New installation, cannot connect to Internet!

[chrispbacon]

Having installed Mint 4.0 yesterday, and being completly new to Mint, I have no connection to the net at all, with any programs, so have not even been able to update yet.
I have a dual boot (XP and mint 4.0)my XP connects as usual, my Router is Netgear DG 834 GT(wireless) But is connected to my desktop with ethernet(wireless is only used for my Nokia N800)
My Mint desktop shows the two blue screens for connection, and the Padlock is in "broken" condition, when I click on the connection, manual setting comes up, I have tried all settings from my Router, mac address, etc, and my network type is PPPoA.
That's about all I can tell you, I never have any probs with W*****s connection (sorry didn't mean to swear !)
Any help would be gratefully accepted, I have searched for a similar problem on this site, but have come to the conclusion that you cannot generalise on connection problems, and I cannot find this exact problem on here.
Thank you and regards.
Chris.

[miket]

Hi Chris,

Having installed Mint 4.0 yesterday, and being completly new to Mint, I have no connection to the net at all, with any programs, so have not even been able to update yet.
I have a dual boot (XP and mint 4.0)my XP connects as usual, my Router is Netgear DG 834 GT(wireless) But is connected to my desktop with ethernet(wireless is only used for my Nokia N800)
My Mint desktop shows the two blue screens for connection, and the Padlock is in "broken" condition, when I click on the connection, manual setting comes up, I have tried all settings from my Router, mac address, etc, and my network type is PPPoA.
That's about all I can tell you, I never have any probs with W*****s connection (sorry didn't mean to swear !)
Any help would be gratefully accepted, I have searched for a similar problem on this site, but have come to the conclusion that you cannot generalise on connection problems, and I cannot find this exact problem on here.
Thank you and regards.
Chris.

Firstly we need to check that Mint is finding your ethernet card correctly, opena terminal from the menu and enter the following command :

Code: Select all

sudo ifconfig -a

Post the results back here and I'll take a look at it and see if I can resolve the problem for you.

Mike.

[chrispbacon]

Mike, many thanks for your response, my typed reply.

eth 0 link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:IE:OB:AA:E3:00
Inet Addr: 194:164:236:188 Bcast:194:164:236:255 Mask:255:255:255:0
up BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST MTU:1500 METRIC:1
RX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overrun Frame:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
RX bytes:0(0.0 b) TX bytes:0(0.0 b)
interrupt:17
lo link encap:local loopback
inetaddr:127.0.0.1 mask:255.0.0.0
UP LOOPBACK RUNNING MTU:16436 Metric:1
RX packets:74 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:74 errors:0dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:0
RX bytes:6316(6.1kb) TX bytes:6316(6.1kb)

I hope this will help you
Thanks again and regards.
Chris.

[miket]

Hi Chris,

Mike, many thanks for your response, my typed reply.

eth 0 link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:IE:OB:AA:E3:00
Inet Addr: 194:164:236:188 Bcast:194:164:236:255 Mask:255:255:255:0
up BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST MTU:1500 METRIC:1
RX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overrun Frame:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
RX bytes:0(0.0 b) TX bytes:0(0.0 b)
interrupt:17
lo link encap:local loopback
inetaddr:127.0.0.1 mask:255.0.0.0
UP LOOPBACK RUNNING MTU:16436 Metric:1
RX packets:74 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:74 errors:0dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:0
RX bytes:6316(6.1kb) TX bytes:6316(6.1kb)

I hope this will help you
Thanks again and regards.
Chris.

Looking at this it would appear your ethernet interface (eth0) has abtained an IP Address from your router.
Does the IP Address match the range you have setup in the DHCP server on the router ?
Normally Netgear routers would default to 192.168.1.x ??

I should have mentioned, to copy from the terminal into your web browser all you need to do is select the text in the terminal you want to copy using the mouse
and then use SHIFT-CTRL-C to copy it to the clipboard, then just use CTRL-V to paste into your replies here.

Just to check your ethernet port is talking to your router, open a terminal and enter the following commands and paste the results back here :

Code: Select all

sudo dhclient eth0
sudo ifconfig -a

This should force your Linux Mint machine to re-request an IP address, DNS server IP Addresses and routing information from your router.
Could you also please paste the contents of your /etc/network/interfaces file for me to look at too ?
You can open the file using this command in a terminal :

Code: Select all

sudo gedit /etc/network/interfaces

Thanks!

Mike.

[chrispbacon]

Mike, thanks for your reply, I am afraid to say that I cant see how to copy to clipboard, and then paste reply back here if I cannot connect! Sorry to sound so thick, but I am doing all this on Windows of course!
I can tell you that "sudo gedit" gave me this.


auto lo
iface eth0 inet static
address 194.164.236.188
netmask 255.255.255.0
gateway 217.154.130.37

Thanks.
Chris.

[miket]

Hi Chris,

Mike, thanks for your reply, I am afraid to say that I cant see how to copy to clipboard, and then paste reply back here if I cannot connect! Sorry to sound so thick, but I am doing all this on Windows of course!
I can tell you that "sudo gedit" gave me this.


auto lo
iface eth0 inet static
address 194.164.236.188
netmask 255.255.255.0
gateway 217.154.130.37

Thanks.
Chris.

OK, looking at this you have setup a Static IP Address for you machine ? Would have helped if you let us know that in the first post !
Ok, so you've set your IP address to 194.164.236.188 .. is this on the same subnet that your router is running on ?
I also see your gateway is set to 217.154.130.37 ... which is a completely different network to that of your PC, so have you added
any static routes to your routing table to tell your PC how to get to the gate from it's network ?

If not then it will never be able to route any traffic other than local subnet stuff.

Is there a reason you have chosen this address range ??? I'm not sure it's RFC compliant ?

In Windows, have you setup the same IP Address or have you left windows to sort it out for you ?
If windows is managing it for you then your Mint setup is completely wrong ...

Let me know and I'll rewrite your interfaces file for you.

Mike.

[chrispbacon]

Mike just to update you on my Mint problem, I have reluctantly called in my mate (a director of my Internet provider)to come and sort my problem as I am out of my depth with Linux, especially as I have not been able to use it yet, but to just look at things to familiarise myself with the way things work, and with the printed 86 page official user guide I am sure I would have got to grips with the new system quite quickly.
However as I have not been able to connect at all and my Mint is going to be way out of date I'm sure, and as I have had no input on my router settings at all, I am going to leave the connection problem for my mate to sort as soon as he can get to me.
I would like to thank you again for trying to help me and I am sure more help will be needed in the near future with other problems, and it is good to know that there are people out there that will help, I am sure that Linux is the way to go for people that want to get away from the dreaded M*******t.
Regards.
Chris.

[miket]

Hi Chris !

Mike just to update you on my Mint problem, I have reluctantly called in my mate (a director of my Internet provider)to come and sort my problem as I am out of my depth with Linux, especially as I have not been able to use it yet, but to just look at things to familiarise myself with the way things work, and with the printed 86 page official user guide I am sure I would have got to grips with the new system quite quickly.
However as I have not been able to connect at all and my Mint is going to be way out of date I'm sure, and as I have had no input on my router settings at all, I am going to leave the connection problem for my mate to sort as soon as he can get to me.
I would like to thank you again for trying to help me and I am sure more help will be needed in the near future with other problems, and it is good to know that there are people out there that will help, I am sure that Linux is the way to go for people that want to get away from the dreaded M*******t.
Regards.
Chris.

Well by the sounds of it you are using a simple DHCP setup ... no idea why you have a static IP address set ...

Anyways, if you just change your /etc/network/interfaces file to have JUST these entries you will find that it will boot and work straight away :

Code: Select all

auto lo
iface lo inet loopback

auto eth0
iface eth0 inet dhcp

As for your Mint being way out of date it's not ... Mint 4 is still used by many of us ... not everyone jumps to the latest version each time it is released

Don't give up on Linux, it's very easy to use, you just have to learn to think in a different way to what you normally would with Windows, but once you have been
doing it for a while it becomes the norm ... the more you tinker now the more you will learn !

Mike.

[chrispbacon]

Mike thanks for getting back to me again, I am just waiting now for my mate to send details of the field settings on the manual config, he also said he cannot understand static IP.
With your last reply, are you saying to open the the network interfaces file with "sudo gedit /etc/network/interfaces" and delete what comes up and type what you have typed ? Or do I have to find the /etc/network/interfaces file within Mint, and alter that, or is it one of the same?
Just in case my mate doesn't come back to me today, as you can understand I am just itching to get started.
As for the out of date part to my last reply, I was talking about the updates to the installed programs that would be way out of date, but even if they are, I know that if there are 100 updates, they will only take about 30 seconds to update, some improvement over M*******t.
Regards.
Chris.

[chrispbacon]

Mike further to my last message, I figured out your instructions, and altered the file as per your instructions, and clicked "save"
I then looked at the manual config settings, and as expected the box simply had "properties automatic DHCP", with no other boxes filled at all, but I still cannot connect.
Regards.
Chris.

[miket]

Hi Chris !

Mike further to my last message, I figured out your instructions, and altered the file as per your instructions, and clicked "save"
I then looked at the manual config settings, and as expected the box simply had "properties automatic DHCP", with no other boxes filled at all, but I still cannot connect.
Regards.
Chris.

So you just put in the the exact entries I detailed above, nothing more ?
It should have worked just fine .... your router is a standard Netgear ADSL modem with Ethernet and wifi support, if you have gone with
the default setup it would be serving IP Addresses to machines connected to it via DHCP.

Once you made the changes to the /etc/network/interfaces file, did you reboot the Linux Mint machine so that the interfaces file was re-read at boot time ?
You must reboot the machine for the settings to take effect.
It should work fine if you put the entries in I detailed above exactly as shown, unless you have changed the default setup on your router ??

Mike.

[chrispbacon]

Mike I have not altered the router settings, and i did as you said exactly, if I go back in now the correct entry still shows (as I altered it) 4 lines of text with a gap of one line between the second and third line.
Thanks.
Chris.

[chrispbacon]

Mike I just had an idea, could I take screen shot of my router settings from windows, and mail it to you to study? And can I mail to your web site as on here?
Thanks.
Chris.

[miket]

Hi Chris !

Mike I have not altered the router settings, and i did as you said exactly, if I go back in now the correct entry still shows (as I altered it) 4 lines of text with a gap of one line between the second and third line.
Thanks.
Chris.

This doesn't make any sense at all ???

On the router, when you plug in your Linux Mint machine and boot it and login, is one of the numbered lights on the front of the router lit up ?
It should correspond to the number of the port you have plugged it into, so for example if you have plugged into ethernet port 1 on the router,
the number 1 light on the router will be lit up ...

If it is, we have a physical connection to the router, if not then try another ethernet cable and reboot the machine.

If the light is lit up on the router correctly, go to the main menu and open a terminal.
In the terminal enter the following command and then paste the result back here for me to look at :

Code: Select all

sudo dhclient eth0

Look forward to hearing from you.

Mike.

[miket]

Hi Chris !

Mike I just had an idea, could I take screen shot of my router settings from windows, and mail it to you to study? And can I mail to your web site as on here?
Thanks.
Chris.

Yes, email some images through, the email address on my website as detailed below is fine.
I am particularly interested in the DHCP Server screen images ...

Mike.

[chrispbacon]

Mike image will be with you in about a minute, but just to remind you I have one computer (desktop) and am dual booting XP with Mint, I do not plug my Linux machine in. The other machine I use is a hand held Nokia N800 (linux) and I use this to connect to Windows through my Wireless router, so only this needs the wireless that router gives, the dual booting desktop is wired (same router)
Thanks.
Chris.

[miket]

Hi Chris !

Mike image will be with you in about a minute, but just to remind you I have one computer (desktop) and am dual booting XP with Mint, I do not plug my Linux machine in. The other machine I use is a hand held Nokia N800 (linux) and I use this to connect to Windows through my Wireless router, so only this needs the wireless that router gives, the dual booting desktop is wired (same router)
Thanks.
Chris.

The DHCP server will still need to be on for the cabled machined.
It must already be on if you are able to connect via wireless unless you have also configured that for Static IP Addresses ??

When you next boot XP, go to the start menu, select RUN and then type in

Code: Select all

command

in the empty field, then hit enter.

This will open a DOS box, in this DOS box enter the following command :

Code: Select all

ipconfig

Can you paste the result of this command back here please ?

Thanks.

Mike.

[chrispbacon]

Mike here you go.Microsoft(R) Windows DOS
(C)Copyright Microsoft Corp 1990-2001.

C:\DOCUME~1\ADMINI~1>ipconfig

Windows IP Configuration


Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.100
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1

C:\DOCUME~1\ADMINI~1>

[miket]

Great !

Mike here you go.Microsoft(R) Windows DOS
(C)Copyright Microsoft Corp 1990-2001.

C:\DOCUME~1\ADMINI~1>ipconfig

Windows IP Configuration


Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.100
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1

C:\DOCUME~1\ADMINI~1>

Your windows machine is getting an IP Address fro the route, this is perfect, I would expect your Mint setup to get an address in the same range ??!!
See my email ...

Mike.

Email:

Hi Chris,

OK, this shows that your router is indeed setup to be a DHCP server and that it will
hand out IP addresses in the 192.168.0.1 to 254 range .... thus your Mint machine is not seeing the
router on the ethernet cable.

When you boot Mint, does one of the GREEN Number Lights on the front of the router light up ?
If so then there is a physical connection, if not then there is no physical connection.

If the light does light up go to the posting I made earlier on the forum and run the dhclient command I posted,
this will tell your Mint machine to go get an IP address from the router.

If there are any errors please post them in the forum for me to see.

Thanks !

Mike.

[chrispbacon]

Mike lights on router remain the same on windows and mint !
here is the typed dnclient report

listening on CPF/eth0/00:1e:0b:aa:e3:dd
sending on " " " " " "
sending on socket fallback
DHCP DISCOVER on eth0 to 255.255.255.255 port67 interval 5
" " " " 10
" " " " 13
" " " " 3
no DHCP offers rec'd
no working leases in persistant database - sleeping


Thanks.
Chris.