New network card won't stay powered-on past SuSE 13.2 log-in screen, so no internet

[bosdad]

Hello, I’m using SuSE 13.2 64 bit with KDE on my desktop computer, connected to ATT UVerse internet service via CAT 5 cable. The ATT modem/router is made by Pace and is model 5268AC. (Yes, I know, I’m late getting to Leap.)

I recently upgraded the UVerse service from 100 Mb up and down to Gigapower which is supposed to get near 1Gb up and down. Unfortunately the NIC in my computer (on the mainboard) won’t go past 100 Mb, so I can’t take advantage of the increased speed.

So today I went to the computer store and purchased a TP-Link model TG-3269 Gigabit PCI Network Adapter. It is supposed to work at speeds to 1Gb.

I plugged it into an open slot, fired up the computer, the green lights on the card flashed, and then just as the SuSE log-in screen came up on my monitor the green lights went out. Apparently the card was no longer getting power. I could not get to the internet and I could not configure the card.

I changed CAT5 cables and changed the port on the router where I plugged in the CAT5. Made no difference. (I was grasping at straws looking for anything that might change the situation.)

If I pulled the CAT5 cable out of the new card and plugged it into the original on-board card I could connect just fine – just limited to 100Mb.

So I took the computer and new NIC back to the store and it works just fine there. The green lights stay lit and the computer connects to the internet (albeit at a very slow speed as the store does not have high speed internet service).

My wife’s (newer) computer does get speeds of around 800 Mb up and down, and her computer is plugged into the same router/modem, so it would seem the router/modem is not the problem. (Yes? No?)

Yet what else could explain why my computer and the new NIC do connect at the store but won’t connect at home? Why is the card apparently losing power at the log-in screen?
Could the router/modem be sending a “shut off” signal to the NIC in my computer but not to the NIC in my wife’s computer? (I do not know what kind of NIC she has, and as she is just starting to learn to use Leap 42.2 – with which I have no familiarity – I don’t know where to look to get this information.)

What information can I provide that will help find a solution to this perplexing problem?

Thanks for your help.
bosdad

[malcolmlewis]

Hi
So it should be using the RTL8169, it needs firmware, so is the kernel-firmware package installed? Since it’s a new device, there maybe a irq conflict, so if you go to your system BIOS and look for the option to reset/clear the settings.

BTW, please don’t double post…

[deano_ferrari]

That is strange behaviour. It seems to match the behaviour reported in this Ubuntu thread.What is reported by the following?

/usr/sbin/hwinfo --netcard

/sbin/ifconfig

/sbin/ifconfig -a

[bosdad]

@deano_ferrari

That is strange behaviour. It seems to match the behaviour reported in this Ubuntu thread.What is reported by the following?

/usr/sbin/hwinfo --netcard

/sbin/ifconfig

/sbin/ifconfig -a

Hope I did this right.

gil@DB1:~> su -Password: 
DB1:~ # /usr/sbin/hwinfo --netcard
33: PCI 0a.0: 0200 Ethernet controller                          
  [Created at pci.328]
  Unique ID: djmT.sxAE5GATkLA
  SysFS ID: /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:0a.0
  SysFS BusID: 0000:00:0a.0
  Hardware Class: network
  Model: "nVidia MCP77 Ethernet"
  Vendor: pci 0x10de "nVidia Corporation"
  Device: pci 0x0760 "MCP77 Ethernet"
  SubVendor: pci 0x1565 "Biostar Microtech Int'l Corp"
  SubDevice: pci 0x340b 
  Revision: 0xa2
  Driver: "forcedeth"
  Driver Modules: "forcedeth"
  Device File: enp0s10
  Memory Range: 0xfce7c000-0xfce7cfff (rw,non-prefetchable)
  I/O Ports: 0xb880-0xb887 (rw)
  Memory Range: 0xfce7e400-0xfce7e4ff (rw,non-prefetchable)
  Memory Range: 0xfce7e000-0xfce7e00f (rw,non-prefetchable)
  IRQ: 41 (880114 events)
  HW Address: 00:30:67:30:c4:0c
  Link detected: yes
  Module Alias: "pci:v000010DEd00000760sv00001565sd0000340Bbc02sc00i00"
  Driver Info #0:
    Driver Status: forcedeth is active
    Driver Activation Cmd: "modprobe forcedeth"
  Config Status: cfg=no, avail=yes, need=no, active=unknown


35: PCI 106.0: 0200 Ethernet controller
  [Created at pci.328]
  Unique ID: Uprt.oxSyVMMObW1
  Parent ID: RE4e.OcUj0c13oA5
  SysFS ID: /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:08.0/0000:01:06.0
  SysFS BusID: 0000:01:06.0
  Hardware Class: network
  Model: "Realtek RTL8169/8110 Family PCI Gigabit Ethernet NIC"
  Vendor: pci 0x10ec "Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd."
  Device: pci 0x8169 "RTL8169 PCI Gigabit Ethernet Controller"
  SubVendor: pci 0x10ec "Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd."
  SubDevice: pci 0x8169 "RTL8169/8110 Family PCI Gigabit Ethernet NIC"
  Revision: 0x10
  Driver: "r8169"
  Driver Modules: "r8169"
  Device File: enp1s6
  I/O Ports: 0xd800-0xd8ff (rw)
  Memory Range: 0xfcfffc00-0xfcfffcff (rw,non-prefetchable)
  Memory Range: 0xfcfc0000-0xfcfdffff (ro,non-prefetchable,disabled)
  IRQ: 19 (no events)
  HW Address: c4:e9:84:02:a7:bf
  Link detected: no
  Module Alias: "pci:v000010ECd00008169sv000010ECsd00008169bc02sc00i00"
  Driver Info #0:
    Driver Status: r8169 is active
    Driver Activation Cmd: "modprobe r8169"
  Config Status: cfg=no, avail=yes, need=no, active=unknown
  Attached to: #22 (PCI bridge)
DB1:~ # /sbin/ifconfig
enp0s10   Link encap:Ethernet  HWaddr 00:30:67:30:C4:0C  
          inet addr:192.168.1.82  Bcast:192.168.1.255  Mask:255.255.255.0
          UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST  MTU:1500  Metric:1
          RX packets:494336 errors:0 dropped:87 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:320238 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000 
          RX bytes:498837716 (475.7 Mb)  TX bytes:379487810 (361.9 Mb)


lo        Link encap:Local Loopback  
          inet addr:127.0.0.1  Mask:255.0.0.0
          UP LOOPBACK RUNNING  MTU:65536  Metric:1
          RX packets:752 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:752 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:0 
          RX bytes:78337 (76.5 Kb)  TX bytes:78337 (76.5 Kb)


DB1:~ # /sbin/ifconfig -a
enp0s10   Link encap:Ethernet  HWaddr 00:30:67:30:C4:0C  
          inet addr:192.168.1.82  Bcast:192.168.1.255  Mask:255.255.255.0
          UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST  MTU:1500  Metric:1
          RX packets:494413 errors:0 dropped:87 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:320248 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000 
          RX bytes:498843725 (475.7 Mb)  TX bytes:379488501 (361.9 Mb)


enp1s6    Link encap:Ethernet  HWaddr C4:E9:84:02:A7:BF  
          BROADCAST MULTICAST  MTU:1500  Metric:1
          RX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000 
          RX bytes:0 (0.0 b)  TX bytes:0 (0.0 b)


lo        Link encap:Local Loopback  
          inet addr:127.0.0.1  Mask:255.0.0.0
          UP LOOPBACK RUNNING  MTU:65536  Metric:1
          RX packets:752 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:752 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:0 
          RX bytes:78337 (76.5 Kb)  TX bytes:78337 (76.5 Kb)


DB1:~ # 

[bosdad]

@deano_ferrari

That is strange behaviour. It seems to match the behaviour reported in this Ubuntu thread.What is reported by the following?

/usr/sbin/hwinfo --netcard

/sbin/ifconfig

/sbin/ifconfig -a

Deano and Malcolm,
Thanks for the replies. But what could account for the fact that the card works (lights up) in my computer at the computer store but doesn’t work (no lights) at my home? Drivers, BIOS, etc… If something is wrong (misconfigured) it should be wrong in both locations, correct? Any ideas on this perplexing behavior?
Before I change anything I’d like to have some idea of what’s going on with that.

Bosdad

[malcolmlewis]

Hi
If you swap the cable over and run the same commands again and post the output.

Have you tried a different ethernet cable?

[malcolmlewis]

Hi
Also, if you go into the system BIOS and disable the onboard NIC, does it come up.

[bosdad]

@deano_ferrari

That is strange behaviour. It seems to match the behaviour reported in this Ubuntu thread.What is reported by the following?

/usr/sbin/hwinfo --netcard

/sbin/ifconfig

/sbin/ifconfig -a

Deano and Malcolm, please ignore previous output. I think I messed it up. Will resend in just a moment. Your patience is appreciated.
bosdad

[bosdad]

@malcolmlewis

Hi
If you swap the cable over and run the same commands again and post the output.

Have you tried a different ethernet cable?

Deano and Malcolm, here is what I think Malcolm was requesting. The first set of data is from the onboard NIC. Then I unplugged the CAT5 cable and connected the new TP-Link card. That is the second set of output data.

And yes, Malcolm, I had previously changed the CAT5 cable.

Again, first the on-board output then the new card’s output

Thanks.
Bosdad

gil@DB1:~> su -
Password: 
DB1:~ # /usr/sbin/hwinfo --netcard
33: PCI 0a.0: 0200 Ethernet controller                          
  [Created at pci.328]
  Unique ID: djmT.sxAE5GATkLA
  SysFS ID: /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:0a.0
  SysFS BusID: 0000:00:0a.0
  Hardware Class: network
  Model: "nVidia MCP77 Ethernet"
  Vendor: pci 0x10de "nVidia Corporation"
  Device: pci 0x0760 "MCP77 Ethernet"
  SubVendor: pci 0x1565 "Biostar Microtech Int'l Corp"
  SubDevice: pci 0x340b 
  Revision: 0xa2
  Driver: "forcedeth"
  Driver Modules: "forcedeth"
  Device File: enp0s10
  Memory Range: 0xfce7c000-0xfce7cfff (rw,non-prefetchable)
  I/O Ports: 0xb880-0xb887 (rw)
  Memory Range: 0xfce7e400-0xfce7e4ff (rw,non-prefetchable)
  Memory Range: 0xfce7e000-0xfce7e00f (rw,non-prefetchable)
  IRQ: 41 (938104 events)
  HW Address: 00:30:67:30:c4:0c
  Link detected: yes
  Module Alias: "pci:v000010DEd00000760sv00001565sd0000340Bbc02sc00i00"
  Driver Info #0:
    Driver Status: forcedeth is active
    Driver Activation Cmd: "modprobe forcedeth"
  Config Status: cfg=no, avail=yes, need=no, active=unknown


35: PCI 106.0: 0200 Ethernet controller
  [Created at pci.328]
  Unique ID: Uprt.oxSyVMMObW1
  Parent ID: RE4e.OcUj0c13oA5
  SysFS ID: /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:08.0/0000:01:06.0
  SysFS BusID: 0000:01:06.0
  Hardware Class: network
  Model: "Realtek RTL8169/8110 Family PCI Gigabit Ethernet NIC"
  Vendor: pci 0x10ec "Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd."
  Device: pci 0x8169 "RTL8169 PCI Gigabit Ethernet Controller"
  SubVendor: pci 0x10ec "Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd."
  SubDevice: pci 0x8169 "RTL8169/8110 Family PCI Gigabit Ethernet NIC"
  Revision: 0x10
  Driver: "r8169"
  Driver Modules: "r8169"
  Device File: enp1s6
  I/O Ports: 0xd800-0xd8ff (rw)
  Memory Range: 0xfcfffc00-0xfcfffcff (rw,non-prefetchable)
  Memory Range: 0xfcfc0000-0xfcfdffff (ro,non-prefetchable,disabled)
  IRQ: 19 (no events)
  HW Address: c4:e9:84:02:a7:bf
  Link detected: no
  Module Alias: "pci:v000010ECd00008169sv000010ECsd00008169bc02sc00i00"
  Driver Info #0:
    Driver Status: r8169 is active
    Driver Activation Cmd: "modprobe r8169"
  Config Status: cfg=no, avail=yes, need=no, active=unknown
  Attached to: #22 (PCI bridge)


DB1:~ # /sbin/ifconfig
enp0s10   Link encap:Ethernet  HWaddr 00:30:67:30:C4:0C  
          inet addr:192.168.1.82  Bcast:192.168.1.255  Mask:255.255.255.0
          UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST  MTU:1500  Metric:1
          RX packets:505605 errors:0 dropped:103 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:325735 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000 
          RX bytes:502213040 (478.9 Mb)  TX bytes:380450749 (362.8 Mb)


lo        Link encap:Local Loopback  
          inet addr:127.0.0.1  Mask:255.0.0.0
          UP LOOPBACK RUNNING  MTU:65536  Metric:1
          RX packets:932 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:932 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:0 
          RX bytes:101112 (98.7 Kb)  TX bytes:101112 (98.7 Kb)


DB1:~ # /sbin/ifconfig -a
enp0s10   Link encap:Ethernet  HWaddr 00:30:67:30:C4:0C  
          inet addr:192.168.1.82  Bcast:192.168.1.255  Mask:255.255.255.0
          UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST  MTU:1500  Metric:1
          RX packets:505645 errors:0 dropped:103 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:325738 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000 
          RX bytes:502216916 (478.9 Mb)  TX bytes:380450923 (362.8 Mb)


enp1s6    Link encap:Ethernet  HWaddr C4:E9:84:02:A7:BF  
          BROADCAST MULTICAST  MTU:1500  Metric:1
          RX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000 
          RX bytes:0 (0.0 b)  TX bytes:0 (0.0 b)


lo        Link encap:Local Loopback  
          inet addr:127.0.0.1  Mask:255.0.0.0
          UP LOOPBACK RUNNING  MTU:65536  Metric:1
          RX packets:932 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:932 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:0 
          RX bytes:101112 (98.7 Kb)  TX bytes:101112 (98.7 Kb)



DB1:~ # 
DB1:~ # 
DB1:~ # /usr/sbin/hwinfo --netcard
33: PCI 0a.0: 0200 Ethernet controller                          
  [Created at pci.328]
  Unique ID: djmT.sxAE5GATkLA
  SysFS ID: /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:0a.0
  SysFS BusID: 0000:00:0a.0
  Hardware Class: network
  Model: "nVidia MCP77 Ethernet"
  Vendor: pci 0x10de "nVidia Corporation"
  Device: pci 0x0760 "MCP77 Ethernet"
  SubVendor: pci 0x1565 "Biostar Microtech Int'l Corp"
  SubDevice: pci 0x340b 
  Revision: 0xa2
  Driver: "forcedeth"
  Driver Modules: "forcedeth"
  Device File: enp0s10
  Memory Range: 0xfce7c000-0xfce7cfff (rw,non-prefetchable)
  I/O Ports: 0xb880-0xb887 (rw)
  Memory Range: 0xfce7e400-0xfce7e4ff (rw,non-prefetchable)
  Memory Range: 0xfce7e000-0xfce7e00f (rw,non-prefetchable)
  IRQ: 41 (938299 events)
  HW Address: 00:30:67:30:c4:0c
  Link detected: no
  Module Alias: "pci:v000010DEd00000760sv00001565sd0000340Bbc02sc00i00"
  Driver Info #0:
    Driver Status: forcedeth is active
    Driver Activation Cmd: "modprobe forcedeth"
  Config Status: cfg=no, avail=yes, need=no, active=unknown


35: PCI 106.0: 0200 Ethernet controller
  [Created at pci.328]
  Unique ID: Uprt.oxSyVMMObW1
  Parent ID: RE4e.OcUj0c13oA5
  SysFS ID: /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:08.0/0000:01:06.0
  SysFS BusID: 0000:01:06.0
  Hardware Class: network
  Model: "Realtek RTL8169/8110 Family PCI Gigabit Ethernet NIC"
  Vendor: pci 0x10ec "Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd."
  Device: pci 0x8169 "RTL8169 PCI Gigabit Ethernet Controller"
  SubVendor: pci 0x10ec "Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd."
  SubDevice: pci 0x8169 "RTL8169/8110 Family PCI Gigabit Ethernet NIC"
  Revision: 0x10
  Driver: "r8169"
  Driver Modules: "r8169"
  Device File: enp1s6
  I/O Ports: 0xd800-0xd8ff (rw)
  Memory Range: 0xfcfffc00-0xfcfffcff (rw,non-prefetchable)
  Memory Range: 0xfcfc0000-0xfcfdffff (ro,non-prefetchable,disabled)
  IRQ: 19 (no events)
  HW Address: c4:e9:84:02:a7:bf
  Link detected: no
  Module Alias: "pci:v000010ECd00008169sv000010ECsd00008169bc02sc00i00"
  Driver Info #0:
    Driver Status: r8169 is active
    Driver Activation Cmd: "modprobe r8169"
  Config Status: cfg=no, avail=yes, need=no, active=unknown
  Attached to: #22 (PCI bridge)


DB1:~ # /sbin/ifconfig
enp0s10   Link encap:Ethernet  HWaddr 00:30:67:30:C4:0C  
          inet addr:192.168.1.82  Bcast:192.168.1.255  Mask:255.255.255.0
          UP BROADCAST MULTICAST  MTU:1500  Metric:1
          RX packets:505715 errors:0 dropped:103 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:325761 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000 
          RX bytes:502222926 (478.9 Mb)  TX bytes:380452417 (362.8 Mb)


lo        Link encap:Local Loopback  
          inet addr:127.0.0.1  Mask:255.0.0.0
          UP LOOPBACK RUNNING  MTU:65536  Metric:1
          RX packets:948 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:948 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:0 
          RX bytes:102603 (100.1 Kb)  TX bytes:102603 (100.1 Kb)


DB1:~ # /sbin/ifconfig -a
enp0s10   Link encap:Ethernet  HWaddr 00:30:67:30:C4:0C  
          inet addr:192.168.1.82  Bcast:192.168.1.255  Mask:255.255.255.0
          UP BROADCAST MULTICAST  MTU:1500  Metric:1
          RX packets:505715 errors:0 dropped:103 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:325761 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000 
          RX bytes:502222926 (478.9 Mb)  TX bytes:380452417 (362.8 Mb)


enp1s6    Link encap:Ethernet  HWaddr C4:E9:84:02:A7:BF  
          BROADCAST MULTICAST  MTU:1500  Metric:1
          RX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000 
          RX bytes:0 (0.0 b)  TX bytes:0 (0.0 b)


lo        Link encap:Local Loopback  
          inet addr:127.0.0.1  Mask:255.0.0.0
          UP LOOPBACK RUNNING  MTU:65536  Metric:1
          RX packets:950 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:950 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:0 
          RX bytes:102786 (100.3 Kb)  TX bytes:102786 (100.3 Kb)

[bosdad]

@malcolmlewis

Hi
If you swap the cable over and run the same commands again and post the output.

Have you tried a different ethernet cable?

Malcolm, please forgive what may be a really dumb question.
But if I read this correctly you are asking me to swap the CAT5 cable from the on-board NIC to the new one and give you the output of both. What output will the new card give if it appears not to be getting power (no lights)? Or is it getting power and it will produce meaningful output even without showing the green lights?
Thanks for helping me to understand what’s going on here.
bosdad

[malcolmlewis]

@bosdad

Malcolm, please forgive what may be a really dumb question.
But if I read this correctly you are asking me to swap the CAT5 cable from the on-board NIC to the new one and give you the output of both. What output will the new card give if it appears not to be getting power (no lights)? Or is it getting power and it will produce meaningful output even without showing the green lights?
Thanks for helping me to understand what’s going on here.
bosdad

Hi
Yes, plug the cable in to the new card and repeat the commands, just looking to see if this changes from no to yes;

HW Address: c4:e9:84:02:a7:bf
Link detected: no

But you did post the output and it didn’t change.

OK, make sure the cable is plugged into the new card, then reboot and disable the on-board nic in the BIOS, exit and save the change and let the system come up, do things change?

[bosdad]

@malcolmlewis

Hi
Yes, plug the cable in to the new card and repeat the commands, just looking to see if this changes from no to yes;

HW Address: c4:e9:84:02:a7:bf
Link detected: no

But you did post the output and it didn’t change.

OK, make sure the cable is plugged into the new card, then reboot and disable the on-board nic in the BIOS, exit and save the change and let the system come up, do things change?

Stay tuned. Will report a.s.a.p.
Thanks!
bosdad

[bosdad]

@malcolmlewis

Hi
Yes, plug the cable in to the new card and repeat the commands, just looking to see if this changes from no to yes;

HW Address: c4:e9:84:02:a7:bf
Link detected: no

But you did post the output and it didn’t change.

OK, make sure the cable is plugged into the new card, then reboot and disable the on-board nic in the BIOS, exit and save the change and let the system come up, do things change?

Status update. No success. Still no power to the card.

Steps I took in response to all previous messages.

I took the computer to the shop today where the technician disabled the on-board NIC in the BIOS, exited, saved the change and let the system come up. The NIC powered up just fine, but remember that they have a very slow internet speed in the shop.

I then took the computer home knowing that the on-board NIC was disabled, plugged the CAT5 from my ATT UVerse Gigapower (1Gb) modem/router into the new card, but still no lights once the sign-in screen appeared on the monitor.

I called the shop, and after closing the technician came to my home, tried everything he could think of to get the card to work. No success. He swapped out the 1Gb card for a slower card and it did power up and got an internet connection.

He swapped back the 1Gb card and tried a few more NIC configuration options hoping something might turn on the green lights but no luck.

Interestingly SuSE 13.2 does identify that the card is in the slot. It just won’t allow it to be configured. So here are a couple of thoughts.

1. It seems as if maybe I’m missing a necessary driver to allow the card to work with 13.2. To the best of my knowledge no new drivers are available for 13.2, so perhaps the problem is that 13.2 is too old for this 1Gb NIC? Is that a possibility? I know of someone who writes Linux code. Might it be worthwhile (and wise??) to ask him to write a driver for this card with 13.2?

2. As I mentioned in prior messages my wife’s computer does get great up and down speeds (in excess of 800 Mb). But she has Leap 42.2 on her machine. Is it possible (or likely) that 42.2 has a newer driver that allows her NIC to power up and accept signal from the modem/router? Is that an indication that 13.2 is just too darned old and I have to bite the bullet and upgrade?

3. I have been very reluctant to upgrade from 13.2 as I am so comfortable using it and really don’t want to go to Plasma. But if I really do need to upgrade to Leap in order to get this NIC to process the internet speed I’m paying for can I upgrade to 42.2 without disturbing all of my working files on the computer? For example, I use Claws-Mail. Will all of my mail still be in the same place and time-stamped the same if I do an upgrade rather than a clean install of the operating system and then copying back all of my files from a backup drive?

If I can do a really simple upgrade to 42.2 without having to jump through a lot of hoops to find and restore my working files then maybe that’s the way to go rather than trying to get the NIC to work with 13.2, or having someone write a special driver which would only be good for so long as eventually I will have to upgrade to Leap.

Your thoughts are greatly appreciated.
bosdad

[deano_ferrari]

Interestingly SuSE 13.2 does identify that the card is in the slot. It just won’t allow it to be configured. So here are a couple of thoughts.

1. It seems as if maybe I’m missing a necessary driver to allow the card to work with 13.2. To the best of my knowledge no new drivers are available for 13.2, so perhaps the problem is that 13.2 is too old for this 1Gb NIC? Is that a possibility? I know of someone who writes Linux code. Might it be worthwhile (and wise??) to ask him to write a driver for this card with 13.2?

The r8169 is supplied as part of the kernel. The output from the commands I gave you show that the device is recognised and the r8169 module is loaded. (BTW, writing device drivers is a specialised craft so not a practical exercise for ordinary mortals.)

2. As I mentioned in prior messages my wife’s computer does get great up and down speeds (in excess of 800 Mb). But she has Leap 42.2 on her machine. Is it possible (or likely) that 42.2 has a newer driver that allows her NIC to power up and accept signal from the modem/router? Is that an indication that 13.2 is just too darned old and I have to bite the bullet and upgrade?

Are you saying that she has the same network card installed? If so, then yes it is worth upgrading to Leap IMO. Back up your data regardless of which method you opt for.

[deano_ferrari]

@deano_ferrari

The r8169 is supplied as part of the kernel. The output from the commands I gave you show that the device is recognised and the r8169 module is loaded. (BTW, writing device drivers is a specialised craft so not a practical exercise for ordinary mortals.)

Are you saying that she has the same network card installed? If so, then yes it is worth upgrading to Leap IMO. Back up your data regardless of which method you opt for.

One thing that we need to investigate (and was already hinted at by Malcolm)…is the firmware present and loading properly? Examining the kernel messages might help establish if there are any issues with that

dmesg|egrep "firmware|r8169"

[deano_ferrari]

FWIW, I’ve read of reports that indicate that some chipsets have a problem with auto-negotiation. As an experiment, try hard-setting the link negotiation (with the cable plugged in) like this

sudo ethtool -s enp1s6 speed 100 duplex full autoneg off

This will set to 100Mbps FD. Don’t try setting it to 1000Mbps though, as from what I’ve read that will cause the link to drop. Does that bring the link up?

sudo ethtool enp1s6

If that works, you could try setting 1000Mbps just to check behaviour. This can be automated if we can get it working on the fly.

Now, try configuring the link with YaST > System > Network Settings > Overall, select the device in question and ‘Edit’ to configure for your network. When done, restart the network with

sudo restart network

Does that result in a working connection?

I’ve also stumbled across this information concerning some Realtek chipsets. Maybe this issue is relevant to your situation…

Realtek no link / WOL problem

Users with Realtek 8168 8169 8101 8111(C) based NICs (cards / and on-board) may notice a problem where the NIC seems to be disabled on boot and has no Link light. This can usually be found on a dual boot system where Windows is also installed. It seems that using the offical Realtek drivers (dated anything after May 2007) under Windows is the cause. These newer drivers disable the Wake-On-LAN feature by disabling the NIC at Windows shutdown time, where it will remain disabled until the next time Windows boots. You will be able to notice if this problem is affecting you if the Link light remains off until Windows boots up; during Windows shutdown the Link light will switch off. Normal operation should be that the link light is always on as long as the system is on, even during POST. This problem will also affect other operating systems without newer drivers (eg. Live CDs). Here are a few fixes for this problem.

https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Network_configuration#Realtek_no_link_.2F_WOL_problem

[bosdad]

@deano_ferrari

The r8169 is supplied as part of the kernel. The output from the commands I gave you show that the device is recognised and the r8169 module is loaded. (BTW, writing device drivers is a specialised craft so not a practical exercise for ordinary mortals.)

Are you saying that she has the same network card installed? If so, then yes it is worth upgrading to Leap IMO. Back up your data regardless of which method you opt for.

As I am completely unfamiliar with Leap can you please tell me where to look in 42.2 to determine the type of NIC she has? I’ll report back with that information.
Thank you.
bosdad

[bosdad]

@deano_ferrari

One thing that we need to investigate (and was already hinted at by Malcolm)…is the firmware present and loading properly? Examining the kernel messages might help establish if there are any issues with that

dmesg|egrep "firmware|r8169"

Dean, here is the output.
Thanks.
bosdad

gil@DB1:~> su -Password: 
DB1:~ # dmesg|egrep "firmware|r8169"
    9.069114] r8169 Gigabit Ethernet driver 2.3LK-NAPI loaded
    9.070788] r8169 0000:01:08.0 (unregistered net_device): not PCI Express
    9.071594] r8169 0000:01:08.0 eth0: RTL8169sb/8110sb at 0xffffc900107a6c00, c4:e9:84:02:a7:bf, XID 10000000 IRQ 19
    9.071599] r8169 0000:01:08.0 eth0: jumbo features [frames: 7152 bytes, tx checksumming: ok]
   27.728120] r8169 0000:01:08.0 enp1s8: link down


DB1:~ #    

[deano_ferrari]

@bosdad

As I am completely unfamiliar with Leap can you please tell me where to look in 42.2 to determine the type of NIC she has? I’ll report back with that information.
Thank you.
bosdad

It’s not that different to any other recent openSUSE version, (it’s the desktop environments that might appear a little different), and for hardware information the same hwinfo command will get the relevant details. I was asking because you have stated that your wife’s Gigabit NIC was working as expected, but this is ‘apples and oranges’ if it’s not the same hardware anyway.

You could just consider purchasing a different Gigabit NIC (eg Intel brand) and move on…

[deano_ferrari]

@bosdad

Dean, here is the output.
Thanks.
bosdad

gil@DB1:~> su -Password: 
DB1:~ # dmesg|egrep "firmware|r8169"
    9.069114] r8169 Gigabit Ethernet driver 2.3LK-NAPI loaded
    9.070788] r8169 0000:01:08.0 (unregistered net_device): not PCI Express
    9.071594] r8169 0000:01:08.0 eth0: RTL8169sb/8110sb at 0xffffc900107a6c00, c4:e9:84:02:a7:bf, XID 10000000 IRQ 19
    9.071599] r8169 0000:01:08.0 eth0: jumbo features [frames: 7152 bytes, tx checksumming: ok]
   27.728120] r8169 0000:01:08.0 enp1s8: link down


DB1:~ # 

Okay, nothing concerning reported there. BTW, the device is now reported as enp1s8, so be careful with the ethtool commands to reflect the actual device name.