[ubuntu-uk] Hooking up a machine running Ubuntu to a Mark 1, BT HomeHub

[Liam Proven]

Rowan, it seems to me that the good-natured suggestions of people
trying to be helpful here aren't getting you anywhere.

Here is an overview of the situation, as we understand it, trying
"blind" to work out what's going on.

[1] The HomeHub has an Ethernet port. So does your Linux PC.
[2] Now, normally, Ethernet requires little to no configuration. What
should happen is this:
[2a] you plug a cable into the H/hub
[2b] you plug the other end into your PC. The link light should then
come on, usually, green. Shortly afterwards, the traffic light should
come on, often yellow and flickering as information flows.
[2c] The PC gets given an Internet address automatically by the H/hub.
This usually requires no intervention from you and no configuration.
Most routers use the official private range, 192.168.x.y where /x/ and
/y/ are numbers in the range 1 to 254, e.g. 192.168.0.1 or
192.168.1.1. The H/hub has one number - often the lowest, either
192.168.1.1 or 192.168.0.1 - and the PC gets another, similar number
with the last octet - the digits after the 3rd & last dot - different,
e.g. 192.168.1.23
[3] That's it. You're online.

All the mucking around with setup CDs and things is marketing
b*ll*cks, basically. It's not needed.

Now, we need to know at which stage this process is failing for you.
It sounds like you have a problem at stage 2b: getting a link. We've
more or less established that Linux knows you have a network port and
that means it should be working. If it doesn't appear in the Ubuntu
status bar, it is because nothing is connected to it and it's not
"live".

Things you could try:

 - a different Ethernet cable.
 - try the same cable but with the ends reversed: put the hub end in
the PC and the PC end in the hub.
 - try the same cable in another PC to see if that works as it should.
(I am not sure from what you've written if you've done this already.
You say that your Windows machine can connect, yes? Is that using the
same cable?)
 - try to borrow another router or something similar to see if another
device gets a link light and an IP address. For testing, it doesn't
matter if this other router is configured for your Internet connection
or even attached to it - just plugged into the mains and turned on
should be enough.

Without wishing to be patronising, are you 100% sure you have a
proper, good, known-working Ethernet cable? It is possible to use a US
telephone lead - they will plug into Ethernet ports and even click
into place, but they won't work. The plugs are similar but the US
telephone one is smaller.

Normal Ethernet plugs are called RJ45 connectors:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ethernet_RJ45_connector_p1160054.jpg

US telephone connectors are type RJ11:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Rj11_connector.jpg

They are very similar. You will probably find that your Homehub
connects to the microfilter in your telephone socket with an RJ11
cable. Using RJ11s by mistake is a common problem.

It won't help, but if you right-click on the top panel, pick "add to
panel" and add the Network Monitor applet, you will get a permanent
network-status indicator that appears even if the link is down. That
might help.

-- 
Liam Proven • Profile: http://www.linkedin.com/in/liamproven
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