Please help me figure out why my computer drops from the network. desperate

rbonafied · 09-24-2011, 09:35 AM

Hi,

I admit I'm in a bit of a panic and I'm fearful that the answer will be a bad motherboard. I'm keeping an open mind!

The problem is my DVR randomly drops from the network within the hour after a reboot. The link beat it still there, it just stops communicating. If I unplug the cable and plug it back in, it comes back to life. If I rmmod r8169 and modprobe r8169 it comes back to life. If, however, I shut down eth0 and bring it back up, it doesn't come back to life. I even reset the bios to defaults and started again. By the way, there is nothing in the system logs when this happens.

I figured it was something with the OS, so I just reloaded the OS from scratch and it happened again. I'm freakin!

Particulars:
Distro: Mageia 1 (previously Mandriva 2010.2)
Kernel now: 2.6.38.8-desktop-5.mga (was 2.6.33.*)
kernel module: r8169
Video card: MSI GT218 (newly added after old one bailed)
Card runs latest Nvidia drivers 275.28
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-MA785GM-US2H

Any help is *greatly* appreciated! Even if it's tell me to use a different forum!

Thank you!
R

H_TeXMeX_H · 09-24-2011, 10:15 AM

Can you post the output of 'lspci -k' and 'cat /proc/interrupts' and 'lsmod'.

rbonafied · 09-24-2011, 10:36 AM

[lspci -k]

Code:

00:00.0 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] RS880 Host Bridge
	Subsystem: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] RS880 Host Bridge
00:02.0 PCI bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] RS780 PCI to PCI bridge (ext gfx port 0)
	Kernel driver in use: pcieport
	Kernel modules: shpchp
00:0a.0 PCI bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] RS780 PCI to PCI bridge (PCIE port 5)
	Kernel driver in use: pcieport
	Kernel modules: shpchp
00:11.0 SATA controller: ATI Technologies Inc SB700/SB800 SATA Controller [IDE mode]
	Subsystem: Giga-byte Technology Device b002
	Kernel driver in use: ahci
	Kernel modules: ahci
00:12.0 USB Controller: ATI Technologies Inc SB700/SB800 USB OHCI0 Controller
	Subsystem: Giga-byte Technology Device 5004
	Kernel driver in use: ohci_hcd
	Kernel modules: ohci-hcd
00:12.1 USB Controller: ATI Technologies Inc SB700 USB OHCI1 Controller
	Subsystem: Giga-byte Technology Device 5004
	Kernel driver in use: ohci_hcd
	Kernel modules: ohci-hcd
00:12.2 USB Controller: ATI Technologies Inc SB700/SB800 USB EHCI Controller
	Subsystem: Giga-byte Technology Device 5004
	Kernel driver in use: ehci_hcd
	Kernel modules: ehci-hcd
00:13.0 USB Controller: ATI Technologies Inc SB700/SB800 USB OHCI0 Controller
	Subsystem: Giga-byte Technology Device 5004
	Kernel driver in use: ohci_hcd
	Kernel modules: ohci-hcd
00:13.1 USB Controller: ATI Technologies Inc SB700 USB OHCI1 Controller
	Subsystem: Giga-byte Technology Device 5004
	Kernel driver in use: ohci_hcd
	Kernel modules: ohci-hcd
00:13.2 USB Controller: ATI Technologies Inc SB700/SB800 USB EHCI Controller
	Subsystem: Giga-byte Technology Device 5004
	Kernel driver in use: ehci_hcd
	Kernel modules: ehci-hcd
00:14.0 SMBus: ATI Technologies Inc SBx00 SMBus Controller (rev 3c)
	Subsystem: Giga-byte Technology Device 4385
	Kernel modules: sp5100_tco, i2c-piix4
00:14.1 IDE interface: ATI Technologies Inc SB700/SB800 IDE Controller
	Subsystem: Giga-byte Technology Device 5002
	Kernel driver in use: pata_atiixp
	Kernel modules: pata_atiixp, atiixp
00:14.2 Audio device: ATI Technologies Inc SBx00 Azalia (Intel HDA)
	Subsystem: Giga-byte Technology Device a002
	Kernel driver in use: HDA Intel
	Kernel modules: snd-hda-intel
00:14.3 ISA bridge: ATI Technologies Inc SB700/SB800 LPC host controller
	Subsystem: ATI Technologies Inc SB700/SB800 LPC host controller
00:14.4 PCI bridge: ATI Technologies Inc SBx00 PCI to PCI Bridge
00:14.5 USB Controller: ATI Technologies Inc SB700/SB800 USB OHCI2 Controller
	Subsystem: Giga-byte Technology Device 5004
	Kernel driver in use: ohci_hcd
	Kernel modules: ohci-hcd
00:18.0 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] Family 10h Processor HyperTransport Configuration
00:18.1 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] Family 10h Processor Address Map
00:18.2 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] Family 10h Processor DRAM Controller
00:18.3 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] Family 10h Processor Miscellaneous Control
	Kernel driver in use: k10temp
	Kernel modules: k10temp
00:18.4 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] Family 10h Processor Link Control
01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: nVidia Corporation GT218 [GeForce 210] (rev a2)
	Subsystem: Micro-Star International Co., Ltd. Device 1905
	Kernel driver in use: nvidia
	Kernel modules: nouveau, nvidiafb, nvidia
01:00.1 Audio device: nVidia Corporation High Definition Audio Controller (rev a1)
	Subsystem: Micro-Star International Co., Ltd. Device 1905
	Kernel driver in use: HDA Intel
	Kernel modules: snd-hda-intel
02:00.0 Ethernet controller: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL8111/8168B PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet controller (rev 02)
	Subsystem: Giga-byte Technology GA-EP45-DS5 Motherboard
	Kernel driver in use: r8169
	Kernel modules: r8169
03:06.0 Multimedia video controller: Internext Compression Inc iTVC16 (CX23416) MPEG-2 Encoder (rev 01)
	Subsystem: Hauppauge computer works Inc. WinTV PVR 150
	Kernel driver in use: ivtv
	Kernel modules: ivtv
03:07.0 Multimedia video controller: Internext Compression Inc iTVC16 (CX23416) MPEG-2 Encoder (rev 01)
	Subsystem: Hauppauge computer works Inc. WinTV PVR 150
	Kernel driver in use: ivtv
	Kernel modules: ivtv
03:0e.0 FireWire (IEEE 1394): Texas Instruments TSB43AB23 IEEE-1394a-2000 Controller (PHY/Link)
	Subsystem: Giga-byte Technology GA-EP45-DS5 Motherboard
	Kernel driver in use: firewire_ohci
	Kernel modules: firewire-ohci

[lsmod]

Code:

Module                  Size  Used by
ipt_IFWLOG             12550  1 
xt_state               12514  0 
ipt_LOG                12841  4 
xt_time                12581  0 
xt_connlimit           12628  0 
xt_helper              12519  0 
xt_realm               12450  0 
xt_NFQUEUE             12579  0 
xt_tcpmss              12453  0 
xt_tcpudp              12756  12 
ipt_addrtype           12535  2 
xt_pkttype             12456  0 
xt_set                 12939  2 
ip_set_hash_ip         27239  2 
ip_set                 30651  2 xt_set,ip_set_hash_ip
nfnetlink              13983  1 ip_set
iptable_raw            12598  0 
xt_TPROXY              17135  0 
nf_tproxy_core         12554  1 xt_TPROXY,[permanent]
ip6_tables             22244  1 xt_TPROXY
nf_defrag_ipv6         13787  1 xt_TPROXY
xt_CLASSIFY            12459  0 
xt_mark                12499  1 
xt_hashlimit           17251  0 
xt_comment             12456  18 
ipt_REJECT             12485  4 
xt_length              12480  0 
xt_connmark            12659  0 
xt_owner               12450  0 
xt_recent              17959  0 
xt_iprange             12582  0 
xt_physdev             12523  0 
xt_policy              12518  0 
xt_multiport           12694  5 
iptable_mangle         12615  1 
iptable_nat            13138  0 
nf_nat                 25176  1 iptable_nat
nf_conntrack_ipv4      19338  11 iptable_nat,nf_nat
nf_defrag_ipv4         12649  2 xt_TPROXY,nf_conntrack_ipv4
xt_conntrack           12640  8 
nf_conntrack           79001  8 xt_state,xt_connlimit,xt_helper,xt_connmark,iptable_nat,nf_nat,nf_conntrack_ipv4,xt_conntrack
iptable_filter         12706  1 
ip_tables              18020  4 iptable_raw,iptable_mangle,iptable_nat,iptable_filter
x_tables               22000  34 ipt_IFWLOG,xt_state,ipt_LOG,xt_time,xt_connlimit,xt_helper,xt_realm,xt_NFQUEUE,xt_tcpmss,xt_tcpudp,ipt_addrtype,xt_pkttype,xt_set,iptable_raw,xt_TPROXY,ip6_tables,xt_CLASSIFY,xt_mark,xt_hashlimit,xt_comment,ipt_REJECT,xt_length,xt_connmark,xt_owner,xt_recent,xt_iprange,xt_physdev,xt_policy,xt_multiport,iptable_mangle,iptable_nat,xt_conntrack,iptable_filter,ip_tables
af_packet              26142  2 
lirc_zilog             17660  0 
lirc_dev               19346  1 lirc_zilog
ipv6                  281504  36 xt_TPROXY,nf_defrag_ipv6
binfmt_misc            13128  1 
loop                   22927  0 
xfs                   734430  2 
exportfs               12837  1 xfs
dm_mod                 70330  0 
cpufreq_ondemand       18777  0 
cpufreq_conservative    19150  0 
cpufreq_powersave      12490  0 
powernow_k8            17569  0 
freq_table             13903  2 cpufreq_ondemand,powernow_k8
mperf                  12603  1 powernow_k8
snd_hda_codec_hdmi     27356  4 
usbhid                 47064  1 
tuner_simple           17836  2 
tuner_types            18907  1 tuner_simple
nvidia              10726398  26 
hid                    76875  1 usbhid
snd_hda_codec_realtek   272450  1 
wm8775                 12902  2 
snd_hda_intel          32066  0 
snd_hda_codec          90505  3 snd_hda_codec_hdmi,snd_hda_codec_realtek,snd_hda_intel
snd_hwdep              13274  1 snd_hda_codec
tuner                  26734  2 
cx25840                48332  2 
snd_seq_dummy          12686  0 
snd_seq_oss            37254  0 
snd_seq_midi_event     14475  1 snd_seq_oss
ivtv                  146496  0 
snd_seq                59337  5 snd_seq_dummy,snd_seq_oss,snd_seq_midi_event
snd_seq_device         14138  3 snd_seq_dummy,snd_seq_oss,snd_seq
snd_pcm_oss            48840  0 
cx2341x                27647  1 ivtv
snd_pcm                88011  4 snd_hda_codec_hdmi,snd_hda_intel,snd_hda_codec,snd_pcm_oss
i2c_algo_bit           13089  1 ivtv
v4l2_common            16405  5 wm8775,tuner,cx25840,ivtv,cx2341x
wmi                    18590  0 
videodev               70993  6 wm8775,tuner,cx25840,ivtv,cx2341x,v4l2_common
tveeprom               17009  1 ivtv
snd_timer              24388  2 snd_seq,snd_pcm
i2c_piix4              13406  0 
snd_mixer_oss          22019  1 snd_pcm_oss
snd                    60934  13 snd_hda_codec_hdmi,snd_hda_codec_realtek,snd_hda_intel,snd_hda_codec,snd_hwdep,snd_seq_dummy,snd_seq_oss,snd_seq,snd_seq_device,snd_pcm_oss,snd_pcm,snd_timer,snd_mixer_oss
firewire_ohci          31107  0 
r8169                  46362  0 
firewire_core          55759  1 firewire_ohci
processor              29965  1 powernow_k8
sg                     35685  0 
i2c_core               29667  12 lirc_zilog,tuner_simple,nvidia,wm8775,tuner,cx25840,ivtv,i2c_algo_bit,v4l2_common,videodev,tveeprom,i2c_piix4
button                 13737  0 
evdev                  17441  3 
k10temp                12951  0 
soundcore              14638  1 snd
mii                    13621  1 r8169
sp5100_tco             13417  0 
crc_itu_t              12627  1 firewire_core
snd_page_alloc         14036  2 snd_hda_intel,snd_pcm
ehci_hcd               55152  0 
sr_mod                 21882  0 
ohci_hcd               32446  0 
usbcore               167270  5 usbhid,ohci_hcd,ehci_hcd
pata_atiixp            12968  4 
ata_piix               26211  0 
ahci                   21510  6 
libahci                25485  1 ahci
libata                189375  4 pata_atiixp,ata_piix,ahci,libahci
sd_mod                 39705  10 
scsi_mod              181467  4 sg,sr_mod,libata,sd_mod
crc_t10dif             12507  1 sd_mod
ext3                  126823  4 
jbd                    50956  1 ext3

[cat /proc/interrupts]

Code:

            CPU0       CPU1       
   0:        824     108913   IO-APIC-edge      timer
   1:          4        156   IO-APIC-edge      i8042
   4:          0          2   IO-APIC-edge    
   8:          0          1   IO-APIC-edge      rtc0
   9:          0          0   IO-APIC-fasteoi   acpi
  14:         22       1826   IO-APIC-edge      pata_atiixp
  15:          0          0   IO-APIC-edge      pata_atiixp
  16:       1250        507   IO-APIC-fasteoi   ohci_hcd:usb3, ohci_hcd:usb4, hda_intel
  17:          0          3   IO-APIC-fasteoi   ehci_hcd:usb1
  18:       7867        133   IO-APIC-fasteoi   ohci_hcd:usb5, ohci_hcd:usb6, ohci_hcd:usb7, nvidia
  19:          0          0   IO-APIC-fasteoi   ehci_hcd:usb2
  20:          0          0   IO-APIC-fasteoi   ivtv0
  21:          0          0   IO-APIC-fasteoi   ivtv1
  22:       2748       8865   IO-APIC-fasteoi   ahci, firewire_ohci
  42:       1925         92   PCI-MSI-edge      eth0
  43:          0          1   PCI-MSI-edge      hda_intel
 NMI:          0          0   Non-maskable interrupts
 LOC:      69686      23286   Local timer interrupts
 SPU:          0          0   Spurious interrupts
 PMI:          0          0   Performance monitoring interrupts
 IWI:          0          0   IRQ work interrupts
 RES:      10073      10768   Rescheduling interrupts
 CAL:        674        207   Function call interrupts
 TLB:        849        852   TLB shootdowns
 TRM:          0          0   Thermal event interrupts
 THR:          0          0   Threshold APIC interrupts
 MCE:          0          0   Machine check exceptions
 MCP:          7          7   Machine check polls
 ERR:          0
 MIS:          0

H_TeXMeX_H · 09-24-2011, 10:54 AM

Everything seems ok from that info.

Do you have any IDE HDD for this box ?

Also what BIOS version do you have ? Don't flash a new one yet, only if other solutions are not found.

rbonafied · 09-24-2011, 11:02 AM

Bios info from dmidecode

Code:

# dmidecode 2.11
SMBIOS 2.4 present.
53 structures occupying 2424 bytes.
Table at 0x000F0100.

Handle 0x0000, DMI type 0, 24 bytes
BIOS Information
	Vendor: Award Software International, Inc.
	Version: F12a
	Release Date: 07/08/2010
	Address: 0xE0000
	Runtime Size: 128 kB
	ROM Size: 1024 kB

Yes, I do have an ide hard drive.

[sdb]

Code:

hdparm -I /dev/sdb

/dev/sdb:

ATA device, with non-removable media
	Model Number:       WDC WD3000JB-00KFA0                     
	Serial Number:      WD-WCAMR1085896
	Firmware Revision:  08.05J08
Standards:
	Supported: 6 5 4 
	Likely used: 8
Configuration:
	Logical		max	current
	cylinders	16383	16383
	heads		16	16
	sectors/track	63	63
	--
	CHS current addressable sectors:   16514064
	LBA    user addressable sectors:  268435455
	LBA48  user addressable sectors:  586072368
	Logical/Physical Sector size:           512 bytes
	device size with M = 1024*1024:      286168 MBytes
	device size with M = 1000*1000:      300069 MBytes (300 GB)
	cache/buffer size  = 8192 KBytes
Capabilities:
	LBA, IORDY(can be disabled)
	Standby timer values: spec'd by Standard, with device specific minimum
	R/W multiple sector transfer: Max = 16	Current = 16
	Recommended acoustic management value: 128, current value: 254
	DMA: mdma0 mdma1 mdma2 udma0 udma1 udma2 udma3 udma4 *udma5 
	     Cycle time: min=120ns recommended=120ns
	PIO: pio0 pio1 pio2 pio3 pio4 
	     Cycle time: no flow control=120ns  IORDY flow control=120ns
Commands/features:
	Enabled	Supported:
	    	SMART feature set
	    	Security Mode feature set
	   *	Power Management feature set
	   *	Write cache
	   *	Look-ahead
	   *	Host Protected Area feature set
	   *	WRITE_BUFFER command
	   *	READ_BUFFER command
	   *	DOWNLOAD_MICROCODE
	    	SET_MAX security extension
	    	Automatic Acoustic Management feature set
	   *	48-bit Address feature set
	   *	Device Configuration Overlay feature set
	   *	Mandatory FLUSH_CACHE
	   *	FLUSH_CACHE_EXT
	   *	SMART error logging
	   *	SMART self-test
	   *	SMART Command Transport (SCT) feature set
	   *	SCT Long Sector Access (AC1)
	   *	SCT LBA Segment Access (AC2)
	   *	SCT Error Recovery Control (AC3)
	   *	SCT Features Control (AC4)
Security: 
	Master password revision code = 65534
		supported
	not	enabled
	not	locked
	not	frozen
	not	expired: security count
	not	supported: enhanced erase
HW reset results:
	CBLID- above Vih
	Device num = 0 determined by CSEL
Checksum: correct

[hdb]

Code:

hdparm -I /dev/sdc

/dev/sdc:

ATA device, with non-removable media
	Model Number:       ST3250823A                              
	Serial Number:      3ND25JRB
	Firmware Revision:  3.06    
Standards:
	Supported: 7 6 5 4 
	Likely used: 7
Configuration:
	Logical		max	current
	cylinders	16383	16383
	heads		16	16
	sectors/track	63	63
	--
	CHS current addressable sectors:   16514064
	LBA    user addressable sectors:  268435455
	LBA48  user addressable sectors:  488397168
	Logical/Physical Sector size:           512 bytes
	device size with M = 1024*1024:      238475 MBytes
	device size with M = 1000*1000:      250059 MBytes (250 GB)
	cache/buffer size  = 8192 KBytes
Capabilities:
	LBA, IORDY(can be disabled)
	Standby timer values: spec'd by Standard, no device specific minimum
	R/W multiple sector transfer: Max = 16	Current = 16
	Recommended acoustic management value: 128, current value: 0
	DMA: mdma0 mdma1 mdma2 udma0 udma1 udma2 udma3 udma4 *udma5 
	     Cycle time: min=120ns recommended=120ns
	PIO: pio0 pio1 pio2 pio3 pio4 
	     Cycle time: no flow control=240ns  IORDY flow control=120ns
Commands/features:
	Enabled	Supported:
	    	SMART feature set
	    	Security Mode feature set
	   *	Power Management feature set
	   *	Write cache
	   *	Look-ahead
	   *	Host Protected Area feature set
	   *	WRITE_BUFFER command
	   *	READ_BUFFER command
	   *	DOWNLOAD_MICROCODE
	    	SET_MAX security extension
	   *	48-bit Address feature set
	   *	Device Configuration Overlay feature set
	   *	Mandatory FLUSH_CACHE
	   *	FLUSH_CACHE_EXT
	   *	SMART error logging
	   *	SMART self-test
	   *	General Purpose Logging feature set
Security: 
	Master password revision code = 65534
		supported
	not	enabled
	not	locked
	not	frozen
	not	expired: security count
	not	supported: enhanced erase
HW reset results:
	CBLID- above Vih
	Device num = 1 determined by the jumper
Checksum: correct

PTrenholme · 09-24-2011, 12:02 PM

Which type of switch is your Ethernet cable connected to? (From your description, is sounds to me more like dirt or scale on your cable contacts than a problem with your m/b.)

If you're using the board's internal Ethernet connector, check the connector for loose or misaligned contacts, and consider purchasing an aftermarket Ethernet card to try. (Last time I bought one - many years ago - they were less than $20.)

H_TeXMeX_H · 09-24-2011, 12:12 PM

That is the latest BIOS version, so that is likely not the problem.

What I don't understand is why 'pata_atiixp' is using two IRQs. Technically, it shouldn't matter because the eth0 is using MSI.

I have a Gigabyte board with the same ethernet card, and it does the same thing. It might be the drivers, so if you can upgrade the driver or kernel version it might fix it, or it might not.

I just bought another ethernet card, not as good, but it worked.

Just keep an eye out for errors in the logs or dmesg.

rbonafied · 09-24-2011, 12:42 PM

The cable is connected to a wall jack that then usually goes to a WRT54G running ddwrt directly. Right now I have it going to a hub as one of my attempts. I've switched the cable to a different one from the computer to the wall so we'll see how that holds up. My fingers are crossed!

Thanks a lot H_TeXMeX_H & PTrenholme. I really appreciate your timely responses!

R

H_TeXMeX_H · 09-24-2011, 01:22 PM

In the BIOS settings there often is a cable testing feature, maybe try that, or try different cables, and make sure everything along the path works.

rbonafied · 09-24-2011, 03:59 PM

So far, the new cable has been stable. Fingers still crossed!

rbonafied · 09-24-2011, 08:49 PM

Darn. The system dropped off the network again. So much for the cable being the culprit. I guess it's possible it could be the cable inside the walls. Ug

corp769 · 09-24-2011, 08:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rbonafied

Darn. The system dropped off the network again. So much for the cable being the culprit. I guess it's possible it could be the cable inside the walls. Ug

Since you just said that it's possible for the cables to be bad (I don't see this being an issue), for the hell of it, I would try getting a long CAT5 cable, and going straight from your computer to your router. I say that because if it is possibly a bad cable within your walls, doing it like this would rule it out.

rbonafied · 09-25-2011, 08:00 AM

I may give that a shot while the family is out of the house

For what it's worth, I updated the RealTek driver from their website and it's still dropping off the network.

rbonafied · 09-26-2011, 08:02 PM

I ran a new cable thru the wall and everything has been stable for 24 hours. This is a great sign! I assumed a bad cable would be detectable somehow by the host computer, but I guess I was wrong. Thanks for everyone's help and patience!

corp769 · 09-26-2011, 08:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rbonafied

I ran a new cable thru the wall and everything has been stable for 24 hours. This is a great sign! I assumed a bad cable would be detectable somehow by the host computer, but I guess I was wrong. Thanks for everyone's help and patience!

So was I right about running the cable straight to your router? And since it has been stable for a day now, having to suspect the old cable, have you inspected it for any defects?