I'm using Mandrake 8.2, and I'm having a problem connecting to my DHCP server (Windows NT server 4.0). My connection is a 100 BaseT to a Cisco switch. I'm using a 3com FasterEtherLink XL card (3c90x). I CAN get a DHCP address when I connect over a spare 10BaseT connection but have no success at the 100BaseT. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

I'm a little fuzzy, no luck with the 3c905 card at all, or no luck getting it to run on 100BaseT?

After googling, there seems to be a far branch of difference between the various 905's. I've got a boomerang at 100Base-t, but it worked with Slack out of the box. Also, are you sure this isn't Mandrake 8.1?

lspci should tell you the exact model of the card, or at least the little tidbits that will mean anything to Linux geeks.

Cheers,

Finegan

Depending on the card, there are 4 flavors of the 3c905 series that I can track down, two different that I have in machines, you'll be doing one of a number of things to either the 3c59x (yeah, I know the number is for a lower series, but it will drive any of the 905s at 10-base-t and 2 of them at 100), or the 3c90x driver. Which type of 3c905 is it? Boomerang, Viper, etc? will determine it. They're also dileneated by 3c905a,b,x, etc, but those 3com model nicknames are what make googling a breeze.

Cheers,

Finegan

Mandrake reported it as a 3c59x (Boomerang). I even used the old card setup utility in the driver pack from 3com to make it 100TX at the hardware level with no success. Do I need to configure the Linux driver? How do I do that? Or do I need to change to a different one.

BTW: It is the NIC in a Dell OptiPlex GXi. I believe it to be the 3C905-TX model.

Its a matter of passing options to the kernel module when loading it. If you're letting Mandy's cute Linuxconf set-up do this... I know there's a way to pass options with it, but I ditched the GUI tools about a year back.

First, rmmod whatever module it has loaded, probably 3c59x. Check with 'lsmod' to find out.

Then try:

insmod 3c59x options=8 full_duplex=1 debug=1

Or, possibly options=9...

This is going to fill up 'dmesg' with a lot of NIC chatter as debug is cranked up... which will hopefully help solve the problems. More information on how to use the 3c59x module can be obtained from Becker's (the guy who wrote the driver), at Scyld.

Alternatively, there is the module provided by 3Com... which you may have to compile by hand, which hopefully is included with distros by now, 3c90x. The text page on how to use it can be found here.. I would include a link to the download page for the source, but they make you click on an agreement to the GPL... so if your machine isn't cookied, you'll get a cutsie 'denied' message. Bouncing through 3com's page isn't hard, its well built.

If you need help later automating this goop on boot I can help you with that too.

Cheers,

Finegan

Finnegan,

Thanks so much for the help!! I'll try those options you mentioned and report on the findings. I've ran Linux another time with Samba running just fine on the same Dell setup with the same NIC. I used the Stormix distro (I think Storm has died though). It was running at 10BaseT.

Update:

I actually got my Linux box to see the DHCP server. I changed wires from my Win2k box and plugged into my Linux box and everything clicked. However, the mouse stopped working and I needed to re-boot to setup my printers. NOW, the bloody thing doesn't see the DHCP server!!!

HELP!!

the /etc/modules.conf file does reference the eth0 as the 3c59x driver.