SuSE Linux: Versions 7.0 to 7.2
This article refers to an older version of SuSE Linux.
Therefore some of the informations given in this article may
be outdated or the article may contain stale links.
PCMCIA: Version 3.1.15-3.1.26
You want to use PCMCIA network card with AX88190 chip set. In /etc/var/log/messages you can find something like this:
May 25 13:07:12 linux kernel: pcnet_cs: sorry, the AX88190 chipset is not supported. May 25 13:07:12 linux kernel: pcnet_cs: unable to read hardware net address for io base 0x300
This applies to e.g. the 'Linksys EtherFast 10/100'.
This also concerns with the 'D-Link DRP-16TX' version; there is another version of this D-Link card that is certified for SuSE Linux. That version is based on the supported chipset 'DL10019'.
The chipset AX88190 doesn't work reliably with the 'pcnet-cs' driver. The author of the PCMCIA package, David Hinds, has therefore dropped support since PCMCIA 3.1.15 http://pcmcia-cs.sourceforge.net/ftp/CHANGES:
... [16-May-00] Version 3.1.15 ... -- Updated pcnet_cs driver to reject AX88190 chipsets for now. ...
The relevant comment can be found on http://pcmcia-cs.sourceforge.net/ftp/BUGS:
... o NE2000 compatible cards based on the Asix AX88190 are unsupported ... o A number of "NE2000 compatible" cards use the Asix AX88190 chipset, which has several serious bugs and incompatibilities that render the regular pcnet_cs driver unusable. The pcnet_cs driver will identify and refuse to deal with these cards. Prognosis: a Linux driver is available from the Asix web site at http://www.asix.com.tw/driver2.htm and I'm investigating how to best deal with the issue in the regular pcnet_cs driver. It is a tricky issue and I'm not sure when a better fix will be available.
The AX88190 chipset will be supported from PCMICA 3.1.27 onwards. Update of the PCMCIA package:
ftp://ftp.suse.com/pub/people/zoz/pcmcia/7.2-i386/
pcmcia-3.1.28-0.i386.rpm
pcmcia-modules-3.1.28_2.4.4-0.i386.rpm
Install it with the command:
rpm -Uhv --force --nodeps ...
In /etc/rc.config set:
PCMCIA_SYSTEMS=""
SDB-pcmcia_ax88190
)