NIC fail to load/detect/config
 

My comp -
2 PIII 933s
512 DDR
SDVIC Rioworks MB
RH 8.0 - no up dates


My computer detects the following NICS -

VIA VT86c100a RHine-II PCI and 2 DEC21*40 and clones, however I only have 2 NICs on my system.

My motherboard has a VIA Chip on it, but there is no interface... I have checked so many times now.. in the proc folder PCI file it is located on Bus 0, device 18, function 0 - that is the VIA Ethernet controller.

When I removed both cards Kudzu came up and I removed both configurations, it said there were 2 of the same Linksys card, at start up it still says eth0 [OK]. However when I bring up the network configurator in X, it still shows all 3 cards and the VIA card appears on the Hardware browser. I removed all 3 configs.

I put one card in and Kudzu catches it, I config for DHCP and and start up -- it completely messes up, saying
'error for wireless request, set encoder'
and failing set functions, then it says,
'no such device'
and now I can't see it in 'ifconfig' or 'ip addr'. However it comes up in the proc folder in the PCI file Bus 0, device 11, function 0. However, it does have the DNS address from my provider -- however I don't know if this was from a previous config -- I still couldn't ping out.

I unfortunatly don't have the ability to post the exact logs out 'cause I can't get the dang thing on the internet. I appreciate any help!

JT

Look right above the USB connectors on the motherboard, http://www.2cpu.com/Hardware/sdvic/sdvic_3.html for the LAN connection.
Make sure your PNP is set to "NO", see http://www.2cpu.com/Hardware/sdvic/BIOS-pci.html . Boot with 'only' the VIA NIC, fix it, and work out from there, adding one NIC at a time. Your /etc/modules.conf (or the RH equiv) will get a work out.
Make sure you have the latest BIOS installed.
Cool motherboard, no doubt about it, http://www.2cpu.com/Hardware/sdvic/sdvic_1.html .
Multiple nics, see
http://www.scyld.com/network/tulip.html (Note: card ordering is set by the motherboard's PCI BIOS.) and http://www.ussg.iu.edu/hypermail/lin...05.3/0052.html for kernel loading.
See VIA's site for any updates on the NIC or CHIPSET:
http://www.viaarena.com/?PageID=2

Have fun!

Thanks for the reply,
I don't have the NIC. There is only shinny solder where the connectors would be. Only USB for me.

PNP was set to 'NO' when I checked it. Would this have any effect one way or the other with a 'ghost int'? I can assign the 'Ghost int' addresses and gateways, I just can't activate it... you know.. since it ain't there!

I am kinda new to the Linux world, how do I check the BIOS ver? They have a newer driver version out but it is in Win only. I don't know how I would install them on a Linux box. Or shoudl I just do the NIC chip drivers?

Lt. Thompson

Well, one thing at a time.
Go back into the bios, and see if there is any settings for the "invisible' NIC. Make sure it's disabled (even though it's not there).
Reboot with no NICs installed,and look at the output of 'dmesg' in a console/terminal window. See if it went away. If not, we'll just have to work around/ignore it for now.
Shutdown and install one NIC. See if the system will configure it. Look at the output of 'lspci -v' and see if the NIC is there. Work from there.

The bios update on that link I sent you can be done using a 'dos boot' disk from http://www.bootdisk.com/bootdisk.htm and delete the files you don't need off the book disk and then put the bios/flash stuff on it, reboot and boot from the floppy and flash the bios (but save that if you don't need it, as the link said it didn't do much good).

ok,
Sorry it took so long to get back. Stomach Flu and a school project kinda kept me down for awhile.

I took out all NICs and the VIA-Rhine still appears. However in 'dmesg' I don't see anything about it. I can also see it in the hardware browser, but I don't know how to de-install it. It did not appear in any menus in the BIOS when I checked it at start-up.

I think a BIOS update would be a good idea, especially since it mentioned it in that web page you were looking at for my MB. But I don't know which boot disk to use or what to take off of the disk. Plus it says on that page that all thoser Linux ones are seperate drivers for individual devices and the '4-in-1' driver package is for windows only. Any clues?

Also another snag. Seems I can't get my floppy drive to work either... I can see it in start-up with it not connected. I can also see it in the hardware browser with Manu. and Driver info as unknown. Whenever I do install the floppy the light on it stays on all the time and I can't read any disks I put in it.

JT

Faheyd you there.. or anyone?

JT

Hi,
I'm presently out of contact with network access. My short answer would be to reinstall with a later release, or can you get hold of MDK 9.1 or 9.2, or try the SUSE Server package. I know that's not a direct answer, but it's the best I can do at this time.

Is there anyone else out there that might be able to help?

Anyone know where I can find an ISO for the SuSE package? Thanks!

JT