Installing ALi Chipset 1689 driver on Fedora3
 

I would like to get as much help as is conceivable in a step by step framework for installing the ALi 1689 chipset drivers on a Fedora 3 system. I am a newbie. If this fails like everything else so far has failed before, I will be forking out some more money for windows. So all you people out there who convinced me a few weeks ago that linux was the way of the future, get converting. I have had just about enough.

I have just reinstalled Fedora 3 for the umpteenth and hopefully last time for good or ill. At the moment, 3d graphics are not working, networking (of either of two cards - ethernet or wireless) is not working.

System: ASRock M-board with Ali1689 chipset; Sempron 3100; NEC MultiSync C500 monitor; PC54G2 wireless card; 512MBram; NVIDIA Geforce Ti4200 graphics 64MB.

Operating System: Fedora Core 3,

Drivers to install: 1689_Linux_K2.6.x_Integrated_Driver_1.0.zip
Which includes the LAN_M5263 and SATA_M5289 drivers, for the ethernet and drive configuration resectively.

So the most anybody can help with is a step by step instruction guide to installing that stuff.

Something less than that would be confirmation that the system has ANY chance of actually functioning.

Something smaller than that would be the simple commands required to do the following
- find kernel
- compile kernel
- install (?) kernel


Apologies for narkiness. After 3 weeks of tinkering and bashing head against wall want computer work now.

The compilers included on the package are evidently a choice between an instruction set for Fedora 2 kernel 2.6.5-358 OR just kernel 2.6.8. The folders requested are not where either instruction set asks for them. So evidently I take it the distribution is newer than the latest drivers and I should give up now? I am running Fedora 3 with Kernel 2.6.9.

The instructions...

3.Installation Guide [comment: for kernel 2.6.8]
====================
To install the driver, you should reconfigure and recompile your Linux
kernel as follows:

Make sure your kernel version number is 2.6.8. [Comment: kernel for FC3 is is 2.6.9]

Copy uli526x.c to /usr/src/linux-2.6.8/drivers/net/tulip/, and modify the
following file in this directory. (Make a backup of them.) [Comment: Directory does not exist]

1.Kconfig.in
add the following lines to Config.in file.(refer to the Config.in file we provide to you) [comment: does not exist]

config M526X
tristate "ULi M526x controller support"
depends on PCI
select CRC32
---help---
This driver is for ULi M5261/M5263 10/100M Ethernet Controller
(<http://www.uli.com.tw/>).

To compile this driver as a module, choose M here.

2.Makefile
add the following lines to Makefile.(refer to the Makefile we provide to you)

obj-$(CONFIG_M526X) += uli526x.o
------------------------------------
Install as a kernel module
------------------------------------

Step 1:
Change directory to /usr/src/linux-2.6.8
Use the command "make menuconfig" or "make xconfig", and make
sure "ULi M526x controller support" is set as module.

Example:
Select "Device Drivers"
Select "Networking support"
Select "Ethernet (10 or 100Mbit)"
Select "Tulip family network device support"
Select "ULi M526x controller support" as "m"

Step 2:
Select "Loadable module support", and unselect "Set version information
on all module symbols"

Before exit, save your configration.


Step 3:
make modules
make modules_install

Step 4:
modprobe tulip

Then, you can bind any protocol into M5263 driver and use it.

------------------------------------------
Install as a part of linux kernel
------------------------------------------

Step 1:
Change directory to /usr/src/linux-2.6.8
Use the command "make menuconfig" or "make xconfig", and make
sure "ULi M526x controller support" is set as kernel.

Example:
Select "Device Drivers"
Select "Networking support"
Select "Ethernet (10 or 100Mbit)"
Select "Tulip family network device support"
Select "ULi M526x controller support" as "y"


Step 2:
Select "Loadable module support", and unselect "Set version information
on all module symbols"

Before exit, save your configration.


Step 3:
make
cp arch/i386/boot/bzImage /boot

Step 4:
If you use grub to boot your linux, then
1) Modify the file /etc/grub.conf by adding
title 2.6.8
root (hd0,2)
kernel /boot/bzImage ro root=/dev/hd1
The disk partition where your linux resides in,
for example: /dev/hda1
2) Reboot and select the kernel 2.6.8

Then, you can bind any protocol into M5263 driver and use it.

There has to be an easier way to get the ethernet card recognised by linux than compiling a modified kernel doesn't there?? I can't get past the first part of the above instructions - where it says "Copy uli526x.c to /usr/src/linux-2.6.8/drivers/net/tulip/, and modify the
following file in this directory. (Make a backup of them.)" the directory does not exist in FC3. Am I missing something obvious? Perhaps, has anybody got an ASRock K8 Combo-z motherboard's ethernet device detecting and functioning properly?