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 > [EMAIL PROTECTED] That's about all I can think of...Good Luck! This card DOES work under Debian. Cheers, -Don Spoon-
