Setting up Internet Connection (Redhat)

[mEtho]

i just installed Redhat 9 on my new computer, i always wanted to try the linux and now i have the chance but i cannot go any furture until my internet connection problem is sorted!!!!!

i have two computers connected through belkin adsl modem router built-in. linux machine is connected through the ethernet! NIC on linux machine is known as 3Com 3c51 (i dont know if thats right),nickname is eth0 and also device is eth0 i have the option to change that any number i want, well up to 7... IRQ: is unkown (i dont know if thats right ethier). its not activiting, everytime i try to activate, it gives me msg that "cannot activate network 3th0" "3c501 device eth0 does not seem to be present, delaying initialization"


please let me know what the problem is or if i need to amend somethin!

[tesco]

well it's sort of a guess but i think you need to find and install a driver for it.
use windows to search the net for linux drivers for that network card.

[mEtho]

well it's sort of a guess but i think you need to find and install a driver for it.
use windows to search the net for linux drivers for that network card.

how do i find out what driver i need in linux i.e. commands or setting, i mean there has to be something which tells me about the NIC!!!! although i have motherboard disk which contains the NIC drivers!!!

oh yeah! thanks for replying

[LSA]

I also have a 3Com nic and it works. You may not have support for your nic in your kernel, or there may be a module for it and its not being loaded.

Put in this command:

dmesg | less
That will bring up all the messages you saw at boot, just a little easier to read this way.


i mean there has to be something which tells me about the NIC!!!!

Enter this into a terminal:

lspci

it should output something like this:


00:00.0 Host bridge: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT82C693A/694x [Apollo PRO133x] (rev c4)
00:01.0 PCI bridge: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT82C598/694x [Apollo MVP3/Pro133x AGP]
00:07.0 ISA bridge: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT82C686 [Apollo Super South] (rev 1b)
00:07.1 IDE interface: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT82C586A/B/VT82C686/A/B/VT823x/A/C/VT8235 PIPC Bus Master IDE (rev 06)
00:07.2 USB Controller: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT6202 [USB 2.0 controller] (rev 0e)
00:07.3 USB Controller: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT6202 [USB 2.0 controller] (rev 0e)
00:07.4 Bridge: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT82C686 [Apollo Super ACPI] (rev 20)
00:07.5 Multimedia audio controller: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT82C686 AC97 Audio Controller (rev 21)
00:08.0 Ethernet controller: 3Com Corporation 3c905B 100BaseTX [Cyclone] (rev 24)
00:09.0 Serial controller: 5610 56K FaxModem 56K FaxModem Model 5610 (rev 01)
01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: nVidia Corporation NV17 [GeForce4 MX 440] (rev a3)

I know this probably doesn't help you that much, sorry.

[mEtho]

thx for replying!

i tried that command lspci but it didnt work for me and i also tried these methods still no luck


The list that follows provides an overview of the most important commands. Of course, a lot more commands are available for examining the innards of a Linux system.

lspci
lspci lists all the components on the PCI bus. The option -vv returns a detailed list, while -vn returns only the device IDs. Please mind to execute lspci as root.

grep
grep is the most commonly used command for searching the contents of files on Unix/Linux. Important: grep is case-sensitive. You can disable case-sensitivity with -i.

For example:

Without -i:

linux:~ # lspci | grep controller
00:06.0 SCSI storage controller: Adaptec AHA-2940U2/W / 7890
00:09.0 Ethernet controller: Digital Equipment Corporation DECchip 21140 [FasterNet] (rev 22)
00:0a.0 Multimedia audio controller: Ensoniq ES1371 [AudioPCI-97] (rev 06)
01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: nVidia Corporation Riva TnT 128 [NV04] (rev 04)
and with -i. The USB controller is also included in the list.

linux:~ # lspci | grep -i controller
00:04.2 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82371AB PIIX4 USB (rev 01)
00:06.0 SCSI storage controller: Adaptec AHA-2940U2/W / 7890
00:09.0 Ethernet controller: Digital Equipment Corporation DECchip 21140 [FasterNet] (rev 22)
00:0a.0 Multimedia audio controller: Ensoniq ES1371 [AudioPCI-97] (rev 06)
01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: nVidia Corporation Riva TnT 128 [NV04] (rev 04)
The pipe character | passes the output of the first command to the second, thus saving you a step. Otherwise, the output from lspci would have to be routed to a file (with >), which would then have to be retrieved by grep:

linux:~ # lspci > file
linux:~ # grep controller file


i think if the lspci command works then i might be able to find if linux is detecting NIC, i know its not gona be much help, but i need to know this at this stage!

LSA, a noob question

when u said


Put in this command: u meant Terminal by that?

[LSA]

mEtho, try this

/sbin/lspci

or this

/usr/sbin/lspci

(In a terminal)

The directories /sbin and /usr/sbin may not be in your $PATH.


u meant Terminal by that?
Yes

Good luck

[4play]

had a bit of a look around the red hat hardware compatibility list and its not on it.
so i looked for some drivers and the first google hit was this

http://gul.ime.usp.br/Docs/docs/HOWTO/other-formats/html/HOWTO-INDEX-html/Hardware-HOWTO-11.html

the thing that caught my attention was this.


3Com 3C501 - ``avoid like the plague''

might be worth paying out £10 for a new nic that is defiently supported.

[mEtho]

/sbin/lspci

above command worked, thx very much! now i see the ethernet controller in it, what does it mean, do i need drivers for it or do i need to configure it and if yes, how?


00:04:0 ethernet controller: nVidia corporation nForce2 ethernet controller
that is the ethernet controller of my comp! so if it shows in linux, does that mean that its ok!!!

@4play

thx for help!!!

i will buy a new nic card but the strange problem is that linux sees my nic card atm, so i am hoping it might work,, if it doesnt work then i am gona have to work!!! i would be more then happy if u guys could help me in any way is u can!!!

thx

[4play]

looks to me like it thinks your 3com ethernet controller is made by nvidia a graphics card maker.

the linux drivers for the card are now incorparated into the kernel. might be worth either grabbing a more up to date linux distro with the 2.6 kernel or compiling your own kernel.

I would check which kernel you have by using

$ uname -r

then grab the latest version in that branch. from www.kernel.org my guess would be

http://www.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v2.4/patch-2.4.29.bz2

then follow the guide at http://www.osnews.com/story.php?news_id=443

edit: sorry the above link is just the patch the full kernel is

http://www.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v2.4/linux-2.4.29.tar.bz2

[mEtho]

the kernel i am using atm is 2.4.20-8 (redhat 9)

do u think, redhat is worth using it cos lots of the user are menting mandroke or whatever its call for a new user and alos its easy to use, i dont know how anybody can define, all linux looks same to me... same commands etc!!! how about if i give it a go anyway, mandroke is on three which will take me about one night to download but that is not the main concern, i am really pissed off now, reading about linux etc, i just want this internet to work now!!!!

let me know what u think... i can either update the kernel by following the guide u provided (i hope its easy for a newbie) or i can download Mandrake 10 or 10.1, i dont know if 10.1 is a beta version or full!!!!

[4play]

I would grab yourself a copy of mandrake. linux moves quickly so alot of the packages you have with red hat are now out of date.

compiling your own kernel can be pretty tricky i would certainly not recommend it for a newbie.

mandrake 10.1 is a beta so grab 10 and install it straight over the top of red hat.

[mEtho]

sure 4play!

i am gona start downloading mandrake 10 right now!!! i hope Nic works with mandrake 10...

i will reopen this post later if there still some problems!!!!!

EDIT: thx for ur help guys!

[mEtho]

i installed mandrake 10.0 and everything went smoth!!! i just needed up to date kernel anyway i like mandrake, its much better then redhat!!! :)