Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Realtek LAN/Ethernet issues

Collapse
X
Collapse
 
  • Page of 1
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts
Previous template Next
  • #1

    Realtek LAN/Ethernet issues

    Hello,
    I've recently discovered (or perceive) that there's been some issues with the LAN hardware of my P35 motherboard. It's a Gigabyte GA-EP35-DS3R.

    I haven't really identified or noticed it before but now, it seems to be happening quite often. My internet loses its connection quite often and I was trying to narrow the problem down or eliminate what ISN'T the problem. I thought it might be the ISP, the router, sheer chance or coincidence or that it was a temporary blip. But, it was happening way too often for it to be some minor problem and there are other computers connected to it (not mine) and they haven't had any problems.

    I started reseaching the LAN chipset and noticed there have been reports of problems although I am not entirely sure if most are related but a few sounded similar. Anyway, I only really suspected it is related to the Linux LAN driver (or the Realtek one for Linux) when I pulled out the ethernet cord. My internet then connected after I plugged it back in.

    Previously, I'd be rebooting or using 'ifup eth0' etc. etc. to try to get my connection back. However, even if it returned, it was just a matter of time until I lost the connection again.

    Is there anyone who knows about this problem or has a better (or more accurate) idea of it?

    I haven't experienced it as bad before or perhaps, it's just happening more often that it's become extra annoying?

    I am using Kubuntu Hardy Heron 8.04. However, I have other distros in other partitions. AFAIK, the same thing happens in other distros but I would need to spend more time using them to make sure. I had no indication or reason to believe it was a distro-specific problem.

    Edit: one more test I tried is booting into Windows XP (on the NTFS partition) after I lost the connection in Kubuntu. As soon as I got into Windows, I tried the internet and there was a connection. Hmmmm... ???
    Thanks for any assistance or attempts to help me understand what's going on.
    Tags: None
  • #2
    Connection to the internet is not the same as connection to the router.

    Simply keep pinging your router (ping IP.OF.YOUR.ROUTER). If you see packet loss to your router, then yes, it's an ethernet problem.

    Comment

    • #3
      Is it an RTL8111C? I think the in-tree Linux driver had some problems with it until fairly recently.

      Comment

      • #4
        Originally posted by RealNC View Post
        Connection to the internet is not the same as connection to the router.

        Simply keep pinging your router (ping IP.OF.YOUR.ROUTER). If you see packet loss to your router, then yes, it's an ethernet problem.
        What would an example be? What would indicate packet loss?

        I could not ping even yahoo.com as a test.

        Comment

        • #5
          Originally posted by Ex-Cyber View Post
          Is it an RTL8111C? I think the in-tree Linux driver had some problems with it until fairly recently.
          I think it's RTL8111B.

          Comment

          • #6
            I can't remember whether the issues were specific to the "C" revision, but it might be worth trying a livecd with a different/newer kernel, unless you are already running a new kernel.

            Comment

            • #7
              I have that motherboard running Hardy and Intrepid (Beta) and I haven't noticed any particular problem with the network. However, your symptoms sound exactly like what I experienced for a period before each of my routers failed. Happened with both a D-Link and Belkin. They seem to be vulnerable after a year or so in service (the D-Link lasted longer than the Belkin).

              Have you performed a reset on the router (pushed the little button on the back) lately? Sometimes that helps.
              Last edited by rbmorse; 22 October 2008, 11:28 PM.

              Comment

              • #8
                Do you have tried the following driver?

                Realtek homepage

                I haven't tried the new one (8.009.00) from 2008/10/21, but the patched 8.006.00 from here: pc-forum24.de works for me very nice. The 8.008 makes some trouble on my configuration.

                Spooky

                Comment

                • #9
                  Originally posted by Panix View Post
                  What would an example be? What would indicate packet loss?

                  I could not ping even yahoo.com as a test.
                  I wouldn't use domain names to check for packet loss unless you are checking a DNS issue. Use an IP. Pinging the addy of your router (ie: 192.168.1.1) will narrow down the issue to being the card, cable or router and eliminate your ISP as being the issue. Being that you don't seem to lose connection in windows it's more then likely that the driver support for your nic is buggy (Realtek's 8111C's are notorious for flakey support in *nix). If that is the case you might want to see if you have another old NIC laying around (Preferrably without a 8111C chipset) and pop that in and give it a whirl.

                  Comment

                  Previous template Next
                  Working...
                  X