Laptop ethernet connection; won't recognize

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cagliostro
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Laptop ethernet connection; won't recognize

#1 Post by cagliostro »

Several days ago I purchased an Acer Aspire 5532 series laptop, with Windows 7. I've never owned a laptop before; I thought they were way too expensive, but this was cheap. I have no experience with Windows Vista or with Windows 7. I tried to research this as to whether I could run Linux on it.

I got it home and within the hour put in a Puppy 4.3.1 disk. Screen is okay. Good old Puppy works! I was connected to the Internet, and ran SeaMonkey...for the last time.

The next two days I've been trying to get the Ethernet connection to work. I pull the cable out, hook it up to my old computer--running Puppy now--and everything works. On the laptop tried Linux Mint and it insists only wireless is available. Puppy recognizes wireless and ethernet, I select ethernet, but I can't connect. If I go into Windows 7 the ethernet connection lights up, I can go online, but the last thing I want to do is go online using Windows.

Then when Windows 7 shuts down it's as if it shuts down the ethernet port.

It worked in Puppy right at the start. I have no idea what to make of this.

(As an aside, I used Puppy to resize the Windows partition, and make new ext3 partitions. I put Grub on the laptop. All of this works.)

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Béèm
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#2 Post by Béèm »

What IP did you get?
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cagliostro
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#3 Post by cagliostro »

I tried loading different modules and have lost all access to eth0 in Puppy.

Anyway, according to Windows, the driver is Atheros AR8132 PCI-E Fast Ethernet. I have read about 60 posts describing similar problems in Linux. Internet doesn't work in Ubuntu 9.10--tested it to be sure. All the solutions have one going to http://partners.atheros.com/Drivers.aspx but this site doesn't work. Also I found the correct Linux driver at http://www.chipdrivers.com, but clicking on the download link gives the same error message as other site, about trying to execute a program.

One person posted for the Atheros AR8132, that it needed not v.1.0.0.10, but test version 1.0.0.11. I'm not sure if I can figure out what to do with that, but I did download some tar.gz.

THIS WORKED IN PUPPY. I ran Windows (no Ethernet connection) to see that the machine worked. Then I hooked up the LAN cable, booted Puppy 4.3.1 and everything worked, touchpad, sound (woof,woof!), Internet with Seamonkey. Then I went online with Windows to register. That's the only thing I ever do online with Windows. Now eth0 doesn't work in Puppy.

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Béèm
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#4 Post by Béèm »

If you use the network wizard don't you get an internet device?
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jemimah
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#5 Post by jemimah »

You can try this pet, it's 1.0.0.10.

http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewto ... 449#357449

cagliostro
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#6 Post by cagliostro »

Thank you, just what I was looking for, doesn't work. Pet installs. I manually select atl1e, Puppy says "No new interfaces detected." I completely lose eth0. See below about v1.0.0.10 not working on this machine.

I have successfully gotten online with Linux Mint, so I must have the right network driver.

Some online posts indicated the AR81Family-linux-v1.0.0.10.tar.gz driver was needed for Atheros AR8132 controller. However, several people said that that driver failed for my machine, that it looked like it was working, but it didn't (same as I was experiencing). Besides I couldn't download that driver.

I did download l1c-linux-v1.0.0.11-test.tar.gz. This is the most recent driver, experimental, and was said to be what was actually needed.

In Linux Mint I extracted this. In terminal, in the /src directory typed: sudo make install
find the driver: cd /lib/modules/2.6.28-11-generic/kernel/drivers/net/atl1e
(in /atl1e the driver is atl1e.ko)
in terminal, in the /atl1e directory: sudo insmod ./atl1e.ko

Now Linux Mint Firefox works, all the lights are lit on my broadband modem. No problems online.

So in Puppy I knew to go to: /lib/modules/2.6.30.5/kernel/drivers/net/atl1e

Actually there is a /atl1c folder, plus a /atl1e folder. Currently Puppy is using atl1c as the ethernet driver, which doesn't work. Using the Connect Wizard, I unloaded atl1c, then clicked on "more" and specified atl1e as the driver to load. This doesn't work. I installed the PET and tried again, also fails.

If I get the developers tools .sfs, I assume I can do the same "make install" as in Linux Mint, and create a kernel specific driver for Puppy? Or if someone with developers tools wanted to do a "make install" to create atl1e.ko (v1.0.0.11) for the 2.6.30.5 kernel....

Would I be able to use that driver with Puppy 4.12, which has an older kernel? I am using puplets based on 4.12.
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#7 Post by jemimah »

You need the kernel source sfs as well as the dev sfs. Then I don't see any reason why it wouldn't work if you can get it to compile. The pet I posted will only work on the 2.6.30.5 kernel. I will build the 1.0.0.11 version for 2.6.30.5 when I get a chance, maybe tomorrow. I've built it for my Eee and it seems to work. Kernel modules aren't portable between kernels; you need to build it on the kernel that you actually want. If your Acer has an Atom processor, I'd highly recommend using the newer kernel.

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#8 Post by jemimah »

Please test the attached pet and let me know if it works. This is for 2.6.30.5.
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cagliostro
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#9 Post by cagliostro »

Thank you very much! Have been working on this.

Realized I needed to install Puppy, instead of working with live CD. But I tried Ubuntu, which installed Grub 2, which destroys menu.lst and my grub install. Couldn't edit Grub 2. Re-installed regular grub. Now have a frugal install of Puppy 4.3.1.

Spent a lot of time on this. Problem was there is no extent given, so I thought Puppy was loading and unloading ath1e. Actually, when I got an error message, it was using ath1e.ko.old. Made sure module was unloaded. I removed athle.ko.old from the folder, put it in /mnt/home/zdir.

Now there is only the new ath1e. Rebooted. I tried to install ath1e, and it keeps telling me that /lib/modules/2.6.30.5/kernel/drivers/net/athl1e/athl1e.ko.old can't be found!

So even with rebooting, I can't get it to load the new module.

The PET for v.1.0.0.10 might have worked. I mistakingly thought it was installed, but it wasn't. Still working on this.

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#10 Post by jemimah »

weird! Try running 'depmod-Full' from the command line. That should cause it to reread the modules. I left atl1e.old in there so the package could be uninstalled but maybe I should not have done it that way.

cagliostro
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#11 Post by cagliostro »

SUCCESS!!

Posting from Puppy 4.3.1, on Internet with Seamonkey!

I am using your PET v.1.0.0.11-test. Everything works.

Maybe PET v.1.0.0.10 would have worked, but right now I'm too happy just knowing this computer is going to be okay.

I tried "depmod-Full" but bash didn't recognize the command.

Puppy kept trying to use atl1c.ko. So I eliminated that file, and renamed atl1e.ko to atl1c.ko, and copied it into the atl1c folder.

Under "Load Modules" > "more" I unloaded the atl1c module, then reloaded it. Puppy found a working interface.

Now that I think of it, could probably have just renamed the atl1e module as atl1e.ko,old, since Puppy wanted to use that.

This particular module, v1.0.0.11 works fine in Linux Mint, and it's working in Puppy,

You are a Linux guru. Thanks very much for your help.

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#12 Post by jemimah »

Just fyi, depmod-FULL is case-sensitive. I'll see if I can fix the pet file. Someone told me the previous one worked for them, but clearly something funky is going on with the .old thing. I guess it doesn't ignore modules without a .ko extension. Great to hear you're online!

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rerwin
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#13 Post by rerwin »

cagliostro, jemimah,
You should not have to resort to module-renaming trickery. Consider using the BootManager to set your preference for the name of your new module, instead of whatever puppy is choosing. I think that would be:
atl1c:atl1e

Richard

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PCAR
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Acer Aspire 5532

#14 Post by PCAR »

Thank you very much!

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#15 Post by jemimah »

I've posted an updated pet and instructions for making it load properly here:http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewto ... 449#357449. Apparently there is a problem with the preflist in 4.31 but you can work around it by blacklisting atl1c and whitelisting atl1e.

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