Re: nfe(4) not working on asus m2n32sli-deluxe

On Mon, 2007-09-03 at 09:39 +0900, Pyun YongHyeon wrote:
> On Fri, Aug 31, 2007 at 02:58:54PM -0300, Mario Ferreira wrote:
>  > Hi,
>  > 
>  >   I tried installing FreeBSD 7.0-Current 200708 i386 snapshot on a
>  > asus m2n32sli-deluxe wifi edition but I had some issues:
>  > 
>  >  1) on board wlan adapter RTL8187_Wireless not supported
>  >  2) on board lan adapter NForce 590 SLI MCP does not work
>  > 
>  >   The lack of support for RTL8187_Wireless is not a problem for now.
>  > However, the NForce 590 SLI MCP Gigabit adapter is an issue.
>  > 
>  >   The nfe(4) driver detects the network carrier but it never ever
>  > detects the media settings. I tried hand setting media/mediaopt but it
>  > did not help.
>  > 
>  > media: Ethernet autoselect (none)
>  > status: active
>  > 
>  >   Any suggestions? Let me know if there is anything I can do to help.
>  > 

Sorry for indirect quotation, I didn't catch the original mail and don't
want to break the thread now. Anyway, to Mario's problem with nfe:

What I see in your log looks very similiar to what I experienced with my
wife's m2n32-sli-deluxe, this most craptacular piece of hardware I've
seen in years (and the nfe is probably the best working part there).
There is a (I think widely known, at least I've seen it discussed a few
times somewhere) problem with nfe initialization under FreeBSD when you
reboot from Windows, as far as I remember the symptoms are exactly the
same as yours.

So, if by any chance you were running Windows somewhere around the same
time as FreeBSD, here is your solution: Give it another try, but start
the computer right into FreeBSD from the first power-on. Not even cold
reboot fixes this, so power down your PSU (feel free to tear the power
cord off the wall if you're desperate), wait for a few minutes *without
power*, then start your PSU, boot into FreeBSD, tada, nfe will
miraculously work as it should. Pure magic.
m.


-- 
Michal Varga <varga_at_stonehenge.sk>
Stonehenge