The one thing missing from my first two posts about what I had to do to correct corrupted or problematic networking settings on my Tosa, is a simple listing of what to check. For explanations, see my other blog posts about Networking Settings. Read this one first, and then this one.
Before starting, ask your ISP what DNS servers they recommend, or query google about which ones are currently the most reliable. Also look at your /tmp/qpe-pppd-log, and consider enabling the log file if it is not already enabled, to help with debugging. You cannot know why you are not getting online if you do not have a log to look at. If you do not know how to enable or interpret the log, I suggest searching and asking for help at oesf forums. If anyone needs it, I could finish writing the script I started which would easily enable and disable the log.
Now, for the settings checklist! Remember, this is what I check for Sharp ROM 1.02 on an sl6000l, and the particulars will vary slightly for other models and ROMs. You may wish to try to get online again after each step, in case the rest of my suggested steps are not needed. And, if you have the patience, record what happens after each modification you make, and keep copies of (or at least look at) each new qpe-pppd-log, all of which may help you figure out what you need to do in your particular case.
1. Make a system backup, or backup copies of any files you choose to edit, so you can try using those again if your editing makes things worse instead of better. If you already have a recent system backup, you should be able to retrieve just the specific files from the backup you need, by following the procedure in this blog post.
2. Check all files in /home/zaurus/Applications/Network/modules directory.
a. make sure primary and secondary dns numbers are good. Format is:
dns1 = 63.89.1.250
dns2 = 63.89.1.262
b. check speed (baud rate). I use:
speed = 57600
c. make sure you correct or include
autoip = 1
usepeerdns = 1
PluginRevision = $Revision: 1.13.8.1 $
d. remove following lines if using dialup
BOOTP = n
DHCP = y
devconfig = modem
devtype = Common Modem Card
3. Make sure the DNS entries in the following files also point to reliable DNS servers:
/etc/resolv.conf
/etc/resolv.prev
/etc/ppp/resolv.conf
/etc/ppp/resolv.prev
The format is:
nameserver 208.67.220.220
nameserver 208.67.220.222
4. In all files in /etc/ppp/peers:
a. make sure speed (baud rate) is correct. I use the following, which appears alone on the second line of every file:
57600
b. check connect-delay. I use:
connect-delay 1000
c. remove "-t 60" if it appears on the first line, by editing out just that portion of the line (warning: some of you may need the "-t 60, you may need to put it back in or increase or decrease it)"
5. In /home/zaurus/Settings/Network.conf
a. remove lines:
dialup_navi = 1
lan_auto = 1
b. correct autoresume setting to:
AutoResume = 0
6. If your Zaurus still is unable to get online, try rebooting the Tosa, or doing a soft reset on older models. Some of you may prefer rebooting as the very first step, before all the other steps. You may find that rebooting or doing a soft reset is all that you need, but my experience is that rebooting is often needed after the other modifications, to insure that my Zaurus is using the new parameters I have entered, instead of using the old, ineffective settings which it keeps in hidden memory.
7. If all of the above fails, make sure you have stopped respawning of ttyS0 by editing /etc/inittab and then running telinit q. See details at http://sdjf.esmartdesign.com/respawn.html.
Finally, if all of the above fails, remember that sometimes you may have trouble getting on to the internet for reasons that have absolutely nothing to do with your Zaurus. The dns servers or your ISP may just be acting up or overloaded, and you may be able to get online without any trouble in a few hours.
When I get real frustrated after repeated failed attempts to get online, I move my modem over to my Collie, and use an autodialer script to let the Collie work on getting online, while I do other things with my Tosa. I prefer doing this as a way to also check my general connectivity with another Zaurus, as my trusty Collie is much better with dialup than is the Tosa. My sl5500 can almost always get online when the sl6000L fails.
Of course, what works for me may not work for you, if your setup is different, so be sure to make a backup first, before you start making changes, and then ask for help at http://www.oesf.org's Networking subforum before giving up completely.
Note that most of the following pages focus on
my experiences with dialup on Sharp ROM 2.38 on the sl5500.
The first three discuss the effects of Qtopia and of Opera browser on connectivity, and while
the examples are dialup on an sl5500, many principles apply to other models and ROMs.
Qtopia on the Zaurus
Operaand My Modem
Modem problem may be Qtopia issue
Please also note that while the focus is on the sl5500 on the next pages, I have added comments for later ROMs to the writeups, based on my experiences with Sharp ROM 1.12 on my sl6000L.
How to Disconnect When Network GUI Does Not Work
Reset CF Device or Modem
How to Halt Respawning of ttyS0
The following blog post talks about my difficulties getting online with my sl6000L because of misconfigured or corrupted networking setting and configuration files, and how I resolved them:
SL6000: Corrupt Networking Settings
The following blog post talks about solving difficulties getting online due to using unreliable DNS servers:
sl6000l: More Corrupt Network Settings