Re: 2.4.2 SMP + 3c905C-TX + NETDEV WATCHDOG

[Andrew Morton]

Clem Taylor wrote:
> 
> Every few weeks, since switching to 2.4.2, I get a series of 'NETDEV
> WATCHDOG' errors. When this happens the system becomes unusable (homes
> are NFS mounted) and does not recover. A small number of packets do get
> out when it's in this state, but not enough to be useful. I've tried an
> ifconfig up/down, all that seems to help is a reboot. The 3c905C driver
> is compiled into my kernel, so I can't reload it. The machine is a Dell
> Precision 220 (only one processor installed).

Irritating, isn't it?

> Has anyone else seen this problem. Is their a way to reset the interface
> without rebooting? Any ideas?

No.  A reboot is required.

It is due to a problem in the APIC handling.  There is a 
workaround in the 2.4.2-ac series which fixes it.  It
appears to not be in the 2.4.3 series.  So for the
while you'll have to either install a recent -ac kernel
or boot with the `noapic' LILO option.

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