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eth0 just disappeared

Hi
I've been running debian unstable for quite a while now, more or less without problems. Then, after I rebooted eth0 just disappeared. Not I can't get on the internet or network and I have no clue why. Before I rebooted it wasn't connected to the network, don't know if that is a coincidence, though.

My PC:
IBM Thinkpad T40 (slightly "customized": more memory, better network card, linux compatible wlan card ...)
Pentium M
2.4.25 kernel
debian unstable

Code:

 

$ ifconfig

lo <specs>

no eth0



$ lspci

pcilib: Cannot open /sys/bus/pci/devices

0000:02:01.0 Ethernet controller: Intel Corp. 82540EP Gigabit Ethernet Controller (Mobile) (rev 03)

0000:02:02.0 <my wlan card>



$ ifconfig eth0 up

eth0: ERROR while getting interface flags: No such device

I would be very greatful for a suggestion on how to get this working again, as I don't enjoy having to use my windows-box to browse the internet :o

Is PCMCIA card services loading and is your machine loading the correct modules for you card?

it's not PCMCIA, it's a built-in network card

Quote:

Originally posted by ben_ch
it's not PCMCIA, it's a built-in network card

Okay, I only saw laptop but no other details. But you still haven't answered my other question? More details please. Have you tried to modprobe the appropiate module if it isn't loading at boot time, etc? Any other details is always helpful?

I haven't really been using linux all that long ... how do I do that?

Quote:

Originally posted by ben_ch
I haven't really been using linux all that long ... how do I do that?

Well first find out if its loaded the module for you NIC with this command logged in as root:

lsmod

And did you do anything to your system before your reboot, like a kernel recompile, etc?

it's not in lsmod, the only things there are:
radeon, rfcomm, 2cap, bluez, ds, yenta_socket, pcmcia_core, appletalk, parport_pc, lp, parport, apm, mousedev, hid, usbmouse, input, af_packet, uhci, ehci-hcd, usbcore, ide-cd, cdrom, rtc, ext3, jbd, ide-detect, piix, ide-disk, ide-core, unix.

As a matter of fact I did do a couple of things before I rebootet ... I tried to install my wlan and vpnc. The only command I know of that might have done something is modprobe tun, don't even know what that does though ...

Well your NIC should use the e100 module, so try adding the module like this as root:

modprobe e100

and it that works, then try running ifconfig to see if it shows your eth0 adapter.

I did modprobe e1000 (I have gigabit, not 100Mbit), rebooted and still nothing worked (ifconfig also didn't show up my eth0 adapter)

Quote:

Originally posted by ben_ch
I did modprobe e1000 (I have gigabit, not 100Mbit), rebooted and still nothing worked (ifconfig also didn't show up my eth0 adapter)

Okay, after you modprobed e1000 did you get any errors or does it show up runnign the command lsmod after modprobing it? And if you modprobed it and then rebooted, clearly its not loading at boot time so why would you need to reboot? Its just going to clear what you just done.

First, try "ifconfig -a". I'm guessing you won't see eth0 listed based on what you've describes so far, however if you do see it listed that means that this is probably not a module thing.

Anyway, supposing that your NIC is a gigabit card (wow - fancy!) and that e1000 is the module name for that card (it might not be), modprobe -k e1000 should return without any errors or warnings and "ifconfig -a" should list eth0. Note that at this point eth0 is not ready for usage, so don't freak out if websites don't load.

So, if eth0 still doesn't show up in "ifconfig -a" and/or if "modprobe -k e1000" gives an error or warning, we've got a problem. It could be that "e1000" isn't the correct module name for whatever card you are using. If your kernel source is installed, you can "cd /usr/src/linux" and then "make menuconfig". Under network devices, there will be a special section for gigabit ethernet cards. Try to identify your card there based on the manufacturer's name. Once you've found it, make sure it has been compiled as a modules (this may require a kernel recompilation, which is covered extensively on this forum). Under the "help" for that driver, note the module name. It will be something like "mymodule.o". To insert the modules, run "modprobe -k mymodule". Be sure to leave off the ".o".

Posting the last ten lines of the command "dmesg" after running a "modprobe" command could be helpful. I suggest trying out some of the stuff I talked about above and then posting any results/questions you might have.

it is a gigabit ethernet card and e1000 is the correct module to load (I know that from some other guys with the same laptop)
modprobe -k e1000 went fine, and it showed up afterwards in ifconfig -a

I don't have a directory /usr/src/linux (just /usr/src/kernel-source-2.4.25.tar.bz2 (can I just decompress that and "make menuconfig" it? I can't remember if I got it through apt-get install kernel-source-...)

last lines of dmesg:

Code:

[drm] Initialized radeon 1.7.0 20020828 on minor 0

[drm:radeon_unlock] *ERROR* Process 851 using kernel context 0

Intel(R) PRO/1000 Network Driver - version 5.2.20-k1

Copyright (c) 1999-2003 Intel Corporation.

PCI: Found IRQ 11 for device 02:01.0

PCI: Sharing IRQ 11 with 00:1d.0

PCI: Sharing IRQ 11 with 01:00.0

PCI: Sharing IRQ 11 with 02:00.0

eth0: Intel(R) PRO/1000 Network Connection

Just add that module to load each time you boot so it loads properly, etc. Then once it loads, if your network scripts setup properly, should regain you access, etc.

Not sure what your intending to do with the kernel, unless you want to recompile it for other reasons as modprobing your module should be resolved now.

Quote:

Originally posted by trickykid
Just add that module to load each time you boot so it loads properly, etc. Then once it loads, if your network scripts setup properly, should regain you access, etc.

w00t, it works :D
Thanks for the help!

just a (hopefully last) note: how do I get that module to load each time I boot up?
or will it do that automatically from now on?

of course I only got internet after
#dhclient eth0
(just in case someone else has the same problems)

Quote:

Originally posted by ben_ch
w00t, it works :D
Thanks for the help!

just a (hopefully last) note: how do I get that module to load each time I boot up?
or will it do that automatically from now on?

of course I only got internet after
#dhclient eth0
(just in case someone else has the same problems)

Yeah, just add it to your modules.conf file to load at boot time and it should autoload at boot time.

And yeah, that last command is used if you use DHCP to connect. You should be able to add that to your startup scripts as well so you don't have to type it after reboot, etc.