Mamdrake 8.0 and D-Link DFE-530TX problem

What is the card's make and model and what module is it using?

If your system autodetected the module, you can see it by running
lspcidrake.

lspcidrake says:
8139too: Realtek|RTL8139

Andrej

No, I do not have Windows on that one. This is the computer of my parents :)

I am afraid that I can not borrow it, but I am thinking about buying
one. Would you says that RTL 8139 is the best to buy?

Andrej

They are not necessarily best, but they are best of the cheap ones.
Probably every second NIC produced in the world nowadays is based on RTL
8139 chip. Absolutely no probs with compatibility, every kernel have rtl
driver compiled in.
Some people tend to believe that 6$ NIC can't be good, but don't believe
them. NICs are binary equipment, means that they either work or not. It is
not like with processors, that more expensive means faster or better. If
you don't need whistles and dongles like "wake on LAN" or booting from LAN,
you may be happy with cheapo Realtek based card.

Yours Virtually, Zbigniew A.

Thanks, very informative. But I also compiled rtl8139.o with no changes.

Downloaded it this night, installed it this morning. No chnages :(

Actually, I am thinking aboutbuying a new card. The old one was not used
for quiet a time. Maybe this causes an error.
What are you using for ethercards? Which one is the best to buy?

Andrej

Ok, i bought the cheapest ehternetcard in town (about 11 ???/$) and now,
it works perfect with 9.1.
Thanks to everybody who helped me, but I think that is the easiest and
best solution.

Andrej

No it likely isn't OK. You can see that.

A cable that is OK for one speed (10BT) is not OK for another (100BT).
Cards can make a difference too. So can moving the cable. You can check
by swapping components in and out.

Doesn't matter. Check it too.

Peter

No wonder you can't telnet, no service would work when 70% packets are lost.

Are you doublebooting that computer&NIC with windows does it work OK?

I remember having D-Link 530TX card some two years ago, and much earlier
versions of MDK and RH I was testing back then would recognize it and
configure properly.

My second guess would be bad NIC. Can you borrow some other for testing?
RTL 8139 would be really fine.

Yours Virtually, Zbigniew A.

Your statement "30 - 70% of the pings where lost" is really puzzling me.
My guess is if configuration or drivers were wrongfully set up, you would
get null.
I work as a serviceman in a big LAN network. You wouldn't believe how many
"mysteroius" problems are caused by broken cables, plug's contacts badly
pressed, wire colours mismatched etc.

I'd doublecheck hardware first. Can other machine work on the same cable?
Can you borrow some other NIC for testing?
How long is the cable? How old is it and does it go outdoors, partly?

Yours Virtually, Zbigniew A.

That is puzzling me too! The cable is ok. I had a laptop and i check it
for almost a year ;) The only difference was the card and the OS.
BTW, the router has a embeded telnet server for configuration. I couldn'
t reach it either.

The cable is about 10 - 12m. It is  a year old and was used almost
permanently. It was never used outside.

Andrej

The floppy disk with the Win98 drivers says "D-Link DFE-530TX Fast
Ethernet". Also the Installation Guide says the same. So it seems quiet
sure that it is the 530TX.

Andrej

Just to be sure, run lspcidrake.

Also refer to the notes on D-Link linux modules in this FAQ:
http://support.dlink.com/faq/s earch.asp
In particular, this page:
http://support.dlink.com/faq/v iew.asp?prod_id=487&question=l inux

I note that you are using Mandrake 8.0.  Had you thought of upgrading to
9.1?

Alternatively, perhaps you might wish to download and compile the via-rhine
module from Scyld, here:
http://www.scyld.com/network/e thercard.html

The module source code at Scyld would be the most recent version.

Are you sure that the card is DFE-530TX and not DFE-530TX+

They use different modules.