Troubleshooting NIC Problems nvidia Chipset Linux

[Frank_Rizzo]

Centos 4.3 x86 on an ASrock 939 mobo with nvidia chipset. Installation was custom - server stuff only, no gui.

I can't get the NIC to ping outside of the box. The card seems to load ok and there are no errors that I can see in messages or dmesg.

ifconfig eth0

shows that the card is up, has a static IP and is receiving packets from a windows box pining it. But the TX field stays on 0. I can't get this to transmit anything.

Routing
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I suspect I've not got correct routes set up. What should the routing table look like for this scenario?

Linux Box: Static IP 192.168.0.2
Windows Box: Static IP 192.168.0.1
Windows Box has Internet Connection so this is the default gateway

Drivers
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I read that nvidia are a bit troublesome. I downloaded the nvidannnnn.run file on the windows PC, burnt to cd and run the file on the linux box.

But it complains about not finding the kernel sources... Investigation shows that I need to yum install kernel-devel but how can I do that if there is no connection to the network!

Note that the cabling and switches are fine. I managed to setup 4.3 x86 on a different box. It is just this ASrock / nvidia chipset which I can't get to TX.

Any clues? Anyone have a similar Linux => Windows => Internet home network?

 

[M0KUJ1N]

Well Ive never had any problems using the in-built kernel drivers for nvidia motherboards before so I dont see how installing the nvidia closed-source drivers will fix this particular problem. As for "solving" your problem, the easiest solution would probably be to stick in another network card. Then you should be able to network your machine to pull down the kernel headers and it should also help determine whether this is a hardware or a software issue with your built-in NIC.

 

[Frank_Rizzo]

Good tip.

I've put in an old trusty 3C590. That connects OK.

Cheers.