I had just purchased an Acer Travelmate 290 notebook and am trying to configure slackware 9.1 (2.4.22) onto it. I could not get online after configuring ppp. I keep getting srcript error.

After a search, I noticed it has software modem with chipset from Agere. The win OS was using driver Agere Soft Modem Driver 2.1.28 . Although I could not get a specification both from acer or elsewhere I suspect that I had MARS (a PCI version) modem which is covered by a linux driver provided by Ageres. My device showed up during lspci -s 00.1f.6, with vendorIDroductID 8086:24c6 IntelCorp 82801DB AC'97 modem controller.

I planned to try my luck with a downloaded driver slmdm-2.7.14.tar.gz which had been found to have been successful for modem based on smartlink.

I had no experience in tampering with kernels or its modules before.

I have placed it
cp slmdm-2.7.14.tar.gz /opt/

cd /opt

tar -zxvf slmdm-2.7.14.tar.gz

cd slmdm-2.7.14.tar.gz

pico README

changed the kernel in readme to 2.4.22

make clean
make all
make install

# the modem drivers .o files were created and placed in the opt/slmdm-2.7.14 directory

I went to /etc/rc.d/rc.modules but I could not any modem driver to uncomment despite rebooting. I guess I had made an error somewhere probably the file placement.

Will appreciate help. I want to get away from windows as soon as possible.

Thanks.

Sorry for the error, it was suppose to be [Although I could not get a specification both from acer or elsewhere I suspect that I had MARS (a PCI version) modem which is NOT covered by the linux driver provided by Ageres]

if that's the driver for your modem. just copy the object file which was created after "make install" to /lib/modules/`uname -r`/drivers/net.
then do "depmod <.o file>" to see if it's compiled correctly. then do "modprobe <.o file> " to load it.

Thanks.

However I have progressed beyond that but with no solution at sight.

I have purchased Acer Travelmate 290 model CL51.

It has a soft modem

A check with winXP device manager, the driver showed it was Agere Soft
Modem driver.

It was in COM3

I was not sure whether it was the ISA model(Apollo) or the ARM ones
(MARS).

However lspci -s produced this output
00:1f.6 Modem: Intel Corp. 82801DB AC'97 Modem (rev 03)
and having noted in Agere website that winXP do not normally work with ISA type driver I guess it must be PCI(ARM) ones.

I took note of Walters Brisken email in linmodem.org, whose friend successfully installed smlink driver slmodem-2.9.1. on a 82801DB fujitsu machine (similar to mine) in http://linmodems.org/cgi-bin/ezmlm-c...cpnomkkclcdnfi

This is further reassured by Marvin Stodolsky email on 15 Dec 2003, Vendorevice ids 8086:24c6 is supported by slmodem-2.9.3
See http://linmodems.org/cgi-bin/ezmlm-c...bjllekoaemeoga

After installing slmodem-2.9.4 (the latest I could get my hands on)
I have then included the following 2 statement in /etc/rc.d/rc.modules

modproble slamr
/usr/sbin/slmodemd --country=MALAYSIA /dev/slamr0

/usr/sbin/slmodemd --country=VAL
produced the following output
Smartlink Soft Modem: version 2.9.4 ...
modem 'slamr0' created. TTY is '/dev/pts/0'
symbolic link '/dev/ttySL0' -> '/dev/pts/0'

# I am not sure if I have included my country designation correctly
# ?any idea where can I check this

By the way lsmod;

slamr
ppp-generic
slhc [ppp-generic]

# so I guess everything is all right
I have created
my /etc/ppp/options via pppsetup and they are as follow;
lock
defaultroute
noiproute
modem
/dev/ttys2
57600
crtscts
debug


/dev/modem was symbolically linked to /dev/ttys2

With setserial -v /dev/ttyS2; I get
/dev/ttys2, UART unknown, Port:0x03e8, IRQ:4

Similarly I get UART unknown when ttyS0 --> ttyS15

I suspect something is at fault with /dev/slamr0 as
I could not find this dev in /dev directory.

# I am not sure how to progress from here.
# Otherwise I am not too sure what else should I put there.

I have also made several modification in /etc/devfsd.conf scripts after
reading through the manual in ppp/README-linux

Since I was using ppp_generic, I have included the following line
LOOKUP ppp MODLOAD

This was despite having seen the following line;
LOOKUP .* MODLOAD

# I guess I was just plain desperate

I also added the following into
/etc/modules.conf

alias char-major-108 ppp_generic
alias /dev/ppp ppp_generic

There was already an existing line in modules.conf
alias char-major-212 slamr

With
ppp-go I get the following output
Connect script failed

When I checked /var/log/messages

pppd 2.4.1 started by root, uid 0
Exit

Nothing specified in /var/log/debug

Instead of /dev/ttys2 I have changed to /dev/ttySL0 and also/dev/pts/0 in the ppp/options but
at ppp-go I get this error /usr/sbin/pppd in file /etc/ppp/options unrecognized option '/dev/pts/0'

when I changed to /dev/slamr0 I get tcgetattr: No such file or directory (2)


I am pretty loss now. I am not sure the connect script failed is due to the failure of the driver or I have mess up the script. How do I go about with the /dev/ configuration.

Thanks for the advice.

Another problem is during boot, my system hang and only proceed after Ctrl-C when it reached

the following statements;
slamr:mc97codec is SIL27
slamr=slamr0is ICH4 card
symbolic link '/dev/ttySLo' -> 'dev/pts/0'

Thanks again.

try change
"/usr/sbin/slmodemd --country=MALAYSIA /dev/slamr0"
to
"/usr/sbin/slmodemd --country=MALAYSIA /dev/ttys2"

doesn't it comes with a script which could automatically configure it for you?

There are certain things I have tried to understand since my last post. Unfortunately this has not translated to a success in getting the device workable.

I should no longer use ttysX (X=integer variable) as I no longer use the inbuilt serial port

The script creates a driver which utilizes a psedoterminal and in this instance suppose to be ttySL0. In the latest configuration I have linked /dev/modem to /dev/ttySL0. /dev/slamr0 was created by the script below.

The script created an alias in modules.conf slamr with a major value of 212. Hence I created /dev/ttySL0 with similar value 212 and minor 0. I am not sure if I am doing it rightly.

I no longer use dev/ttys2 in my ppp/options script. But even with /dev/modem or /dev/slamr0 the device was not found. Minicom did not give any response.

Correct me if my assumptions above was erroneous.

Abu