[ltp] It never rains...

[James Mckenzie]

rik@bits.bris.ac.uk wrote:
> 
> I've just left my thinkpad 600 (model 2645) on a table for 2 days and
> something has happened to it. The networking has died completely.
> 
> The kernel is 2.2.16 with OpenWall and USB patches. Using tpctl and
> setserial I set up the surreal ports and parallel port up immediately
> before pcmcia starts up, as so:
> 
> resource state:
>     floppy controller:  enable  0x3f0 IRQ6
>     parallel port:      disable 0x3bc IRQ9 ext'd
>     serial port 1:      enable  0x2f8 IRQ3
>     serial port 2:      enable  0x3f8 IRQ4
> 
> /dev/ttyS0, UART: 16550A, Port: 0x03f8, IRQ: 4
> /dev/ttyS1, UART: 16550A, Port: 0x02f8, IRQ: 3
> 
> Immediately afterwards, cardmgr starts up. Amongst its messages are:
> Intel PCIC probe: <5>i82365L ioremap failed: bad kernel!
> 


Looks like you have to recompile the PCMCIA stuff.  The 600(x) series
uses an Intel I82365L register compatible PCIC.  

> which I'd never noticed before. It does pick up that it is a TI 1250A
> PCI-to-CardBus, and starts watching both sockets.

This is weird as it should not pickup that the socket exists...

> 
> It then picks up that socket 1 contains my DE-660 Ethernet card, and
> inserts the same modules as it has always done, and brings up eth0 as an
> NE2000 compatible at 0x300, irq 5, and configures it. The routing is also
> configured. I can see no difference to the way it was set up 2 days ago. I
> am the only person with an account on it, and I am thge only one who knows
> the root password, and, in fact, the only one who had been at the house
> who knew linux.. but anyway...
> 

This is the correct settings for most NE2000 compatible cards, but are
there any other messages, such as it detects your network properly.  

> I try pinging something on the same subnet, and I get 100% packet loss,
> and an error message appears in syslog:
> Sep  3 16:25:15 DreamSpace kernel: eth0: Tx timed out, lst interrupt?
> TSR=0x3, ISR=0x3, t=972

This means that the Ethernet driver cannot 'talk' to your card.  This
might be due to the problems with the PCIC driver.  Again, I recommend
recompiling the PCMCIA modules.

> 
> I tried a different bit of cat 5: same results
> I tried a different network card (a NetVin EP401. It uses thge same
> drivers, aparently. At least, it gets detected, and the same modules are
> loaded.): same results

The problem is not with either the card or your CAT5 segment.  The
problem is that the system cannot connect to and communicate with the PC
Card at all.

> 
> Both the other bit of cat 5 and the NetVin came out of another laptop,
> which is how I know that they were a good connection.
> 
> Using the NetVin card, I get 0x43 in the ISR field (consistently).
> 
> I'm really annoyed now, because I haven't got my IR working yet, and I
> haven't got the serial port working yet, and it just seems that the whole
> machine is falling to bits around me. I've just spent a pile of cash on
> getting it a new hard disk, and I don't want to just bin it, but how am
> I meant to transfer off the 3 meg data files I have on it?

You have to enable the IR and Serial Ports through either DOS or using
the tpctl program.  You can also use a PLIP to move those files to
another machine...

> 
> If no-one can think of anything, then I have another thinkpad which I can
> use for parts. My dad used to own it, until the base 32 meg on the board
> fell apart, and the machine ceased working. He took mie for his trip, and
> broke the screen. I took the screen (and the case, since it wasn't broken
> either) off my dad's machine, and put them into mine, so I have got the
> parts spare, but if anyone happens to know if they're detachable by
> design, I'd be grateful to know.

What do you mean by 'detachable'?  If you mean can parts be swapped
between models, in most cases NO.  If the model designators are the
same, you may be able to move parts between them, but don't count on
it.  If the model designators are NOT the same (i.e. 600E versus 600X)
the parts may not work at all and in many cases will cause unrepairable
damage.  (The 600X has a different main board and port layout than the
600E).

James Mckenzie

> 
> Thanks in advance,
> 
> rik
> 
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