network card drivers

aXs · 08-14-2001, 10:37 AM

I have a netgear FA311 network card with drivers. the only problem is is that there is a kernel mismatch so i went to the netgear site and dled another driver but still a kernel mismatch so i changed the kernel from 2.4.0 to 2.2.18 but the driver needs 2.2.16

and the driver i downloaded from net gear needs the kernel 2.4.4 so can anyone telle me where i can get a good driver for kernel 2.4.o or 2.2.18 or am i screwed????

dilberim82 · 08-14-2001, 08:25 PM

so why dont you download kernel 2.4.4 and download the latest driver for it?

DMR · 08-15-2001, 01:45 AM

I've been through this before with the precompiled 311 drivers from Netgear's site; forget about them, they're a pain in the arse. Go to Scyld Read the instructions *very* carefully, download the necessary source files, and compile the natsemi.o module on your system.

cinnix · 08-15-2001, 03:25 AM

I bought one of these cards recently and all I had to do was include the national semiconductor driver in the kernel and I had no problems. I tried compiling the drivers from Scyld and the vendor website but had no luck at all.

BTW kernels below version 2.2.20 have security problems.

I would suggest upgrading your kernel, not downgrading it. recompile it with national semiconductor support and you should be fine. You can also search this forum since the fa311 is a very hot topic.

aXs · 08-15-2001, 04:34 AM

When i have put the .o file in the kernel with insmod natsemi.o then what do i do?

DMR · 08-15-2001, 04:45 AM

cinnix has a couple of good points:

- The newer kernels do, AFAIK, support the FA-311.
- As mentioned, you shouldn't downgrade your kernel just to match one precompiled module.

If you're comfortable with kernel recompiles, that would probably be the best bet. The basic problems you're having are due to the fact that you've been trying to use modules which haven't be compiled for your kernel. Try my suggestion of compiling the module from source on your system, or try cinnix's advice regarding a full kernel recompile.

<damn posting latency- back in a sec...>

aXs · 08-15-2001, 04:52 AM

yeah but i'm new to linux and i know very little of it so some explenation on howto do it would be nice (i know what you mean thou)

DMR · 08-15-2001, 05:26 AM

If you've successfully compiled natsemi.o on your system using the instructions at www.scyld.com:

As root:

- If you haven't already, run "depmod -a" from the command line. Natsemi.o is dependent on pci-scan.o (which you should have compiled before natsemi.o), and this will resolve that dependency.

- Do "insmod natsemi" or "modprobe natsemi" to load the module.
- Then do "lsmod" to list the currently loaded modules; natsemi should show up in the list.
- Do "alias eth0 natsemi".
- Not rally neccessary, but reboot.

Here's a checklist I gave to someone with a similar problem. Some of it I mentioned before, and some of it may not apply to your situation, but it might help:

Code:

1. Check the screen output at bootup. If the NIC is being properly initialized, you should see a line that says: "Bringing up eth0- O.K." If you see "failed" or "delaying" instead, you've got problems (see #3).

2. Assuming the NIC comes up, you can do the configuration with the graphical configuration tools linuxconf or netconf. Click on Basic host information->Adaptor 1. From there, select eth0 as the device, choose your cards module from the
drop-down list of kernel modules, and enable the device. Then either choose DHCP (if you're using it), or enter your IP information manually. After that, fill in your DNS and gateway/routing info under the appropriate sections.

3. If you get a failure on bootup, you may have a resource conflict with another device. Try turning off Plug-N-Play support in your BIOS, it can cause conflicts with some cards.

4. Log in as root, go to the command line or terminal window, and type "cat /proc/pci" and verify that your NIC is being recognized. Type "cat /proc/interrupts" and make sure your NIC's IRQ isn't conflicting with another device. Type "cat /proc/ioports" and check the address ranges for conflicts. If you have resource conflicts, you can try rearranging the slot order of your PCI cards.

5. You can also verify the IRQ/address info by typing "ifconfig". There should be stats for the loopback device (lo) and eth0.

6. If the module isn't loading, try to load it manually by typing "insmod <your_module's_name>" or "modprobe <your_module's_name>". After that, type "lsmod" to list all loaded modules; yours should show up there.

7. You can then manually configure the NIC by typing "ifconfig eth0 xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx up", where xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx is your IP address.

8. Last, type "alias eth0 <your_module's_name>".