Old Dell laptop + replicator ethernet problems

**monkymind** · 02-04-2003, 01:53 PM

Does anyone have any experience getting the network running through a Dell replicator (docking station).
It's an old Latitude XPi CD laptop (pent166 6xCD etc).

I can find, configure and ping the network card (3c509) but no luck pinging the gateway!!??

regards
rob

**Hermanh** · 02-04-2003, 07:34 PM

If you can configure it, your Linux configuration is OK.

The problem could be the cable or a bad NIC.

What kind of cable are you using? Straight or cross?
Do you connect to a PC directly or are you connected to a hub or switch?

Does the connection work in Windows or what-ever your other operating system may be?

Can you give some information on your TCP/IP settings?

**monkymind** · 02-05-2003, 01:19 AM

Cable and hub are OK. We are able to connect other PCs & Laptops without problems.

I've just found Donald Becker's 3c509 page http://www.scyld.com/network/3c509.html

and tracked down the dos cfg utility too.

The card is a 16-bit 3C509B-TP and had Pn enabled - I've disabled Pnp and will look into the setting up of an ISA card. (I've only used PCI so far)

Thanks for your input will let you know what happens.

Cheers
rob

**Hermanh** · 02-05-2003, 01:34 AM

You will need to use the command

Code:

modprobe 3c509

to see the card.
I have 3 of them in my knoppix-box. All work fine for me.

**stonent** · 02-05-2003, 04:58 AM

I was unable to get knoppix working with the 3c509 card on my XPi as well. I kept getting the error "setting rx mode....." over and over. Even after forcing the irq and memory address that it detected in windows.

**Hermanh** · 02-05-2003, 10:25 AM

You need to disable PlugNPlay with the second driver disk in DOS. To do that you can use a Windows 98 diskette to start the machine without CD-support. Then put the second driver disk in the machine and run install. After confirming the license agreement you can choose configuration. Do not choose auto install or auto configuration. That will set your NIC PNP.
The second driverdisk you can download from www.3com.com.
It's an packed .EXE you have to unpack to diskette.

Goodluck.

**orang55** · 04-09-2003, 02:44 AM

Try the 3c59x module. While it's not the right module for the chipset in your dock, it might work. It does in the Dell C/Port replicators.

As a side note, the dell replicators are quite possibly the flakiest pieces of hardware ever created.