxx address you must be using a router, as it is an address that is purely local and can't be routed over the Internet (the router translates it to your ISP assigned address for you, an 81.xxx.xxx.xxx address in your case; do a Google search on NAT for more info). You don't need or want to do any PPPoE setup, as the router takes care of PPPoE for you (you don't need to run PPoE software in Windows either). The ifconfig that you showed is showing the talkback address 127.0.0.1. This is basically a special address that means talk to myself, all tcp/ip stacks have it, you might want to look at man ifconfig for more options. It looks like network configuration is failing at boot time; but I have no insight on why. You may wish to try recording your settings in Windows and then running netcardconfig again, answer the dhcp question in the negative and then manually enter your settings. You shouldn't have to do this, but if it works it might shed some light on the problem. There are a few other commands like pump that I see others mention that they used to get a network connection started, but I really don't understand these as I have never had to use them. You have found the right forum though, if you dig around enough in old posts you are likely to come up with many commands to help you resolve this.

I don't know your circumsances or hardware availability and you really shouldn't have to do this, but if like me you have other network interface cards available, you might try pligging a standard 10/100 NIC into you motherboard, moving the network cable there and rebooting. Generic NICs are now dirt cheap, many places will sell you one for under $5, I've gotten many free. I don't know why Knoppix apparently isn't supporting the one on you motherboard, and I think it's likely that someone will come around here with advice that will help you get it going, but adding a simple NIC may be a quick and dirty fix to make the problem go away. This is assuming that the problem is Knoppix not supporting your on-board NIC, as opposed to some strange DHCP problem, so try the manual netcardconfig approach first.

If you need more information about the manual setup, use real numbers when posting IP settings. There is no security risk in posting an address such as 10.0.0.100 instead of 10.xxx.xxx.xxx, as it is a purely private address and can't be reached by others on the Internet, and it will be important for anyone helping you to see the real addresses, masks and such that you use as opposed to abstract numbers with lots of x's hiding information.

**jacksonon** · 12-11-2005, 12:41 AM

I am having the same problem, I have a Broadcom 440x modem in my laptop and it won't pick up an IP address. I've tried putting no at the DHCP broadcast and manually entering my info but I still have the problem. Maybe there is a problem with that particular modem in Linux. I am using Knoppix 3.6 and I was about to download 4 hoping it would be fixed but I guess I will wait.

**Harry Kuhman** · 12-11-2005, 02:28 AM

Originally Posted by jacksonon

I am having the same problem, I have a Broadcom 440x modem in my laptop .....

What??? Override discribes the Broadcom device as a Ethernet NIC, not a modem. I didn't doubt him and do extensive Google research (no my job). But if it's a modem that's a whole different ball of wax. If it's a NIC then the real question is what is is connected to. In Override's case it was connected to an ADSL modem that has an internal router. If you are connecting to an router them I would also expect your system to work. If you are connecting to someting else you may need to do different things.

I'm having the same problem posts often don't get much attention, either because the problem is already being discussed and saying I'm having the same problem doesn't really add much or, more likely, because although one part of your system may match, it's unlikely that all parts do. For example, in this case unless you are connecting to the same ADSL modem with internal router it is unlikely that you have the same problem.

I'm still hoping that Override will post back. But one more thing either or both of you can do until that happens is to run ethereal and watch the DHCP handshaking as you run netcardconfig. Seeing the manner in which the handshaking fails may give us some insight on how to resolve this.

**Override** · 12-11-2005, 06:05 PM

oh im sorry.. i guess i was giving the right info but doing it the wrong way

yes its an ADSL modem and yes it does have a built-in router..

**Harry Kuhman** · 12-11-2005, 07:49 PM

Originally Posted by Override

oh im sorry.. i guess i was giving the right info but doing it the wrong way

yes its an ADSL modem and yes it does have a built-in router..

Yea, that is what I understood, my last post quoted Jacksonon and was to him, not you. I still have no idea why DHCP is failing or why a manual netcardconfig wouldn't let you force the settings yourself, and no idea what else you can do other than what I posted above.

**Harry Kuhman** · 12-11-2005, 08:07 PM

jacksonon indicates in another thread that Knoppix 4.0.2 solved his problem with is NIC. I don;t think we ever really learned what he was connecting to, but it certainly seems like a reasonable thing for you to try too.