# Can't get 8139too with DHCP working

## jtruelove

I just installed gentoo on my desktop machine at home and it's now running dual booted with XP. During the install initially it would detect my network card just fine, realtk RTL8139/810X Fast Ethernet NIC, although I couldn't seem to ping anything. When I would run ifconfig I could see my connection wasn't up. So I ran net-setup and selected wired network etc... Then when I ran ifconfig I could see the interface but still couldn't ping anything. In compiling the kernel I selected the RTL8139 driver so I'm some what at a loss as to what the issue is. I appreciate any help. 

--

JTLast edited by jtruelove on Tue Jun 07, 2005 12:24 am; edited 1 time in total

----------

## NeddySeagoon

jtruelove,

To ping by name you have several things to get right.

1) You need to get your NIC driver loaded, in your case 8139too

2) You need to have your NIC allocated an IP address, either manually or from a dhcp server.

3) Your routing table needs to contain a defualt entry that points to your next hop.

4) Your /etc/resolv needs to point to a valid nameserver.

1) May be automated, if you can see your NIC in 

```
ifconfig -a
```

its OK.

If not, 

```
modprobe 8139too
```

 and look for your NIC again

2) Run 

```
/etc/init.d/net.eth0 restart
```

to bring up your network by hand if your NIC was not detected at startup.

3) will be automatic if you use dhcp.

4) Is only needed if you want to ping (or navigate the internet) by name. Again, dhcp makes this automatic.

----------

## jtruelove

I guess one thing that confuses me is when I run net-setup the eth0 interface comes up when I run ifconfig but after a short time when I run ifconfig again it is gone. Currently the 8139 driver is compiled into the kernel. Does my VIA VT8233A(CE) Integrated Peripheral Controller (PSIPC) have any bearing on the issue? I found a generic Linux x86 lan driver for it on VIA's website. The driver won't compile though for some reason which I'm still investigating. I'll try the stuff you mentioned though. Thanks.

JT

----------

## jtruelove

I still can't seem to get anything working with my network card although the appropriate module is loading just fine. Doing the restart still fails. I can ping my local IP but that is about it. I'm really not sure where to go from here any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

dmesg | grep eth0

```

eth0: RealTek RTL8139 at 0xcc00, 00:20:ed:33:2f:56, IRQ 10

eth0:  Identified 8139 chip type 'RTL-8100B/8139D'

eth0: link up, 100Mbps, full-duplex, lpa 0x45E1

NETDEV WATCHDOG: eth0: transmit timed out

eth0: Transmit timeout, status 0c 0005 c07f media 10.

eth0: Tx queue start entry 4  dirty entry 0.

eth0:  Tx descriptor 0 is 0008a24e. (queue head)

eth0:  Tx descriptor 1 is 0008a24e.

eth0:  Tx descriptor 2 is 0008a24e.

eth0:  Tx descriptor 3 is 0008a24e.

eth0: link up, 100Mbps, full-duplex, lpa 0x45E1

```

lsmod

```

Module                  Size  Used by

iptable_raw             1408  - 

ipt_NOTRACK             1536  - 

libcrc32c               2144  - 

phidgetservo            4928  - 

cytherm                 4960  - 

touchkitusb             4388  - 

sata_sx4               11044  - 

sata_sis                4256  - 

ipr                    51584  - 

s2io                   39816  - 

dummy                   2020  - 

8139too                21152  - 

via_agp                 7360  - 

intel_mch_agp           8048  - 

firmware_class          7296  - 

```

/etc/conf.d/net

```

# /etc/conf.d/net:

# $Header: /home/cvsroot/gentoo-src/rc-scripts/etc/conf.d/net,v 1.7 2002/11/18 19:39:22 azarah Exp $

# Global config file for net.* rc-scripts

# This is basically the ifconfig argument without the ifconfig $iface

#

#iface_eth0="192.168.0.2 broadcast 192.168.0.255 netmask 255.255.255.0"

#iface_eth1="207.170.82.202 broadcast 207.0.255.255 netmask 255.255.0.0"

# For DHCP set iface_eth? to "dhcp"

# For passing options to dhcpcd use dhcpcd_eth?

#

iface_eth0="dhcp"

#dhcpcd_eth0="..."

# For adding aliases to a interface

#

#alias_eth0="192.168.0.3 192.168.0.4"

# NB:  The next is only used for aliases.

#

# To add a custom netmask/broadcast address to created aliases,

# uncomment and change accordingly.  Leave commented to assign

# defaults for that interface.

#

#broadcast_eth0="192.168.0.255 192.168.0.255"

#netmask_eth0="255.255.255.0 255.255.255.0"

# For setting the default gateway

#

#gateway="eth0/192.168.1.1"

```

route -n

```

Kernel IP routing table

Destination     Gateway         Genmask         Flags Metric Ref    Use Iface

127.0.0.0       127.0.0.1       255.0.0.0       UG    0      0        0 lo

```

ifconfig -a

```

dummy0    Link encap:Ethernet  HWaddr XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX  

          BROADCAST NOARP  MTU:1500  Metric:1

          RX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0

          TX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0

          collisions:0 txqueuelen:0 

          RX bytes:0 (0.0 b)  TX bytes:0 (0.0 b)

eth0      Link encap:Ethernet  HWaddr XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX  

          UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST  MTU:1500  Metric:1

          RX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0

          TX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0

          collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000 

          RX bytes:0 (0.0 b)  TX bytes:0 (0.0 b)

          Interrupt:10 Base address:0xcc00 

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:34 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0

          TX packets:34 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0

          collisions:0 txqueuelen:0 

          RX bytes:2424 (2.3 Kb)  TX bytes:2424 (2.3 Kb)

```

/etc/resolve.conf

```

nameserver 192.168.1.1

```

----------

## lotw

BTW, did you emerge the package dhcpcd?  Without that emerged there is no DHCP client on your machine, so an auto IP address will never get assigned.

----------

## jtruelove

Yes I did, and I confirmed that with qpkg | grep dhcp which returned a list of dhcp items net-misc/dhcpcd * being one of them.

JT

----------

## jtruelove

I'm beginning to think that Gentoo doesn't currently support my hardware. I say this because even when I boot into the system with the livecd I don't have any ethernet connectivity. Last night I found some VIA support under device drivers -> networking -> ethernet 10/100 -> VIA Rhine Support and built that as a module and into the kernel and neither way gave any different results. Although the module loaded successfully there was no behavior change. I've checked VIA's website for drivers and found the driver they claim is for my hardware but when I try and compile it I get the following error:

```

head: `-1' option is obsolete; use `-n 1' since this will be removed in the future

make -C /lib/modules/2.6.11-gentoo-r3/build SUBDIRS=/mnt/share/rhinefet modules

make[1]: Entering directory `/usr/src/linux-2.6.11-gentoo-r3'

head: `-1' option is obsolete; use `-n 1' since this will be removed in the future

  CC [M]  /mnt/share/rhinefet/rhine_main.o

/mnt/share/rhinefet/rhine_main.c: In function `rhine_receive_frame':

/mnt/share/rhinefet/rhine_main.c:1211: error: union has no member named `ethernet'

/mnt/share/rhinefet/rhine_main.c:1211: error: union has no member named `ethernet'

/mnt/share/rhinefet/rhine_main.c:1211: error: union has no member named `ethernet'

/mnt/share/rhinefet/rhine_main.c: In function `rhine_suspend':

/mnt/share/rhinefet/rhine_main.c:2854: error: too many arguments to function `pci_save_state'

/mnt/share/rhinefet/rhine_main.c: In function `rhine_resume':

/mnt/share/rhinefet/rhine_main.c:2888: error: too many arguments to function `pci_restore_state'

make[2]: *** [/mnt/share/rhinefet/rhine_main.o] Error 1

make[1]: *** [_module_/mnt/share/rhinefet] Error 2

make[1]: Leaving directory `/usr/src/linux-2.6.11-gentoo-r3'

make: *** [default] Error 2

```

I've posted this issue on there forums but no one there has given me any support. Has anyone else had these issues with the Gigabyte 7vRXP r1.1 boards?

JT

----------

## NeddySeagoon

jtruelove

```
Identified 8139 chip type 'RTL-8100B/8139D
```

There are suggestion on google that your NIC (8139too is correct) may not autonegiotiate very well,

so you need to load it with module parameters to help it along. 

You may also want to play with the kernel compile time option CONFIG_8139TOO_PIO.

Its worth playing with the media module parameter (you need 8139too to be a modoule)

load it with 

```
modprobe media=0xYYYY
```

This line from the source 

```
MODULE_PARM_DESC (media, "8139too: Bits 4+9: force full duplex, bit 5: 100Mbps");
```

says what you need.

The interesting bits are  the x's in the following bit  pattern - 0000 00x0 00xx 0000

media=0x230 gets you full duplex 100Mb

media=0x210 gets you full duplex 10Mb

You can work out the other combiantions.

----------

## lotw

Are you sure you are using the right driver and that you got your new kernel copied to the right place?  If it worked from the LiveCD then the network has to work now, if everything is set right.  To double check boot from the Gentoo LiveCD, when the command prompt comes up type in lspci and lsmod.  That will list the PCI cards detected and the modules that loaded.  From there you can tell what drivers are loading for what.  I have played with a Gigabit board with a Rhino nic, but not sure if it was the same one, since I built it for a friend of mine.  I made a mistake the first time I recompiled my kernel and that I didn't mount the /dev/sda1 and copy the file over to that mount point.  I did the copy to /boot which didn't work, when I rebooted I still had the same kernel with the same old settings.

----------

## jtruelove

As I mentioned in my last post ethernet although detected didn't work from the LiveCD. Ethernet has never worked on this computer at anytime. I rebuilt the kernel a few times last night and was able to boot fine from the updated kernel but without success with getting ethernet up. NeddySeagoon I'll try what you suggest and get back to you on it, thanks for the suggestions.

JT

----------

## jtruelove

NeddySeagoon how do you make the media parameter stick once I try this if it works? Can I specify module parameters in the /etc/modules.autoload/kernel-2.6 etc.. How do you determine you data rate to pic 10 or 100 Mbps etc...? My current setup has my desktop running into a wireless b bridge to my wireless g router. Thanks again for all your help.

JT

----------

## NeddySeagoon

jtruelove,

I think you can add module params in your autolaod file as you suggest.

----------

## jtruelove

Well I tried compiling the kernel with PIO support and 8139too as a module and then loading it with both 

```

modprobe 8139too media=0x230

and

modprobe 8139too media=0x210

```

seperately then I repeated the process but without PIO built in. I also tried building without any Realtek 8139 support and only VIA Rhine Support.  Everytime though DHCP failed to load and I got no different results from in the past. I just don't understand why nothing works it seems like I've tried everything. Any input would be appreciated.

JT

----------

## jtruelove

Well since I can't seem to get anything working with Gentoo with my board maybe I'll just go pick up a cheap ethernet PCI card. Has anyone used the 3COM 10BT/100BTX FAST ETHERLINK XL 3C905CX-TXM PCI? They have them for like 25 on mwave.com . Thanks.

----------

## ckolnik

You could just buy a whole new computer........one that is more compatible with Linux.

----------

## jtruelove

Also here's a link to my motherboard specs if that would help anyone http://www.giga-byte.com/Download/Download.asp?DownloadPath=/MotherBoard/FileList/Manual/manual_7vrxp_e.pdf in understanding my problem.

JT

----------

## tmf

I got quite the same configuration here - 3com card with slightly diffrent chip:

```

eth0:  Identified 8139 chip type 'RTL-8139B'

```

The driver is still the same (8139too, compiled static), everything works fine. Maybe the problem lays elsewhere. What version of dhcpcd do you use? Mine is dhcpcd-1.3.22_p4-r5. If that could help I can send you my kernel.config.

tmf

----------

## jtruelove

I'm not at my Linux box right this second but I'm using whatever DHCP comes with the latest LiveCD stable release, so I'm guessing it's solid. I actually have a built in Realtek card on my board but I was wondering if anyone had used that 3COM card with Gentoo and had success because I can't get my realtek card working.

JT

----------

## overkll

jtruelove,

I just read through this entire thread.  I've got a couple of things I think may have been overlooked.

But first, can you describe your network setup at home?  All I can glean from this thread is that you are at home with a dual boot machine.  Is the machine connected directly to a cable/adsl modem?  Or something more complex like cable/adsl -> firewall/router -> switch -> dual boot machine?  Please be specific.

----------

## jtruelove

I'm behind a Linksys WRT54G router which is attached to a cable modem, I connect to the router through a Linksys Wireless B Bridge which is attached to a Linksys switch that my desktop plugs into. 

JT

----------

## overkll

So,

cablemodem -> Linksys Wireless Router -> --signal-- -> Linksys Wireless Bridge ->

Linksys Switch -> Dual XP/Gentoo

Is that correct?

----------

## jtruelove

exactly

----------

## overkll

And no problems whatsoever for XP to get a DHCP assigned address?  Or is it a static ip?

----------

## jtruelove

Yeah XP works perfectly without issue. As soon as I login into windows I can watch from my laptop on my linksys admin utility and it assigns my desktop an IP just fine.

----------

## overkll

OK, so the XP box gets all it's network settings from the DHCP server running on the Linksys Wireless Router - ip address, netmask, broadcast address, and DNS server(s) and you've never had a problem there.

How is the Linksys Wireless Router setup to handout the IP addresses?  By that I mean has it been configure to hand out ip addresses from a given range of addresses, or is just one address available to the client machine?

----------

## jtruelove

That's right the XP side works perfectly, except every once in a while when my great cable service goes down but that's not a network issue. The router is setup to handout out a range starting from a set ip, whatever the default is, I think it will hand out up to 50 addresses.

----------

## overkll

Sorry for the delay.

Do you have any security apps on your linux system that could be blocking DHCP - iptables for example?

Have you tried setting up your system with a static ip? If you are able to set a static ip address to eth0, chances are you have the right ethernet driver

Have you tried testing by hooking up the linux system directly to the Linksys wireless router with an ethernet cable (it has 4 ethernet ports, right) ?

Have you tried checking XP and see what driver/hardware it identifies as the network card?

Do you have 50 neighbors using your WAP as their ISP?  That would suck up 50 ip addresses.  I doubt that.   :Very Happy: 

If you haven't noticed already, I've been trying to eliminate the possibility of a DHCP problem.  In one of your posts, ifconfig shows eth0 with no ip address, and lsmod showed the module 8139too driver.  Something could be blocking DHCP info from getting to the linux system.  If it is the case, it can be difficult to know if you have the right ethernet driver selected.

----------

## jtruelove

1. No I don't think there are any security apps running, I basically just have a Gentoo clean install. In my lsmod list there is an 'iptable_raw' running and 'ipt_NOTRACK'

2. I haven't tried static ips, I'd guess I'd have to go into the router and set that up. It's probably straightforward if possible, I just haven't done it. How does it associate IP's to computers by MAC?

3. Yes the router has four ports it's just physically farther away then I have a cable to reach and not easily moveable etc... and I don't have a cable port in my room. 

4. I'd have to confirm but I think XP also lists the realtek driver, I'll check this though.

5. No I don't think anyone else is using it, I can see who is on it. I have WEP and MAC address enabled security, not to say those are bulletproof by any means.

----------

## overkll

 *jtruelove wrote:*   

> 1. No I don't think there are any security apps running, I basically just have a Gentoo clean install. In my lsmod list there is an 'iptable_raw' running and 'ipt_NOTRACK'

 

OK.

 *Quote:*   

> 2. I haven't tried static ips, I'd guess I'd have to go into the router and set that up. It's probably straightforward if possible, I just haven't done it. How does it associate IP's to computers by MAC?

 

Should be.  You should have a network and netmask defined.  The DHCP addresses could be a subset of the available addresses.  For example 192.168.0.0/24 or 192.168.0.0 with the netmask 255.255.255.0 would give you 254 (1-254) available ip addresses. You should be able to define which addresses to use from available ip's  - DHCP doesn't need to use the all of them.  DHCP could use, say 10 thru 20, and the rest could be used for static ip's.  I'm not suggesting you need this many ip's, it's just an example.

 *Quote:*   

> 3. Yes the router has four ports it's just physically farther away then I have a cable to reach and not easily moveable etc... and I don't have a cable port in my room.

 

Just a thought.  Good way to know if there's a problem in the network or not.  You could move the computer?  I think we're looking at something linux specific though.

 *Quote:*   

> 4. I'd have to confirm but I think XP also lists the realtek driver, I'll check this though.

 

Good to check.

 *Quote:*   

> 5. No I don't think anyone else is using it, I can see who is on it. I have WEP and MAC address enabled security, not to say those are bulletproof by any means.

 

This was more of a tonque in cheek comment.  Didn't mean it was likely.

This seems like a pain in the arse, but I've seen a few cases where the router was the issue and not the module.

I think the 8139too is the right driver, though you could build both realtek drivers and try loading each seperately.  You may need to add module parameters as neddyseagoon suggested.

----------

## ckolnik

 *Quote:*   

> I think the 8139too is the right driver, though you could build both realtek drivers and try loading each seperately.  You may need to add module parameters as neddyseagoon suggested.

 

Can we really be sure that the 8139too is the right driver? I only say this because I am using an Abit NF7 motherboard and it has an integrated LAN card from nVidia that is infact the Realtek 8139 chipset underneath the covers, but to actually use the LAN card I had to install the nVidia nForce driver (nvnet) to get it up and working. In my case using the 8139too driver did not work.

jtruelove is actually a friend of mine and I have seen his setup. 

It would also be worthwhile to note that this LAN card is integrated into the motherboard which is a Gigabyte (something) with a VIA chipset.

----------

## jtruelove

To recap on some of overkll's questions

2. I tried assigning a static IP etc... and while I get it to bring up the eth0 with the data it couldn't ping anything or be pinged etc... so I'm thinking that, that is a no go

3. Haven't tried this yet maybe soon.

4. XP shows the same driver RTL8139 etc..

in addition I tried to use the 8139cp driver as a module but to no evail. Like the via it failed immediatly on a /etc/init.d/net.eth0 restart. With the 8139too that command takes much longer to fail. Once again I appreciate any input.

JT

----------

## NeddySeagoon

jtruelove,

I'm sure that you want the 8139too from the lspci information you posted, unless your chip was wrongly identified.

Even the realtek side does not offer a kernel 2.6 driver for that chip.

Are you able to look at the chip an post the writing from the top ?

Please retain the line breaks if you do post that data.

----------

## jtruelove

Here's the actual lspci info

```

0000:00:00.0 Host bridge: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT8366/A/7 [Apollo KT266/A/333]

0000:00:01.0 PCI bridge: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT8366/A/7 [Apollo KT266/A/333 AGP]

0000:00:0c.0 Multimedia audio controller: Creative Labs SB Live! EMU10k1 (rev 04)

0000:00:0c.1 Input device controller: Creative Labs SB Live! MIDI/Game Port (rev 01)

0000:00:11.0 ISA bridge: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT8233A ISA Bridge

0000:00:11.1 IDE interface: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT82C586A/B/VT82C686/A/B/VT823x/A/C PIPC Bus Master IDE (rev 06)

0000:00:11.2 USB Controller: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT82xxxxx UHCI USB 1.1 Controller (rev 23)

0000:00:11.3 USB Controller: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT82xxxxx UHCI USB 1.1 Controller (rev 23)

0000:00:13.0 Ethernet controller: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL-8139/8139C/8139C+ (rev 10)

0000:00:14.0 USB Controller: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT82xxxxx UHCI USB 1.1 Controller (rev 50)

0000:00:14.1 USB Controller: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT82xxxxx UHCI USB 1.1 Controller (rev 50)

0000:00:14.2 USB Controller: VIA Technologies, Inc. USB 2.0 (rev 51)

0000:01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: nVidia Corporation NV17 [GeForce4 MX 440] (rev a3)

```

and here is writing on the chip nearest the ethernet port

```

GTS

FC-618SM

2k209P

```

Hopefully this helps, I appreciate any feedback.

JT

----------

## tmf

 *jtruelove wrote:*   

> 
> 
> 2. I tried assigning a static IP etc... and while I get it to bring up the eth0 with the data it couldn't ping anything or be pinged etc... so I'm thinking that, that is a no go
> 
> 

 

could you try turning off dhcp in router and then try to assign static ip? In my configuration (same NIC, diffrent router) I was not able to ping anything with static ip/dhcp turn on on the router.

tmf

----------

## NeddySeagoon

jtruelove,

That chip looks like it may be the Etherrnet physical layer driver. Its not the one we need. Looking at page 11 in the manual you posted a link to, the one we need is at the back of the motherboard between PCI slots 4 and 5. Its labled  RTL 8100BL in the diagram.

Is that actually whats fitted ?

PCI slot 1 is next to the AGP slot

----------

## jtruelove

I'll take a look this afternoon and post when I get it Neddy. Tmf I may try that later although I don't think the router or dhcp is the issue.

JT

----------

## overkll

JT,

I was helping a friend troubleshoot his connection problems yesterday.  He's a partner in a small town wireless ISP.

We were able to set up the ethernet card with a static ip, but it didn't function.  The guys at the NOC (Network Operations Center) could see that we were connected, but the connection was non-funtional on our end.  Turned out that the onboard ethernet had failed - possibly to due electrical surge.  We put in a pci ethernet adapter and low and behold it worked perfectly.  You may have a similar issue.

Generice 10/100 cards are pretty cheap these days.  If I were you, I go buy a nic card and give it a shot.

Just my 2 cents worth.

----------

## jtruelove

Yeah that's the plan after I read the chip info off for Neddy. Although I'm pretty sure the NIC is functional since XP works fine with it and has for a long time. It seems to be a Gentoo specific issue probably driver related. What card did you end up picking up?

JT

----------

## overkll

He had another box that was idle and we just grabbed that one.  I think it was an "El Cheapo".

----------

## jtruelove

Here's the info off the chip. I hope this helps.

```

RTL 8100BL

23049Q1

221E TAWAIN

```

----------

## NeddySeagoon

jtruelove,

That rules out the chip being mis detected 

```
RTL 8100BL 
```

so 8139too is correct.

----------

## jtruelove

So what do you try next? The card works fine in XP but the 8139too doesn't seem to work at all in Linux. I picked up a D-Link card but it ended up having a 8139 chipset which it didn't mention on the box. I went ahead and disabled the on board chip and tried using the card but it behaved in the exact same way. The lspci returned basically the same info. How does lspci work, does it query all hardware on the PCI bus for their descriptors? I'm going to take the card back but I've got a 3com card on the way.

JT

----------

## NeddySeagoon

jtruelove,

lspci is in two parts, a database that is used to look up the Vendor and Product IDs, to prodice the text you see and a piece of software that reads this information from the cards or onboard hardware.

Its normally very good. Sometimes the database is out of date, so it just guve you the numbers. Try an old liveCD on new hardware to see that, or look in /proc/bus/pci/devices where the IDs are in the second column as a 64 bit hex number.

There appears to be a problem with the 8139too driver, the RTL 8100BL, and possibly your architecture. It may be fixed in a later kernel or later driver. You could try the latest vanillia -rc kernel from kernel.org or see if there is an even later driver on the web.

This page is worth a read  http://www.scyld.com/rtl8139.html and perhaps some of the links.

----------

## wojo

jtruelove, I have a very similar board (7VTXH, a little older with 266A chipset).

I'm using 8139too without any problems. LiveCD detected it fine, compiled-by-me kernel module works fine and so did many other Linux distros that I've tried in the past..

----------

## jtruelove

That's good to hear it works for someone well  :Smile: . Yeah I've tried a lot of different things without success, mine never worked from the LiveCD. My 3com card will be in this week and I think I've found some ethernet cable long enough to plug directly into the router so we'll see what happens.

----------

## paprikapulver

i've got an asus A3H with the same card.

when i'm at my company and start gentoo (or any other distrubution) i never get an adress from dhcp. 

but at home everything works perfect.

company:

windows --> 100 Mbit / fullduplex

linux --> 10 Mbit / halfduplex

at home:

windows --> 100 MBit /fullduplex

linux --> 100 Mbit / fullduplex

try to connect your realtek card to a different router/switch, just to see if you get an ip.

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## jtruelove

So did you ever do anything at work to get it working?

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## paprikapulver

I've tried to set the speed and duplex mode manually, but did not help. The module seems to be alright, otherwise it wouldn't work at home. So I have to use Windows at work.

Now I'm really curious... tomorrow I'm gonna take my own switch and plug it between my notebook an the existing port. If that works, I'm really at a loss.

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## OdinsDream

I'd like to report that I'm having the exact same problem with an MSI RS482M4 / RX480M4 series motherboard with the onboard RealTek 8139 chip. I'm able to modprobe 8139too just fine, I can ask dhcpcd to get an IP address from my router (which fails - I've also tried two different routers from different manufacturers), and I can manually set an IP address using ifconfig, but the machine cannot ping any external hosts, and no external hosts can ping the machine.

dmesg shows several entires of: NETDEV WATCHDOG: eth0: transmit timed out. I've not been able to fix it yet. This motherboard is brand new from the store.

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## vasudevank

have you tried loading the mii driver module. Usually it is autoloaded, but sometimes you have to manually do it.

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## OdinsDream

What's the mii driver for? Is it just modprobe mii ?

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## vasudevank

if you look at the live cd it has 8139too then under it has mii used by something. I think all that you have to do is add mii to  your module document with nano -w autoload.d/modules (something like that)

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## vasudevank

make sure you have 8139too in that module document

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## OdinsDream

I've checked, and the LiveCD is already loading both the mii and 8139too modules. I am still not able to get DHCP working, nor can I ping hosts if I set up a static IP.

I'm going to have to resort to setting up Windows on this machine to see if it can jump start this card - other threads around here seem to end with people having their cards suddenly start (or stop) working, and Windows is often involved in a dual-boot situation.

This is a brand-new machine, though.

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## vasudevank

so your internet doesn't work in the live cd

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## ectoterrestrial

I'd also like to report that I'm in the exact same boat as OdinsDream. I guess it serves us right for Gentooing this mobo...

Oddly enough, during the initial Gentoo installation I managed somehow to get it to communicate with the router so I could emerge -f tonnsofstuff. Once connected, it stayed connected. I don't remember the procedure I used as it was done in a flurry of desperation. However, it is apparently possible to get it working through SOME procedure which suggests a userspace solution is possible.

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## vasudevank

if your interent worked (you could ping and do links2) in the live cd, then when you booted into your environment interent didn't work. The next is assuming you have a Realtek ethernet card, then in 

# nano -w /etc/modules.autoload.d/kernel-2.6 (or 2.4)

add 8139too

and add mii

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## vasudevank

you may want to look at my realtek howto

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## ectoterrestrial

vasudevank,

Thanks for the advice but this is not a matter of unloaded modules. Something else is happening here. Both mii and 8139too drivers are statically compiled into my system.

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## vasudevank

sorry i couldn't help, I had a Realtek 8139 and when i put in the modules it work, Good luck

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## OdinsDream

vasudevank, I want to be sure we're clear on what's happening:

I'm not using a full Gentoo installation, I'm only just now booting the LiveCD. I've allowed the auto-detection to try and find my hardware, which fails, and I've tried booting with gentoo nodetect and then loading the mii and 8139too modules by hand, which also fails.

This fails in spectacular ways, too. I can see the card being recognized by the module in the output of dmesg, and I can see the interface information, like its MAC address, in the output of ifconfig.

I can even set a static IP address and route using ifconfig and route. What fails is being able to communicate at all with the card. I cannot ping addresses in my local network, and local network machines cannot ping the LiveCD.

The output of dmesg shows "NETDEV WATCHDOG: transmit timed out" whenever I attempt some command that would normally communicate through the network card.

This problem is apparently well-documented, but there is no documented solution as far as I can tell. Some people have their cards magically start working after they boot into Windows, which I haven't done yet, because I don't have Windows.

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## ectoterrestrial

Well, I just purchased a LinkSys 10/100 PCI card and guess what? The same problem is afflicting me.Like the last, this is also not a configuration, router, or module/kernel setup problem. It seems like theres some more fundamental interaction between the kernel and eth# or the PCI bus. This mobo's going back to the retailer.

I wish I remembered who I got it working before....

What a waste of time...  :Evil or Very Mad: 

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## vasudevank

since there is some recognition of the card, maybe it might be the router, or it might be the interent connection (i use a d-link DI-524, with Verizon DSL)

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## deaf-mute

I've had exactly the same problem is the original poster with my RealTek card since emerging the 2.6.9 kernel about a year ago. Prior to that, everything worked perfectly. Also, the problem isn't restricted to gentoo, as it happens in a few other recent 2.6 distros (ubuntu and FC5 test, as well as the 2005.1 LiveCD) I've tried right up to 2.6.12.

Basically it happens just as he described -- everything is set up properly (since it used to work fine) but while the card is correctly detected and the 8139too module loads without errors, it doesn't actually do anything and fails to receive DHCP information or even to work with an assigned static IP address. When I switch my two NIC cards around to put the NetGear FA311 in the first slow, DHCP works fine.

I don't have gentoo installed anymore because I couldn't find a workaround and it seems like it's still not fixed after a year or so.

Does anyone have any recommendations for cheap NIC cards (say $15 or less) that don't use the 8139 drivers?

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## Monkeh

Intel Pro/100, off the top of my head.

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## deaf-mute

 *Monkeh wrote:*   

> Intel Pro/100, off the top of my head.

 

Thanks. I'm going to try swapping my realtek clone with my flatmate's Etherlink XL, since he only runs Windows. If that doesn't work, I'll grab an intel card.  :Smile: 

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## vasudevank

hope that solves the problem

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