Broadcom 4401 Windows/Linux Problem...
 

Hello all:

Well, here is a new one on me. I have an integrated Broadcom 4401 chip for my
NIC and it has been working fine. With Red Hat 9 I built the module from broadcom
and it worked fine. With Fedora and the 2.4.22 kernel, the broadcom driver module
comes with it....and it works fine (or has).

I also dual boot into Windows XP (I know...don't yell at me...it's for just a couple
of things for work that won't work yet in Linux)..and had been using the 3.63 driver
for the broadcom. Well, they came out with the 4.23 driver so I thought I would
update it. Fine....works great.

When I boot into Fedora....the NIC IS INACTIVE and CAN'T BE ACTIVATED....as if
it's just DEAD. Totally Dead.....THERE, but DEAD. Won't work. NOTTA.

So, I go back to the 3.63 drive in Windows, and then Fedora is fine again.

Now, I have to ask myself....HUH? How the heck does a WINDOWS driver,
that isn't even being used at the time, affect a Linux driver? I am NOT
booted into BOTH operating systems at the same time, so how can this
be? This is a mystery for me and I need enlightenment.

Broadcom offers the source for a module build, but since Fedora has a nice
one, I don't want to bother with that.

So, basic question: Does a Windows driver somehow "change" the chip
in any way that could interfere with another operating system trying
to use that piece of hardware at another time? Does it "burn" something
into it?

Of course, if so, it all got erased again when I went back to the old Windows
driver, so all is well, but I need to understand this thing to get some rest...

Or is Bill Gates taking over the world?