# Gentoo not acknowledging Ethernet-Controller, or Dhcp.

## metacym

Hello. I am a new Gentoo user, but have used Arch for a while. 

I installed Gentoo AMD64 2005 from live disc on an old Compaq sr1920NX tower. it has an nVidia-bridged ethernet controller, ( to which the green light is on, which i would assume should mean it is working properly ) 

I have not been able to get it to acknowledge or start eth0. there is no wireless card as an option. Also, i downloaded the forecdeth driver on my laptop, 

But the Gentoo compaq will not recognized the jump drive for me to even pull that off of it. I also  typed dmesg, and the jump drive shows up there, but nowhere else. 

resolv.conf only displays:

#Generated by dhcpd for interface eth0

nameserver 192.168.2.1

"resolve.conf" [converted] 2L, 64C

192.168.2.1 is the address that my macbook pro is assigned for internet sharing over eth0, so i dont see the problem there. 

net-setup as a command says "command not found" and ifconfig only acknowledges loopback interface:

lo Link encap: Local Loopback

inet addr: 127.0.0.1 Mask: 255.0.0.0

inet6 addr: ::1/128 Scope: Host

UP LOOPBACK RUNNING MTU: 16436 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)

also, i tried to do:  /etc/init.d./net.eth0 start

and i received the error message 

Starting eth0

* configuration not set for eth0 - assuming DHCP

* No DHCP client installed. 

So, here is where it get's worse. i cant use portage to update anything, because there is no internet connection. I cant transfer files to the gentoo box yet, because i cannot access the jump drives. 

yeah, so it seems like i could be  close to a solution, but i need some more insight on this.

cheers, - metacym.

----------

## tgR10

"jump drive" - wtf is this ?

what kind of nvidia ethernet card do you have ? maybe provide us some info for example the outpout of

```
lspci |grep Ethernet
```

/etc/resolv.conf should contain your dns servers addres each server in new line - this is in Gentoo instalation guide

net-setup works only from Gentoo minimal/install cd - this probobly is in Gentoo instalation guide

if ifconfig shows only loopback devices, that's mean you didn't compile your drivers into kernel, or the module is not loaded

/etc/conf.d/net - there is a place when you set-up your networking  - this is in Gentoo instalation guide

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## kevstar31

If you can get network to work on a differint distro or a livecd run post the output of lsmod and dmesg from that to determine what drivers are being used.

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## metacym

 *tgR10 wrote:*   

> "jump drive" - wtf is this ?
> 
> what kind of nvidia ethernet card do you have ? maybe provide us some info for example the outpout of
> 
> ```
> ...

 

Hi. thanks for the reply. what i meant by "jump drive" was just a USB-external 1GB flash drive. Since i could not use network on the gentoo box, i downloaded the 

forcedEth driver from a different computer with the hopes that i could just transfer the driver and install manually. 

lspci | grep Ethernet gives this info:

00:14.0 Bridge: nVidia Corporation MCP51 Ethernet Controller ( rev a3 ) 

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## tgR10

 *metacym wrote:*   

> i downloaded the 
> 
> forcedEth driver from a different computer with the hopes that i could just transfer the driver and install manually.

 

those drivers are in kernel (2.6.29 duno about the one's before i got realtek ethernet card)

```
Device Drivers 

 [*] Network device support  --->     

 [*]   Ethernet (10 or 100Mbit)  --->   

 <M>   nForce Ethernet support   
```

should looks like that for example, if you wan't it to be as module remember to add automodule loading in kernel

```
 [*] Enable loadable module support  --->   
```

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## metacym

So i booted the machine in question into a Backtrack3 live disc that i had laying around, and i was unsuccessful at getting ethernet connectivity as well. 

I suppose that any more trouble shooting Gentoo at this point is pointless if i cant even discern if this is a hardware issue or not. 

the ethernet light appears. the ethernet controller shows up in the lspci | grep ethernet command. I am stumped at this point.

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## doctork

The forcedeth driver has been available in Gentoo since at least 2006 (probably before).  I've had one of these running since that time:

```
dwarf / # lspci | grep Ethernet

00:14.0 Bridge: nVidia Corporation MCP51 Ethernet Controller (rev a3)
```

--

doc

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## metacym

 *doctork wrote:*   

> The forcedeth driver has been available in Gentoo since at least 2006 (probably before).  I've had one of these running since that time:
> 
> ```
> dwarf / # lspci | grep Ethernet
> 
> ...

 

are you saying that the forcedeth driver is already in the Gentoo install, and that i dont need internet connection to install it?

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## cach0rr0

indeed it should be 

if you're booted from the install image:

```

zcat /proc/config.gz |grep -i deth

```

should be in there

far as the kernel you'll end up using, should be in there as well - just need to make sure youve selected it for inclusion

now having said that, what happens if (as root) you do: 

```

modprobe forcedeth

```

does it throw an error? 

to take dhcp out of the picture, any joy setting a static IP?

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## metacym

 *cach0rr0 wrote:*   

> indeed it should be 
> 
> if you're booted from the install image:
> 
> ```
> ...

 

I have tried setting up static IP, but i could have done something wrong. it didnt work, but I wasnt sure about a few things. it could have been user error.

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## metacym

update: , ifconfig now acknowledges eth0. unfortunately, i dont know what changed it. it could have been the command i issued earlier to modprobe forcedeth.

unfortunately, even though it sees eth0, it is not providing internet connectivity. Any advice is appreciated. 

Link encap: Ethernet HWaddr 00:17:31:F7:7D:7A

 BROADCAST MULTICAST MTU: 1500 Metric:1 

All the normal parts that list the packets, errors, droped, overruns and frame all list

"0"

Interupt reads :3

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## doctork

The modprobe created what you're now seeing with ifconfig.

Now try your /etc/init.d/net.eth0 start.

--

doc

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## metacym

thanks for your help.

/etc/init.d/net.eth0 start prints:

starting eth0 

Configuration not set for eth0 - assuming DHCP

No DHCP client installed. 

root etc # 

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## alatar

There are new gentoo sources:

 *Quote:*   

> Just a quick note to say gentoo-sources-2.6.29-r1 was just put in the  portage tree. This release includes the 2.6.29.1 patch which has a fix for forcedeth issues.  Also included are the ext4 filesystem patches.  This is definitely a must upgrade for ext4 users.
> 
> http://sources.gentoo.org/viewcvs.py/linux-patches/genpatches-2.6/tags/2.6.29-2/

 

http://www.mpagano.com/blog/?p=102

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## cach0rr0

if you can get eth0 up, then you *should* be able to set a static IP if nothing else

you should write down your netmask, broadcast, and default gateway that's known to work on another box for that network

then configure a static IP once you've gotten eth0 recognized

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

that should give you connectivity - then emerge dhcpcd, undo your changes to /etc/conf.d/net, and carry on (assuming you want to use dhcp, start dhcpcd, and add it to  your default runlevel)

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## metacym

Still no ethernet. 

Okay. so here are my variables:

networks configuration:

loopback 127.0.0.0

link-local 169.254.0.0

# the primary network interface

auto eth0

iface eth0 inet static

address 192.168.1.120 <---- static IP i manually set

netmask 255.255.255.0

network 192.168.1.1

broadcast 192.168.1.255

gateway 192.168.2.1 

#dns-* options are implemented by the resolvconf package, if installed. 

dns-nameserver 192.168.2.1

here is my resolv.conf

#Generated by dhcpcd for interface eth0

nameserver 192.168.2.1

nameserver 192.168.1.1

/etc/init.d/net.eth0 start prints:

* Starting eth0

*configuration not set for eth0 - assuming DHCP

*No DHCP client installed. 

/etc/conf.d/net is blank, and says that if left blank, DHCP will be the default, However i dont know what to put there instead of the blank, dhcp default.

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## alatar

You are using wronf config file format. The one you had used is taken from Ubuntu Linux, it will not be recognized by Gentoo, that is why you see

 *Quote:*   

> configuration not set for eth0 - assuming DHCP 

 

Read this for Gentoo network configuration.

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## metacym

thanks for your reply. 

I re-did everything per the guide you linked to, and the same DHCP error persists.

* i should add that i re-did the config for static-IP per the guide you linked me to .

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## metacym

So i have made a sliver of progress. 

After re-configuring conf.d/net, I once again issued the command /etc/init.d/net.eth0 start, and this time it printed:

* Cachine service dependencies...

* Starting eth0

*    Bringing up eth0

*     192.168.1.120

   * network interface eth0 does not exist  

   * please verify hardware or kernel module  ( driver )

localhost init.d # 

So being a n00b, How do i go about verifying hardware or kernel module? I had thought this is what i did when i did "modprobe forcedeth"

----------

## metacym

Update:

eth0 is now up and running, but still not facilitating internet. 

ifconfig prints:

eth0       LInk encap: Ethernet  HWaddr 00:17;31:F7:7D:7A

inet addr" 192.168.1.120 Bcast: 192.168.1.255 Mask: 255.255.255.0

inet addr: fe80::217:31ff:fef7:7d7a/64 Scope: Link 

UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1

RX packets: 134 errors: 0 dropped: 0 overruns: 0 frame:0

TX packets: 262 errors: 0 dropped:0 overruns: 0 carrier: 0

collisions: 0 txqueuelen: 1000

RX bytes: 31928 (31.1Kb) TX bytes: 16876 (16.4 kb)

Interrupt: 23

Lo             Link encap: Local Loopback

inet addr: 127.0.0.1  Mask: 255.0.0.0

inet5 addr: ::1/128 Scope: Host

UP LOOPBACK RUNNING MTU: 16436 Metric: 1

RX packets: 132 errors: 0 dropped: 0 overruns:0 frame:0

TX packets: 132 errors: 0 dropped: 0 overruns:0 frame:0

collisions:0 txqueuelen: 0

RX bytes: 12156 (11.8Kb) TX bytes: 12156 (11.8 kb)

cv

i also re-did "modprobe forcedeth" , and "ln -s net.lo net.eth0" , and  "rc-update add net.eth0 start", as well as set "kernel-version 2.6" in modules.autoload.d.

Everything seems so close to working, i just still am not sure what to do next.

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## metacym

after reboot, ifconfig  is even acknowledging eth0 at runtime. So everything seems to be dialed, except that the internet connection still does not work.

i can ping the static IP address of the gentoo box, but other networks are still unreachable. 

any help from you guys is appreciated. I feel so close!

----------

## Hu

If you are literally seeing a Network is unreachable error, then you are missing one or more required routes.  What is the output of ip route show ; nl /etc/conf.d/net?  If you are using a static IP assignment, this is normal, and you need to explicitly define your default route.

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## metacym

 *Hu wrote:*   

> If you are literally seeing a Network is unreachable error, then you are missing one or more required routes.  What is the output of ip route show ; nl /etc/conf.d/net?  If you are using a static IP assignment, this is normal, and you need to explicitly define your default route.

 

ip route show says 'command not found' 

however, " nl /etc/conf.d/net" prints my static IP config:

HOSTNAME="loftbox"

dns_domain_lo="loftboxnetwork"

config_eth0=(192.168.1.120 netmask 255.255.255.0 brd 192.168.1.255" )

routes_eth0=( "default via 192.168.2.1" )

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## alatar

It looks like you are working not from root-user, so you should use 'sudo ip route'. By the way, what is the type of your connection to the Internet?

[EDITED] I have noticed that your default gateway is not in the same subnet. By default such configuration wil not work

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## cyrillic

 *metacym wrote:*   

> ip route show says 'command not found' 

 

That is because sys-apps/iproute2 is not part of the base install.  Use this command instead.

```
# route -n 
```

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## metacym

thanks for the help guys. 

route -n  prints:

kernel IP routing table

Destination         Gateway        Genmask           Flags  Metric  Ref   Use Iface

192.168.1.0        0.0.0.0        255.255.255.0      U         0        0      0     eth0

127.0.0.0             0.0.0.0          255.0.0.0           U        0        0      0       lo

any suggestions as to how i might correct the default gateway ?  it is obviously wrong if it is printing zeros, right?

Oh, and the internet connection is ethernet, stemming from a macbook pro set to 'internet sharing via ethernet' 

the MBP is using a wireless connection from my WRTG150N router. the router is not physically close enough to the gentoo box

to directly connect.

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## metacym

i could still use some help with this network config if anyone has some suggestions or a link.

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## shrimp123

same h/w. but this problem to me is random. Here is how i try to fix it

- reboot

- when it enters eth0 (just before dhcp, etc)

  ctrl-s

-wait for 10 second

  ctrl-q

-when it displays dhcp stuff (abt 2 seconds after prev step)

   ctrl-s

- wait 10 seconds

  ctrl-q

this seems to work around for me. though i have NO clue what the problem is.

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## Hu

 *metacym wrote:*   

> any suggestions as to how i might correct the default gateway ?  it is obviously wrong if it is printing zeros, right?
> 
> 

 

No, that is normal for routes inferred via netmask.  Why is your default gateway on a different subnet than the card itself?

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## metacym

 *Hu wrote:*   

>  *metacym wrote:*   any suggestions as to how i might correct the default gateway ?  it is obviously wrong if it is printing zeros, right?
> 
>  
> 
> No, that is normal for routes inferred via netmask.  Why is your default gateway on a different subnet than the card itself?

 

i live in a duplex. I share internet access to the router wirelessly with my neighboor, but i am not in range to connect directly to the main card through ethernet. 

therefor i have 'internet sharing' turned on my Macbookpro, and an ethernet cable running to the gentoo box.

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## metacym

i still need some help figuring out how to get my eth0 to be functional. 

currently, it is up and running according to ifconfig. But web-browser, ping, or portage all give the respective feedback of no internet connection. 

route -n prints:

Destination            Gateway              Genmask          flags   metric ref    Use   Iface

192.168.1.0          0.0.0.0                 255.255.255.0    U         0      0      0      eth0

127.0.0.0              0.0.0.0                 255.0.0.0           U         0      0      0      Lo

0.0.0.0                 192.168.1.118       0.0.0.0              UG       0      0      0      eth0

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