Hello everybody

I begun just Yesterday my "Linux Way of Live", but troubles have started and they are very, very cruel...

I install Mandrake 9.1, it detects properly my LAN card PCMCIA, it shows the status "Up" when entering the MCC, it's configurated with protocol dhcp...

BUT IT CANNOT CONNECT TO INTERNET (no more explanations, it simply doesn't)

I've been looking, searching and reading since yesterdat, but I can't find any news. Every text says to me that the connection should work, but it doesn't.

I've got a 3Com cable modem connected to the LAN, and in my desktop (WinXP) Internet still works perfectly, with the same cable modem. The trouble is only in the notebook, where I installed Linux.

I will be very thankful to any suggestion or idea. Please take in consideration that I'm just a 2-days-old Linux baby

How are your cable modem, XP, and Laptop network set up? Is there a router between the cable and your machines? If so, type "route" to see what your routing table is. If it doesn't specify a default route, add one to your router by typing "route add default gw routeripaddr" where, obviously, routeripaddr is the local ip address of your router. Have fun

No, I'm afraid there is no router. It's just a single machine with a network card connected to the Cable Modem, and then the ISP.

have you set up the necessary things in linuxcfg? I had to put some things in there, like hostname, nameserver etc... best check with your ISP to see what you must do in order to get online...

I had very similar problems when I first installed Mandrake. You may want to check what module your card uses in Harddrake, and then put a line in your /etc/modules.conf saying "alias eth0 module-name"

I used to use cable modem before, and never had problems with it. I never had to put things like hostname, server names etc. The trick was to connect modem while installing mandrake. Mandrake would detect modem and install nessesery packages.

Go to command line and type 'ifconfig' and see how your devices are configured and see if they are similar to ipconfig in command line in windows. You may need to specify your gateway and add the modem's local ip to your routing table, using the route command.

How about your XP box? Is it set for Internet sharing? (at least I understand that you are trying to share the net through your XP box)

try doing
ifconfig <enter> in konsole as root
see what comes up
you will probably find eth0 and lo
to get rid of eth0 do
chkconfig network off
try ifconfig agaim to make sure it's gone
reboot
then reconfigure your modem (what is it BTW?)
try and connect
This is a terrible problem with 9.1

if necessary unplug the cable when you configure the modem and then once the internet is working plug the LAN in again.
It's a real sod this problem

The easy fix for cable modem issues is to reset it:
shut down the computer, unplug the power on the modem
leave everything down for 1 minute
plug the modem back in wait for the lights to show a connection and start up the computer....
I had some issues with 9.1 and my cable connection, I went throught the setup in the madrake control center again and specified that it was a cable connection, and had no more issues from that point on.

There was an easier solution: I had to register again my computer because my ISP didn't detect it because I have changed the connexion between PC&cable modem (I was using USB since I installed Linux, then I've had to install a LAN card)

I had told to you: everything was working fine but it didn't connect. But there were a problem: you don't have to believe what say the first ISP's technicals you talk to. You must insist until they agree with you

I hope you have understood this explanation. If not, please tell me and I'll explain it further.

Thx for your solutions. I'm sure they'll be useful for making a protocol called "What to do if Internet doesn't connect"