I am a Linux newbee, I just installed Redhat Linux 9 for the first time. I am having trouble with lost packets. In the "Terminal" program I get 80% or so Lost Packets when pinging my router.

Here's my hardware setup:

Linux machine that used to have Windows XP installed with no problems with pinging.

3Com Nic that is valid on the Redhat compatibility list

Linksys BEFVP41 Router

(1) 10ft ethernet cable between machine and router.

Here's my software configuration:

In the "Network Configuration" program:
Hostname: localhost.localdomain
Primary DNS: 63.240.76.4
Secondary DNS: 204.127.198.4
DNS Search Path: attbi.com
HOSTS IP: 127.0.0.1
HOSTS NAME: localhost.localdomain
Aliases: localhost


I selected "Desktop" configuration in the anaconda graphical installation, also I selected the default "assign ip address from DHCP server" during installation. I do have DHCP running on router which does assign an IP address to linux machine.

Thanks for any help you may provide

Mike

Here's a couple of idea's.

Firstly try a different ethernet cable. The one you are using may be on its way out.
Try pinging your linux box from your Windows box and see if there is a high packet loss.
Finally check ifconfig. The network interface may be incorrectly configured and for whatever reason your PC isn't fetching an IP address from the DHCP server.

Check that your linux machine has an IP address which resides on the same network as your router.

Also remember that network cable is not like phone or electric line. You can't just run it next to anything. Does it pass behind the fridge, for example. Is it a few inches from a florecent light. There have been times where end users of a network would get unexplainable network loss and it was finally discovered that the network loss happened at the same time the coffee maker was on! But my guess would coincide with codedv: Get a different cable. First swap the cables and see if you get the same results, but reversed.

Thanks for the help. Go figure, it was a bad cable. What are the odds that the cable would go bad at the same time that I load linux. Thanks for the help.

"What are the odds that the cable would go bad at the same time that I load linux"

honestly, the probability is very high. Just like everything else you will encounter; Always troubleshoot the obvious (and easier) first and then work in to the details...

ie: i had a user once loose the color red on thier monitor, they had a few co-workers looking at every setting imagineable, all to no avail. After an hour or so, they called me and I walked in, noticed the computer had been moved, promptly pulled out the cable, straightened the bent pin and VIOLA! Red. 2 minutes compared to an hour.

Why make things harder than they have to be...

also, Welcome to LQ!