Can't get NICs to work under Ubuntu *updated*

[Bateluer]

I have two systems that I've tried playing with Ubuntu on, a Compaq SFF system with a P4 2.53 and 512MB PC2100 RAM. The integrated NIC didn't work, but I wasn't overly surprised, given that the network chip was likely a proprietary compaq chip.

Yesterday, I tried it on a Dell SFF system, which has a 2.4Ghz Celeron and 2x256MB RAM in dual channel mode. Its also got an Intel network controller. I was shocked when I booted off the Ubuntu 6.10 CD and the network didn't work at all. Under the network tools, it lists the eth0 connection as active with DHCP enabled, but under the admin network tools, I can't ping anything on my network or even my router.

This is the LiveCD though, not an actual installation. Are all devices supposed to function under the LiveCD the same as the would under an actual installation?

 

[Bateluer]

So . . . no one knows, eh?

 

[Nothinman]

I was shocked when I booted off the Ubuntu 6.10 CD and the network didn't work at all. Under the network tools, it lists the eth0 connection as active with DHCP enabled, but under the admin network tools, I can't ping anything on my network or even my router.

That is odd, is there anything out of the ordinary in the kernel logs? i.e. run dmesg and see if the Intel driver complained about anything. Also I would have guessed that the SFF NIC would have worked too since I think most of Compaq's NICs were just rebadged Intels.

Are all devices supposed to function under the LiveCD the same as the would under an actual installation?

Yes, except for things that require extra software like hardware accellerated 3D since I don't think the LiveCDs ship with the proprietary nVidia or ATI drivers.

 

[drag]

open up your terminal and look at your stuff manually.
GUIs are ok for making things easy to setup, but are almost useless for troubleshooting.

for example setting up your network manually:
ifconfig -a
and see if you have a eth0 or other eth* devices. For instance my system on my laptop automaticly detects the firewire and sets up a little ethernet device entry for that so sometimes things can get confusing.

If you don't have a eth0 device then your hardware hasn't been detected correctly.

Now check out your dmesg output. These are kernel messages and will indicate different events and such. They end up getting recorded at /var/log/messages

dmesg|less

and see if there is any mention of your card or ethernet or whatnot. You can use / button to start a search when your using the less command.

If you have a ethernet device correctly detected you need to configure it. Try setting it up manually, be sure substitute the correct ip addresses when you try it...

configure the nic:
ifconfig eth0 192.168.1.110 up

setup default gw:
route add default gw 192.168.1.1

setup dns servers..
edit the /etc/resolv.conf configuration file and put your correct dns address. They are checked in the order they are entered into the file..
Typically it would look like this:
search your.domain.com
nameserver 192.168.1.1

The only important entry is "nameserver 192.168.1.1"

Then try to ping your gateway and then the dns server then a internet server.

 

[Bateluer]

Thanks for the replies. I'll check it out next time I play with the Ubuntu CD.

 

[Bateluer]

Well, I figured out what was wrong, through pure happenstance.

Turns out, the cable was actually bad. I was working on a friends computer and couldn't figure out why he couldn't get on my LAN or internet. Luckily, the BIOS on his brand new motherboard boasted a cat5 POST check, which revealed the cable as faulty. I tossed that cable out after verifying the fail on my other systems.

Right now, I've got Fedora Core 6 running on the same compaq machine. I can see my other machines on the network, I can ping the router, I can ping other machines, heck, I can even use FireFox to access the router setup. However, I can't access anything else on the internet.

This likely has a very simple solution, but I've been playing with various settings on the router and under FC6 for a while now and can't seem to figure it. Its probably right under my nose too. Any ideas?


Edit - Nothing outside my network is accessible, can't ping outside websites. I can ping every other system on my network, and browse shared folders on other machines.

 

[rasczak]

is your default gateway setup with teh correct ip?

 

[Bateluer]

Originally posted by: jpbelauskas
is your default gateway setup with teh correct ip?

I didn't see an option under the Network applet for manually setting the correct gateway, unless I select static IPs. My LAN has its IPs assigned with DHCP.

I tried some of the shell commands posted in one of the above posts, and almost every one gives a 'command not recognized' in FC6.

 

[n0cmonkey]

/bin/netstat -rn | more
/sbin/ifconfig eth0

EDIT: Put in full paths to compensate for Fedora's retarded default $PATH...

 

[nweaver]

Originally posted by: n0cmonkey
/bin/netstat -rn | more
/sbin/ifconfig eth0

EDIT: Put in full paths to compensate for Fedora's retarded everything...

fixed....not that I want to start a distro battle in this thread, so /derail off

 

[Bateluer]

I couldn't get it working under FC6 anyway. I tried the liveCD for Edgy again, and low and behold, it worked perfectly right away.

Go figure. I liked Ubuntu's feel better anyway.

Edit - Also, something I noticed. I have both of these machines running through a KVM switch, using a 15in Dell LCD. When one machine boots into XP, the display is perfect. Under FC6, the entire display was shifted about half a CM to the right. Adjusting it in FC6, either through the OSD controls or through the OS resulted in the XP display being shifted opposite. No amount of tweaking or auto adjusting could solve this either. Ubuntu 6.10 displays correctly, even during the switches between systems.