I have a Dell PC GXa with Win98 and FC2. It is now my second week as a Newbi and I need help to improve myself. The NIC (3c905 100Base TX built-in on the motherboard) works fine in Windows and I am able to use the Internet. However I have not yet managed to get it working in Linux. I have configured the NIC both as DHCP and with static IP address, but with the same negative result. I have used both the graphic interface as well as doing the config from the command line. There is a light on the NIC and on my hub. I am connecting to ADSL where my WLINX IP share box works as a DHCP server

Def gw 192.168.1.254

Here are some files and command I have used to troubleshoot.

[root@localhost network-scripts]# cat ifcfg-eth0

DEVICE=eth0
ONBOOT=yes
BOOTPROTO=dhcp
USERCTL=yes
PEERDNS=yes
TYPE=Ethernet
IPV6INIT=no

I have read about similar problem where they have suggested the following
check_link_down () {
return 1;
}
but with no improvement.

root@localhost network-scripts]# cat ifcfg-lo
DEVICE=lo
IPADDR=127.0.0.1
NETMASK=255.0.0.0
NETWORK=127.0.0.0
# If you're having problems with gated making 127.0.0.0/8 a martian,
# you can change this to something else (255.255.255.255, for example)
BROADCAST=127.255.255.255
ONBOOT=yes
NAME=loopback

root@localhost network-scripts]# ifconfig -a
eth0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:C0:4F:9C:02:16
inet6 addr: fe80::2c0:4fff:fe9c:216/64 Scope:Link
UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1
RX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:2 carrier:2
collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
RX bytes:4404 (4.3 Kb) TX bytes:0 (0.0 b)
Interrupt:10 Base address:0xdc80

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:3784 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:3784 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:0
RX bytes:4288574 (4.0 Mb) TX bytes:4288574 (4.0 Mb)

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)

root@localhost network-scripts]# ping 127.0.0.1
PING 127.0.0.1 (127.0.0.1) 56(84) bytes of data.
64 bytes from 127.0.0.1: icmp_seq=0 ttl=64 time=0.290 ms
64 bytes from 127.0.0.1: icmp_seq=1 ttl=64 time=0.226 ms

root@localhost network-scripts]# ping 192.168.1.254
connect: Network is unreachable

root@localhost network-scripts]# service network restart
Shutting down interface eth0: [ OK ]
Shutting down loopback interface: [ OK ]
Setting network parameters: [ OK ]
Bringing up loopback interface: [ OK ]
Bringing up interface eth0:
Determining IP information for eth0... failed.
[FAILED]

root@localhost root]# cat /etc/resolv.conf
search localdomain
#nameserver 192.168.1.1
nameserver 192.168.1.254
nameserver 195.54.122.200
nameserver 195.54.122.204

root@localhost root]# dhclient eth0
Internet Software Consortium DHCP Client V3.0.1rc12
Copyright 1995-2002 Internet Software Consortium.
All rights reserved.


sit0: unknown hardware address type 776
sit0: unknown hardware address type 776
Listening on LPF/eth0/00:c0:4f:9c:02:16
Sending on LPF/eth0/00:c0:4f:9c:02:16
Sending on Socket/fallback
DHCPDISCOVER on eth0 to 255.255.255.255 port 67 interval 8
DHCPDISCOVER on eth0 to 255.255.255.255 port 67 interval 13
DHCPDISCOVER on eth0 to 255.255.255.255 port 67 interval 17
DHCPDISCOVER on eth0 to 255.255.255.255 port 67 interval 16
DHCPDISCOVER on eth0 to 255.255.255.255 port 67 interval 7
No DHCPOFFERS received.
No working leases in persistent database - sleeping.


Please help !

I do not understand your hardware setup.
How are all of the PC connected together?
Is the hub directly connected to the DSL modem.
Is the modem also a router?
Is the XP PC configured for internet connection sharing?

I am sorry for not being clear enough. My PC (w dual boot w98/FC2) is connected to a hub togeter with my other winPC´s. This Hub is connected to a IP share box that works as a DHCP server , and with NAT function. It is configured with the details provided by my ISP. This box is the gateway of my LAN. It is then connected to my router (XAVI x7722) that is provided by my ISP.

Finally I found a bug report (fedorafaq.org) explaining:
There are known problems with the 3Com 3c905B/TX and how it interacts with kudzu.
If you disable kudzu (which detects when you have new hardware) this will resolve the issue for now. As root, in a Terminal, type:

chkconfig kudzu off

After you reboot, your card should work

And it works fine for me as well