Problems Installing NetLink BCM57781 Ethernet Driver

[1cube1wheel]

I have been experiencing problems with my internet on Ubuntu 12.10 (web pages will randomly be unable to load, internet cuts out and comes back) so I thought I would update my ethernet driver.

I downloaded the appropriate driver from NetLink but I am having trouble following their instructions for installation. After unpacking the .tar file I am instructed to go to the src folder and run make. There is no src folder, so I went into the only folder available after unpacking the .tar file and ran make, only to receive the following error:

sh makeflags.sh > tg3_flags.h
makeflags.sh: No kernel source directory provided.
make: *** [tg3_flags.h] Error 255

Anyone know what the problem is? Thank you.

[chili555]

Here is a whole thread describing issues installing this module: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2078320&page=2 In post #12, there is a download link. I just downloaded it and compiled it successfully in 12.10. Please download it and install the needed tools:

sudo apt-get install linux-headers-generic build-essential

I need to switch locations, but I'll be with you in a few minutes and we'll compile it.

It makes and installs without warning or error. Whether it works better, I don't know. I don't have the hardware.

[chili555]

Please download the file to your desktop. Right-click and select Extract Here. Open a terminal and do:

cd Desktop/tg3-3.124c
make
sudo make install

We will be very interested to hear your experience. Does it solve your instability?

[1cube1wheel]

After downloading what you suggested in your first post, I tried to run 'make' again and encountered the following error:

make -C /lib/modules/3.5.0-18-generic/build SUBDIRS=/home/tac/Downloads/Server/Linux/Driver/tg3-3.124c modules
make[1]: Entering directory `/usr/src/linux-headers-3.5.0-18-generic'
CC [M] /home/tac/Downloads/Server/Linux/Driver/tg3-3.124c/tg3.o
/home/tac/Downloads/Server/Linux/Driver/tg3-3.124c/tg3.c:96:24: fatal error: asm/system.h: No such file or directory
compilation terminated.
make[2]: *** [/home/tac/Downloads/Server/Linux/Driver/tg3-3.124c/tg3.o] Error 1
make[1]: *** [_module_/home/tac/Downloads/Server/Linux/Driver/tg3-3.124c] Error 2
make[1]: Leaving directory `/usr/src/linux-headers-3.5.0-18-generic'
make: *** [default] Error 2

This error looks familiar to something I read in the thread you linked me to, so I will also check back in there to see if there is a solution to the problem. Thanks.

[chili555]

/home/tac/Downloads/Server/Linux/Driver/tg3-3.124c

You are in the directory of the OLD (read: defective) driver, not the one I linked that you hopefully downloaded to your desktop:

Please download the file to your desktop. Right-click and select Extract Here. Open a terminal and do:

cd Desktop/tg3-3.124c
make
sudo make install

[1cube1wheel]

Ohh, my mistake. I downloaded the copy of the driver you linked me to and it installed just fine. For now, it seems like my internet is working alright, but I won't know for sure until I have used it for a little longer. Thanks for your help, and I will post on the thread again if that did not solve my stability issues.

[chili555]

Please let us know.

Whenever a newer kernel version is installed by Update manager, you'll need to re-compile:

cd Desktop/tg3-3.124c
make clean
make
sudo make install

[1cube1wheel]

Thanks for the info. So, I marked this thread as solved earlier because technically the issue was with installing the Ethernet driver, which I was able to do in the end. However, that did not solve my internet problems. Still, web pages will random be unable to load, and my connection cuts in and out. Any ideas as to what may be causing this? Thanks.

[chili555]

Thanks for the info. So, I marked this thread as solved earlier because technically the issue was with installing the Ethernet driver, which I was able to do in the end. However, that did not solve my internet problems. Still, web pages will random be unable to load, and my connection cuts in and out. Any ideas as to what may be causing this? Thanks.

Not many ideas. This is a pretty common shortcoming of the driver tg3. I do notice the README includes:

Driver Build Options
====================

This version of the tg3 driver contains support for Energy Efficient Ethernet.
The feature is on by default but can be disabled at compile time by adding
"TG3_EXTRA_DEFS=TG3_NO_EEE" to the make command line.

I wonder if some kind of power saving mechanism is trying incorrectly to reduce power to the device. I suggest you recompile as follows:

cd Desktop/tg3-3.124c
make clean
make TG3_EXTRA_DEFS=TG3_NO_EEE
sudo make install

Note any errors or warnings. Then tell us if it is better or the same.

I notice this is a driver parameter:

$ modinfo tg3
filename: /lib/modules/3.5.0-18-generic/updates/tg3.ko
firmware: tigon/tg3_tso5.bin
firmware: tigon/tg3_tso.bin
firmware: tigon/tg3.bin
version: 3.124c
license: GPL
description: Broadcom Tigon3 ethernet driver
author: David S. Miller (davem@redhat.com) and Jeff Garzik (jgarzik@pobox.com)
srcversion: D01ED9A7BF2C3956E212A63
<snip>
depends:
vermagic: 3.5.0-18-generic SMP mod_unload modversions 686
parm: tg3_debug:Tigon3 bitmapped debugging message enable value (int)
parm: tg3_disable_eee:Disable Energy Efficient Ethernet (EEE) support (int)

We may have to experiment a bit more, but my assumption, based on the README, is that now the default is disable eee.

[1cube1wheel]

Thanks for the info. I recompiled without EEE and will see how it performs throughout the day. I'll keep you posted.