Gentoo Linux and SIS900 trouble

[russryder]

To start off with I will list my hardware
mb ecs k7s5a
ps enermax 250watt
video gforce 3 gamer
hd 20 gb WD 7200rpm
cd hp cdrw 12x/8x/32x
has onboard sound and lan (SIS900)

Ok here's the deal. I install gentoo linux and modprobe the lan drivers (modprobe sis900). That works flawlessley untill I finish installing and reboot. Then it doesn't detect the module for the onboard lan. It's installed in the kernel and the module is under /etc/modules. Something is up with it, but damned if I can find out. Anyway I figured no biggie, I have a few other Nic's laying around the house. So I put one of those puppies in and boom....no more warm boots. Kinda strange but somehow it pulls down the power supply just enough so it barley boots. It'll only boot when it wants too and will not restart. Once I take out the extra nic everything flows smooth again, but we're back to the problem of it not working with Gentoo. I'm kinda lost on this one. If anyone has had any luck with this board and onboard lan working with Gentoo, please let me know.

Thanks in advance.

Russ

 

[TheWart]

well, you cant have it 'installed' into the kernel and be a module. you either press 'm' in the kernel config, and then it is a module, or you build it into the kernel which in that case it is always avaliable. if you decide to make it a module, you need to add it to the module file (maybe /etc/modules/...i forgot) Also, try the Gentoo forums @ here

 

[n0cmonkey]

There was talk in a recent thread where someone was having trouble with a driver in gentoo. I think it was an audigy driver, and what he had to do to fix it. Try searching for the thread and see if it helps.

 

[drag]

es7k5a is a great mobo. cheap, VERY fast, and supports ddr and regular sdram... Althow it has some few quirks that makes it interesting to say the least

Shouldn't be a problem with gentoo... It's the kernel that should handle the drivers for your NIC card....

I have the same exact same board and I use the latest kernel (2.4.19) and have the driver compiled right into it. Works without a hitch.( One of the first things I do is compile a new kernel with all the stuff I need with it and cut away all the fat.) The thing i had trouble with is the onboard sound... now that was a <female dog> and a half.... The kernel driver I use is the IBM ICH (i8xx).... And works fine now, but with older kernels I had problems. I try to avoid using modules if I can.

here is a HOWTO on how to set up your motherboard.

They tell you to set up your sound card using ALSA drivers. They sound great and ALSA is definately for best sound possible but they are a bit involved to set up (a real pain). IMO only worth it If you are aiming for absolutely best sound quality possible. A hell of a lot better sounding then the Manufacture's drivers for windows.....

hope that helps....

oh if you can't get the onboard lan to work and go with a NIC card be sure to disable the onboard lan in the bios.

(also make sure you get the cpu speed (bus speed) correctly set in the bios! Also I have to set the options to have a dedicated IRQ for vga in order to get the Nvidia (detonator) drivers to work right.... also if you switch harddrives around the bois croaks (rarely) and the cmos needs to be reset... that's all I can think of right now)

 

[drag]

also go into the /proc folder and check to see if their are any resource conflicts (like irq's) screwing up your onboard LAN. For some strang reason it likes to share IRQ's even with extra irqs open.

 

[Tiger]

The Wart is correct.
If you've got the driver compiled as a module make sure it's added to your /etc/modules.autoload file.
If they're compiled in the kernel make sure they're not in the above file.
Once you've got that checked and modified as neccesary you need to edit the /etc/conf.d/net file to suit.
Finally run rc-update add net.eth0 default to bring eth0 up on boot.

Good luck.