[ltp] Problem connecting to ISP with TP600

Bernard DEBREIL linux-thinkpad@www.bm-soft.com
Wed, 26 Dec 2001 00:13:22 GMT


Hi to everyone

Merry Christmas to all

I am forwarding here a message that I received from Bill Staehle, who
was replying to a post I made on comp.os.linux.setup. My reply to his
message will inform you of the present day situation concerning my
implementation of a ppp connexion on my thinkpad 600 using RedHat 7.2
as operating system.

Thanks in advance for more help

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Message d'origine <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Le 20/12/2001, =E0 04:04:51 h, Bill Staehle <staehle@netvalue.net> vous =
a
=E9crit sur le sujet suivant Re: Problem with ppp connexion using RH7.2:=



> Hi,

> On Tue, 18 Dec 2001 18:51:33 +0100, you posted to comp.os.linux.setup:=


> (This really is more appropriate to comp.os.linux.networking)

> >I have just installed RH 7.0 on my new thinkpad, but I can't get

> Which is it? Your subject says RH7.2, and the "log" shows ppp-2.4.1
which is
> 7.2 as well.

It is 7.2... I must have mistyped to 7.0

> ]X-Mailer: Mozilla 4.51 [en] (X11; I; Linux 2.2.5-15 i586)

> You _really_ want to get this older box up to date. It's running
around with
> it's pants down around it's ankles and yelling "hit me",

> http://www.redhat.com/support/errata/index.html

> But then, that page also has fixes needed by a 7.2 system.

> >My config must be wrong somewhere, or else, maybe, there is a problem=

with
> >my localhost or loopback device... but I don't know much about it.

> No, you are attempting to use a poorly designed windoze wannabe tool
that
> should never have been included in any distribution.

> >Initializing modem
> >sending ATZ

> Check your modem manual.

I don't have one... This is an internal modem belonging to a laptop
(Thinkpad 600). As I bought that laptop used, I have no manual at all.
This internal modem is a winmodem using a linux driver.

I have somehow achieved a 'working' (hum...) ppp connexion. I have
turned around so much in circles, that I don't even know how I
succeeded... only thing I know is that I'd better not configure
another connexion with my alternate ISP, since, whenever there are 2
connexions configured, ifcfg-ppp (unless it was 'ifup.ppp'), creates
new files like another /ppp/peers/ppp0, and from then on, nothing
works at all.

I have checked and read through the ppp-linux file on the ubc website.
This is a much needed document indeed. It convinced me to run a few
tests on my system, and to modify a few things. Some or all such
modifs may be responsible of the fact that connexion somehow works.
Other things remained unchanged, since I don't suppose that I should
modify such files. For instance, paragraph 'Setting up module
support'.. 2.4.x kernels says :

' make sure that you have the following entries in /etc/modules.conf:

alias /dev/ppp  ppp-generic
alias char-major-108    ppp_generic
alias tty-ldisk-3               ppp_async
alias tty-ldisc-14      ppp_syncctty
alias ppp-compress-21   bsd_comp
alias ppp-compress-24   ppp_deflate
alias ppp-compress-26   ppp_deflate

I have no such thing in my /etc/conf.modules file !!

Instead, that file contains this:

alias parport_lowlevel  parport_pc
alias usb-controller    usb-uhci
alias char-major-10-219 mwave

That is ALL !

'mwave' is the module that configures the internal winmodem to work
under Linux.

How bad is this that I lack those modules ?  Shall I re-compile my
kernel, including the missing modules ?   Why are they missing in the
first place ?   True enough, as previously said, when implementing RH
7.2, I may have made an unknowledged choice of install options. Fact
is that I did not have enough room on that ThinkPad to install
everything. I still can't understand why the system is so big, when my
first Linux - that was RH 5.2, about 3 years ago - held on a 500 MB
partition, together with StarOffice, the GIMP and other software as
well. This time, with RH 7.2, it takes up 1.2 Gigabytes, with
practically nothing in it so far...

Besides this, in /etc/ppp/options, there was nothing more than:

lock

I added, according to W.G Unruh from UBC :

crtscts
defaultroute
noauth

Now, as said before, I have managed to set up a working connexion with
my other ISP and address (bdebreil@teaser.fr). It works strangely. In
order to be able to activate that connexion, I have installed
'usernet', a tool that is not provided with RH 7.2, but that I had on
6.0. I just installed if from the rpm file on the RH 6.0 cd. It works.
Indeed, it is better than having to connect as 'root' in order to be
able to call 'ifup ppp0'. So, what happens :

Upon connexion using 'usernet', the colored light goes from red to
yellow, and it remains yellow... while, on my other PC using RH 6.0,
the usernet light goes green about 10-15 seconds after connexion. If
activating from 'ifup ppp0' (as 'root'), the cursor does not go
through a chariot return, the shell [root@localhost root]# does not
come back until I de-activate using CTRL-C, even if connexion lasts
for one hour or more... During connexion time, some internet
applications work (this is the case with Netscape for instance). Other
applications work strangely :  using Pine, for instance, I can't go
'online' with it. True enough, I may not using Pine properly, since I
am new to that application. Using Xchat, I can connect to only one
server. As for the other servers in which I used to be able to connect
using mirc on Windows, i get : "connected... Now logging in..." and
the logging in waits forever and ever... until I quit...

So, I am under the impression that something is wrong with my
connexion...

Thanks in advance for some more lights...



> http://axion.physics.ubc.ca/ppp-linux.html
> http://www.theory.physics.ubc.ca/ppp-linux.html

> Follow that web page, and you can create a four/five line script (mine=

> totals 280 bytes) that does everything WvDial should have done.

> Hope this helps,

>         staehle@netvalue.net








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