# [SOLVED] At my wits end with nonfunctional network

## y2kwizard

Hello all.

I'm a linux n00b trying out Gentoo for the second time. I am having a very difficult time getting any sort of communication to the 'net: every time I try to ping an internal or external IP address or host, I get an unknown host or network unreachable message.

First of all, I checked to make sure that I'm using the right module for my ethernet card: I booted up the LiveCD (which does connect to the internet correctly, btw) and did a lsmod, found that the driver was 3c59x. I'd been using this driver in the first place, and it's in my /etc/modules.autoload.d file, so this isn't the problem.

I've also made sure that I've typed "rc-update add net.eth0 default"...this does not help. 

Here is other pertinent information:

/etc/hosts:

```
127.0.0.1       localhost

192.168.0.1      mycomputer.midsouth.rr.com   mycomputer
```

/etc/conf.d/net:

```
iface_eth0="dhcp"

(all other lines are commented out (#))
```

/etc/resolv.conf:

```
nameserver 24.165.200.40

nameserver 24.165.200.35

search midsouth.rr.com
```

If anyone has ANY clue as to what on Earth I'm doing wrong, please reply. I would love any suggestions. I am a complete n00b, so I've probably got some setting entirely wrong. But I'm not going to give up. Thank you very much for your help...this is a wonderful community!

--wiz

----------

## volumen1

As root, do an 'ifconfig' and see if your eth0 is showing up.  Also, try an 'ifconfig -a' (the -a shows interfaces that are down).

Also, do an 'lsmod' and see if your 3c59x module is in that list.  If not, then try to manually load it with 'modprobe 3c59x'.  Then try and do an '/etc/init.d/net.eth0 start'.

If you wanted to try and do it all manually (for testing), then after loading the module (if it isn't loaded already) do an 'ifconfig eth0 up' and then do a 'dhcpcd eth0' and see if you are able to get an IP from the DHCP server.

----------

## xianx

When i used dhcp with my cable Internet, i had to put in:

```

iface_eth0="dhcp"

dhcpcd_eth0="-h DHCPSERVER_IP -I USERNAME"

```

in my /etc/conf.d/net

i dont know if its the same deal with your broadband.  :Razz: 

[Edit: just so no one gets confused, replace DHCPSERVER_IP with the ip address of your dhcp server (Given by your ISP) and USERNAME with the username your ISP gave you.  :Wink: ]

----------

## y2kwizard

As I'm a n00b, I'm not sure what responses to certain inquiries means in terms of teh existence of eth0.

When I do an "ifconfig eth0", I get the following:

```
Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr FF:FF:FF:FF:FF:FF

BROADCAST 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:100

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

Interrupt:11 Base address:0x1800
```

I'm not sure whether this is a positive or negative response. If I simply do "ifconfig," only lo information shows up.

ifconfig -a gives info for eql, eth0, lo, sit0, and tap0

After lsmod, 3c59x is on the list, but in the "Used" column, there is a 0. Again, I'm not sure what this indicates.

After '/etc/init.d/net.eth0 start,' I get a message that linux failed to bring eth0 up.

dhcpcd eth0 and ifconfig eth0 up both do not give positive results.

Obviously, I'm still messed up over here. Any ideas?

----------

## y2kwizard

also tried xianx's suggestion to no avail

----------

## volumen1

Sorry I didn't provide more information.  It looks like your ethernet module is getting loaded and that is creating your eth0 interface.  However, because you didn't see it in an 'ifconfig', that means it is not up.  

A normal ifconfig result looks like this 

```
eth0      Link encap:Ethernet  HWaddr 00:A0:F0:34:B9:55

          inet addr:192.168.0.10  Bcast:192.168.0.255  Mask:255.255.255.0

          UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST  MTU:1500  Metric:1

          RX packets:219197 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:1 frame:0

          TX packets:238123 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0

          collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000

          RX bytes:205974535 (196.4 Mb)  TX bytes:233640423 (222.8 Mb)

          Interrupt:18 Base address:0xec80
```

Notice the "UP RUNNING" section.  When you do an 'ifconfig eth0 up' what happens?  

Do you know if your broadband provider is doing PPPOE (PPP over Ethernet) or something like that?

----------

## y2kwizard

Not that I know of...I think they're pretty typical for a cable ISP. It's RoadRunner, of course...but I'm not 100% sure they don't use PPPOE. Is there any more information we can discover by looking at info when I've booted off the LiveCD? LiveCD does connect to the internet correctlyh.

----------

## volumen1

What happens when you run this command?  It should just return silently.  Then you should be able to see eth0 in an 'ifconfig'.  Then you should be able to do 'dhcpcd eth0'.  Please send any errors that you are getting.  

Also, what is your hostname?  I ask because of something I read in this thread.

https://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic.php?t=78336&highlight=roadrunner

----------

## y2kwizard

oh! You're right. when I do 'ifconfig eth0 up,' it does run silently. Then, when I run 'ifconfig,' eth0 does show up. Finally, dhcpcd eth0 runs silently, as well. But then, when I go BACK to 'ifconfig' after typing in 'dhcpcd eth0,' only lo shows up.

----------

## y2kwizard

I'm using "stephen" as my hostname and "midsouth.rr.com" as my dnsdomainname.

----------

## y2kwizard

Changing my hostname to something even MORE obscure than "stephen" didn't help, as was suggested in the page you sent me.

----------

## volumen1

for some reason you aren't getting an IP from the DHCP server.  I did some googling and found this link http://people.qualcomm.com/karn/rr/linux.html

It seems like you might need an rrlogin utility to authenticate before you are able to get an IP.  I'm not sure why this worked on the live CD, though, if this is, in fact, the problem.

I did an 'emerge -s rrlogin' to try find the client in portage, but didn't find it.  It looks like a little .c file, though.  I would try the above URL and see if it doesn't help.

----------

## y2kwizard

thanks for the article. I'll check it out and see if I can get this up and running. But I really think I must be doing something incorrectly, for I was able to install Gentoo on another computer a while ago on this same network, and this worked with the LiveCD.

----------

## volumen1

Do you have a link light on your ethernet card?  What about the other end?  Does it have a link light?  Are you going from this computer to a hub/switch or some sort of router?

You might just double-check all connections and maybe try the liveCD again to see if it still works.

I think there is also a net-setup script that you might dork around with.

----------

## jbiggs77

I'm having the exact same problem, although not with Roadrunner.  It is a cable connection though.  Please let me know if you get it figured out.

-Justin

----------

## ctford0

There is something going on with the module that you are loading.....

Check out your hardware addy from ifconfig.

FF:FF:FF:FF:FF:FF

There is no way that this is actually your hardware addy, something is wrong with your module or you need something else to help it out...

 *Quote:*   

> 
> 
> When I do an "ifconfig eth0", I get the following: 
> 
> ```
> ...

 

Hope this helps......

Chris

----------

## jbiggs77

Try This:

dhcpcd eth0 -h "myhostname"

no " around your host name

-Justin

----------

## indros

ok.. you may have already covered this, but sometimes, the simple thing is oft overlooked... 

Have you tried

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

and 

```
rc-update add net.eth0 default 
```

[/quote]

----------

## labrador

First of all, do not assign an IP address in /etc/hosts

You certainly do not need to do this for a run of the Live CD.

Second, you cannot use a domain name that is public in your

hosts file and just expect it to work.  Domain names are

resolved by the DNS server referenced in your resolv.conf

If you put some .com thing in your hosts file, you might find

that the real .com domain name becomes inaccessible.

For most home users, and 98% of newbies, you want to 

use a private domain name in /etc/hosts and any DNS set

up you do on your private network.  Assign yourself a domainname

ending in .domain and you can be sure it is not going to overlap with

an existing domain on the internet.  But again, setting up

the /etc/hosts file is NOT required for the Live CD install.

It sounds like your problem is purely with getting DHCP to

give you an address.  I'd focus on making DHCP work.

Check with your ISP about whether they require any

login information.  You must know these things or you

are just groping in the dark.

Once you have an IP address showing up from a run of

```
ifconfig eth0
```

 then you should check that the

route exists to your gateway.  Run 

```
route -n
```

 to view

the routing information.

Note that the sample run of ifconfig eth0 provided by volumen1

is showing an IP address of 192.168.0.10 .  This is a

private IP address and should not be the type of address

you'd expect to get from the cable company (it will not

start with 192.168).  Private addresses are for use on a private LAN

and are inaccessible from the Internet.

----------

## ctford0

HELLO????

IS THIS THING ON????

You are NOT going to get an inet connection with a mac addy of FF:FF:FF:FF:FF:FF period...

Boot the livecd and check ifconfig there, i know your mac there is not FF:FF:FF:FF:FF:FF.  There is something wrong in your config.  Your mac or hardware address doenst come from your isp it is in the hardware and it is always the same no matter what.  Even if you never connected your computer to the internet you should see the correct mac address in ifconfig and sometimes, depending on the module, when the computer boots up and loads the ethernet module as well.  I REPEAT THERE IS NO WAY THIS IS YOUR TRUE MAC ADDY.

Chris

----------

## y2kwizard

Just booted off the liveCD, and my mac addy is 00:00:86:4D:7F:CB. Can this incorrect mac addy on the hd boot tell us anything about which config file I've got wrong or where I've messed up in my setup? I'm assuming that I've either loaded the wrong module or perhaps compiled my kernel incorrectly, if this is a hardware problem...that's what you're saying, right?

Well, I did an lsmod while on the liveCD, and the module it said was loaded was "3c59x," which is the module I've got in the autoload file for startup, and which I'm using off the hd boot. And I used genkernel to compile my kernel, so it set up my card with modular support. Does anyone have a clue hwere I went wrong, here?

----------

## y2kwizard

(my NIC is the 3Com PCI 3c556B Laptop Hurricaine)

----------

## labrador

If that FF:FF:FF:FF:FF:FF HWaddr in your ifconfig eth0

output is incorrect, please run ifconfig eth0 again

and post the output here.

We want to see verification, because there are too

many different things being claimed and you need

one story to nail down what is happening.

----------

## y2kwizard

ifconfig from hd boot:

```
Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr FF:FF:FF:FF:FF:FF

inet6 addr: fe80::fdff:ffff:feff:fff/10 Scope:Link

UP BROADCAST NOTRAILERS 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:0

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

Again, this mac address is incorrect because I get something completely different when I boot from the LiveCD (00:00:86:4D:7F:CB)

It seems that others have had problems with this 3c556B card, as well. I'll keep looking for fixes. Any other ideas?

----------

## volumen1

I'm just reaching here, but maybe support for that card is buggy under certain kernel versions.  Boot from the liveCD and do a 'uname -a' and take note of what kernel the liveCD uses (I know I should know this).  Then boot to your HD again and do a 'uname -a' and see what kernel you are running.

Which sources did you use?

----------

## y2kwizard

I used gentoo-sources

LiveCD kernel version is 2.4.21-gss

HD kernel version is 2.4.20-gentoo-r7

----------

## y2kwizard

So do you think I should recompile using gss sources w/ version 2.4.21?

----------

## volumen1

It might be worth a shot.  I mean, it definitely seems like the module isn't loading correctly.  Unless you get any other good suggestions, it might be worth a try.

----------

## y2kwizard

Aighty. I'll try that. I'll be sure to tell you how it all turns out. It might take me a while to figure out how to do this, as I'm a n00b, but I think I'll be able to get it up and running w/in a few hours.

----------

## y2kwizard

Yup, that worked. Should've thought of it way before now. Thanks a lot, guys, you were a great help.

----------

## volumen1

I'm glad to hear that the newer kernel helped.  I don't think you can call yourself a Noob anymore.  Heh... you pretty much threw the book at that one.

----------

