# SIS900 Uber-Noob problems

## taz

I am trying to install Gentoo Linux 1.4rc_4.  I have an ASUS P4S8X with an onboard SIS900 NIC connecting through a cable modem.  I am new to Linux, not just Gentoo and whenever i look for possible solutions I don't fully understand the responces in the threads.

When I initially ifconfig -a the only output is lo.  It seems that the kernel doesn't detect my NIC.  Next I modprobe sis900.  This doesn't have any errors.  When i try to net-setup with the DHCP the ifconfig output for lo is 127.0.0.1 with a network mask of 255.255.255.0.  When I try to ping a website, or even my dhcp or dns server, there is an error, network unreachable.  When I manually set up my network with the ip address from Windows XP (they are on separate drives, so I don't think that's an issue) and try to ping, the output is:

pinging site ... 56[84] 

This output doesn't change.  It seems as if it is trying to send only one packet.

I have installed Gentoo before, ignoring the lack of networking, until the point that it says to download package files, at which point I run into difficulty.  Any help or info would be greatly appreciated

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## xedx

Please specify what is your real problem

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## taz

My problem is that I can't connect to the net.  Gentoo doesn't find my NIC and adding the module during install with modprobe doesn't work.  I have tried with apic turned both on and off, so I'm not sure of why it won't work.

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## Diezel

To get your NIC up and running compile the Sis900 module to the kernel.

When done add sis900 to:

/etc/modules.autoload

To get the soundcard working you must compile the i810(Intel 810) module to the kernel.

And put the i810 to:

/etc/modules.autoload

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## taz

Ok, I will do so, but I don't know how.  Do you know of any references that I could use to figure out how to compile the SIS900 module into the kernel or the /etc/modules.autoload files.  Also, I would like to reiterate that this is before Gentoo install, so I am unaware of the necessity of Gentoo being intsalled in order to make these suggested changes.  I am still in the process of reading up on Linux, but there aren't Gentoo specific books as yet, therefore this is the only information base I have.

Thanks for any and all help.

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## tgoodaire

When you compile a kernel (make menuconfig && make dep &&  make bzImage && make modules && make modules install), you choose options for your kernel at the make menuconfig stage.

Under:

Network Devices -> Ethernet 10 or 100 bit -> EISA, VLB...

Choose M (to make a module) or * (to compile it into the kernel) beside the module for your kernel (SIS900 I think you said).

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## taz

I was surfing through some of the other SIS900 problems, and came across the command:

cat /proc/interrupts

According to the output my NIC isn't even assigned an IRQ number.

here is the output of the cat... command:

0:   18296   XT-PIC   timer

1:       251   XT-PIC   keyboard

2:          0   XT-PIC   cascade

8:          2   XT-PIC   rtc

9:        82   XT-PIC   usb-ohci,usb-ohci,usb-ohci,ehci-hcd

10:        1   XT-PIC   ohci1394

14:     113   XT-PIC   ide0

15:   4829   XT-PIC   ide1

I believe this means that Gentoo doesn't recognize my NIC.  Would compiling the module into the kernel make a difference, or is this a different problem?  Everything works fine in Windows XP.

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## tgoodaire

Does dmesg | more tell you anything? I have a card with the SIS900 chipset and I get stuff like this:

SIS5513: IDE controller on PCI bus 00 dev 15

SIS5513: detected chipset, but driver not compiled in!

SIS5513: chipset revision 208

SIS5513: not 100% native mode: will probe irqs later

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## Marajin

No module, no shown entry in /proc/interrupts

It does mean gentoo doesn't know what your card is, but if you didn't have the module loaded, it wouldn't.

I have noticed a lot of people having a lot of trouble with the latest release (RC4) Perhaps it's worth your effort going back a pace...?

I don't know what's going on, current I have trouble with a network card that /is/ seen by Gentoo but can't be used (zero packet transmission).

I don't count myself as entirely new to gentoo but this really has got me stumped.....

I'd make the effort to install Gentoo on this box but I only just got Mandrake 9.1 running sweetly with wireless networking 'n all...

Although now that I know what I'm doing with the wifi it shouldn't be too hard to do the same with Gentoo...eh whaddya do?

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## jkcunningham

I have a box with the SIS 900 chipsit on a Matsonic motherboard. I compiled it into the kernel and had no difficulties whatever. 

It isn't clear to me from what you've described: did you succeed in getting a network connection booting from a LiveCD? I.e. could you ping the outside world or anything? If so, you're just dealing with some relatively straight-forward configuration problem. Try compiling the SIS900 into the kernel, its easier to install, and if its on the motherboard, why would you want it as a module? You aren't going to remove it ever. 

What would be really cool would be if in the process of booting off the LiveCD, the resultant configuration were written to the appropriate kernel and modules configuration files as a default starting point from which to "customize". Its such an obvious wish-list item that there's probably either some hidden difficulty in doing so, or simply no one has had time. 

-Jeff

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## Diezel

If you installed Gentoo by the book you have compiled your own kernel.

It's in the book command

make menuconfig

Choose the sis900 under Network. Compile it as a module, in case you ever change your card or want to try another one you can just remove the module from the startup.

/etc is a folder, in Linux most of the system settings are found here.

so as root user,

cd /etc

Then use your favourite editor, nano, vim or anyone you want to use.

Ex.

nano modules.autoload

At the last line type:

sis900

This will set up "drivers" for your NIC. Every module mentioned in modules.autoload(as the name says) is autoloaded in bootup.

Then you need to set up your IP adress. This is done in the file

net.eth0

so, cd /etc/conf.d/

and, nano net.eth0

Configure it to your needs! It's quite clear it's easy to comment or uncomment in it. If you use static IP's just type down the ip and the netmask and so on. If you use DHCP just uncomment it.

After youve done this you need to add this to the default runlevel this is done by:

rc-update add net.eth0 default

Now when you reboot you should have an functional internet connection.

And then the Audio.

Compile the intel 810 audio device to the kernel as a module(do this when you compile the sis900 in there so you wont have to compile the kernel twice) Explained in the Gentoo install handbook chapter 15.

Then again add this module to the modules.autoload just like above. The module name is, i810

Just reboot and you have take of  :Smile: 

Linux isn't easy when youre new to it but if you just keep at it you'll learn. I've been using linux activly for almost a year now and I've learned alot along the way. Keep searching google and asking in forums.

Have fun, hope this will help you out.

If it doesn't try to tell us more specific what's so hard about it  :Smile: 

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## taz

tgoodaire: I will try the dmesg and get back with you on that in later.  

Marajin:  As for using rc4, I found that others wer having an issue with it, so I did download the rc3 livecd, and have been trying that out, but as yet with no success.

jkcunningham:  The problem is that I can't connect off of the livecd, which is why I can't finish the Gentoo install.  I can't ping anywhere, whenever i try I get a "network unreachable" error.

I have never compiled a kernel, nor do i know how, but if you know of a reference i can figure it out quickly.  As for the entire third paragraph of your responce, I don't fully understand it.

If you know of a better kernel or distro for a person who is completely new to linux, please relate this info.

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## Marajin

Yeah....

You may want to try using other modules too... Look in the relevant directories and see if any of the modules sound 'right' for  your card and try modprobing them.

That is to say

cd /var/modules/

and so on, keep digging through the directories. I don't have the livecd to hand so I won't tell you an absolute path.

You can list the contents of a directory with ls

the blue ones are other directories

open other directories with cd like you would in dos/windows command prompt

and load a module with modprobe

when you look in a directory you'll probably see 8139too.o.gz as the module name or similar but you don't need the .o.gz for modprobing

so it's just: modprobe 8139too

I'm sure I'm just repeating some of what you already know but I find it best to make sure people know all the necessary commands when I tell them how to do something. We were all n00bs once  :Wink: 

I started messing with linux before it was common to have 'automated' installation of apps..

Gentoo is a very nice place to start as it has the wonderful emerge.

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## taz

Mahella:  Sorry, I didn't see your responce a second ago.  :Very Happy: 

If I could install Gentoo, I wouldn't have a problem.  I am trying to configure my nic off of the livecd in order to follow the install directions.  The first thing that it says to do is to setup the network.  I have continued on with the stage1 tarball until it says to download the portage tree, which I can't do without my NIC being recognized.

Thanx for the vote of confidence.  I believe that I learn pretty quickly, it's just that I can't find substantial sources of information.  Everything seems pretty straight-forward, so I don't understand what I'm doing incorrectly.

Thanks everyone for the help so far

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## taz

Mahella:  Sorry, I didn't see your responce a second ago.  :Very Happy: 

If I could install Gentoo, I wouldn't have a problem.  I am trying to configure my nic off of the livecd in order to follow the install directions.  The first thing that it says to do is to setup the network.  I have continued on with the stage1 tarball until it says to download the portage tree, which I can't do without my NIC being recognized.

Thanx for the vote of confidence.  I believe that I learn pretty quickly, it's just that I can't find substantial sources of information.  Everything seems pretty straight-forward, so I don't understand what I'm doing incorrectly.

Thanks everyone for the help so far

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## Diezel

I missunderstood you. I had _NO_ problems with this chip when I installed. LiveCD reconized my sis at bootup. Don't know why your doesn't.

Run 

```
lsmod
```

 to see if the sis900 module is loaded.

And if it is, try the 

```
net-setup eth0
```

Configure it to your needs.

The nic should work, because I have the _exact_ same mobo, Asus P4S8X.

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## jkcunningham

I had zero problem with the SIS900 in my install as well. You've got to get past that before you bother to go any farther, or your wasting your time. Do you have more than one NIC in that machine? is it possibly showing up as eth1? Did the network work when you booted Windows? Is windows set up expecting dhcp as well? Do you have a router or are you directly connecting into your cable modem? Does your router have a non-standard gateway? (What's the address Windows reports for the card?)

-Jeff

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## taz

jkcunningham:  I have only one NIC in this comp, so it shouldn't be showing up as anything other than eth0.  I have had no problems with the network when I start up windows, which is set up to use dhcp.  I connect directly to the cable modem, so there isn't any issue with a router, etc.

mahellma:  lsmod show that the modules is loaded.

Here is the sis900 line of the lsmod output:

sis900     12492     1

I have switched back to the rc4 livecd, and the ifconfig will initially show eth0 as being up and running, but when I do net-setup the ouput from ifconfig afterwards is that just lo.  Same thing happens when I try dhcpcd eth0.

Marajin:  I have tried a few of the other modules with absolutely no recognition of the NIC, so SIS900.o is my best bet.  Also, now that I changed back to the rc4 livecd, the command "cat /proc/interrupts" is showing that eth0 is on interrupt 9, which is the same interrupt as the usb.  I have tried turning the usb support off in my bios, which gives me eth0 on irq9 alone, but it still won't work.  As I told mahellma, I can get eth0 to make an appearance in the output of ifconfig, but whenever I try to net-setup, dhcpcd, or even ping, it disappears, leaving "lo" the only thing in the ifconfig output.

tgoodaire:  dmesg doesn't show anything with sis, but when the livecd boots the Gentoo kernel it says the same as yours.  It's hard to tell if says the exact same dev location or chipset revision because of the short length of time it is displayed, but the rest is identical "not 100% native mode: will probe irqs later," etc.

I don't know if the fact that the usb and eth0 are on the same irq is conflicting or not, I don't think so because when I turn off usb there is still the eth0 issue.  In Windows, my usb ports are on irqs 21,22, and 23, which don't exist, and my NIC is on irq11.  Is there a way to load modules to different irqs when i start up the livecd?  I would like to find a way to resolve this issue, but everything I have tried so fare hasn't worked.  I find some satisfaction in that at least I get eth0 to show up in ifconfig now, where it wouldn't earlier, which, I think, comes from turning off PnP in my bios.

mahellma:  what are your bios settings for apic and PnP?  Also, which bios version are you using?  Currently I am using release 1004.

Thanks

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## Diezel

Im at work now, but i'll post the BIOS settings and the version when I get home. I still don't understand why, if the module is loaded ehy cant you make the net-setup. It worked right out of the box. And I'm 100% sure that it is the sis900 module that you should use. Because I have the exact same MOBO, Asus P4S8X.

BTW, do you know for sure if you are supposed to use DHCP or Static IP settings. Try to check out your Windows settings, DHCP or static. Gateway and DNS servers. Without these it wont work for sure.

If ifconfig shows nothing then I you didn't get the IP assigned. Well enogh bladdering, i'll post the above when I get home  :Smile: 

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## Naughtyus

Maybe there's something wrong with your network cable?  If you have a spare, try using it instead.

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## taz

Naughtyus:  I have used this cable a few times at lan parties, etc, but in the spirit of trying to figure this out, I have switched cables and it still wouldn't connect.

Mahellma:  I am sure that I have Windows set up as DHCP.  I have even taken the IP address and servers, and tried to put them in as static settings for Gentoo, but this didn't work.  In my network settings for Windows, the only thing that is static is the DHCP setting.

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## xedx

if im right there is a bios setting that indicates if u have a plug and play os. i would suggest to turn that off

 :Smile: 

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## taz

xedx:  PnP is off.  I figured that out when I tried to boot with PnP on.  There were a lot of errors, so now I'm trying to figure out if the apic or acpi options are the problem.

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## taz

Ok all...

My NIC is connected to a Linksys cable modem which connects to the Comcast cable service.  I am getting hints that my NIC is trying to work, but still isn't getting a connection.  The last thing that I can think of that may be an issue with the cable connection.  Does anyone use this cable modem and/or this service?  If so, do I need to specify a -s (server) flag or -h (hostname) flag on my dhcpcd eth0 code?

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## reaz82

 *tgoodaire wrote:*   

> Does dmesg | more tell you anything? I have a card with the SIS900 chipset and I get stuff like this:
> 
> SIS5513: IDE controller on PCI bus 00 dev 15
> 
> SIS5513: detected chipset, but driver not compiled in!
> ...

 

to fix that problem you have to go to the IDE section of the kernel config and enable the option for the ide controller sis5513.. the error msgs disappeared once i specified the right controllers..

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## reaz82

tazn's problem is definitely related to hardware..

if lsmod shows sis900 then either net-setup eth0

or dhcpcd eth0 should work.. also make sure you have

a proper entry in the resolve.conf.. if the settings are

wrong there then you wont be able to ping any place..

so make sure ur resolve.conf is correct.. and also

make sure ur wires and hardware are a tight fit.. :Smile: 

gentoo detects ur card alright.. infact it is very compatible

with sis900.. it even includes it on the live cd.. so you

shouldnt have any trouble at all..

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## taz

reaz:  I figured on the hardware problem, so I went ahead and bought a linksys NIC.  I am now working on installing Gentoo, and then will try to get the SIS900 to work.

THANKS for all the help

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## benca1

I can't do it either. sis900. It won't load. I've done everything short of replacing the NIC.

But I don't want to! It works with the bootable livecd, but not with my new envrionment! It's driving me crazy. I already looked through every thread that mentions network problems as well as the more specific sis900 related threads. lsmod displays nothing. modprobe sis900 does nothing. Yet it shows in /proc/pci.

Any other suggestions!?

Thanks much.

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## taz

I tried everything as well.  The only way that I could get networking up was to buy a new NIC.  Fifteen bucks at Wal-Mart, and it was up and running with no problem.  I searched all the threads as well, but no go.  Still don't know what's wrong.    Sorry man, but I understand your pain.

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## AstroMek

Hm.. I don't know if it really IS a hardware problem.

I've got a P4S8X-X motherboard, and i've got the exact same problem with the SIS-900 NIC.

The LiveCD recognizes the NIC and it shows up with ifconfig -a

However, when trying to assign static IP to eth0 it just won't work.

"Device is busy" it sais.

I am REALLY sure the NIC and the cables work fine because i'm posting this post with the very same computer (in WinXP though).

Anyway... I've found quite some more things to try out before saying where the problem is. I just wanted to say that it might be a software-problem.

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## AstroMek

Posting this from within links now, in case it's a bit weird formatted.

Here's what made it work for me:

Step 1. Set BIOS to do the PnP-part.

(PnP OS = No)

Step 2. When starting the LiveCD, use "gentoo nohotplug" as kernel-option.

(I haven't tried using other kernels yet.)

Step 3. When booted, run "modprobe sis900"

The problem seems to be gentoo(/linux) not finding a decent IRQ for the OnBoard NIC in some cases. The really annoying thing with setting the BIOS to do the PnP-ing is that it seems to bork my WinXP-installation.

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