Trying to upgrade older desktop to Gigabit ethernet - no joy.

[Frank616]

I have an old core-2 duo that I still use with 100 MBit ethernet. I upgraded the rest of my network to gigabit, and now want this machine to join in the fun. I bought a D-Link DGE-530-T card and installed it. I plugged the ethernet cable into the new card, and restarted the machine. No network....

The device is seen by lspci as line 21 below. I posted a few lines both sides in the event that the other Ethernet controller is an issue.

 05:00.0 VGA compatible controller: NVIDIA Corporation G98 [GeForce 8400 GS Rev. 2] (rev a1)
19:00.0 Ethernet controller: Broadcom Corporation NetXtreme BCM5752 Gigabit Ethernet PCI Express (rev 02)
21:06.0 Ethernet controller: D-Link System Inc DGE-530T Gigabit Ethernet Adapter (rev.C1) [Realtek RTL8169] (rev 10)
21:09.0 FireWire (IEEE 1394): Texas Instruments TSB43AB22A IEEE-1394a-2000 Controller (PHY/Link) [iOHCI-Lynx]

Realtek produces source code for a Linux driver for this card, as noted below:

***********************


<Linux device driver for Realtek Ethernet controllers>

This is the Linux device driver released for RealTek RTL8169S/8110S, RTL8169SB/8110SB, and RTL8110SC.

<Requirements>

- kernel source tree (supported Linux kernel 2.6.x/2.4.20 and latter)
- compiler/binutils for kernel compilation

<Quick install with proper kernel settings>
Check whether the built-in driver, r8169.ko(or r8169.o for linux kernel 2.4.x), is installed.
# lsmod | grep r8169

If it is installed, please remove it.
# rmmod r8169
note: If the built-in driver cannot removed by rmmod, please edit /etc/modprobe.conf and comment 'alias eth0 r8169'. Then, remove it again or reboot your computer.

Unpack the tarball :
# tar vjxf r8169-6.aaa.bb.tar.bz2

Change to the directory:
# cd r8169-6.aaa.bb

If you are running the target kernel, then you should be able to do :

# make clean modules (as root or with sudo)
# make install
# depmod -a
# modprobe r8169

You can check whether the driver is loaded by using following commands.

# lsmod | grep r8169
# ifconfig -a

If there is a device name, ethX, shown on the monitor, the linux
driver is loaded. Then, you can use the following command to activate
the ethX.

# ifconfig ethX up

, where X=0,1,2,...


********************

I DID NOT compile the driver at this point. I simply checked for it first.


I ran the command below as suggested:

frank@office:~$ lsmod | grep r8169
r8169 67581 0
mii 13934 1 r8169
frank@office:~$


Neither of those files is r8169.ko or r8169.o, so I am assuming that the instructions to remove the *.ko or *.o files do not apply to me. The lsmod command shows the r8169 driver is loaded, which is what I would expect on a modern kernel.


ifconig -a yields:


frank@office:~$ ifconfig -a
eth0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:14:5e:64:9e:ce
inet addr:192.168.1.101 Bcast:192.168.1.255 Mask:255.255.255.0
inet6 addr: fe80::214:5eff:fe64:9ece/64 Scope:Link
UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1
RX packets:2737 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:2463 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
RX bytes:1262741 (1.2 MB) TX bytes:433652 (433.6 KB)
Interrupt:16

eth1 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr c4:a8:1d:fc:b1:05
UP BROADCAST MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1
RX packets:0 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:0 (0.0 B) TX bytes:0 (0.0 B)

lo Link encap:Local Loopback
inet addr:127.0.0.1 Mask:255.0.0.0
inet6 addr: ::1/128 Scope:Host
UP LOOPBACK RUNNING MTU:65536 Metric:1
RX packets:1045 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:1045 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:0
RX bytes:159524 (159.5 KB) TX bytes:159524 (159.5 KB)


So I tried sudo ifconfig eth1 up

That command ran with no errors.


However, plugging the ethernet cable into the new device still yields no connection.

I don't want to compile the driver to make it go if I have to keep on recompiling the driver every time I get a kernel update. Just too much work.

At the same time, while it is getting on, it is not Pentium class either. It is a Core-2 duo 2.4 GHz with 3 GB RAM and SATA. I don't consider it to be ancient. It is about 6 to 8 years old, but still serves my needs.

Suggestions?

Frank.

[vinnywright]

I see eth0 has a address ,,,,,are both cards still plugged in to the net ??

if you click the network icon in the system tray point at the wired connection and click the wrench ,,,,(you can do some configuring hear),,,on the "wired" tab is it showin the right device in the "restrict to device" section ?

can you remove the old device , or is it built into the MB ?

VINNY

[Frank616]

Vinny:

No, I do not use both cards simultaneously.

Network Manager | Wrench showed me that eth0 was selected. I selected eth1 instead, as it was available in the drop-down list, and set it as the 'Restrict to device', and I then plugged the ethernet cable into the new card. Network manager shows no connection, and the status lights on the card backplate are not lit. I have yet to see them light up at all since I got the card.

The 10/100 mbit eth0 NIC is in the motherboard. There is a BIOS setting to disable it (Planar ethernet it is called). I disabled it. The new NIC status lights on the backing plate of the card did light up for a time, but I did not notice when they came on. I've never seen them lit before.

However, once I rebooted after disabling the Planar ethernet, they did not light up again when I booted this time.

I still get no connection. The network manager icon in the system tray has a red x over it.

Here is the current output of ifconfig -a:

frank@office:~$ ifconfig -a
eth1      Link encap:Ethernet  HWaddr c4:a8:1d:fc:b1:05  
          UP BROADCAST MULTICAST  MTU:1500  Metric:1
          RX packets:0 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:0 (0.0 B)  TX bytes:0 (0.0 B)

lo        Link encap:Local Loopback  
          inet addr:127.0.0.1  Mask:255.0.0.0
          inet6 addr: ::1/128 Scope:Host
          UP LOOPBACK RUNNING  MTU:65536  Metric:1
          RX packets:222 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:222 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:0 
          RX bytes:30918 (30.9 KB)  TX bytes:30918 (30.9 KB)

frank@office:~$

I tried the command again: sudo ifconfig eth1 up

It ran with no reported errors, but there is still no Internet connection.

So, eth0 is no longer in the ifconfig list, and eth1 is there, and its MAC address is being read. Therefore, I assume that the machine must be seeing it.

What next?

Frank.

[vinnywright]

your "ifconfig" shows the card as up,just no address assigned to it.

if you click the network manager icon do you see the possible connection in the list and a button to connect ?

VINNY

[Frank616]

Attached is what I see. I see no button to connect it anywhere.

[Frank616]

Vinny:

In the meantime, I tried a few other things.

I deleted all connections, and then re created a new wired connection, selecting eth1 as the 'restrict to' device, and then rebooted.

This time, the NIC status lights on the rear panel were lit during the POST up to and including a disk check. As soon as the GUI began to load, and right after the system 'beep', the NIC lights went out. No network connection.

I then tried deleting all the connections again, and I left them deleted, hoping that the connection would be created on the next boot. Nope. No connection information, network status box in the lower right screen is still blank with all options with a red 'x' over them. No network connection.

Frank.

Frank.

[Frank616]

Vinny:

No ideas left?

Is this behaving like there is no driver?

If I go through the instructions with the card and compile the driver, and it does work, will I have to keep recompiling the driver every time I have a kernel change?

Frank.

[vinnywright]

this is starting to baffle me ........

you turned off the built in card in the bios right?

the new card is in ,,,,,,,it should just work on the next boot .
heck it should work with both cards in (but may need some manual configuring)

what is

ifconfig -a

showing now?

as to recompiling ,,,,,,,no you may not half to if you have dkms installed ,,,,,,,,,,when I first got the HP-G62 the wireless card was so new it had no (working) driver (module) and I had to compile one ,,,,,,,it lasted through a few kernel upgrades before their was a working one included .

VINNY

[Frank616]

Vinny:

I use this machine daily, so I re-enabled the onboard NIC so I could use it.

However, if you look at message #3, that is what ifconfig -a showed when the onboard NIC was disabled. I've copied it again here just to save you the trouble of scrolling:

frank@office:~$ ifconfig -a
eth1      Link encap:Ethernet  HWaddr c4:a8:1d:fc:b1:05  
          UP BROADCAST MULTICAST  MTU:1500  Metric:1
          RX packets:0 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:0 (0.0 B)  TX bytes:0 (0.0 B)

lo        Link encap:Local Loopback  
          inet addr:127.0.0.1  Mask:255.0.0.0
          inet6 addr: ::1/128 Scope:Host
          UP LOOPBACK RUNNING  MTU:65536  Metric:1
          RX packets:222 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:222 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:0 
          RX bytes:30918 (30.9 KB)  TX bytes:30918 (30.9 KB)

frank@office:~$

The MAC address shows, but it is not getting an ip address. It is not seen by Network Manager, which, I assume, is why the second screenshot in message #5 shows no selectable networks at all.

This is what is making me wonder if the driver is just plain not working. The machine sees the hardware, but software apparently does not.

OK, I just looked up DKMS. This is a 'box stock' installation of Kubuntu 14.04, though it is an 'in place' upgrade of 12.04, if that makes any difference. I now know what DKMS is, but I don't know if I have it enabled. I assume that it is enabled by default.

You also mention some manual adjustment to get it to work. What do you mean?

Shall I at least try compiling the driver? According to the instructions that come with it, it was designed to work with 2.4 kernels! This is not new technology.

Remember that I have NOT compiled or installed the driver that came with the card. I just looked with modprobe (message 1 in this thread), and it appeared that the driver was already there, which is what I would expect when using a modern kernel with hardware this mature. It should 'just work'.

Let me know.

Frank.

[otisklt]

Do you have another slot to try the card in?

[Frank616]

No. I only have one PCI slot. The other is PCIe.

Thing is, it is seen by the hardware. It shows in LSPCI. The card's status lights are lit during boot. Does that not mean that the physical slot is good? When the GUI starts, then the card's lights go out.

Frank.

[anika200]

No. I only have one PCI slot. The other is PCIe.
When the GUI starts, then the card's lights go out.

Frank.

I actually have a motherboard that the manual states the pci slot next to the pcie slot may not get enough power and be turned off. If I rememeber right that motherboard has more than one pci slot though, something to check I guess.

[SteveRiley]

Frank: eliminate some pain from your life. Return that D-Link card and get yourself an Intel NIC -- the bog standard PRO/1000 desktop adapter, supported by everything under the sun. PWLA8391GT is the current model. Available at your favorite AmaNewZonianEggish online store.

[Frank616]

Steve:

Exchanged, installed, works.

frank@office:~$ ethtool eth2
Settings for eth2:
        Supported ports: [ TP ]
        Supported link modes:   10baseT/Half 10baseT/Full 
                                100baseT/Half 100baseT/Full 
                                1000baseT/Full 
        Supported pause frame use: No
        Supports auto-negotiation: Yes
        Advertised link modes:  10baseT/Half 10baseT/Full 
                                100baseT/Half 100baseT/Full 
                                1000baseT/Full 
        Advertised pause frame use: No
        Advertised auto-negotiation: Yes
        Speed: 1000Mb/s
        Duplex: Full
        Port: Twisted Pair
        PHYAD: 1
        Transceiver: internal
        Auto-negotiation: on
        MDI-X: off (auto)
Cannot get wake-on-lan settings: Operation not permitted
        Current message level: 0x00000007 (7)
                               drv probe link
        Link detected: yes
frank@office:~$

My thanks to everyone who was willing to help.

Frank.