Networking not functional in new Debian installation.

[Zinger]

I installed the latest version of Debian today on an IBM Thinkpad 600X that I had laying around. The network adapter is a PCMCIA card from 3COM. It is wired, not wireless.

During the install it detected the adapter and asked me if I wanted to use DHCP, which I selected. The install was unable to obtain an IP address, which I found odd since that laptop was a Windows machine for many years that never had a problem getting an IP from my Linksys router. In any case, I opted for a static IP which also did not work when later in the install it tried to access the internet.

The install eventually completed, and once in the system GUI (Gnome), I chose to configure the network adapter again. I tried switching back to DHCP, no good. Back to static, no good. Restarts in between, no good. The network is unreachable.

I am new to Linux, so I need some help here.

Running ifconfig results in the following:
eth0
Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr [not copied]
inet addr: 192.168.1.110 Bcast:192.168.1.255 Mask:255.255.255.0
inet6 addr: [not copied]
UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1
[additonal not copied]

Right now I have the static IP of 192.168.1.110 configured.
My gateway (router/dhcp) is 192.168.1.1
The machine is physically plugged into an SMC router/hub that is 192.168.1.5

When configured with DHCP, doing an ifdown then an ifup results in:
No DHCPOFFERS received.
No working leases in persistent database - sleeping.

The link light is on on the 3COM card, so I think the hardware is functioning.

Anybody?

[Agent-X]

Try restarting your router/networking devices. Try turning your computer off for a minute and turning it back on. Did you get an IP address? I know you didn't copy some stuff....

Can you ping your router?
Can you ping an IP address (numbers. Not the domain)?

[Zinger]

I'm concentrating on getting a static configuration working, since it has less fault points than DHCP.

Given that, the machine is configured to use a static IP as described above. I CAN ping 192.168.1.110. I CANNOT ping 192.168.1.5, which is the hub it is connected to.

[rcgreen]

My gateway (router/dhcp) is 192.168.1.1
The machine is physically plugged into an SMC router/hub that is 192.168.1.5

I don't quite understand. A hub has no IP address. If the device at
192.168.1.5 is a router, it must be your default gateway, and if you
use DHCP, it must be a DHCP server. So are you behind two routers or one?

If you plug this computer directly into the 192.168.1.1 router, will it work
then?

[Zinger]

It is an SMC wireless router. I guess it's technically a router with a 4 port switch? In any case, I've now plugged the laptop directly into the Linksys router that is serving my internet to take away one more point of failure.

I'm still configured with a static ip, and my ping results are strange.

The first 4 pings reply with "Destination Host Unreachable"
The next 7 pings actually get a result, but the time varies from 7548ms to 17549ms.
After the 7 successful pings it ends up responding with "ping: sendmsg: No buffer space available".

Additional pings give random combinations of "unreachable" and loooong ping times.

The cable I am using is perfect, I checked another computer with it.

I've restarted the linksys router.

Keep the ideas coming guys...

[Zinger]

Can somebody tell me how to verify if my hardware is configured correctly?

If nobody has any ideas it looks like it'll be back to Windows, you guys wouldn't want that to happen, would you?

[FeestBijtje]

Running ifconfig results in the following:
eth0
Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr [not copied]
inet addr: 192.168.1.110 Bcast:192.168.1.255 Mask:255.255.255.0
inet6 addr: [not copied]
UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1
[additonal not copied]

Right now I have the static IP of 192.168.1.110 configured.
My gateway (router/dhcp) is 192.168.1.1
The machine is physically plugged into an SMC router/hub that is 192.168.1.5

What I have noticed your Bcast/Gateway is 192.168.1.255 and not 192.168.1.1 Try to configure your network device to Broadcast "192.168.1.255" that might work

[Zinger]

What I have noticed your Bcast/Gateway is 192.168.1.255 and not 192.168.1.1 Try to configure your network device to Broadcast "192.168.1.255" that might work

I have the default gateway configured properly in the GUI application as 192.168.1.1. Do you know what source file the actual values are stored in, so I can verify that they are correct? I'd guess they're in /etc somewhere.

[coopstah13]

cat /etc/network/interfaces

post results

[FeestBijtje]

I have the default gateway configured properly in the GUI application as 192.168.1.1. Do you know what source file the actual values are stored in, so I can verify that they are correct? I'd guess they're in /etc somewhere.

Your distro is looking for "192.168.1.255" instead of "192.168.1.1" Please change that