Ubuntu destroyed my Network Card - RTL8111

[Geffers]

Hi..

I just wanted to let people know that Ubuntu 10.04/9.10 64-bit can you destroy your network card..

That's at least my conclusion, and by all means, I hope Im wrong..

=(

This is a long shot due to date you posted problem but if not resolved try a Windows system restore to a known good date.

This sounds illogical but recently my wife's 6 month old HP laptop lost sound control, after trying the obvious I then booted an Ubuntu LiveCD, still no sound so OBVIOUSLY a hardware failure.

Got on to HP helpline (surprisingly helpful), he suggested a system restore, I told him this was a waste of time as a completely different OS had sound problems but he explained he had to follow procedure.

I complied with this waste of time and guess what...

IT WORKED

I do not understand the logic but it worked, sound works now in Ubuntu as well.

Geffers

[carsonrose]

Further update: I want to be clear, in case anyone stumbles upon these posts while searching the net. Earlier, my kernel automatically updated (since this was a fresh install) to 2.6.32-22 (from 21). And guess what? It also has the 8169 driver built in - but it works!

The problem is that once a "bad" driver is used, it puts the NIC in a state that can't be initialize/reset until you pull the plug. So no matter what you try - it won't work. Further, it's obvious that BOTH driver numbers (8168 and 8169) can work. I guess you need the right version (i.e. code) of the driver (or is it something to do with the kernel and not the driver code?). I have r8168-8.018.00. I can confirm that one works.

So now I'm back to using the r8169 and it works. So either it's a different version and/or other code was changed. Either way, I'm a very happy camper.

Well, I stand corrected. I left the battery out of my laptop for about 10 minutes, nothing changed. I was still stuck with, what I though, was a bad NIC. Well, I left the laptop unplugged overnight, it some how drained everything there was............. I really thought I had drained it, but I guess not. I turned it back on this morning and it was dead, so I plugged it in............. VIOLA!!!

THANKS GUYS!!!

[GenBattle]

Also putting my name down for this problem.

I would suggest the common factors are a 64-bit os/driver, dual-booting with Win7, and this realtek chipset (8168/8169/8139/8111) are to blame. It's also strange that the Asus P7P55 boards all seem to come up with this problem; but then they all share the same realtek chipset.

Have had no problem with 9.10, but as soon as i upgraded to 10.04 through the update system and restarted, bingo.

Will try the fix from http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=538448 tonight.

This is a very serious problem. I can imagine less technically inclined and less determined people would give up their hardware as completely bricked, when they just need to turn the power off and on. I myself was resigned to the fact that i needed a new motherboard or network card until i did some very extensive digging to find these threads on the Ubuntu forums.

It doesn't help when someone reports a problem like this and suggests a software fault causing hardware to be bricked, only to have someone come along and dismissively say that software cannot possibly brick hardware. This is not precisely bricking the hardware, but it does give the same appearance.

[GenBattle]

Restarting did indeed fix it.

Again, i can't stress enough how much of an issue this sort of failure is for Ubuntu. It not only bricked my network card under Linux, but also under windows, so i had no way of knowing whether or not my hardware had failed.

[bingcrosby]

Do these issues effect *.32-22 or was it just *.32-21?
If so, when will an iso be released with *.32-22 I can install directly to my new asus P7P55 PC (coming in a few weeks)? If I install the current iso from CD I presume I won't be able to update because the network card won't work.

[sandrogalli]

Hi, I can confirm that this is an issue for the Asus M4A785T-M onboard LAN, and is due to an incorrect driver loading with the 2.6.32-22-generic-pae kernel (may apply to other kernels also).

This is how I rectified the issue.

1. Check the model number of your ethernet controller:

$ lspci | grep Realtek
02:00.0 Ethernet controller: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL8111/8168B PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet controller (rev 03)

2. Check the driver your kernel is loading:

$ lsmod | grep r816*
r8169                  91629  0

As you can see we have a r8169 driver for a r8168 chipset which is the cause of our issues.

3. Download the 8168 linux drivers from the Realtek website. Alternatively I have attached the correct driver to this post.

4. cd to Download directory and extract:

$ tar -xvf r8168-8.018.00.tar.bz2

5. Run script as superuser to autocompile driver:

$ cd r8168-8.018.00
$ sudo ./autorun.sh

6. [Optional] Test driver

$ sudo rmmod r8169
$ sudo modprobe r8168
$ sudo /etc/init.d/networking restart

Your network should be up and running with the new driver. To make the change permanent.

7. Blacklist r8169.

$ sudo gedit /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf

Append the following lines:

# Blacklist Realtek RTL8111/8169 gigabit driver
blacklist r8169

Save and quit.

8. Update driver cache.

$ update-initramfs -u

REBOOT and see if the correct driver has loaded:

$ lsmod | grep r816*
r8168                  91629  0

And everything should be just hunky-dory.

[ttguy]

Do these issues effect *.32-22 or was it just *.32-21?

I have this issue with 2.6.32-22.

And my system is not dual boot. So it is not related to dual boot installs.

I also had the situation where the 10.04 was working fine from 23 May up until something happened evening of 7th of June 2010 to break the network. My solution was to restore 9.10 - the Karmic Koala from a saved image. This imediately restored network connectivity. I was thinking that I could just re do the upgrade to 10.04 and things would be fine. But I found that as soon as 10.04 (as downloaded 9 June - 2.6.32-22) my network was dead again.

[edkmho]

Hi guys,

I have the exact problem with Realtek RTL8111D chipset on 2.6.32-22-generic kernel version. I have also installed the realtek driver 8.018. But it still once in a blue moon decided to stop working. By installing the driver and dual boot may not be the resolution. Hopefully someone can find a permanent solution to this.

My hardware is as follow:
Gigabyte P55-UD3P
Core i5 750
8 Gb Ram


Thanks.

[LeonidShamis]

Hi,

I've just experienced the same problem with ASUS P7P55D-E PRO motherboard which has Realtek® 8112L Gigabit LAN controller.
I've first installed Windows 7 and everything worked OK, and I started the Ubuntu 10.04 64-bit installation (with plan for a dual boot). The installation has not completed and when I returned to Windows 7 the network was dead.
BTW, the solution explained in this thread worked perfectly and I'm very thankful for your explanation.
I still have questions though:
- Can I try installing the Ubuntu 10.04 again?
- Will it result in the same problem again?
- Is there a way to permanently fix this problem to allow Ubuntu 10.04 and Windows 7 (dual boot) work properly without a need of unplugging from the power after changing to another OS?
- If there is a permanent solution, how to apply it?

Thank you very much.

[kismeras]

Hi, I can confirm that this is an issue for the Asus M4A785T-M onboard LAN, and is due to an incorrect driver loading with the 2.6.32-22-generic-pae kernel (may apply to other kernels also).

This is how I rectified the issue.

1. Check the model number of your ethernet controller:

$ lspci | grep Realtek
02:00.0 Ethernet controller: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL8111/8168B PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet controller (rev 03)

2. Check the driver your kernel is loading:

$ lsmod | grep r816*
r8169                  91629  0

As you can see we have a r8169 driver for a r8168 chipset which is the cause of our issues.

3. Download the 8168 linux drivers from the Realtek website. Alternatively I have attached the correct driver to this post.

4. cd to Download directory and extract:

$ tar -xvf r8168-8.018.00.tar.bz2

5. Run script as superuser to autocompile driver:

$ cd r8168-8.018.00
$ sudo ./autorun.sh

6. [Optional] Test driver

$ sudo rmmod r8169
$ sudo modprobe r8168
$ sudo /etc/init.d/networking restart

Your network should be up and running with the new driver. To make the change permanent.

7. Blacklist r8169.

$ sudo gedit /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf

Append the following lines:

# Blacklist Realtek RTL8111/8169 gigabit driver
blacklist r8169

Save and quit.

8. Update driver cache.

$ update-initramfs -u

REBOOT and see if the correct driver has loaded:

$ lsmod | grep r816*
r8168                  91629  0

And everything should be just hunky-dory.

I'm having the same issue with ethernet not working in Linux Mint 9 X64. It also causes the ethernet to stop working on Windows 7 Pro X64. I tried your fix but no luck. I ended up removing Mint and just using Windows 7. Are the developers aware of this issue? Does anyone know if there is a fix coming?