I just bought a new PC: a Dell Dimension 4100 which came
with a 3com 3C905C-TX Fast Etherlink).
I can't get the 3com NIC to initialize and retrieve my
IP address via DHCP on bootup. During bootup, when it
tries to initialize the NIC, it hangs, and eventually
times out with a error that DHCP retrieval failed. The
NIC is connected to a cable modem and I use the Austin
Roadrunner service.
HardDrake identifies my NIC as a 3c905 NIC (which is
correct), but it installs the 3c59x module instead of the
3c90x module. From what I've gathered from the newsgroups,
it appears that the 3c59x module works for *some* 3c905
NICs, but not all of them. Perhaps it works with earlier
kernel revisions, or with earlier 3c905 NICs. All I know
is that it definitely does not work with mine.
If I unload the 3c59x module, and install the 3c90x module,
I can get the NIC to work after two ifup attempts. In other
words, I type the following:
rmmod 3c59x
modprobe 3c90x
and then type:
ifup eth0
The first time I use the ifup command, it hangs when it
tries to retrieve my IP address. I Cntl-Z to stop it,
then try again, and it works on the 2nd attempt.
I then replaced the line in modules.conf that read:
"alias eth0 3c59x" with "alias eth0 3c90x." The module
loads when I boot up, but I still hang on bootup when
the NIC tries to retrieve my IP address.
The only way I've managed to get on the net with the
card is to manually load the module and manully
"ifup eth0" each time I boot up, which is a pain.
I have a multi-boot setup in which I was running
Linux-Mandrake on one partition and use another partition
as a test-bed. I decided to see if any of the other
distributions had the same results, so I decided to reformat
my test-bed partition and try the other distros . So far,
Suse Linux 6.4 and 7.0 is the only ones I've had success
with. Suse loads the 3c90x module instead of the 3c59x,
and works on bootup without any problems. I've also tried
Storm and Debian, but neither one of them worked because
they both loaded the 3c59x module and don't even include a
3c90x module at all.
I've tried the drivers from http://www.scyld.com/ but have
had no success in compiling them, and the drivers from
supplied from 3Com were developed for kernel rev 2.2.12 and
earlier.
Anyway, I think this might be something you'll want to
address before the next release of Linux-Mandrake. These
3Com NICs are very common.
Raymond S. Swaim
