[solved] r8169, no network access

demian · 2010-06-08 16:51:25

Hi guys,

I've just cloned my system and was setting up network. It worked fine (including internet access and access from other pcs), even after a reboot iirc.
But now it suddenly stopped working and i can't figure out why.
I didn't really do anything except adjust configuration files.

What I tried to solve the problem:
* checked network cables, router and switch
* tried both a custom kernel (2.6.34) and the standard arch (2.6.33.4)
* reverted back to kernel 2.6.33.2
* downgraded packages i upgraded today (though the updated packages are not network related)
* build a kernel module from the official realtek source
* bridged eth0
* double checked all configuration files from the backup and the other system that works fine
* i even checked the bios and rebooted multiple times

Symptoms:
* led at switch not active

According to the logs eth0 is in promiscous mode and the link is down. No errors, as far is i see it.

I've got a very simple network setup here, with a router and statical ips, everything cabled and only one ethernet card per PC, software network daemon from initscripts.
I can put the interface up as usual, assign ip, submask, broadcast and the device is shown correctly by ifconfig and ethtool -i.
I just don't get network access, neither local nor to the internet.
It worked without problems before the cloning (and as described above even after cloning).
Pretty much the identical configuration is running without problems on my laptop right now (from which i cloned the disk).

The only real change compared to the pre-cloned state is that i use BTRFS now.

I know it could be anything and the mistake is probably at my end but i'm out of ideas.
Any suggestions are very much appreciated.

Regards,
demian

// I just booted the PC and the Internet works. I didn't do anything so I can't say what happened. Really weird. It must have been a temporary hardware problem.

Last edited by demian (2010-06-09 08:13:58)

perbh · 2010-06-08 17:24:40

Stupid question, but ... is your rt8169-module loaded??

demian · 2010-06-08 17:29:49

Sadly, yes. I wish it were that easy.
I've also noticed that acpid isn't working as expected. Maybe i'm facing a bigger problem here though i still can't see how or why.

falconindy · 2010-06-08 18:15:18

Do you get any joy booting off a live CD? That might rule out some other factors at play.

I'm using r8169 on .34 here. It's survived multiple reformats of root, one of them being ext4->btrfs. I notice acpi errors in my logs as well (generated by load-modules.sh), but I suspect that's my custom kernel at fault.

demian · 2010-06-08 18:56:56

Thanks for the suggestion, I didn't think of it.
But I don't get any net with the archboot live cd either (kernel 2.6.33.2). I tried both x86 and x86_64.

Might the card be broken? I don't get a link even when in BIOS. Strange thing is, I didn't touch the hardware and those things don't just break, do they?
I can't see how it can be broken though since the card gets recognized, i can set it up and during boot (during bios hardware initialization) the LED on the network switch blinks a few times.

This is so frustrating. It's my home server you know. Of all the pcs ...

Last edited by demian (2010-06-08 19:00:28)

falconindy · 2010-06-08 19:09:22

You've got a layer 1 connection issue here. How exactly did you check the cables? What, if any, intermediate steps are there between the NIC and the router, or is this box plugged directly into it?

I'm doubtful that the card is fried.

demian · 2010-06-08 19:15:15

It can't possibly be the cable. I've used it for a long time plus today I tested another cable and other ports on the switch, too.
Just now i tested the cable that's working with my laptop so i can pretty much disqualify the cable.

the box is plugged into a switch which is connected to a router. no dhcp, no nic, nothing complicated, just plain static ips.

Maybe you can see something in my configuration files that I've missed:
ethtool output
ifconfig output
hosts
rc.conf
resolv.conf

One thing I've noticed is that I can't change the speed of eth0 on the fly. But I've read that on another occasion. There seem to be quite some problems with r8169, though I've had the machine for ~3 months and never had problems with it until now.

Last edited by demian (2010-06-08 19:31:56)

syamajala · 2010-06-16 21:36:10

hi, i was wondering what you did to solve the problem. I am having the same problem. My system worked fine for a while, now dmesg just says eth0 link down. I don't have ethtool so i haven't been able to try any of the ethtool i've been reading about. I also tried booting from an arch cd but still no network.

demian · 2010-06-16 22:11:53

I'm afraid I can't help you.
I spent an entire day pulling all registers to solve the problem. I also tried booting off the livecd (with which i installed), rebooted many times etc. I finally gave up and went to sleep.
When i turned on the pc the next day I had internet connection again.

Hopefully, you'll have the same luck.

Regards,
demian

Last edited by demian (2010-06-16 22:13:35)

syamajala · 2010-06-19 13:17:16

I solved my problem too. Here is the solution I came up with in case anyone else stumbles across this thread with the same problem.

I had to shutdown my system and disconnect the power. When I booted it back up again it started working.

I tried everything before that it just wouldn't work. Even when I tried to netboot through the bios it just would not work. The lights on the card would not go on no matter what. I came across this solution online somewhere. Its weird, but it worked for me.

Arch Linux

#1 2010-06-08 16:51:25

[solved] r8169, no network access

#2 2010-06-08 17:24:40

Re: [solved] r8169, no network access

#3 2010-06-08 17:29:49

Re: [solved] r8169, no network access

#4 2010-06-08 18:15:18

Re: [solved] r8169, no network access

#5 2010-06-08 18:56:56

Re: [solved] r8169, no network access

#6 2010-06-08 19:09:22

Re: [solved] r8169, no network access

#7 2010-06-08 19:15:15

Re: [solved] r8169, no network access

#8 2010-06-16 21:36:10

Re: [solved] r8169, no network access

#9 2010-06-16 22:11:53

Re: [solved] r8169, no network access

#10 2010-06-19 13:17:16

Re: [solved] r8169, no network access

Board footer