alright, so, this is just an ongoing problem. i JUST put linux on my computer, and i'm a complete newb. i got an ethernet card that SAYS that it's linux compatible. and, sure enough, when i throw the cd in to install the driver, there is a folder that says linux. so, naturally, i go in there and read the readme file. it's giving me the step by step: copy these files, compile, copy the fa31x.o to such and such directory, now insmod that file... so on and so forth (i forgot the rest, but that's not important at this point). see that insmod thing? yeah, well, when i do that, it says something to the affect of module will taint the kernel: no license. well, apparantly that doesn't really mean much, except that i won't get tech support on it. BUT, my computer has the audacity to lock up at this point. completely frozen. mouse doesn't do anything, and ctrl+c doesn't break. it's just sitting there. the terminal cursor doesn't even blink. i have to reboot each time i've tried. now, i've tried the modprobe thing as well, now that somebody told me about that, but that says that the module doesn't exist (when clearly it does, as it's sitting right there in front of me).

i know i put like 5 problems in there, not to mention my lack of skill with linux at this point, but i would VERY much appreciate any help that anybody could offer. thank you, and have a nice evening. (well, it's evening where i'm sitting... could be morning, or afternoon where you are... have a nice one)

You don't say (that I see) what version of Redhat you are using, but NETGEAR FA311's have been working for a long time.

First, tell us what distribution/version you are running. I'm willing to bet the date on that README file you are following is probably several years older; at least I've been running Redhats on that card since at least 2001.

Skip the driver that came with the card; and in fact, toss that CD into the dust bin. Undo any of the configuration changes it led you to do.

The driver you want is the so-called Linux Tulip driver. It should already be part of your distribution. Issue a `locate tulip.o` command and with luck you'll find it listed in the /lib/modules/.../kernel/drivers/net directory of your current kernel. If not you've probably gotten a kernel with networking disabled.

Re-boot your machine, watch the messages going by for useful clues and, when it completes get to a command line and type `dmesg`. Look through that output for lines containing useful info like:
Bringing up interface eth0:
and
eth0: Lite-On

Issue (as root) an `lsmod` command and see if tulip is listed as already being loaded.

Issue a `modprobe tulip` command and tell us what it says.

In your /etc/modules.conf you may need a
alias eth0 tulip
line, but I hesitate to suggest that without knowing more about your configuration.

Last, as a newb, read "How to ask questions the smart way"
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html
to get better answers faster.

alright, thanks, yeah, i found tulip.o, it's in
/lib/modules/2.4.20-8/kernel/drivers/net/tulip/tulip.o

i did the dmesg thing, and nothing with the eth- prefix came up... which i don't think is good. um, i did the lsmod, and no tulip came up

i'm reading the esr thing ... thanx for the link

when i issue the modprobe tulip command, it tells me no such device exists, then says insmod failed (this is paraphrase, but i hope it gets the point across)

thank you for any help you offer

oh, version of redhat... i'm not exactly sure (i know, not a good thing)... how may i find out? when i use the dmesg command, it says i'm running redhat linux version 3.2.2-5, but i'm pretty sure that isn't right (my friend installed it, since he has the discs...)

thanks again

upon rebooting my machine (also, no eth0 or other eth- messages), i discovered i'm running Redhat 9 (Shrike), apparently... hopefully that may help a bit

AFAIK the FA311 uses the natsemi module.
try:
modprobe natsemi

okay, i did the modprobe natsemi, and i get no output... which may be a good thing? i'm not sure.

i think it worked... i'm rebooting my linux machine right now, hoping it initializes... i'll report back on success or failure

okay... it ALmost worked... i get a 'device or resource is busy' message, after a very long pause... any ideas?

okay, so, at this point, i think i should probably tell you that i'm using this ethernet connection to connect to the internet via dsl... is the resource that is busy perhaps my dsl modem? is there something else i'm missing?

What command or what was happening to get a 'device or resource is busy' message?

No output after entering a command is a good thing. How did you configure the DSL connection? Is the modem connected to the ethernet card? Here is the Documentation for the internet connection wizard, be sure to select xDSL.

http://www.redhat.com/docs/manuals/l...de/ch-ppp.html

um, i get the 'resource or device is busy' message on the boot screen, and when trying to configure the device, using the graphical network configuration thingy included with redhat, on the GNOME desktop.

... which it should. It sounds like you may be trying to configure eth0 both for the DSL connection and to connect your computer up to some local network, e.g. for connection sharing. It sounds like you want just the DSL connection.

Drop to a terminal window / command line and try

/sbin/ifconfig -a

Does it report ppp0? Is there a value for inet addr:? If so your modem is connected/or is trying to.

Assuming you have your ethernet card connected to your DSL modem, then what you may need to worry about at this point is getting rp-pppoe configured. You could try, as root, from a command line.

/usr/sbin/adsl-setup

if you haven't done so yet, or done some other graphical configuration. I don't recall how robust that was on RedHat 9. The command-line adsl-setup worked for me back in RedHat 7. It'll ask a bunch of questions to configure your PPP setup for your ISP. When its done you should be able to do a

/usr/sbin/adsl-start

to initiate the connection. Do a

tail -f /var/log/messages

in another command window before that to see the results.

Configured correctly the ppp0 device will use your eth0 to talk to the world.

I think the rp-ppoe package containing adsl-* was a standard part of RedHat by Shrike.

Futhermore make sure your not trying to assign an IP address to the network card prior to bringing up the adsl connection.

well, thank you all... unfortunately, it worked, but not according to many of the tips which you so graciously offered. for whatever reason, i booted it one time, and out of nowhere it detected new hardware (my ethernet card), and configured it automatically... not sure why it took so long for it to do that automatically, and not sure why it wasn't working when i tried manually, but it works right now, so i won't question it. thanks again.