Mandrake 10: 3com 3C905-TX not working

[Pokinpo]

Very Green Newbie here.

I have Mandrake 10 installed. A couple of devices do not work. Nonetheless, one at a time. Firstly, my 3COM 3C905-TX NIC does not seem to load. BTW, the card is fine - works in Win2K.

While, I am not that familiar with many linux commands yet, I notice that lspci, lsmod and cat /proc/pci seem to be common diag commands. Here is their output:

<lspci> command not recognized

<lsmod>
sg 38044 0
sr_mod 17060 0
lp 12200 0
snd-seq-midi 8160 0
snd-seq-oss 31232 0
snd-seq-midi-event 7552 2 snd-seq-midi,snd-seq-oss
snd-seq 51024 5 snd-seq-midi,snd-seq-oss,snd-seq-midi-event
snd-pcm-oss 51812 0
snd-mixer-oss 17952 1 snd-pcm-oss
snd-ens1371 21984 1
snd-rawmidi 23616 2 snd-seq-midi,snd-ens1371
snd-seq-device 8008 4 snd-seq-midi,snd-seq-oss,snd-seq,snd-rawmidi
snd-pcm 93156 2 snd-pcm-oss,snd-ens1371
snd-page-alloc 11972 1 snd-pcm
snd-timer 24484 2 snd-seq,snd-pcm
snd-ac97-codec 58148 1 snd-ens1371
gameport 4480 1 snd-ens1371
snd 52484 14 snd-seq-midi,snd-seq-oss,snd-seq-midi-event,snd-seq,snd-pcm-oss,snd-mixer-oss,snd-ens1371,snd-rawmidi,snd-seq-device,snd-pcm,snd-timer,snd-ac97-codec
soundcore 9248 1 snd
af_packet 20520 0
ide-floppy 18752 0
ide-tape 34864 0
ide-cd 40548 0
cdrom 37184 2 sr_mod,ide-cd
floppy 59444 0
joydev 10240 0
evdev 9504 0
3c59x 39144 0
vfat 13760 0
fat 45120 1 vfat
supermount 37876 3
sd_mod 16800 0
via-agp 7360 1
agpgart 31016 1 via-agp
hid 53312 0
usb-storage 63136 0
ppa 12296 0
parport_pc 32832 1
imm 12360 0
scsi_mod 114744 6 sg,sr_mod,sd_mod,usb-storage,ppa,imm
parport 38952 4 lp,ppa,parport_pc,imm
ehci-hcd 24196 0
lirc_atiusb 9924 0
lirc_dev 13440 2 lirc_atiusb
ohci-hcd 18692 0
uhci-hcd 29104 0
usbcore 99132 8 hid,usb-storage,ehci-hcd,lirc_atiusb,ohci-hcd,uhci-hcd
rtc 11576 0
ext3 110376 2
jbd 54328 1 ext3

<cat /proc/pci>
Bus 0, device 0, function 0:
Host bridge: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT8363/8365 [KT133/KM133] (rev 3).
Prefetchable 32 bit memory at 0xe0000000 [0xe3ffffff].
Bus 0, device 1, function 0:
PCI bridge: PCI device 1106:b115 (VIA Technologies, Inc.) (rev 0).
Master Capable. No bursts. Min Gnt=12.
Bus 0, device 7, function 0:
ISA bridge: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT82C686 [Apollo Super South] (rev 64).
Bus 0, device 7, function 1:
IDE interface: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT82C586A/B/VT82C686/A/B/VT8233/A/C/VT8235 PIPC Bus Master IDE (rev 6).
Master Capable. Latency=32.
I/O at 0xa000 [0xa00f].
Bus 0, device 7, function 2:
USB Controller: VIA Technologies, Inc. USB (rev 26).
IRQ 9.
Master Capable. Latency=32.
I/O at 0xa400 [0xa41f].
Bus 0, device 7, function 3:
USB Controller: VIA Technologies, Inc. USB (#2) (rev 26).
IRQ 9.
Master Capable. Latency=32.
I/O at 0xa800 [0xa81f].
Bus 0, device 7, function 4:
Bridge: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT82C686 [Apollo Super ACPI] (rev 64).
IRQ 11.
Bus 0, device 11, function 0:
Ethernet controller: 3Com Corporation 3c905 100BaseTX [Boomerang] (rev 0).
IRQ 10.
Master Capable. Latency=32. Min Gnt=3.Max Lat=8.
I/O at 0xb000 [0xb03f].
Bus 0, device 13, function 0:
Unknown mass storage controller: Promise Technology, Inc. 20269 (rev 2).
IRQ 11.
Master Capable. Latency=32. Min Gnt=4.Max Lat=18.
I/O at 0xb400 [0xb407].
I/O at 0xb800 [0xb803].
I/O at 0xbc00 [0xbc07].
I/O at 0xc000 [0xc003].
I/O at 0xc400 [0xc40f].
Non-prefetchable 32 bit memory at 0xe8000000 [0xe8003fff].
Bus 0, device 17, function 0:
Multimedia video controller: PCI device 14f1:8800 (Conexant) (rev 3).
IRQ 11.
Master Capable. Latency=32. Min Gnt=20.Max Lat=55.
Non-prefetchable 32 bit memory at 0xe7000000 [0xe7ffffff].
Bus 0, device 18, function 0:
USB Controller: NEC Corporation USB (rev 65).
IRQ 11.
Master Capable. Latency=32. Min Gnt=1.Max Lat=42.
Non-prefetchable 32 bit memory at 0xe8004000 [0xe8004fff].
Bus 0, device 18, function 1:
USB Controller: NEC Corporation USB (#2) (rev 65).
IRQ 10.
Master Capable. Latency=32. Min Gnt=1.Max Lat=42.
Non-prefetchable 32 bit memory at 0xe8005000 [0xe8005fff].
Bus 0, device 18, function 2:
USB Controller: NEC Corporation USB 2.0 (rev 2).
IRQ 9.
Master Capable. Latency=32. Min Gnt=16.Max Lat=34.
Non-prefetchable 32 bit memory at 0xe8006000 [0xe80060ff].
Bus 0, device 20, function 0:
Multimedia audio controller: Ensoniq ES1371 [AudioPCI-97] (rev 2).
IRQ 9.
Master Capable. Latency=32. Min Gnt=12.Max Lat=128.
I/O at 0xc800 [0xc83f].
Bus 1, device 0, function 0:
VGA compatible controller: PCI device 1002:4150 (ATI Technologies Inc) (rev 0).
IRQ 11.
Master Capable. Latency=32. Min Gnt=8.
Prefetchable 32 bit memory at 0xc0000000 [0xcfffffff].
I/O at 0x9000 [0x90ff].
Non-prefetchable 32 bit memory at 0xe5000000 [0xe500ffff].
Bus 1, device 0, function 1:
Display controller: PCI device 1002:4170 (ATI Technologies Inc) (rev 0).
Master Capable. Latency=32. Min Gnt=8.
Prefetchable 32 bit memory at 0xd0000000 [0xdfffffff].
Non-prefetchable 32 bit memory at 0xe5010000 [0xe501ffff].

Any ideas?

[hard candy]

Great post, you did a good job by including the info that you listed.
Here is thread asking about the card,
thread (http://www.justlinux.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=66589&highlight=3COM+3C905TX+NIC)

Make sure the file /etc/modules has the correct listing as MDWatts suggested in the last post. From the lsmod output, it looks like the module is present. If you change the modules file, reboot so the module gets loaded. You'll need to be "su" or root to change the file.

[mdwatts]

And if

ifconfig

shows eth0 as being up and running, then you only need to use whatever network config tools your distro provides to setup dhcp (or static), gateway address and dns servers in /etc/resolv.conf.

[Pokinpo]

Thanks for the help.

I checked modules.conf and the eth0 alias already exist and shows up correctly in KDE.

<ifconfig> command not recognized. However, my network configurations (in KDE) shows correct static private IP, gateway IP and DNS server IPs.

Any other ideas?

[bandwidth_pig]

You need to run ifconfig as root.

[mdwatts]

Originally posted by Pokinpo

I checked modules.conf and the eth0 alias already exist and shows up correctly in KDE.

<ifconfig> command not recognized. However, my network configurations (in KDE) shows correct static private IP, gateway IP and DNS server IPs.

Any other ideas?

What shows up correctly in KDE?

You need to be root using

su -
<root password>
ifconfig

OR

su
<root password>
/sbin/ifconfig

The su manpage (man su) explains the difference between 'su' and 'su -'.

Please post the results of 'ifconfig'.

Can you ping anything?

Since it seems your ethernet card was always detected (the module was loaded) before posting here, did you actually setup and configure networking during the initial distro installation?

[DMR]

Can you tell us what exactly isn't working? Your NIC could be fine; it might just be a question of having missed something when you configured your IP settings.

[Pokinpo]

Thanks. The problem is that I have been using su in lieu of su - to login as root. Now ifconfig output is:

eth0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx (deleted)
UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1
RX packets:37 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
RX bytes:3578 (3.4 Kb) TX bytes:0 (0.0 b)
Interrupt:10 Base address:0xb000

lo Link encap:Local Loopback
inet addr:127.0.0.1 Mask:255.0.0.0
UP LOOPBACK RUNNING MTU:16436 Metric:1
RX packets:70 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:70 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:0
RX bytes:4594 (4.4 Kb) TX bytes:4594 (4.4 Kb)

Regarding correct configuration in KDE, I mean that network adapter settings show, eth0:3Com 3c905-TX with
IP = 10.x.x.x
Netmask = 255.255.255.0
Gateway = 10.x.x.1
DNS1 = ISP's primary
DNS2 = ISP's secondary

Regarding 'not working,' I mean that there does not seem to be any traffic in or out of the computer...no http, no ping...error = cannot connect to site. The DNS addresses are correct.

Side notes:
1. While messing around with MEPIS live CD demo, I was also not able to connect to the net via the 3c905-tx.
2. I replaced the 3Com card with an SMC1211 and it worked. Unfortunately, it is an old card with problems.

I will try to tough this out and in the process learn a few things or simply buy another non-3com card.

[Pokinpo]

hmm...
Is ifconfig the equivalent of ipconfig in windows? If so, it appears that my settings in KDE are not being applied to the NIC. Any way to setup the adapter via shell?

[mdwatts]

The 3Com is up and running, but doesn't have a ip address. You can actually search the JL forums as we have posted instructions on how to further setup your nic after you have the module loaded.

Use whatever network config tools Mandrake includes to setup dhcp or static, gateway address and isp dns servers in /etc/resolv.conf.

[DMR]

Are you even unable to ping the IP you've assigned to the card itself?

Can you ping the IP of the loopback device (127.0.0.1)?

Originally posted by mdwatts
..we have posted instructions on how to further setup your nic after you have the module loaded.Actually, I think I posted them 3 times yesterday alone. ;)

Here it is again:

http://www.stevewolfonline.com/Downloads/DMR/Doc/Linux/Network/NICConfig.txt

If the GUI tools don't seem to be doing what they should, editing the configuration files by hand will be more reliable. The config files in question are described near the end of above link. They are simple text files, and can be viewed or changed with your favorite text editing application.

Post the contents of those files, as well as the output of the "route" command.

[mdwatts]

Since the 3COM 3C905-TX is a popular ethernet card and your distro must have detected the 3Com during the initial installation, you must have skipped the network setup during install.

As we have previously suggested, use whatever network config tools your distro provides to setup networking.

[Pokinpo]

Thanks guys. I actually gave up and simply installed a SMC NIC - which works fine.

DMR,
Great stuff in your NIC config reference - it has everything I was looking for. If I have some spare time, I will reinstall the 3Com card and try out your guide. I will post results.

[DMR]

Originally posted by Pokinpo
Thanks guys. You're welcome. :)


Originally posted by Pokinpo
I actually gave up and simply installed a SMC NIC - which works fine. An SMC 1211 or the like, based on a Realtek chipset? If so, I can honestly say that I've never had a problem getting one of those cards going under Linux. They aren't the absolute best in terms of performance, but they are pretty foolproof when it comes to setting them up.

Originally posted by Pokinpo
DMR,
Great stuff in your NIC config reference - it has everything I was looking for. Thanks Pokinpo, I'm glad the article helped.

The motivation to write the article came directly from the number of NIC-related questions I've seen here over the years and (since I can't program my way out of a paper bag), it just seemed like something I could do to contribute.

Also- many thanks are definitely due to Mike (mdwatts) for his input and suggestions. I bounced rough drafts of the article to him a few times before even posting the original, and many of the specifics you see in the article are a direct result of his critiques.

:)