[vortex] Re: Query: Any solution to 3c905B problem?

[Bogdan Costescu]

On Tue, 8 Jan 2002, Smoke wrote:

> It is definitely the whole interface that is hanging. I did post the
> various error messages to the list a while back, but here they are
> again:

Sorry, I was quite busy at the end of last year and missed it.

While there seems to be a problem with the link, you didn't detail the 
steps that you have taken to diagnose it. So, could you change the hub 
port and cable between the 3Com card and the hub ? That should show if you 
have a bad cable or hub port.
Would if be possible to connect using a crossover cable the 3Com card to 
another card directly ? That means you have to take care to not use much 
in terms of network services (NFS and DNS, for example) by these two 
computers (unless, of course one of them is the NFS or DNS server). That 
should show if the card is capable of working properly.

Another shot might be to force the card to use 10baseT half-duplex, either 
through module parameters or using mii-diag (preferred).

> Hmmm, it's difficult to tell if the driver is resetting the transceiver,
> or if the link partner (the repeater) is going bad.

We could find this out by increasing the debug level so that the printk's 
in vortex_error are executed. Inserting the module with option "debug=3" 
should do the trick. Then try to see if there is any correlation between 
the messages (and tell us about them) and the freezes.

-- 
Bogdan Costescu

IWR - Interdisziplinaeres Zentrum fuer Wissenschaftliches Rechnen
Universitaet Heidelberg, INF 368, D-69120 Heidelberg, GERMANY
Telephone: +49 6221 54 8869, Telefax: +49 6221 54 8868
E-mail: Bogdan.Costescu@IWR.Uni-Heidelberg.De