Bugzilla – Bug 333572
hwinfo: isa network cards - create matching entry
Last modified: 2009-09-09 12:30:30 UTC
If the installation (i.e. mini-iso) is started from cdrom and you use a non-autodetect network card, you are broken. You can load the module in the installer-menu, but start installation from network always stops saying that no network card has been loaded. This happens though the network card is shown in dmesg. I verified this by switching to the console, ifconfig'd manually and adjusted the route, I could ping my nameserver then, could reach the internet, but in vain. The installer keeps telling that there is no network card present. Only network cards being detected during boot (i. e. ISA PNP-Cards) do work and you'll be asked for the way how to configure. This should be fixed IMHO because it is very annoying.
Please attach y2logs. If you are in doubt follow: http://en.opensuse.org/Bugs/YaST Thanks!
Please reopen the bug if you can provide the needed information, thanks.
Created attachment 180870 [details] y2log from the computer with the failing / missing module insertion This is - as requested - y2log
Created attachment 180871 [details] I guess this is a backup copy from former installation reports
Some people sometimes do things during the week aside from bug-hunting ;-) By the way: I do not think you'll find the information your'e asking for in this log. At the time the problem I report occurs, there is not even a configuration of the harddisk. And you cannot get further as the openSUSE installer does not recognize the card at that point in time. The problem once again: -> boot from mini iso -> select insert module for network card (the network card being i.e. a plain isa card) -> load the module. -> conifgure the card by ifconfig / set the route / the IP whatever is required on a different terminal than the installation terminal (i.e. ALT-F4). -> the yast menu will keep saying that there is not network card available though it definitively is (verified: ping works etc!). -> you cannot circumvent this problem thus there will be no entries in the logs as the installer does not come across the point where it keeps hammering you with the request for installing the network card. The installer will insist in not finding the network card. This is far apart from configuring the harddisk and writing anything to it. Therefore you cannot find the information you like to see in the logs as they do not stem from those events. How to verify? Use some isa card in any old PC or set a PNP-Card to ISA mode (this is what I did for different reasons).
>> the yast menu will keep saying that there is not network card available though it definitively is (verified: ping works etc!). Sorry, yast knows about that card: 2007-10-14 11:39:39 <1> djui(3880) [YCP] LanItems.ycp:292 Read Configuration LanItems::Items $[ 0:$[ "hwinfo":$[ "active":true, "bus":"isa", "busid":"01:02.00", "dev_name":"eth0", "drivers":[ $[ "active":true, "modprobe":true, "modules":[ [ "3c509", "" ] ] ] ], "link":true, "mac":"00:10:5a:4d:11:2a", "modalias":"", "module":"3c509", "name":"3Com 3C509B EtherLink III", "num":0, "options":"", "requires":[ ], "sysfs_id":"/devices/pnp1/01:02/01:02.00", "type":"eth", "udi":"/org/freedesktop/Hal/devices/pnp_TCM5094", "wl_auth_modes":nil, "wl_bitrates":nil, "wl_channels":nil, "wl_enc_modes":nil ], "ifcfg":"eth0", "udev":$[ "driver":"", "net":[ ] ] ] Please provide screenshot because you probably write not about yast2-network dialog
Please Mr. Zugec, read what I write (#5): ************ How to verify? Use some isa card in any old PC or set a PNP-Card to ISA mode (this is what I did for different reasons). ************ You read my logs and you found correctly that I had had set the card to pnp because it does not work otherwise. This shows in the line *********** "udi":"/org/freedesktop/Hal/devices/pnp_TCM5094", *********** Again: The problem occurs if the card is _not_ set to PNP but _plain_ ISA. _Then_ you can load the module manually in some terminal but Yast will simply ignore. If you do have a PNP - card (as the logs above show) you will not run into the issue. I have tested several times: -> use any non-pnp isa card, -> insert the corresponding module, -> make ifconfig / whatever it takes -> you can ping on the terminal but Yast will stubbornly ignore whatever you do, you will not cross the point where you would continue the network installation though the network is available. I hope this clarifies things, take care Dieter Jurzitza
> I hope this clarifies things In fact no ;-) but I'll take some machine with ISA card and will try to reproduce
Sorry Dieter, but I don't have any machine with ISA card available for testing. How does output from "hwinfo --netcard" looks like when you set card to "plain ISA"? Please attach output from "hwinfo --netcard" otherwise I don't know what we should fix here
Hi Michal, will test during weekend, come back to you early next week / probably sunday. Take care Dieter
Close as duplicate, ISA cards are not supported *** This bug has been marked as a duplicate of bug 208854 ***
Dear Michal, whatever you say: if you would not rely on the output of hwinfo but would accept that the user knows what he does if he loaded a module for the network card, well, in this case support for ISA cards for netinstall would not cost a penny but a small dependency change in YaST. If a network card module has been loaded successfully the return value of the load command could be used as an indicator whether or not to proceed in the network install section. This is about all that would be neccessary. And I cannot see a single reason why this should be complicated or whatsoever. You will argue that those cards are old, yes, your're right, but I always thought that linux has the advantage of running even on old and otherwise hard to use hardware - apparently openSUSE leaves this path. Just my 2 cents here ... Take care Dieter
Hello Dieter, reading your report again - you're not talking about YaST, but Linuxrc, didn't you? If I grep your report to YaST word, it occurs 4 times. But this is probably misunderstanding - with miniISO without network there is no YaST at all. If you mean something like this: http://www.novell.com/documentation/oes/sles_admin/graphics/linuxrc_mainmenu.png that each of us wrote about complete different issues and this bug should be reassigned to Linuxrc maintainer Best regards, Michal
Hi Michal, yes, you're 100% right - I thought it was YaST I was using but indeed, reading your words I agree, it is not YaST but must be linuxrc. So, if you know the maintainer, big please: reassign it. I thought that this program - though looking different than YaST or YaST2 anyway was related to YaST - but I was totally wrong. This again shows how important it is to precisely describe what one is doing to clarify the situation. Thank you for lookint into and thank you for the pointer. Take care Dieter
reassigned from YaST to Linuxrc
Steffen, please handle this one. What is linuxrc use for determinate of network device presence? Hwinfo or sysfs?
Hm, yes. Non-detectable cards a bit of a problem. Dieter, please boot with 'manual=2'. This way linuxrc works even with such cards. After you got yast started, please run 'hwinfo --netcard --log=foo' and attach the log. Also, it would be interesting to know if yast can configure this card properly later.
Hi Steffen, I will take a look into this next weekend - too busy during weektime. Keep you informed, take care Dieter Jurzitza
Hi Steffen, ok - manual=2 on the commandline fixes things. I was able to connect the internet immediatly and start installation of openSUSE 10.3. By the way - as intended by SUSE - configuration of this netcard is difficult as the module is not loaded automatically - but one can circumvent that by simply addint a corresponding modprobe to /etc/init.d/boot.local - or however you want to realize it. After that, configuration is not problematic at all. I had had a discussion with several openSUSE developers for 10.2, but all the configuration structure with the hwconfig files have been dropped towards 10.3, isa cards are not supported any more (by YAST). But this is something I can live with - as long as there is any way to get along. What is hard for me to understand that I have to know about that "manual=2" parameter to get things working - and please tell me where I can find the RTFM entry for this :-). I mean, if I tell that system that there _is_ a network card and I know it _is_ there - why must it be so picky about everything? The file "foo" is added in another attachement. I generated it with the commandline you suggested. Thanks for looking into this, take care Dieter Jurzitza
Created attachment 196844 [details] hwinfo --netcard --log=foo The file "foo" from hwinfo as requested.
>> What is hard for me to understand that I have to know about that "manual=2" >> parameter to get things working - and please tell me where I can find the RTFM >> entry for this This is linuxrc documentation: http://en.opensuse.org/Linuxrc Steffen, maybe you should document what you wrote "This way linuxrc works even with such cards." there ?
Needinfo provided already.
Ok, I've updated the linuxrc page.
Will not implement this due to lack of time; I think such legacy hardware is really rare and a workaround exists.