Realtek 8139 & nVidia MCP61 not seen by AVLinux 5.0.3

[avlmac]

Installing on an acer with onboard realtek 8139.
ubuntu 10.04 sees the reatek fine lan works.
install AVL 5.0.3 and no network.
the install media is a usb stick created on 5.0.3 with the remaster.

Just posting to find out this a known issue.

This all started when I attempted to use netmanager applet to set no dhcp as noted in another thread.

[GMaq]

Hi,

I think if anything this is either a kernel driver issue or a missing firmware, obviously Ubuntu's Kernel differs from AV Linux in both positive and negative ways. Hopefully Trulan can stop by and enlighten us on whether or not the kernel driver is present...

[trulan]

The Realtek RTL-8129/8130/8139 module is included in the kernel.  The kernel config help recommends reading the Ethernet-how-to here:
http://www.tldp.org/docs.html#howto
...doesn't look very up-to-date or useful, sorry.

There is also a Realtek 8139 C+ driver, marked 'Experimnental', that is not included in the AVLinux kernel.  I am not sure what the difference is, but if you need the experimental driver I can build a kernel with it enabled.  I'll try to check out Ubuntu's config and see if they have that enabled.

Edit:  OK, Ubuntu has both 8139 and the experimental 8139CP enabled, I'll add that module and whip up another kernel.  I'll let you know when it's ready.

[avlmac]

Cool, let me know when it's ready and I'll give it a go.

I should have time to try it out some evening this week after tonight.

Thanks!

Mac

[trulan]

OK, 3.0.30-avl-8 is up in the kernel repos, and uploading to the ftp.  Happy testing!

[avlmac]

Is it as simple as adding the repos and doing an update?

I see it on the kernels download page. I need to see if there are notes somewhere on swapping in a new kernel...

<edit> Yep, I see the readme in the zip...duh 

[totalchaos]

I did my own research of the issue a while ago, the reason seems to be, because Realtek-8139 is using non-free firmware, which violates the Debian policy. Actually the absence of this firmware may cause some wireless issues, but nothing more. The firmware might be included in the 'firmware-realtek' package.

[trulan]

If you're running AVLinux 5.0.3, installing a new kernel is as simple as opening Synaptic, clicking 'reload', searching for the latest kernel and headers package, and installing them.  It is not an upgrade, a new kernel is handled as a separate package.  Or, you can use the old method of downloading and installing using the .zip file.

totalchaos may be on to something there with the firmware.  I had assumed that firmware-realtek would already be installed, but if it's not, you should install it.  Also, from time to time those non-free firmwares can get out of sync with the kernel and cause issues.  I'll try to dig into the firmware packages when I get a chance.

[avlmac]

Well I installed the kernel and the firmware but it doesn't appear to be working.

Other than modprobe to see if the module is loaded I don't know what other trouble shooting tools to use.

For instance, How do I tell if the firmware is actually being loaded?

[avlmac]

I think there is something going on on this install that I don't understand.

I've tried the mobo Realtek, a PCI Realtek, and a 3com pci net card.

In all cases, when I set manual and define the IP etc. in the Netman applet, it doesn't stay set. And, ifconfig never shows the ip I set.

modprobe shows the modules for each chipset respectively, as does lsmod.

And, Ubuntu 10.04 sees each of them fine.

What am I missing?   

[trulan]

Networking problems are definitely not my strong point.  The fact that your settings are not sticking though makes me think that the problem may be more with Network Manager's permissions than with the Realtek driver.  Also, the fact that several other wlan cards behave exactly the same way seems to point to the same issue.

Do I understand correctly that this was installed from a remaster of one of your systems rather than the original AVLinux ISO?  (That should work, but could add some variables that might complicate things.)

Anyway, one thing you could try would be to install Wicd (find it in Synaptic); this will replace Network Manager.  Wicd does not have all the features of Network Manager, but it might work better for what you are trying to do.

[avlmac]

Networking problems are definitely not my strong point.  The fact that your settings are not sticking though makes me think that the problem may be more with Network Manager's permissions than with the Realtek driver.  Also, the fact that several other wlan cards behave exactly the same way seems to point to the same issue.

Do I understand correctly that this was installed from a remaster of one of your systems rather than the original AVLinux ISO?  (That should work, but could add some variables that might complicate things.)

Anyway, one thing you could try would be to install Wicd (find it in Synaptic); this will replace Network Manager.  Wicd does not have all the features of Network Manager, but it might work better for what you are trying to do.

I changed the original topic since I've been fooling with a mobo with the nVidia MCP61 (rev a2) net controller today and it has the same issue. Ubuntu 11.04 uses a module named "forcedeth" for this device. It says this was reverse engineered (not surprising being nVidia).

[trulan]

The 'forcedeth' module is included in the AVLinux kernel, but I do not know whether or not Ubuntu is using any tricks to load it.  Does this:

Code:

lsmod | grep forcedeth

...give any output in AVLinux?