Date: Fri, 29 Apr 2005 11:33:59 -0700 (PDT) From: Tom Lord <lord@emf.net> To: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Subject: help w/ Dell PowerEdge sc420 Message-ID: <200504291833.LAA26255@emf.net>
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I'm trying to bring FreeBSD up on a Dell PowerEdge sc420.
The machine has a built-in (on the motherboard) Ethernet engine
described as "Broadcom NetXtreme Gigabit Ethernet Adaptor". The
BIOS screens accessible during booting don't provide much by
way of additional useful information, afaict.
I am bringing up a slightly old FreeBSD -- 5.2 -- with hopes of
getting ethernet support up, plugging into a DSL line, and upgrading
over the net.
Alas, 5.2 does not seem to detect the Ethernet engine. There is no
"/dev/bge", for example. Thus, I can't even get to the "upgrade"
step short of busting out an old modem :-)
Help? I'm unfamiliar with:
(i) how FreeBSD autodetects this kind of hardware
(ii) how to brute-force install a driver by hand and try to help
it find this hardware
I am competent to rebuild the kernel if there is some config file
I ought to tweak although it's been a few years since I've done so --
so hints about that process, if necessary, would be appreciated.
Alternatively (but less desirably): if I scrape up my pennies and buy
a more recent distro will I have better results?
Thanks,
-t
p.s.: the *next* problem is about configuring X11 for:
(a) The "Intel Copper River Graphics Controller" on this board.
The X configurators on the 5.2 disk crash and burn here.
I've been assuming that this *might* be easier to solve
after successfully upgrading.
(b) I've never had much luck getting `moused' to understand
my Kensington ExpertMouse trackball as a four-button
device. On this new box, the situation is at this stage
slightly worse --- it seems not to grok this device at all.
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