Tried getting a BT Voyager USB ADSL modem working on Mandrake 8.1

Installed the eciadsl drivers, managed to get to this point:

setting up modem (3/5)..

ECI load 2: success
synchronization successful

connecting modem (4/5)..

using channel 1
Using interface ppp0
Connect: ppp0 <--> /dev/pts/3
sent [LCP ConfReq id=0x1 <asyncmap 0x0> <magic 0x3d2f9854>]
sent [LCP ConfReq id=0x1 <asyncmap 0x0> <magic 0x3d2f9854>]
sent [LCP ConfReq id=0x1 <asyncmap 0x0> <magic 0x3d2f9854>]
sent [LCP ConfReq id=0x1 <asyncmap 0x0> <magic 0x3d2f9854>]
sent [LCP ConfReq id=0x1 <asyncmap 0x0> <magic 0x3d2f9854>]
sent [LCP ConfReq id=0x1 <asyncmap 0x0> <magic 0x3d2f9854>]
sent [LCP ConfReq id=0x1 <asyncmap 0x0> <magic 0x3d2f9854>]
sent [LCP ConfReq id=0x1 <asyncmap 0x0> <magic 0x3d2f9854>]
sent [LCP ConfReq id=0x1 <asyncmap 0x0> <magic 0x3d2f9854>]
sent [LCP ConfReq id=0x1 <asyncmap 0x0> <magic 0x3d2f9854>]
LCP: timeout sending Config-Requests
Connection terminated.
using channel 2
Couldn't attach to PPP unit 0: Invalid argument
using channel 3
Couldn't create new ppp unit: Inappropriate ioctl for device
using channel 4
Couldn't create new ppp unit: Inappropriate ioctl for device
using channel 5
Couldn't create new ppp unit: Inappropriate ioctl for device
using channel 6
Couldn't create new ppp unit: Inappropriate ioctl for device
using channel 7
Couldn't create new ppp unit: Inappropriate ioctl for device
using channel 8
Couldn't create new ppp unit: Inappropriate ioctl for device
using channel 9
Couldn't create new ppp unit: Inappropriate ioctl for device
using channel 10
Couldn't create new ppp unit: Inappropriate ioctl for device
Waiting for 10 child processes...
script /usr/local/bin/pppoeci -vpi 8 -vci 35 -vendor 0x0915 -product 0x0204 -mode VCM_RFC2364, pid 1537
script /usr/local/bin/pppoeci -vpi 8 -vci 35 -vendor 0x0915 -product 0x0204 -mode VCM_RFC2364, pid 1525
script /usr/local/bin/pppoeci -vpi 8 -vci 35 -vendor 0x0915 -product 0x0204 -mode VCM_RFC2364, pid 1524
script /usr/local/bin/pppoeci -vpi 8 -vci 35 -vendor 0x0915 -product 0x0204 -mode VCM_RFC2364, pid 1523
script /usr/local/bin/pppoeci -vpi 8 -vci 35 -vendor 0x0915 -product 0x0204 -mode VCM_RFC2364, pid 1515
script /usr/local/bin/pppoeci -vpi 8 -vci 35 -vendor 0x0915 -product 0x0204 -mode VCM_RFC2364, pid 1514
script /usr/local/bin/pppoeci -vpi 8 -vci 35 -vendor 0x0915 -product 0x0204 -mode VCM_RFC2364, pid 1513
script /usr/local/bin/pppoeci -vpi 8 -vci 35 -vendor 0x0915 -product 0x0204 -mode VCM_RFC2364, pid 1512
script /usr/local/bin/pppoeci -vpi 8 -vci 35 -vendor 0x0915 -product 0x0204 -mode VCM_RFC2364, pid 1509
script /usr/local/bin/pppoeci -vpi 8 -vci 35 -vendor 0x0915 -product 0x0204 -mode VCM_RFC2364, pid 1485
Script /usr/local/bin/pppoeci -vpi 8 -vci 35 -vendor 0x0915 -product 0x0204 -mode VCM_RFC2364 finished (pid 1537), status = 0xf900
Script /usr/local/bin/pppoeci -vpi 8 -vci 35 -vendor 0x0915 -product 0x0204 -mode VCM_RFC2364 finished (pid 1525), status = 0xf900
Script /usr/local/bin/pppoeci -vpi 8 -vci 35 -vendor 0x0915 -product 0x0204 -mode VCM_RFC2364 finished (pid 1524), status = 0xf900
Script /usr/local/bin/pppoeci -vpi 8 -vci 35 -vendor 0x0915 -product 0x0204 -mode VCM_RFC2364 finished (pid 1523), status = 0xf900
Script /usr/local/bin/pppoeci -vpi 8 -vci 35 -vendor 0x0915 -product 0x0204 -mode VCM_RFC2364 finished (pid 1515), status = 0xf900
Script /usr/local/bin/pppoeci -vpi 8 -vci 35 -vendor 0x0915 -product 0x0204 -mode VCM_RFC2364 finished (pid 1514), status = 0xf900
Script /usr/local/bin/pppoeci -vpi 8 -vci 35 -vendor 0x0915 -product 0x0204 -mode VCM_RFC2364 finished (pid 1513), status = 0xf900
Script /usr/local/bin/pppoeci -vpi 8 -vci 35 -vendor 0x0915 -product 0x0204 -mode VCM_RFC2364 finished (pid 1512), status = 0xf900
Script /usr/local/bin/pppoeci -vpi 8 -vci 35 -vendor 0x0915 -product 0x0204 -mode VCM_RFC2364 finished (pid 1509), status = 0xf900

- It now stops displaying any messages. The command prompt doesn't come back, so I assume it's still attempting to do something. Although by this point my modem's "LINK" light is on, suggesting it is connected. Yet if I were to do anything which required an internet connection, it would not work (i.e. Search the WWW, connect to an FTP site on telnet) suggesting it is not connected.

I'm rather bored of trying to get it to work, there's far too much to do and i'm far from knowledgeable enough to get the thing working.
I notice in the Mandrake 8.1 install where you're doing your modem setup, you have the option of "Alcatel USB ADSL modem". So if I were to buy this modem it would install automatically with no probs? There's also a list of ADSL modems that Mandrake Linux seems to have the drivers for built-in with the package. Would buying one of these work without problems?

(My USB ports work fine btw. Running a USB mouse, works fine)

Prompt help would be much appreciated. And take into account i'm new to Linux. Thanks.

I've been down the Alcatel route, my advice - don't. Get a Modem/Router all-in-one and a network card. Dabs.com have a great 4 port Modem/router for less than £70, a network card should cost well under a tenner and it's very easy to set up. I use Pipex as my ISP and there are lots of online stuff about setting routers up. The Modem /router is here - http://www.dabs.com/products/prod-se...price&stab=ref
It's the 4 port version.
Network cards - I use D link DFE530TX ones in both my machines - additional plus to a router is you can connect multiple machines to the same line and share bandwidth at the same time.

Just my opinion, of course.

Ditto! I also suggest going with Ethernet if for no other reason than it's compatibility and support. Forget about USB when using a "high-speed" ISP (it WILL work but not as easily). USB is good for mice, keyboards, scanners and even peer-to-peer situations, but Ethernet has been around longer (at leat 10-years longer!) so you can bet support is better too. I love my setup and anytime I get a new computer to play with I just run down to my local Computer retailer and buy a NEW Ethernet card for less than $10.00 (US)! It's downright CHEAP after you make the innitial investment in a cable/DSL modem and router/switch/hub. Even used PCMCIA 10/100 Ethernet cards are cheap (I can find them averaging about $20.00 US and New about $5.00 more). You can keep breaking your brain over USB if you like or be challenged with Ethernet and wind up learning a skill that might help you get a better job even! And if you're worried about Microsoft Windows working with it -- DON'T! Nearly EVERY Ethernet card will work with MS Windows. Linux, on the other hand, is a bit more choosey when it comes to Ethernet so just be sure you have the latest compatibility list of NIC cards when you look for one (hint: you can't go wrong if the NIC you get is 100% Novell NE1000 or NE2000 compatible). Hope it helps. Sorry if this doesn't solve your problem, but YOUR CHOICE of using USB rather than Ethernet can't be the best. Then again, WE don't know YOUR situation either...

Superb answers, thanks. Could you inform me more on how to set this up?

Router, Ethernet card - Both terms i've heard of but as for plugging them into my computer and getting ADSL through them, well that's another thing.

Here's what I have and want: I have a single computer running mandrake Linux 8.1 and an ADSL line. I want to have this single computer alone running ADSL and following your advice i'm going to go with your recommendation. How *exactly* do I do this? (If you could name specific hardware again that'd be great).
Any help much appreciated, thanks.

OK - buy the Dabs modem/router. It has an input from your phone line to plug into the back (you don't need a microfilter between this router and your phone line, but all phones on the line need a microfilter).
You then need a length of Cat5 straight-through network cable terminated at both ends.
Buy an ethernet/network card that is compatible with Linux (most tell you on the box, and there is the Mandrake Hardware Compatibility page, too), plug it into your pc.
Connect your router to the network card via the cable.
Boot the machine and go into the Control Centre, to set up the network connection. A wizard starts, you card should be automatically detected, and you input that you are using dhcp for your connection.
Once the connection is set up, you test it by opening a browser, and typing http://10.0.0.2 to connect to the router. An admin box comes up for you to input the admin password and username (listed in the router manual). You do so, and then set up your ISP username, password, protocols etc. in the router (again there is a helpful section in the manual to help, and lots of web pages, too).
Once that's done, you reboot the router, and it will then connect to your ISP. From then on, all browsers will just work normally using the router.

Hope that helps.

There are a LOT of different ways to set up an Etherenet connection. If you EVER plan on using another computer with your ADSL (aka "DSL") connection then using a "hub" of sorts would be recommended although I recommend a Router/Switch since some Routers can provide IP addresses "dynamically" (and use DHCP instead of statically assigning each computer it's own IP address or relying on "something" else doing it). A "switch" is also recomended rather than a "hub" since a "switch" provides the full bandwith to each computer rather than slicing up the bandwidth among each computer (however "hubs" ARE generally cheaper and tend to work better in electrically-noisy environments or places where really long wire-runs are used). A Router will also allow you to use one single "public" IP address and still proivide multiple IP addresses (about 253 more!) to all the computers on your LAN (so you DON'T need additional IP addresses from your ISP provider (which can get costly!) -- although more than 8 computers sharing the same DSL connection would start to drag it all down). Whatever method you choose, you WILL have some sort of Cable/DSL modem that will either connect directly to a computer (and no "cross-over" cable, also called a "null" cable, would be necessary) --OR-- the DSL modem would connect directly to the "WAN" connector on the router/switch/hub (which is already "null" and STILL, you don't need special "null" cables). FYI, a "cross-over" or "null" cable would only be needed if you wanted to connect 2 computers directly using Ethernet or some sort of other "special" situation like that (I like to think of a "null" cable as a DTE-to-DTE cable, but that's cause I still remember the old "serial link" days before I could afford Ethernet). If you have older Ethernet cards then you may be using coax cable (with BNC T-connectors most likely, and 2 50-ohm "terminators" inside BNC plugs on each end of the coax run). With Etherenet on coax, you would NOT require hubs, switches or routers strictly for the LAN, but you WOULD probably need a bridge and/or some sort of proxy server (another computer or "box" similar to a router) in the LAN setup to access the Internet. Typically (or so it seems), Linux is used on "cheep" computers like old 486 systems that have several Ethernet cards inside and ACT like anything you want (router, switch, hub or all of them). Obviously (I hope), a "cheap" Linux box like that would NOT be running any kind of GUI environment either (no KDE, Gnome, etc., that is). Even with this "recycleability" that Linux offers for older systems, I prefer the dedicated router/switch like the Linksys BEFSR41 since it's tiny, simple to setup (which is a HUGE advantage over Linux), and requires almost nothing for power consumption (it's also about a hundred bucks U.S.!). Another BIG advantage with the Router is that it can "hide" your "real" IP address which more or less prevents most "crackers" from getting into your computer! The down side is that you need to know more about TCP/IP and how to set up things like a "DMZ" so that some programs like cerrtain Internet games will work (UnReal and Quake come to mind in this area). If all you want to do is access the Internet and browse around, having a Router/Switch makes setup easier too! That's because you can usually use DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) which will assign IP addresses "dynamically" (as needed) to anything behind the Router/Switch "box" so you can forget about each computers "static" IP address -- and you don't have to be connected to your ISP or the Interenet to get an IP address too. When setting up the Ethernet card on your computer that HAS a router in use (and uses DHCP) all you have to remember is that you use DHCP instead of remembering all the IP addresses for each computer (even if they're off) which means you can forget about all the "static" IP addresses "in use" to get things working locally. This makes it easier FOR ME and I would imagine you too (but it still requires more money for the "stuff" -- the router/switch that is).

In any case, if I read it right, you only want ONE computer to connect to your DSL modem (I HOPE you're NOT planning on using that computer as a proxy server either!). In such a case, you need to know from your ISP how they handle IP addresses. For example, does your ISP provider use DHCP or statically assign IP addresses to every "public" system that is connected? THIS IS IMPORTANT! Usually, the ISP will use DHCP and tell you how to set it all up with Microsoft Windows or Apple's OS. MY ISP uses DHCP but I use a cable-modem which is almost certainly NOT the same ISP that you would be using. I also had to make sure that I didn't set the modem up to be used on a USB connection too. Otherwise, I would have to remember to reset the modem if I ever did use USB and then went back to Ethernet (you may have to do this! but it's usually a simple process -- usually press the reset button with a paper clip while power cycling the modem). Once you know that you will probably want to connect everything. Therefore, to connect your equipment to ONE computer you will need a DSL connection from your phone line to the DSL modem (I can't say since I don't have one although "filters" do seem to be an important factor), an Ethernet cable (looks similar to a phone line & plug but has 8 prongs rather than 4) connected from the DSL modem to the Ethernet card in your computer. That's it! Afterwards, you will need to know specifics about your Ethernet card and how TCP/IP is handled by your ISP (I think I already said this but it's important!). I don't know what Ethernet card you would be using, but THAT'S where any "drivers" would come in. My only suggestion about Ethernet cards is to get one that is supported (like a Novell NE1000 or NE2000 compatible, but even better would be one that is compatible with "RealTek" and the RTL8139 so you can use the "tulip" driver in Linux -- check out Hawking Technology Inc. http://www.hawkingtech.com and their PN102TXA card to see a good example). Once you have your computer and modem setup as well as drivers for your Ethernet card about all that's left is to setup the TCP/IP connection. For that I can't help much since it's pretty much up to your LAN and/or ISP that detirmines how you get an IP address, but once you get that solved you should be all done!

Sorry if this is a bit long and might not be what you're looking for, but I did want to touch on each decision you need to make and point out what other information you will need. It took me quite a while learning just that much and I'm STILL learning! Hopefully, this get's you pointed in a direction you want to go. And if possible, have FUN with the frustration level :-) L8R...

I was in that same situation (and have posted on another thread about another guy in the same situation)

BT is a corporation that is blind to the growing world of linux and GNU. I emailed them on whether they were going to write native linux drivers but they replied saying no because they didn't see it necessary because they didn't see the need for it. Jerks.

The point about the Routers etc is a good one, but I don't see it worth me getting into linux if i have to spend 70 pounds on a router, I'm 15, me getting 70 quid is a rare occasion!

ARE you absolutely sure there isn't another way around this?

Thanks

rerun eciconf.sh your vpi should be 0 and your vci should be 38, hope that helps you