-new install -Sony PCG-505G (textmode) -3COM ethernet 3C574-TX -Since there are PCMCIA/ATAPI problems I did a network install (NFS) There were 2 problems: 1. when beginning the install, sometimes it found the NFS server and othersa it did not. 2. after a successful install and reboot, ping and netstat show that 'lo' is the destination of the ping request. (ifconfig and route seem to be configured correctly)
When you do 'ifconfig' by itself, does it show any other network devics besides lo?
ERROR MESSAGES: (30) date cardmgr[17]: fopen(stabfile) failed. no file or directory (30) date cardmgr[17]: executing './network start eth0' (30) date cardmgr[17]: + ./network: /sbin/ifup: not found (30) date cardmgr[17]: start cmd failed with status 2
I tried to get to the console (ALT+F2), the console did not popup. Is there a difference between 5.2 and 5.3 deluxe?
I am afraid I am we are not familiar with the Deluxe Box set. It is created and distributed by a different company. If they use the same installer that we do, then I assume you should still be able to flip over to F2 console no problem. It sounds like the your ethernet is not configured to come up on boot. You can test fro this by typing 'ifup eth0' and then retyping 'ifconfig' to see if it shows up in the list. There is a line in /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-eth0 that has ONBOOT="no" which should then be changed to "yes" if you want the ethernet device to activate whenever the machine reboots. Looking over the hardware compatiblity list, I see that the 3c574TX driver is still considered non-stable and may be your problem. Check http://hyper.stanford.edu/HyperNews/get/pcmcia/home.html for more information.
Since we discussed the diff between 5.2 and deluxe, I went to the store and bought the official version. Same problems. including ALT-F2 not working. Furthermore, not being able to locate 'ifup' or 'network' tells me that there is an install script error. Is there something in the install process that causes files to be copied to the ram disk based on detection of some hardware, or some other trigger?