12.04 R8169 problems with mini and server iso, but not with liveCD on Z68 motherboard

[rhkean]

Hope someone here can help. I'm having a strange problem.

I have a GIGABYTE GA-Z68MA-D2H-B3 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128495) motherboard which contains the Z68 chipset.

When I boot either the 12.04 amd64 mini.iso or the server iso, the nic is detected (R8168B) and the R8169 module is loaded, but is unable to initialize.

If, however, I boot the amd64 dvd is, it boots up, installs and the nic is initialized correctly.

I've confirmed that the nic is detected the same way by reviewing the syslogs. I'm at a loss here. I'm guessing it has to do with the software used to initialize the nic during install, but I have not familiar enough with the differences in the images to know for sure.

thanks,

Rob

[HalfNote5]

It could be that the mini build doesn't have the drivers for that particular realtek card. Have you tried installing permanently from the Live DVD?

If you don't want to do that, try getting the firmware-realtek package here:
http://ftp.jp.debian.org/debian/pool/non-free/f/firmware-nonfree/firmware-realtek_0.28+squeeze1_all.deb

and loading it manually with sudo dpkg -i firmware-realtek_0.28+squeeze1_all.deb

(yes, I know it's a Debian package, but it's actually worked well on several NIC cards in that series for me).

You can probably load it on a USB flash drive, or something and copy it in from there (seeing as how your NIC doesn't work).

Let us know how it goes. Cheers!

[rhkean]

HalfNote5,

I tried installing permanently from the DVD, but it loads too much stuff. This is supposed to be a relatively minimal install for my HTPC. That's why I gave the server iso a try, but ran into the same problem. It's really bizarre.

I'm sure it has something to do with the Intel Z68 chipset on the motherboard, but I just can't figure out what. It's as if the live CD initializes the card differently than the mini or server iso's do, which, in a way, makes sense since they are console based installs and I believe they have some different network configuration software doing to work. But, I'm not sure.

I'll give the dvd install another try tonight... perhaps I missed an option during the install that will let me strip out all the extras.

thanks again for the feedback.

-rob

[HalfNote5]

If I'm not mistaken (and I very well could be, as I haven't done it this way since 7.X) the Alternate install CDs allow for package selection during install.

That said, before you go to all that trouble, try downloading this:
http://ftp.jp.debian.org/debian/pool/non-free/f/firmware-nonfree/firmware-realtek_0.28+squeeze1_all.deb

and copying it to a USB drive, then, on the z68,copy it to, say, your home directory, browse to it in your terminal, and type:


sudo dpkg -i firmware-realtek_0.28+squeeze1_all.deb

After that, do a modprobe for it again, and see if it pops up in your ifconfig ; )

Cheers!

(P.S. If you're using a "live" disc, you'll have to re-install that package AFTER the permanent install)

[rhkean]

got it working... feel a bit stupid at the moment... LOL

I've been working with the mini.iso for so long, I forgot that I don't need a network connection to perform an install with the server iso. So, I skipped the network configuration, installed from CD (thumb drive actually), rebooted, added eth0 to my interfaces file, rebooted, and Voila!

Still bugs me that the nic is detected and link up is detected during install, but it can't initialize the interface except with the live CD/DVD's.

HalfNote5... thanks again for your feedback. You helped my brain engage enough to solve this one.

-rob