Everytime I boot my computer, when it brings up the network interface, it displays this message:

Waiting for mandatory devices: eth-id-00:00:5a:9c:a5:20
20 19 18 17 16 15 modprobe: FATAL: Error inserting hw_random (/lib/modules/2.6.5-7.276-smp/kernel/drivers/char/hw_random.ko): No such device
eth1 device: Syskonnect (Schneider & Koch) SK-98xx Gigabit Ethernet Server Adapter (rev 10)
eth1 configuration: eth-id-00:00:5a:9c:a5:20
eth1 IP address: 138.236.224.156/21

I have two ethernet cards, one of which will not work, and this one that does work. At first, I assumed it tried to configure the wrong ethernet card, gave up, and moved on to the next one. Then I noticed that it's the same hardware address when it fails and when it works. So, I gathered that it's trying to use the wrong module first. I ran lsmod and discovered that the module for the other network card was in there. So, I ran rmmod to remove it, rebooted, and it looked like I had finally solved my problem. But then I rebooted again, and it was back to the same. I ran lsmod, and the tg3 module that I had removed returned. I ran dmesg and noticed this:

hw_random: RNG not detected
tg3.c:v3.37 (August 25, 2005)
ACPI: PCI interrupt 0000:02:00.0[A] -> GSI 16 (level, low) -> IRQ 16
PCI: Setting latency timer of device 0000:02:00.0 to 64
eth0: Tigon3 [partno(BCM95751) rev 4001 PHY(5750)] (PCIX:100MHz:32-bit) 10/100/1000BaseT Ethernet 00:11:11:30:5b:7d
eth0: RXcsums[1] LinkChgREG[1] MIirq[1] ASF[0] Split[0] WireSpeed[1] TSOcap[1]
eth0: dma_rwctrl[76180000]

Could this be something with automatic hardware detection that insists on trying to configure all of the hardware in my computer? Is there anyway to prevent this? I'd like a more elegant solution than running a script to rmmod tg3 everytime I boot. I experimented with manually specifying the mandatory devices in /etc/sysconfig/network/config and that didn't help. Although, I have not tried combining that with the rmmod.

I have SuSE 9.2 and my kernel is version 2.6.5. This problem is really just a nuisance, but it's really getting on my nerves to see that message taunting me every time I boot. Even if permanently removing the tg3 module doesn't solve it, I'd like to be able to do that. I've made it this far on my own, so if you can even point me towards the problem, I might be able to handle it. Thanks.

The problem stems from hw_random, which is probably completely useless to you (and to anyone who doesn't have a newer VIA processor with "Padlock" or a short-shelflife, rarely-found intel chipset). This seems to be an issue that lies with your distro's method of hardware dependency tree generation. One thing you might try is to move (as root) the module ("/lib/blah/hw_random.ko") to somewhere else, and then run depmod. Either one of three things (up to isomorphism) will happen:

1. Your problem will be solved (i.e., your system will no longer attempt to load a useless module).
2. You will see no practical change (perhaps the error message might say "No such file" instead of "No such device").
3. Your system will explode (or become otherwise unusable).

In the case of 2 or 3, I recommend moving the module back to its original place (with the assistance of a rescue CD if possible) and hand-editing one of various files in /etc (e.g., modprobe.conf, modprobe.autoload, modules.d/*, modules.conf, modules.*), depending on your distro.

Thanks for the suggestion. I tried it, and it looks like it's "isomorphic" to #2. It still takes as long to configure the interface, but it doesn't display the error message. I've undone the changes, and I think I'll just be content to live with it. A minor nuisance is not sufficient justification for the risk to my system. I have learned an awful lot about problem-solving in Linux in my attempts, and I'm convinced I can now try bigger projects with confidence. Actually, I should probably investigate if a working module for the other interface has been developed in the meantime.