still can't get SMC/NE2000 nic card to work

[wurmy]

(i'm running redhat 6.2, on a second hdd, windows on my master hdd - the card works in windows)
(THIS IS A LONG POST)

these are the directions i got from the manufacturer website:
The procedure to activate rtl8019 on linux:
Hint:RTL8019 is ne2000 compatible.

Step 1: Make sure that kernel source is included (check /usr/src/linux)
Step 2: Recompile kerne: cd to /usr/src/linux, then type 'make menuconfig'
Select the following options:
.enable module support
.networking support
.TCP/IP networking
.network device support
.ethernet
.ne2000/ne1000 support
Step 3: exit and run make dep; make clean; make zImage;
if no serious errors occur the new kernel zImage is in /usr/src/linux/arch/i386/boot/zImage. Copy this file to root. Modify 'lilo.conf' to point to this new file. Run 'lilo', reboot.
Step 4: When system boots, the driver will be loaded. THen the driver will scan {0x300, 0x280, 0x320, 0x340, 0x360} port to see if a card is there.
(you can run 'dmesg' to see the boot message)
PS: in some cases, PNPISA may assing ioports not in the range, you can use 'rset8019' (in DOS) to set the card in jumpless mode and set I/O Address to one of these I/O ports.
Step 5: Run netconfig to setup TCP/IP
(run 'ifconfig' or 'netstat -i' to see if there is an interface 'ne0')

OK....
i did all that except, in the process i also got a whole new kernal (i had 2.2.14-5.0, but i downloaded a newer on: 2.2.17). i setup all those options, recompiled, copied bzImage (i used it instead of zImage) to /boot/ instead of /root cause that is what the LNO on this site said and that is where lilo.conf wanted to look anyway. i edited the lilo.conf file, rebooted....(this is after about 2 days of struggling to get this all to finally work). so it reboots and the new kernel is working...but it isn't detecting my card. i run 'dmesg' and see nothing about any of those ports, nor about my card. is it something wrong with linux, or my card? should i run that program in dos to set the I/O address? this has been a long 2/3 days....

wurmy

[tfwitter]

I'm not sure as I, too, have a NE2000 compatible card and it works just fine. http://www.linuxnewbie.org/ubb/eek.gif
But maybe I can point you in some sort of direction.
I run debian so this, too, may not apply.
I believe way back when, I ran modprobe. I would read through the man page for that to make sure you do it correctly. Also, what about insmod? These, of course, will only help you if you compiled the driver as a module. http://www.linuxnewbie.org/ubb/frown.gif
The more I type the more I wonder if this is useless information.
Anywho, if the driver is compiled as a module, then you need to have that module installed (a la "make modules" "make modules_install").


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[wurmy]

i ran make modules, and make modules_install. so i tried to insmod rtl8019 and it said it couldnt find it. so then i tried insmod ne (which is the first one i tried when i first installed linux and was trying to get the card to work). it said it couldn't find that one either. grrr...what did i do wrong this time?

[ColdPack]

Originally posted by wurmy:
i ran make modules, and make modules_install. so i tried to insmod rtl8019 and it said it couldnt find it. so then i tried insmod ne (which is the first one i tried when i first installed linux and was trying to get the card to work). it said it couldn't find that one either. grrr...what did i do wrong this time?

You may need to include the io and irq.
Like (and I think this is with insmod) insmod ne io=0x300 irq=10 (whatever your card needs... that's where my ne nic is). I think that's the way you can do it.
Again, check the man pages... I'm at work on a die-every-day-win98 machine (not being sarcastic, either)... they may give you some guidance here. modprobe may be your friend,too, I just don't remember exactly how to use it.
If need be, go into windows (if it's still lurking on your machine) and find out the values like I showed above for your nic.

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"What do people mean when they say the computer went down on them?"
---Marilyn Pittman

[wurmy]

ok i recompiled, reran make modules, etc....went thru the steps in the LNO. the ne module is still not there, even when i put in the io and irq. it says there is no module by that name. i also noticed something when i ran make modules and make modules_install. when it was done it showed this:
modules are installed in (or something like that) /lib/modules/2.2.17/fs
/lib/modules/2.2.17/misc
now i'm very new to linux so i have no idea but it just seems like there would be more lines to that....does that look right?

[Iceman]

Hi:

Which model of SMC card? Is it ISA PnP or PCI?

If it's ISA PnP, you need to disable PnP in your BIOS and on the card itself. You'll also need to configure the IRQ and Base I/O with the SMC DOS untility EZ Start.

[wurmy]

ok but is it going to make the card work even tho linux can't seem to find the ne or rtl8019 modules?? are the modules like drivers (in windows)?

[ndogg]

The module may be overwritten by the kernel when your computer boots up, so it doesn't get loaded (I'm not entirely sure about that though). Try using 'make bzImage' which will make sure the kernel is big enough at boot time. If you use 'make bzlilo' then the kernel will copy the current kernel to 'vmlinuz.old' (there should be something in /etc/lilo.conf), install the new kernel, and run 'lilo'.

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Too much Sun can give you cancer. Windows break too easily.
Apples/Macintoshes can rot. BSD... sounds too much like LSD.
Penguins are the only animals sophisticated enough to wear a
tuxedo.


Linux, the only one with the Penguin.


http://ndogg.n3.net

[wurmy]

so do i want linux to use vmlinuz.old to boot, or the new bzImage (in lilo.conf)?