Re: Bug#731473: Wheezy: eth0 not working

[Jean-François Stenuit <jfs@chryseis.be>]

Workaround until kernel is fixed : use vendor-supplied driver.

Install required tools :
# apt-get install devscripts build-essential dkms

Install kernel headers :
# apt-get install linux-headers-$(uname -r)

Browse Debian repository to check for the latest version of r8168 driver.
http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian/pool/main/r/r8168/

Download the debian source :
# dget -u http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian/pool/main/r/r8168/r8168_8.039.00-1.dsc

Compile the source and make it a debian package :
# dpkg-buildpackage -us -uc

Install the resulting package :
# dpkg -i ../r8168-dkms_8.039.00-1_all.deb

Blacklist the kernel's built-in driver :
# echo "blacklist r8169" >> /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist-network.conf

Done.

Note : driver issues are quite frequent with Realtek network cards. Forums are full of those r8169/r8168 problems.

Jean-François