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Linux cant find Ethernet card

I have 2 computers that I am trying to connect. One runs WinDOS 95 and the other S.u.S.E. Linux 5.2.0-5. I got the network adapter set up ok on the Win95 machine but can's see the Linux machine on the network or telnet to it. The Linux machine is set up as follows:

Ambra 486 DX2
50 MHz
8MB RAM
Acer ISA PnP Ethernet card ALN-101 Series

Possible I/O addresses are from 220h-3E0h. Possible IRQs are 3, 4, 5, 9(2), 10, 11, 12, 15.

The setup program (yast) doesn't have an option for this particular card. I tried setting the IRQ to 4 and I/O to 300 as someone told me that it would probe for a card there but without any success. What do I need to do to get the card to work? I'm completely new to Linux so if it's anything very technical (which it probably is) you'll have to explain it to me.

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Theophilus

ASKER

Thank you for responding so quickly.

Like I said, I am completely new to Linux. Could you please explain a little more? Is there something I have to download (what, from where) or do I simply have to tell the system about my card (how)?

swwelsh

To add support for your card into the kernel, you will have to recompile it. The general procedure for this is cd to /usr/src/linux, type make config, (you can also use make menuconfig, make xconfig), answer the questions, then do a make dep, make clean and finally a make zImage. This will write your new kernel to /usr/src/linux/i386/boot/zImage. the zImage file is your new kernel, you can install it over your existing /vmlinuz, but it usually better to try it out first. Put a formatted floppy in your drive and type dd if=/usr/src/linux/i386/boot/zImage of=/dev/fd0 - this will write the image to the floppy - you can then boot the system from the floppy to make sure it works. Since the card is plug and play, you may have problems getting it initialized at boot. The program isapnptools should be installed on your system, or you can install it with Yast. This will initialize plug and play cards at bootup.
All this is pretty advanced for a brand new user. I would highly recommend searching the web for the Linux-HOWTOs, and downloading all of them. For what you are doing, I would start with the Ethernet-HOWTO for info about your card, the Kernel-HOWTO for instructions for building a kernel, and anything else that seems relevant. You will be referring to these documents repeatedly, and you will find almost anything you need to know about configuring linux in them.

Theophilus

ASKER

Thanks for your help. Linux now detects the card at boot. I still can't telnet from my other computer though, so I'm going to post another question (as soon as I figure out what to ask about).