pcmcia EtherJet card problems in RedHat 7.2 - Networking

Hi there !

I am trying to get my old Thinkpad 600 running on Linux RedHat 7.2, to
connect to the Internet via an IBM pcmcia EtherJet card. The card does
work on MSWIN 98 on the same system, so the hardware seems OK. My system
RedHat 7.2 includes pcmcia functions, and my file /etc/pcmcia/config does
include a mention of said card :

card "IBM 10/100 EtherJet CardBus"
manfid 0x00a4, 0x0113
bind "tulip_cb"

device "tulip_cb"
class "network" module "cb_enabler", "tulip-cb"

On Sat, 04 Oct 2008 20:12:46 +0200, Bernard wrote:

> Hi there !
>
> I am trying to get my old Thinkpad 600 running on Linux RedHat 7.2, to
> connect to the Internet via an IBM pcmcia EtherJet card. The card does
> work on MSWIN 98 on the same system, so the hardware seems OK. My system
> RedHat 7.2 includes pcmcia functions, and my file /etc/pcmcia/config
> does include a mention of said card :
>
> card "IBM 10/100 EtherJet CardBus"
> manfid 0x00a4, 0x0113
> bind "tulip_cb"
>
> device "tulip_cb"
> class "network" module "cb_enabler", "tulip-cb"

Have you tried a modern distro or at least the latest 2.4.xx kernel? 7.2
hasn't been supported for many years. I suspect that you don't have a lot
of RAM on that thing so you will need a lightweight distro like Puppy or
DSL, Xbuntu might work also. Alternatively you could compile a kernel
yourself. The latest 2.4.xx kernel will have much more recent drivers
than the kernel in RH7.2

Le Sat, 04 Oct 2008 14:48:18 -0500, General Schvantzkopf a écrit*:

> On Sat, 04 Oct 2008 20:12:46 +0200, Bernard wrote:
>
>> Hi there !
>>
>> I am trying to get my old Thinkpad 600 running on Linux RedHat 7.2, to
>> connect to the Internet via an IBM pcmcia EtherJet card. The card does
>> work on MSWIN 98 on the same system, so the hardware seems OK. My system
>> RedHat 7.2 includes pcmcia functions, and my file /etc/pcmcia/config
>> does include a mention of said card :
>>
>> card "IBM 10/100 EtherJet CardBus"
>> manfid 0x00a4, 0x0113
>> bind "tulip_cb"
>>
>> device "tulip_cb"
>> class "network" module "cb_enabler", "tulip-cb"
>
> Have you tried a modern distro or at least the latest 2.4.xx kernel? 7.2
> hasn't been supported for many years. I suspect that you don't have a lot
> of RAM on that thing so you will need a lightweight distro like Puppy or
> DSL, Xbuntu might work also. Alternatively you could compile a kernel
> yourself. The latest 2.4.xx kernel will have much more recent drivers
> than the kernel in RH7.2

Thanks a lot for your reply, even though it is a matter of very old
obsolete hard and software. I also have a more recent
desktop machine, even though I must admit that I am wary about modern
technology, especially about recent Serial ATA HD, having a very high rate
of performances, but a very low reliability and life expectancy. My "new"
desktop runs on Debian Sarge... which is also an old system. But my
purpose for the time being is to make my old laptop capable of internet
connexions. It used to be capable of that, using an internal modem which
ran OK under Linux... at a speed of 55 Kbits. Such a speed used to be OK,
but most modern websites are no longer compatible. In any case, my laptop
is supposed to travel with me, while my desktop remains at home. Said
laptop is supposed to connect to local hotel networks. True enough: I
should think of buying a more recent laptop. Notwithstanding the fact that
I have other budget priorities at this time, I must say that, according to
my knowledge, the most recent laptops are, by a long shot, not as much
"linux friendly" as their ancestors were... as far as apmd and else are
concerned (sleep, fan managing and other concerns), which means that these
computers are likely to have a life span of a much lesser duration than
when run under MSWIN.

So, I am in no way embarrassed in asking questions about such old hardware
and software. My Thinkpad has been working under RedHat 7.2 for almost 10
years, more than five hours a day during all that time, without failure of
any kind... and I doubt that most more modern laptops may expect close
results.