Hello,

Yesterday, I created a dual-boot for my desktop, WinXP and XUbuntu 6.06.

I tested the live CD ahead of time, conneced to Internet without any problem.

After installing WinXP and Xubuntu, I tested out the Internet connection in both. WinXP works fine, Xubuntu doesn't allow me to access remote hosts.

Note that eth0 does mount during boot. Furthermore, the networking tool tells me that eth0 is active. Using DHCP, Ubuntu reports valid IP address.

I've tried to connect to remote sites using host names as well as IP addresses, neither of which work. I don't imagine that DNS is the factor.

This output may be useful:

===================================================
> ifconfig -a

eth0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:08:A1:15:2E:88
inet addr:192.168.1.105 Bcast:192.168.1.255 Mask:255.255.255.0
inet6 addr: fe80::208:a1ff:fe15:2e88/64 Scope:Link
UP BROADCAST MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1
RX packets:40 errors:79 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:15 errors:2 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:2
collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
RX bytes:13291 (12.9 KiB) TX bytes:1154 (1.1 KiB)
Interrupt:193 Base address:0xd800

lo Link encap:Local Loopback
inet addr:127.0.0.1 Mask:255.0.0.0
inet6 addr: ::1/128 Scope:Host
UP LOOPBACK RUNNING MTU:16436 Metric:1
RX packets:33 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:33 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:0
RX bytes:3140 (3.0 KiB) TX bytes:3140 (3.0 KiB)

sit0 Link encap:IPv6-in-IPv4
NOARP MTU:1480 Metric:1
RX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:0
RX bytes:0 (0.0 b) TX bytes:0 (0.0 b)

===================================================
> route -n

Kernel IP routing table
Destination Gateway Genmask Flags Metric Ref Use Iface
192.168.1.0 0.0.0.0 255.255.255.0 U 0 0 0 eth0
0.0.0.0 192.168.1.1 0.0.0.0 UG 0 0 0 eth0

===================================================

I'm entirely sure where to start with this. Note that Xubuntu, I'm assuming just like Ubuntu, doesn't have a default firewall of its own (as I don't see any option to configure the firewall). This is particularly odd because the live CD did connect.

Any help would be appreciated. I don't think I'll keep Xubuntu, but regardless, I want to figure this out. I believe resolving this issue would be useful knowledge for me and many other people.


Cheers, and thanks

You realize that 66% of your received packets are erronous, right? Thats not good by any standard.

How sure are you that you got the IP via DHCP and not through some cache, kept by dhcpcd or dhclient perhaps? With 66% loss rate, even DHCP would be tedious or maybe even impossible to use, not to mention IP. Your connections could time out even before all packets are transferred.

Try bringing the interface down and up again manually by running `ifconfig eth0 down`;`ifconfig eth0 up` and depending on whether you have dhclient or dhcpcd instsalled, run `dhclient eth0` (exclusive)OR `dhcpcd eth0`. This will ask for a new IP. run `ifconfig eth0`, check number of errors. ping your gateway 4 times. run `ifconfig eth0` again, check errors. Compare with first number. Was an increase noticable?

If you could not get an IP or the error count increased, keep reading (you may do so otherwise as well):

Are you using the proper driver for the card? What driver is associated with eth0 (lsmod)? Is this the correct driver for the device (lspci -v)? Additionally, in /var/log/ check the files messages and dmesg for signs of trouble with your network card driver.

Also, it seems your network card is associated with interrupt 193. Is this a USB network card?

I think you are having a problem with the driver for the network card. To help debug this issue, please post the make and model of your card and its chipset (lspci -v), the kernel you use (uname -a), the module loaded for the interface (run lsmod , post /etc/modules.conf and /etc/modprobe.conf). If you find references to possible problems in the logs, please post them as well.

One more thing: incorrectly installed / not installed ACPI can cause devices to misbehave especially on new computers with default distro kernels. To fix this, a kernel re-compile might be required. Thats all I can think of for now.

Hello sonajiso,

Thanks for your reply.

I assumed that IP was assigned through DHCP, and not cached. For a new installation, would DHCP be used to discover DHCP during set up? This may sound like a stupid question, but that's what I imagined would happen.

I've tried a handful of live cds since then, and only one allowed me to connect to Internet (Morphix). I've also installed SuSe 10.1, since I had more luck with SuSe 9.1 (my last OS, single boot), but 10.1 won't connect either.

Again, this problem didn't occur before I installed Windows (before the dual boot).

I brought eth0 down, then up again. I then tried "dhclient eth0", and here's the output:

================================================================

sudo /sbin/dhclient eth0

Listening on LPF/eth0/00:08:a1:15:2e:88
Sending on LPF/eth0/00:08:a1:15:2e:88
Sending on Socket/fallback
DHCPDISCOVER on eth0 to 255.255.255.255 port 67 interval 4
DHCPDISCOVER on eth0 to 255.255.255.255 port 67 interval 5
DHCPDISCOVER on eth0 to 255.255.255.255 port 67 interval 8
DHCPDISCOVER on eth0 to 255.255.255.255 port 67 interval 17
DHCPDISCOVER on eth0 to 255.255.255.255 port 67 interval 11
DHCPDISCOVER on eth0 to 255.255.255.255 port 67 interval 16
No DHCPOFFERS received.
No working leases in persistent database - sleeping.

================================================================

I also have output from other networking tools:

================================================================

/sbin/lspci

00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation 82845 845 (Brookdale) Chipset Host Bridge (rev 04)
00:01.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82845 845 (Brookdale) Chipset AGP Bridge (rev 04)
00:1e.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801 PCI Bridge (rev 05)
00:1f.0 ISA bridge: Intel Corporation 82801BA ISA Bridge (LPC) (rev 05)
00:1f.1 IDE interface: Intel Corporation 82801BA IDE U100 (rev 05)
00:1f.2 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801BA/BAM USB (Hub #1) (rev 05)
00:1f.3 SMBus: Intel Corporation 82801BA/BAM SMBus (rev 05)
00:1f.4 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801BA/BAM USB (Hub #2) (rev 05)
01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: nVidia Corporation NV11 [GeForce2 MX/MX 400] (rev b2)
02:09.0 Ethernet controller: Davicom Semiconductor, Inc. 21x4x DEC-Tulip compatible 10/100 Ethernet (rev 31)
02:0a.0 Communication controller: Conexant HSF 56k Data/Fax Modem (rev 01)
02:0b.0 Multimedia audio controller: Creative Labs SB Live! EMU10k1 (rev 07)
02:0b.1 Input device controller: Creative Labs SB Live! MIDI/Game Port (rev 07)

================================================================
================================================================

uname -a

Linux personal 2.6.16.13-4-default #1 Wed May 3 04:53:23 UTC 2006 i686 i686 i386 GNU/Linux

================================================================
================================================================

lsmod

Module Size Used by
snd_seq_dummy 3588 0
snd_seq_oss 28672 0
edd 8516 0
snd_pcm_oss 42752 0
snd_mixer_oss 16512 1 snd_pcm_oss
snd_seq_midi 8960 0
snd_emu10k1_synth 7296 0
snd_emux_synth 31872 1 snd_emu10k1_synth
snd_seq_virmidi 6400 1 snd_emux_synth
snd_seq_midi_event 6400 3 snd_seq_oss,snd_seq_midi,snd_seq_virmidi
snd_seq_midi_emul 6016 1 snd_emux_synth
snd_seq 47216 9 snd_seq_dummy,snd_seq_oss,snd_seq_midi,snd_emux_synth,snd_seq_virmidi,snd_seq_midi_event,snd_seq_mid i_emul
snd_emu10k1 104196 2 snd_emu10k1_synth
snd_rawmidi 23552 3 snd_seq_midi,snd_seq_virmidi,snd_emu10k1
snd_ac97_codec 82848 1 snd_emu10k1
snd_ac97_bus 2176 1 snd_ac97_codec
snd_pcm 80136 3 snd_pcm_oss,snd_emu10k1,snd_ac97_codec
snd_seq_device 7948 8 snd_seq_dummy,snd_seq_oss,snd_seq_midi,snd_emu10k1_synth,snd_emux_synth,snd_seq,snd_emu10k1,snd_rawm idi
snd_timer 20868 3 snd_seq,snd_emu10k1,snd_pcm
snd_page_alloc 9608 2 snd_emu10k1,snd_pcm
snd_util_mem 4736 2 snd_emux_synth,snd_emu10k1
snd_hwdep 8836 2 snd_emux_synth,snd_emu10k1
snd 51076 20 snd_seq_dummy,snd_seq_oss,snd_pcm_oss,snd_mixer_oss,snd_seq_midi,snd_emu10k1_synth,snd_emux_synth,sn d_seq_virmidi,snd_seq_midi_emul,snd_seq,snd_emu10k1,snd_rawmidi,snd_ac97_codec,snd_pcm,snd_seq_devic e,snd_timer,snd_util_mem,snd_hwdep
soundcore 8672 1 snd
lp 10948 0
parport_pc 34916 1
parport 32200 2 lp,parport_pc
xt_pkttype 1792 3
ipt_LOG 5632 9
xt_limit 2432 9
ip6t_REJECT 4992 3
xt_tcpudp 3072 5
ipt_REJECT 5120 3
xt_state 2048 12
iptable_mangle 2688 0
iptable_nat 7684 0
ip_nat 15660 1 iptable_nat
ip6table_mangle 2304 0
ip_conntrack 47916 3 xt_state,iptable_nat,ip_nat
nfnetlink 6168 2 ip_nat,ip_conntrack
ip6table_filter 2688 1
ip6_tables 12360 2 ip6table_mangle,ip6table_filter
af_packet 19336 6
iptable_filter 2816 1
ip_tables 11080 3 iptable_mangle,iptable_nat,iptable_filter
x_tables 11908 10 xt_pkttype,ipt_LOG,xt_limit,ip6t_REJECT,xt_tcpudp,ipt_REJECT,xt_state,iptable_nat,ip6_tables,ip_tabl es
joydev 9024 0
sg 31004 0
st 34332 0
sd_mod 16144 0
sr_mod 14500 0
scsi_mod 122120 4 sg,st,sd_mod,sr_mod
ipv6 215808 13 ip6t_REJECT
button 6672 0
battery 9476 0
ac 4996 0
apparmor 47004 0
aamatch_pcre 13440 1 apparmor
nls_utf8 2048 1
ntfs 190356 1
nls_iso8859_1 4096 1
nls_cp437 5760 1
vfat 11648 1
fat 46620 1 vfat
loop 14728 0
dm_mod 52584 0
usbhid 39392 0
shpchp 39488 0
pci_hotplug 24372 1 shpchp
hw_random 5400 0
i8xx_tco 6804 0
intel_agp 21020 1
agpgart 28976 1 intel_agp
i2c_i801 8076 0
i2c_core 19728 1 i2c_i801
uhci_hcd 27280 0
usbcore 109700 3 usbhid,uhci_hcd
emu10k1_gp 3584 0
tulip 45600 0
gameport 13960 2 emu10k1_gp
ide_cd 35488 0
cdrom 32416 2 sr_mod,ide_cd
reiserfs 210944 2
fan 4612 0
thermal 13448 0
processor 22592 1 thermal
piix 9092 0 [permanent]
ide_disk 15104 6
ide_core 116540 3 ide_cd,piix,ide_disk

================================================================
================================================================

ifconfig eth0

eth0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:08:A1:15:2E:88
UP BROADCAST MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1
RX packets:12 errors:1096 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:2 errors:4 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:4
collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
RX bytes:2670 (2.6 Kb) TX bytes:140 (140.0 b)
Interrupt:169 Base address:0xd800

================================================================
================================================================

"Network tools", which came with SuSe 10.1/GNOME states that I have:
- 140 transmitted bytes
- 2 transmitted packets
- 4 transmission errors
- 2.6 KB received bytes
- 12 received packets
- 1240 reception erros (and increasing, up until I put eth0 down)
- 0 collisions

Again, I appreciate your help. I'm hoping to make some sense from all of this. My WinXP internet is fine. I believe that most of the liveCDs detected the Davicom ethernet card (no, not USB) and created eth0, but I couldn't access the internet.


Cheers,
Bryan

> I assumed that IP was assigned through DHCP, and not cached. For a new installation, would DHCP
> be used to discover DHCP during set up?

Thats correct. A new install would have had to use DHCP to aquire the network settings from the switch. However the setup could have cached the settings and it is also possible that your installation system ran a different kernel (or same kernel but with different options) than what was being installed. So, even though the network worked during setup, it could have stopped after the newly installed kernel was booted.

> Again, this problem didn't occur before I installed Windows (before the dual boot).

Windows should not have anything to do with this, unless it flashed the network card and managed to screw linux compatibility this way.


The fact that the interface malfunctions indicates to me that there is a problem with the driver or there is a problem with ACPI ( perfect explaination for the extremely high interrupt number reported by ifconfig) and the driver cannot communicate with the device.

At this point, there are 3 things you can try: Disable acpi; See what drivers under what kernel worked for you; or compile a kernel configured for your system.

To disable acpi support at boot, at the boot loader screen, add the "noacpi" kernel option. This should disable acpi, but thats only a temporary solution because now you have acpi disabled and personally I would not want to run a computer with an acpi subsystem controlled by a no acpi kernel. So disabling acpi is a temporary measure to see if the driver would work properly with no acpi.

If disabling acpi did not help, try boot one of the live CD's (in which networking worked) and see what kernel version they are running (uname -a) and what modules it has loaded for the network card (lsmod and lspci -vv ). It might be that the version of the driver you are running is buggy.

In general, a kernel recompile -with proper configuration- will help resolve ACPI issues. The ubuntu kernel might not have acpi propely enabled. I learned not to rely in distro kernels too much as they try to be everything for eveybody - and that usually does not work for anybody. Try building a "custom kernel".

It seems that this networking issue has turned into a hardware issue, and you might get better support if you move the thread to the hardware forum.

Thank you very much, sonajiso.

I disabled acpi at boot. The OS, after a long wait, said I was connected, but I wasn't. I sent out a DHCPDISCOVER, got back no DHCPOFFERs again.

I appreciate your insight and time. I'm going to boot up a live cd that works (Xubuntu did), and find out the kernel version and look at the modules. I'm never custom compiled a kernel, so depending on what I find from muddling through the manuals and internet, I may refine my question in hardware.

Thank you again for your help, I feel I've learned a lot!

I just found this today:
http://www.ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=186430

Thanks for posting that URL. I tried it out, but it didn't solve my problem.

I've discussed this with a few people. You have been, by far, the most helpful, but it seems to have even my admin-type friends stumped.

For the first time last night, I had some packets received, albeit 85% packet loss. I've tried static addressing (that's how I got some results, but nothing acceptable) and DHCP. I reset the router, nothing.

I saw some wierd results in the Kernel's routing table -- after making changes, sometimes it had four entries (including loopback), sometimes two, sometimes one, sometimes none. As I experimented, I noticed that whenever I set the IP address statically or switched network managers (there's NetworkManager and some other four-letter network manager, forget what it is called), the routing table would have zero entries. After restart, sometimes it had two, sometimes four.

I'm going to locate an ethernet card that is officially supported by SuSe 10.1, and test it out.

I feel I've learned a lot during this process -- I only wish I got this particular card working! I'll let you know how things work, but I probably won't be doing this soon, as I unfortunately have a lot of unfortunate obligations.