Re: Tulip chip Netgear card
Arne Flones wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I'm fairly new to Debian, but not new to Linux. In particular, I know about
> configuring almost everything, but not much about the Debian way of doing
> things.
>
The "Debian way.." shouldn't be too much of a factor here. Hardware
support is mainly a function of the kernel, and Debian uses a pretty
"stock" kernel as released by Linus. There are a few patched kernels
available as "official" packages, mainly for things like UDMA 66
support, etc. Other Distros will apply several well-known patches to
their "official" kernels, which will make them quite different from the
"stock" kernels released by Linus.
About the only change that I know about from the "stock" kernels in the
2.2.X series that would affect NICs is the new module set from Don
Becker's site involving the pci_scan.o module + the new driver modules
that use it. This is NOT in the "stock" kernels used by Debian to the
best of my knowledge. THIS could be a factor in your "problem".
> I have a pair of Netgear FX-310TX NICs. (I'm uncertain of the precise model
> number; neither card has a model stenciled on the card.) The cards came in one
> of those networking kits; the price was right so I bought it. The card is a PCI
> card running the PNIC chip (marked LC82C169), which is a Tulip compatible.
>
> On a brand spanking new Debian 2.2Rev4 install, this card refuses to function.
> I get the following from the tulip module.
>
> * Device or resource busy.
> Hint: this error can be caused by incorrect module parameters including
> invalid IO or IRQ parameters
>
See the above comment about Don Becker's revised NIC module set. You
will have to visit http://www.scyld.com/ to get these and instructions
on how to get them into your kernel. The instructions are written for a
RPM-based system, but you should be able to just compile the individual
module(s) and insert them into your kernel too. I would do this as a
last resort, if the suggestions below don't work out.
Another cause of this error message that I have seen rather frequently
is that the "PnP OS" setting in your BIOS is either "yes" or "on". If
you are using a 2.2.X series kernel this setting should be "NO" or
"OFF".
Finally, in my 2.2.19 kernel, there are several "flavors" of Tulip
modules available. I have a "ng_tulip.o" + "old_tulip.o" + "tulip.o".
You might want to check your /lib/modules/<kernel version>/net file and
see what you have available. Check out the "ng_tulip.o" specifically.
I suspect it is specifically written for Net Gear cards...
An easy way to "pre-load" modules for bootup purposes is to place them
in the /etc/modules file. This will make sure they are availble during
the kernel's hardware detection phases on bootup. You can usually see
if a module is going to work and a NIC is found by watching the bootup
messages...about half way down, IIRQ. You should see a message about
the module and that a card was detected at a certain IO and IRQ.
> I tested the card in another machine (SuSE 6.3 - 2.2.13 - using that
> installation's tulip driver with no options). It works flawlessly. I even
> switched the two cards. Still no go. The cards are good. Apparently my
> installation isn't. This is undoubtedly a silly thing. What am I doing wrong?
>
> Any suggestions?
>
> Thanks,
> Arne Flones
> flonesaw@longship.net
That's about all I can think of...Good Luck! This card DOES work under
Debian.
Cheers,
-Don Spoon-
Reply to: