[3024] in linux-net channel archive
detection of Ether Express PRO/10+ on MB w/ Triton chipset
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (E. Jay Berkenbilt)
Tue May 28 05:02:55 1996
Date: Mon, 27 May 1996 22:59:46 -0400
From: "E. Jay Berkenbilt" <qjb@netrail.net>
To: linux-net@vger.rutgers.edu
cc: Linus.Torvalds@helsinki.fi, bao@saigon.async.com
cc: becker@cesdis1.gsfc.nasa.gov
It seems that there is a new version of Intel's Ether Express PRO/10
network card called Ether Express PRO/10+. I have been using the
regular eepro/10 card successfully with Linux since about 1.3.59 or
so. This week, I got two eepro/10+ cards to go in two new systems. I
don't have the exact specifications of the systems with me, but I'd be
glad to supply them if they turn out to be relevant. In any case,
both machines were 75 MHz P5's with 16MB RAM, 256K cache, and Award
BIOS. One of the boards has a Triton chipset, and the other does not.
They are both new systems with Plug and Play support in the BIOS.
Both systems have a Trident 9440 (PCI) video card as the only card
installed other than the network card. In the system without the
Trident chipset, the card is recognized by the eepro driver in
pre2.0.7. In the system with the Trident chipset, it is not
recognized at all. This behavior also applies to 1.3.88, which is the
oldest kernel I have around, though I can get any old version off of a
CD and build a kernel if it would help in diagnosis and testing of
this problem. I actually tried two cards in three systems (with 5 of
the six possible assignments of cards to systems). Both cards work in
the non-Triton system. Both cards fail in one of the two Triton
systems, and the one of the cards fails in the other Triton system as
well. (The other card in the other Triton system is the combination I
didn't bother to try.) Interestingly, one of the two Triton systems
also did not seem to recognize a 3COM 3C509B (w/ plug & play support)
even though I built the 3C509 driver into the kernel. I have not
tried this card in the non-Triton system to see whether it is
recognized. I mention the thing about the 3C509 in case it is
illuminating in any way.
I am an experienced UNIX programmer, and I have spent time in the
kernel before. I'd be glad to try patches or experiments to help
narrow this down if that would be necesary or helpful. I'd also be
glad to provide more detailed specifications on the components
involved (such as the exact motherboard, etc.). I should mention that
both cards are detectible by the Intel-supplied drivers (for DOS,
etc.) and that even obtaining the IRQ and I/O address of the card and
passing that to the kernel via lilo doesn't help with the recognition
of the card at bootup.
If the card were unrecognized by all systems, I would assume there was
just some problem with the driver not recongizing some difference
between the eepro/10 and the eepro/10+. This is probably the case
anyway. It does seem odd to me that the card is recognized in one
system and not in another, though, with exactly the same kernel. I
don't know PC hardware well enough to have a guess as to what could
effect this. I have also tried various combinations of plug and play
enabled and disabled in the BIOS and in the network card as well as
various BIOS settings. The changes in settings that I tried had no
effect either in the non-Triton system recognizing the card or in the
Triton system not recognizing it.
Any advice, assistance, etc., would be helpful. Thanks.
--
E. Jay Berkenbilt (qjb@netrail.net) | Member, League for Programming Freedom
| lpf@uunet.uu.net, http://www.lpf.org
