*BSD News Article 61560


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From: jlucas@uvi.edu (John Lucas)
Subject: Re: help with SMC EtherPower 8432
Message-ID: <DMF7Iy.E9M@tigger.jvnc.net>
Sender: news@tigger.jvnc.net (Zee News Genie)
Organization: University of the Virgin Islands
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References: <ERIK.96Jan30163851@avalon.harvard.edu> <4f04g5$8g@newnews.iafrica.com>
Date: Wed, 7 Feb 1996 19:28:23 GMT
Lines: 51

In article <4f04g5$8g@newnews.iafrica.com>,
   root@xwing.wcape.gov.za (Sean White) wrote:
>Erik Evensen (erik@avalon.harvard.edu) wrote:
>
>: 6.whatever, I run ezsetup as I retrieved from the SMC ftp site but it
>: doesn't give me an option to turn off PnP?!? So, my question is, how
>: did you turn off PnP? If it takes some software, what is it, and could
>: you send/loan/whatever it to me?
>

Erik, what version of FreeBSD are you using? I have one of the 2.1-SNAP releases 
that does not include code for the DEC 21041 chipset in current SMC Etherpower 
(only the 21040 chip) cards, I lifted the new code from a later SNAP that did 
support that card and it now works fine. If you are using v2.1.0-RELEASE then 
please ignore this response.

>
>I've got one of these cards. Couldn't even find it under DOS/Novell until I set
>an IRQ in the PCI setup of the machine. After that it ran fine. A nice card,
>I must say. BTW, I set mine to IRQ 10...
>
>Now, if anyone could tell me why FreeBSD won't see my PCI bus at all (unless I 
>boot from the install stiffy twice in a row, which then causes the BIOS to
>claim there's no L2-Cache installed) I'd be really happy. The machine is an
>Acer Altos 7000/V with a 120Mhz Pentium processor, 128Mb RAM, 4Gb Seagate
>drive on an Adaptec AIC7870 integrated SCSI controller. The boot process only
>finds 64M RAM as well... I'm really beginning to hate this machine. Great for
>playing DOOM on but that's not why I bought it...
>

Most of this sounds like a chipset/BIOS problem. I have an Intel/Triton chipset 
with an AMI BIOS, and the card worked fine out of the box (once I had the right 
code, see above).

The over-64MB RAM problem is well known and has to do with using the BIOS during 
startup. I have never had the problem (I have never had that much RAM either :-} 
so I can't point you to the solution directly, but I do beleive it is in the 
FAQ (you have to tell the kernal how much RAM you have).

>The local agents, when told what O/S I was running said things like "Do they
>still make BSD? Is that like Linux?" - I was charmed...
>

Altos used to be a System III-V Unix operation; times have sure changed, not 
always for the better.


| John Lucas                               jlucas@uvi.edu |
| Academic Computing                   NIC Handle: JL423  |
| University of the Virgin Islands        (809) 693-1216  |
| St. Thomas, VI 00802     http://www.uvi.edu/jlucas.html |