How to get the network card up&running (zipSlack)
 

Hello,

This is my first post on this forum, I need some help on getting the network card to work. Since this is I think a top-10 question, a real FAQ, I thought I could find the answer real quick. But up till now I can't figure out how to get things done in Zip-slack the easy way.

I do have some experience with Linux-distro's (Suse 6.5, muLinux and Damn Small Linux), and know that Slackware will need some more Linux-configuring-knowledge. So, I took the time to read postings, read manuals etc., but can' t find the thing (script) I'm looking for.

I know about netconfig, I know about the network-card module that has to be installed etc., but what do I have to do to trigger Zipslack to search for a network card and do the proper things to the config files?

At the moment I don't want to do things manually because:
- I don't know what network card I've installed and don't know how to determine this without opening the case;
- the Slackware install/configure procedure seems to have a scripts which searches for a networkcards, so why shouldn't Zipslack have this feature;
- Damn Small Linux gets me on the Internet without configuring anything, so everything needed seems to be available and working in my machine.

Hope someone can help me or direct to info somewhere,

Thanks in advance.

You don't have that automatic program on Slackware/ZipSlack, to get it working basically you have to do what you said you couldn't do ;)

- First, see which network card you've, use: /sbin/lspci
- Then, search the web to see which module Linux uses to support that card. Search something like: linux module yournetworkcard
- Once you find it, load it with: /sbin/modprobe modulename
- See if you see eth0 with: ifconfig
- Run netconfig and configure it or manually edit /etc/rc.d/rc.inet1.conf
- If all went ok, add the modprobe line to /etc/rc.d/rc.modules so the module will be loaded on each boot.

The firsts steps until ifconfig works for all distributions.

Slackware doesn't have a script which searchs for network cards, it has, however, hotplug which load modules for your plugged hardware. I don't know about hotplug status on ZipSlack but modprobing a module isn't difficult.
Damn Small Linux could have a hotplug running on have your network card's module built into the kernel (no need to load modules).

Thanks gbonvehi,

I will go the way I don't want to go, although the output of lspci isn't helping me much. Where's the network card info?

00:00.0 Host bridge: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT82C585VP [Apollo VP1/VPX] (rev 23)
Control: I/O+ Mem+ BusMaster+ SpecCycle- MemWINV- VGASnoop- ParErr- Stepping- SERR- FastB2B-
Status: Cap- 66Mhz+ UDF- FastB2B+ ParErr- DEVSEL=medium >TAbort- <TAbort- <MAbort- >SERR- <PERR+
Latency: 32

00:07.0 ISA bridge: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT82C586/A/B PCI-to-ISA [Apollo VP] (rev 27)
Control: I/O+ Mem+ BusMaster+ SpecCycle+ MemWINV- VGASnoop- ParErr- Stepping- SERR- FastB2B-
Status: Cap- 66Mhz- UDF- FastB2B- ParErr- DEVSEL=medium >TAbort- <TAbort- <MAbort- >SERR- <PERR-
Latency: 0

00:07.1 IDE interface: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT82C586A/B/VT82C686/A/B/VT823x/A/C/VT8235 PIPC Bus Master IDE (rev 06) (prog-if 8a [Master SecP PriP])
Control: I/O+ Mem- BusMaster+ SpecCycle- MemWINV- VGASnoop- ParErr- Stepping- SERR- FastB2B-
Status: Cap- 66Mhz- UDF- FastB2B+ ParErr- DEVSEL=medium >TAbort- <TAbort- <MAbort- >SERR- <PERR-
Latency: 32
Region 4: I/O ports at 6000 [size=16]

00:0d.0 VGA compatible controller: S3 Inc. 86c775/86c785 [Trio 64V2/DX or /GX] (rev 14) (prog-if 00 [VGA])
Subsystem: S3 Inc. 86C775 Trio64V2/DX, 86C785 Trio64V2/GX
Control: I/O+ Mem+ BusMaster- SpecCycle- MemWINV- VGASnoop- ParErr- Stepping- SERR- FastB2B-
Status: Cap- 66Mhz- UDF- FastB2B- ParErr- DEVSEL=medium >TAbort- <TAbort- <MAbort- >SERR- <PERR-
Interrupt: pin A routed to IRQ 11
Region 0: Memory at e0000000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=64M]
Expansion ROM at <unassigned> [disabled] [size=64K]

00:0f.0 Multimedia audio controller: Avance Logic Inc. ALS4000 Audio Chipset
Subsystem: Avance Logic Inc. ALS4000 Audio Chipset
Control: I/O+ Mem- BusMaster+ SpecCycle- MemWINV- VGASnoop- ParErr- Stepping- SERR- FastB2B-
Status: Cap+ 66Mhz- UDF- FastB2B- ParErr- DEVSEL=medium >TAbort- <TAbort- <MAbort- >SERR- <PERR-
Latency: 32
Interrupt: pin A routed to IRQ 10
Region 0: I/O ports at 6200 [size=128]
Capabilities: [dc] Power Management version 2
Flags: PMEClk- DSI+ D1- D2+ AuxCurrent=0mA PME(D0-,D1-,D2+,D3hot+,D3cold-)
Status: D0 PME-Enable- DSel=0 DScale=0 PME-

Weird, it should have a entry named Ethernet Controller. Seeing that you're using ZipSlack, I assume you're using DOS or Windows, you could see the driver you're using for it and take the name from there, or use another distribution like you said you did and see the module name that's used there.

Not weird on second thoughts. Installed ZipSlack on old beast, think there's an ISA card installed.
On this machine I've FreeDOS and DSL available. DSL has to give the answer I suspect. Shall try this evening.

DSL learned me module ' 3c509' was loaded, un'#'ing this line in /etc/rc.d/rc.modules and the card is up and running.

gbonvehi,

I'm still wondering why there is no auto detection in Slackware/ZipSlack.

- You wrote DSL could have that hotplug thing running, but reading a bit about hotplug learned me it can only be used together with pci-cards/usb, not ISA. So DSL uses another way to detect cards?
- Another thing which puzzles me is that chapter 5 of the slackbook learns about netconfig ' It then offered to probe for a network card to configure' (on other sites I read that ' setup' will probe for a network card). Will Slackware not probe for ISA-cards?