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On 21/04/12 18:55, Dale wrote: |
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> Nikos Chantziaras wrote: |
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>> [...] |
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>> Also, make sure to emerge sys-kernel/linux-firmware. Without it, |
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>> RTL8111/8168B NICs will produce random connectivity hang-ups after a few |
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>> hours; they need firmware that was previously part of the kernel itself |
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>> but has now been split to sys-kernel/linux-firmware. |
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>> |
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>> Do a: |
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>> |
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>> dmesg | grep -i firmware |
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>> |
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>> and check for firmware loading errors. |
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> |
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> So that is what is wrong with my connection. I been having this issue |
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> for a while and it is getting on my nerves. Is this fix OK even if you |
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> don't build your drivers as modules? I build everything into the |
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> kernel. I never did like modules much. |
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|
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The kernel source doesn't have any firmware files in it, so it doesn't |
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matter whether you build the drivers into the kernel or as modules; the |
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firmware isn't there in either case. |
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|
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However, this particular driver (r8169), says in its description that |
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building as a module is recommended. However, it doesn't give you any |
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explanation as to why this recommendation is made. I suppose the driver |
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developer was working for Apple previously :-P |
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|
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Anyway, "dmesg | grep -i firmware" should tell you whether you actually |
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even need the firmware. If you don't get a firmware loading error in |
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dmesg, then you don't need it and your problem is not related. In that |
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case, you belong to the (quite large) group of people for which only the |
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net-misc/r8168 driver works reliably (which unfortunately doesn't always |
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support the latest linux kernel.) |
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