usb modem : Can ping, but cant browse - and cant modprobe usb-uhci
 

I recently scrapped my RedHat system to try out slackware 9.1 - the install went fine and detected everything.

But when I went to install the modem stuff for my eciadsl modem I got some problems.

In the modem script of "startmodem" when it tries to insert usb-uhci controller i get a bunch of messages along the lines of:

/lib/modules/2.4.22/kernel/drivers/usb/host/usb-uhci.o.gz : init_module : No such device.

and says check dmesg and syslog, which show no errors for the insmod, but some errors are there for something else (I dont know what triggers them!):

usbdevfs : USBDEVFS_BULK failed
usb_control / bulk_msg : timeout

However usb stuff does still work, and I connect to my isp who gives me an IP address.

THen, if I traceroute to www.linuxquestions.org, it goes fine and traces all the way here. But if I enter the url in a browser it says "connected: waiting for a reply" but never gets one. AND, after when I traceroute after that I get "host cannot be resolved" a couple of times before it will trace again!

Have I just missed an important config in slackware, or is that usb-uhci thing? Sorry I cant be more specific on the error messages - I am typing this at an Internet "Cafe" full of backpackers in 37 degree heat! If I have to sit here for another hour I will probably start crying!

Well, check the output of lsmod and lsusb ...
maybe the startmodem script tries to use
usb-uhci while you actually have ohci, or
ehci-hcd ...

As for the traceroute and such ... does your
/etc/resolv.conf match your actual ISP's
servers, domain-names and such?


Cheers,
Tink

I will try lsusb - what should I be looking for?

the lsmod didnt seem to have any controller in it if i remeber (cant check it from the cafe!)

but my digital camera and usb-key drive both work fine.

if i type modprobe usb-uhci, or modprobe usb-ehci I get exactly the same error like:

/lib/modules/2.4.18/kernel/drivers/usb/uhci.o.gz:
init_module: No such device
/lib/modules/2.4.18/kernel/drivers/usb/uhci.o.gz:
Hint: insmod errors can be caused by incorrect module
parameters, including invalid IO or IRQ parameters.
You may find more information in syslog or the
output from dmesg
/lib/modules/2.4.18/kernel/drivers/usb/uhci.o.gz:
insmod
/lib/modules/2.4.18/kernel/drivers/usb/uhci.o.gz
failed
/lib/modules/2.4.18/kernel/drivers/usb/uhci.o.gz:
insmod uhci failed

But not this exactly - I just found this on the net! No answer but!


For the traceroute thing, I just put my ISP's DNS addresses in the resolv.conf file myself. THats what I had to do on RedHat. Is this wrong?

Any hints that tell you what kind of USB controller
you have ;)

Did you build a custom kernel?


That should be fine ...
search <your.isp>
nameserver <your DNS's IP>

Can you see any indication of the cause of the
problem in the logs? /var/log/* ... sort them by
date (ls -ltr) and read the end of the most recent
ones.


Cheers,
Tink

Thanks for your help, and hopefully the next reply will be from home!

Nope! Back is this cafe again (Is is still called a cafe if it only sells food that has been deep fried?)

Nothing new to report! Anyone have any clues as to why I might not be able to do modprobe usb-uhci? Or why I can traceroute linuxquestions.org, but not slashdot.org? And can browse neither of them????

If I do a lsmod I dont see anything that I think is a usb controller (though I dont know what they should look like) It does have:

uhci (unused)
usbcore [uhci]

I recompiled the kernel (made sure it loaded usb-uhci as a module)but did the same thing. I reinstalled the slack9.1 again without any scsi and still same thing....

Im stumped now! I dont even have my old RedHat cd's to go back too :) Any suggestions at all would be welcomed.

Got it! Just tie this one up in case it can help someone in the future:

the lsmod showed "uhci" which is a special usb-uhci driver or something. Because this was already loaded the machine had a fit when it tried to load the next usb-uhci.

if I did modprobe -r uhci, then modprobe usb-uhci then it works like a trooper.

So you added uhci to /etc/hotplug/blacklist
and lived happily ever after? :)


Cheers,
Tink


P.S.: 37 degrees .... where on the southern
hemisphere are you? :)

Wednesday 7th in Sydney Australia = 37 degrees celcius. What a hellish day to not have airconditioning!

Yep, turned out usb-uchi was listed in the blacklist, and uchi was uncommented - Thanks for your help Tinkster!

How can you go from so pissed at linux to so happy with linux in such a short time? :)