[lug] Linux Emergency

[David Morris]

On Tue, Jan 15, 2002 at 02:26:59PM -0700, Charles Hill Cooper wrote:
> Hi all,
> 
> My work is at a standstill until I can get my Linux box (dual Windows boot)
> to recognize its NIC and bring up etherNet. It would be good if it would
> mount the Windows partition, run atalk, and recognize the modem for dial out
> to the internet. At one time or another, it did all these things. But mine
> is the story of woe brought on by ignorance and pet ownership.
> [...]

Ugh, sounds all too familiar.  I have my own tales of woe I could give,
though they all too often center around my own stupidity at 3:00 AM.

In any case, I do have a few suggestions....

First, I recommend installing Debian instead of RedHat.  Much easier to
deal with in a pinch, and most programs come pre-configured.  Easier to
install as well.

That asside, the rest should be generic to your distro.

- Ignore Windows for now, concentrate on the network.
- Remove all modules that are not vital to the system (`lsmod` to list,
  `rmmod` to remove).
- Find out what the brand name and model number of the NIC is.  Find out
  what chipset it uses if required, and find out what the driver is.
- Load the NIC driver manually using modprobe, and experiment with
  arguments (IO range, IRQ, etc.)
- Pour over that output, and on any problems to a google search, or ask the
  list if needed.

I have gotten many NICs to work through this process, though sometimes the
research on Google takes a bit longer than others.

--David