realtek 8139 (rev 10) can send data but did not hear any incoming traffic (on feisty)

[Blizzi]

well i found that
"Ethernet controller: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL-8139/8139C/8139C+ (rev 10)"
did not see line.
Im sure that line and nic on other side is working.
i've used arp on both computer to set hw adres of realtek & another nic (arp reply did not return to realtek)
afther run tcpdump on both computers i see that pockets flow from realtek to secnod NIC
but respond of second NIC is not visable on computer with realtek..
both computers has proper network configuration, cable is properly connected and is not cuted.

hardware details
computer 1
has two NIC's , one from intel second from realtek
computer 2
has one INTEL NIC

both computers are smp.
kernel on computer with realtek is
2.6.20-16-generic

mii-tool shows:
eth1: no link (eth1 is realtek)

lshw shows:
*-network:1
       description: Ethernet interface
       product: RTL-8139/8139C/8139C+
       vendor: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd.
       physical id: a
       bus info: pci@02:0a.0
       logical name: eth1
       version: 10
       serial: 00:0e:2e:8c:93:14
       size: 10MB/s
       capacity: 100MB/s
       width: 32 bits
       clock: 33MHz
       capabilities: bus_master cap_list ethernet physical tp mii 10bt 10bt-fd 100bt 100bt-fd autonegotiation
       configuration: autonegotiation=on broadcast=yes driver=8139too driverversion=0.9.28 duplex=half ip=192.168.0.1 latency=66 link=no maxlatency=64 mingnt=32 multicast=yes port=MII speed=10MB/s
       resources: ioport:5400-54ff iomemory:efe00000-efe000ff irq:17

lsmod |grep 8139 shows:

8139too 27648 0
8139cp 25088 0
mii 6528 3 8139too,8139cp,e100

System is : Ubuntu feisty fawn with latest updates

i've tried to remove once 8139cp once 8139too but that didnot help
also blacklisting of 8139cp or too ;) did not prevent this modules from loading
(rm also xD did not help)

Im sure that realtek is not damaged
this configuration previously worked fine at slackware.

[Blizzi (blizzi)]

it apears that problem is in detection of link

i have done mii-tool -R and
link beacome active but only at 10MB halfduplex
when i try to force it to 100MB fullduplex situation has becom like erlyier
1 host has link active but realtek has no link.

[durrell (dmitchell12)]

I was dealing with this same problem and the resolution ended up being to roll back your Realtek driver in Windows. There was a driver released a few months ago and it apparently does something to make your network card not so friendly with Linux or any other OS. I'd suggest going in and rolling back the Windows driver and seeing if it fixes your problem like it did for me and others.

[D. Hugh Redelmeier (hugh-mimosa)]

Perhaps this is the same problem addressed in http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=538448&highlight=8139

Summary: the recent MS Windows driver turns off the interface when shutting down. The Linux driver does not know how to reverse this. Solutions:

1) do a really-really-hard power off between MS Windows shutdown and Linux boot (not just power switch off, unplug and wait (or unplug and press "on" switch -- that drains it well and quickly))

2) change a setting in the MS Windows driver: select "Wake-on-lan after shutdown" through the Device Manager.

Best of all would be a Linux driver fix.

[durrell (dmitchell12)]

I don't think it was a Linux driver problem in the first place. This driver had very limited capability in Windows Vista, which was what sent me sniffing for fixes in the first place. It just turned out that by rolling back the driver in XP, both Vista and Ubuntu were fixed. So while a Linux driver workaround might have worked, the real problem lies in the driver for Windows.

[D. Hugh Redelmeier (hugh-mimosa)]

Durrel wrote: "I don't think it was a Linux driver problem in the first place."

I don't really care about the MS Windows driver. The interesting fact is that the hardware was left in a state, even after hardware reset, that the Linux driver could not deal with. That is a real deficiency in the Linux driver.

[durrell (dmitchell12)]

I realize you "don't really care about the MS Windows driver". But the thread you posted was a dual-boot problem. If you don't ever use Windows, then the problem shouldn't occur in the first place. Regardless of which driver you care about, its primary cause is Windows. Why should anyone fix a driver for Linux that isn't broken? The 8139too driver works just fine without the Windows update, which leads me to believe it has something to do with what Windows does to the firmware/chipset of the NIC.

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

Beginning with the Hardy Heron 8.04 development cycle, all open Ubuntu kernel bugs need to be reported against the "linux" kernel package. We are automatically migrating this bug to the new "linux" package. However, development has already began for the upcoming Intrepid Ibex 8.10 release. It would be helpful if you could test the upcoming release and verify if this is still an issue - http://www.ubuntu.com/testing . If the issue still exists, please update this report by changing the Status of the "linux" task from "Incomplete" to "New". We appreciate your patience and understanding as we make this transition. Thanks!

[Jean-Baptiste Lallement (jibel)]

The Intrepid Ibex 8.10 Beta release was most recently announced - http://www.ubuntu.com/testing/intrepid/beta . It contains the 2.6.27 Ubuntu kernel. It would be great if you could test and verify if this is still an issue. The status is being set to Incomplete until we receive further feedback. Thanks.

[k2ham (k2ham)]

I just came across this posting while Googling for a solution to my problem with my HP Pavilion m7300e. I've installed 8.10 RC via Wubi but am unable to get the networking to work. I also have the Realtek 8139 (Rev 10) and my lshw and lsmod output information is similar to what is shown in the first posting. Therefore, I think there may still be an issue here.

[kernel-janitor (kernel-janitor)]

Hi blizzi,

This bug was reported a while ago and there hasn't been any activity in it recently. We were wondering if this is still an issue? Can you try with the latest development release of Ubuntu? ISO CD images are available from http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/releases/ .

If it remains an issue, could you run the following command from a Terminal (Applications->Accessories->Terminal). It will automatically gather and attach updated debug information to this report.

apport-collect -p linux-image-`uname -r` 118835

Also, if you could test the latest upstream kernel available that would be great. It will allow additional upstream developers to examine the issue. Refer to https://wiki.ubuntu.com/KernelMainlineBuilds . Once you've tested the upstream kernel, please remove the 'needs-upstream-testing' tag. This can be done by clicking on the yellow pencil icon next to the tag located at the bottom of the bug description and deleting the 'needs-upstream-testing' text. Please let us know your results.

Thanks in advance.

[This is an automated message. Apologies if it has reached you inappropriately; please just reply to this message indicating so.]

[Jeremy Foshee (jeremyfoshee)]

This bug report was marked as Incomplete and has not had any updated comments for quite some time. As a result this bug is being closed. Please reopen if this is still an issue in the current Ubuntu release http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/download . Also, please be sure to provide any requested information that may have been missing. To reopen the bug, click on the current status under the Status column and change the status back to "New". Thanks.

[This is an automated message. Apologies if it has reached you inappropriately; please just reply to this message indicating so.]