help w/ Dell PowerEdge sc420

[Andras Kende]

>
> 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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Download Freebsd 5.3 latest its available for free...
sc420 ethernet work perfectly on it...


Andras Kende
http://www.kende.com