Can't install NIC drivers

[jtart2]

I have Suse 8.3 installed which works fine, but I cannot get my NIC working.
One came with the motherboard, but it fails to load when booting.

I purchased another NIC, but after I installed the drivers and try to install the modules, the bash tells me the modules don't exist.

I look in the directory where the module supposedly resides, and it appears to be there.

The text that came with the NIC doesn't explain things very well, but it says if I get an error message when installing the module to look under usr/src/linux/include/linux/version.h and make sure a statement matches another file, however I cannot find "version.h" anywhere on my machine!

The text also says the drivers were designed for Suse linux kernal 2.4.2 but mine is 2.4.2. 4GB

I'm a newbie and not a computer expert, but I would appreciate any help.
I purchased Suse Linux a couple of years ago but I've never used it because I could never connect to the internet!
Thanks in advance,
Joe

PS I'm at work right now so I can't recall all details about the configuration.

[Parcival]

SuSE 8.3? Now this must be a rather strange distro because SuSE went from 8.2 directly to 9.0, I have all the boxes in my shelf. ;) Unless they have made a seperate edition for your region, you either have a different version than 8.3 or a different distro.

In case you have SuSE 8.2 and have enough horsepower in your computer, I suggest upgrading to the current release, SuSE 9.3. This may solve your NIC problem without having to mess with kernel modules.

[Icarus]

If it's an nforce chipset/nic you'll need the forcedeth module which is only available in 'experimental' form in the 2.6 kernels and I don't think SUSE started using that until at least 9.0...but I can personally say that the module does work very good ;)

Best way to find the chipset it uses is to do a 'lspci' as root, this will show all PCI devices even if they are not configured. Find your NIC in there and post the line it shows and we can point you to a better way of setting this up.

[jtart2]

Sorry, but it was 8.2, not 8.3... I must be getting old!
I guess I'll wait for Suse 10.0 to come out in October if you guys thinks I won't have any problems.

[Icarus]

Don't know if that will help or not without knowing what the NIC is...could be one of those odd ones

[psych-major]

Sorry, but it was 8.2, not 8.3... I must be getting old!
I guess I'll wait for Suse 10.0 to come out in October if you guys thinks I won't have any problems.

I recently installed OpenSuSE 9.3 and was very impressed. It may not be necessary to wait for 10...

[je_fro]

I'm still waiting for the module name....

[psych-major]

Sorry, but it was 8.2, not 8.3... I must be getting old!
I guess I'll wait for Suse 10.0 to come out in October if you guys thinks I won't have any problems.

Apparently you'll have to wait until after October, je_fro... :rolleyes:

[jtart2]

Here's more information.

The NIC is a ZyXel 32-Bit PCI Gigabit Ethernet Adapter #GN670-T.

The module name is "velocityget"

Please let me know if you need more information. Like I said earlier, I'm a newbie to Linux and have never recompiled the kernel or install any drivers.
I'm used to Windosw doing all that for me. :)

Thanks for your help
Joe

[jumpedintothefire]

Hey Joe, there is a couple of things you need to check before you can compile a kernel driver, first the kernel source needs to be installed on your box.

Before you go and try that, could you clairify this: "I look in the directory where the module supposedly resides, and it appears to be there." Your saying velocityget.ko is present?

If the driver is there, try 'modprobe velocityget' at a command prompt.
If there are no error (post them if there are), check to see if the module is loaded with 'lsmod'
If the module is loaded, and assuming that your network is correctly configured, try to restart the network. If you now have an ip address when you do a 'ifconfig', life is starting to look better, you may just need to set the nic's alias in the modprobe.conf file (think that is what susi uses..)
Hope this helps...

[jtart2]

I thought the module was present. Afte double checking, the module is not listed with I run -lsmod. The instructions say the module should show up in a certain directory that was created by the driver when it was installed, but that directory doesn't even exist! I looked through the driver code and saw the directory I think the module goes in, but I couldn't find that directory either.

I don't know what the heck is going on with it! :mad:

I figure I'll have to call the manufacturer and see if they can help me!

Thanks for any more advice.

[je_fro]

we could be more helpful if you told us exactly what you did, and the specific results

[jumpedintothefire]

First you need to establish whether the module is present on the hd...
try:
'locate -u' (might take a bit)
'locate velocityget'
No, results found... you need to compile it....
If found, pick the instructions up, from modprobe, above

[jtart2]

I installed Debian 3.1 a couple of days ago, and still no NIC working.
Tonight I installed Mandriva Linux and my NIC started working with no problems.
I can't believe I'm finally on the internet with LInux.

The only problem I have now is I can't boot from the GRUB and load my Suse or Debian Linux systems. I can only now boot Mandriva Linux or Windows. I don't know how that happened...I had Suse and Windows on one 60 GB hard drive and I split up my "slave" 120 GB hard drive into four 29 GB partitions.

Anyone know how to boot up my Suse and Debian. I had a ton of applications installed on the Suse!
Thanks,
Joe

[je_fro]

if they are still there you'll need to edit /boot/grub/grub.conf to have it point to those partitions. Read the grub manual for a WHOLE LOT of important information.