# HELP - live usb doesn't see eth0 - SOLVED

## Moriah

I am trying to install on a Dell PC, desktop core 2 duo, not sure exact model.  The live usb does not set up the Ethernet port.  I know its there and it works, because it works under w10 and under ubuntoo live usb.  

I would just install using the ubunto usb, but it comes up non-root, and I don't know the password to get root.

Does anybody either know what the ubuntoo root password is? 

Or how to get the Ethernet port to work with the live usb?

I am not at the machine right now, so I apologize for not having the lspci output handy, but it does show an Ethernet port.  I probably just need to manually load the right driver, or maybe firmware.

Thanks!    :Very Happy: 

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## Ant P.

Use "sudo su" in ubuntu.

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## Moriah

Do I need a password, or will that just do it?

Sorry, but I'm at a client's now, so I can't try this out just yet.  

The machine I need to install Gentoo on is a replacement for my gateway firewall at my home office.  Since it is down, my mail server and my webserver are offline, which is crippling, but at this time of year, I have a release due at my client's today, and everything else is happening, so its been a real trial having time to work on my gateway box.

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## fedeliallalinea

 *Moriah wrote:*   

> Do I need a password, or will that just do it?

 

No if I remember correctly, otherwise add a password to normal user and use it for sudo

Why don't use systemrescuecd (based on gentoo but with greet support to new hardware)?

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## krinn

I agree with fedeliallalinea's suggest about sysrescuecd ; still i find strange a core 2 duo computer would have an ethernet card with an unsupported chipset from latest livecd.

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## Hu

Since OP did not specify the card (for understandable reasons), we don't know if the card is from the same general age as the CPU.  If the motherboard has no onboard NIC, OP might have added a NIC separately, and may have purchased (or replaced) that card from a much newer generation than the Core 2 Duo CPU.  Also, although this may not matter, OP specified he tried using a LiveUSB, not the latest LiveCD.  It's not clear to me from the opening post whether the LiveUSB that he used is based off a current LiveCD or is some older setup, perhaps dating to whenever he last needed a LiveUSB boot for some other purpose, which could make it years out of date.

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## Moriah

To close this post, I did try the latest live usb, but not live cd.  I don't use cd's or dvd's anymore except very rarely, and I don't even know if I have any blanks lying around.  FWIW I don't use cassettes, 8-tracks, or reel-to-reel tapes either.    :Wink: 

I was able to login as root and use the Ubuntu usb to get things going.  I have installed a Gentoo system, and built a kernel, but I have not yet installed grub and tried booting it.  This time of year, everything else seems to get in the way.    :Sad: 

Since the Ubuntu usb was sufficient, I have continued this installation on the following thread:

https://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic-t-1074356-highlight-.html

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## Moriah

Unfortunately, the ubuntu usb stick is a 32 bit version, and I definately want the 64 bit amd64 flavor for my installed gentoo system.

So, the question becomes, which gentoo live usb supp[orts the tg3 ethernet driver loadable module? (see https://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic-t-1074356-highlight-.html)

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## krinn

sysrescuecd could be use with an usb stick, and tg3 is pretty common everyone should handle it.

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## Moriah

good thought.  I have an old sysrescuecd usb stick around here somewhere, but its ancient.  I should fetch a new one.

tg3 was not on any of the Gentoo usb sticks I had handy, at least not by default.  I haven't tried to manually load tg3 from them because until recently, I didn't know what the problem was.  I will first try booting a Gentoo live usb and manually load tg3 and see if that works.

modprobe tg3 should do it, right?

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## krinn

 *Moriah wrote:*   

> modprobe tg3 should do it, right?

 

yes and no

yes because it should load it

and no because it will already be loaded  :Smile: 

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## Moriah

Not with any gentoo live usb's that I have.  Of course they are all 2.x or at best 3.x kernels...    :Embarassed: 

Maybe I need to get a newer model...

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## krinn

Moriah: i really start thinking we are not speaking about the same thing.

for me tg3 is that:

 *Quote:*   

> Broadcom Tigon3 support (TIGON3)
> 
> CONFIG_TIGON3:
> 
> This driver supports Broadcom Tigon3 based gigabit Ethernet cards.
> ...

 

And look at the date of that https://www.cyberciti.biz/faq/linux-check-version-of-ko-kernel-module-driver/

you'll see this guy has tg3 in june 2011, and if we trust his moduleinfo, using a 2.6.32 kernel.

I'm a bit lost, you are really speaking about tg3 ; that driver?

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## Jaglover

Found in Linux since 2.6, from kernel driver database.

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## Moriah

I need that driver in my live usb, either out of the box on boot, or manually loadable, otherwise I cannot connect to the network to do the rest of the install.  I'm not talking about its availability when I build a kernel; I am talking about its availability when running the live usb itself, so I can perform the install.  Without that driver in the live usb system, I cannot fetch any other files off the internet.

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## Jaglover

Moriah,

very popular Gentoo install media is SystemRescueCD. Will fit a 1 GB USB stick fine. Can boot 32 bit or 64 bit, UEFI or MBR. Has GUI environment, so you can open a terminal window and copy and paste commands from Handbook.

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## Moriah

I've used system rescue cd before, several years ago.  Hopefully other panics will subside and I can get to this tonight.  I'll post what happens...

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## Moriah

I just booted a gentoo live usb that has a 4.9.6-gentoo-r1 kernel.  It is x86_64, so 64-bit.  lsmod shows the tg3 is loaded, but ifconfig -a only shows localhost. 

lspci -k shows the ethernet device is a Dell NetLink, which is a Broadcom BCM7780.  It uses PCIe.

What could be the matter that eth0 (or goofy named new equivalent) ethernet device is not showing up?

The ubuntu live usb finds eth0 just fine.    :Confused: 

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