3c574 NIC support with recent 2.6 kernels.

[Peter Stuge]

On Fri, Feb 09, 2007 at 02:21:23PM -0500, cga2000 wrote:
> Since I wasn't sure where to look for the correct version of
> 3CCFEM556.dat

I don't think the CIS files have changed a lot over time. They're
bound to the hardware so they either work with a card or not.


>, I told the installer that I didn't have a network card,
> rebooted into the new system .. found a 3CCFEM556.dat file in the
> /etc tree .. pcmcia Version 3.2.8, IIRC, copied/renamed it to
> /lib/firmware as 3CCFEM556.cis .. rebooted .. and sure enough
> "ifconfig -a" and other tell-tale signs such as boot-up messages
> and the light on the NIC's dongle coming on .. showed that the card
> had been recognized. 

Right. This means that the kernel PCMCIA configuration is in order..


> After that it was just a matter of running dhclient to bring up eth0.
> 
> I needed to add the magical "auto eth0" and "iface eth0 inet dhcp"
> to /etc/network/interfaces to ensure that all this is done
> automatically when I reboot .. and that was it.

..and this part depends on the particular distribution.


> I could kick myself for wasting so much time over what turns out to
> be a trivial problem.  Once you know the solution of course.

It was documented though. Whoever created the netinstall system
should have taken more care to make PCMCIA work right. Also it shows
that reading docs helps if one is stuck. :)


> Can't thank you enough for your help.

You're welcome. I'm glad that it works.


//Peter