Hello,

here a view words on the Intel 82566 NIC. This card is use in recent mainboards, e.g. some Asus boards.

This card won't work with the common hacks to the AppleIntel8255x.kext in Info.plist. So don't try it - no way.

I checked the Linux e1000 driver and i found out that the 82566 has some problems:

/usr/src/linux/drivers/net/e1000/e1000_hw.c: (This is from a recent 2.6 kernel)

/******************************************************************************
* Work-around for 82566 power-down: on D3 entry-
* 1) disable gigabit link
* 2) write VR power-down enable
* 3) read it back
* if successful continue, else issue LCD reset and repeat
*
* hw - struct containing variables accessed by shared code
******************************************************************************/
void
e1000_phy_powerdown_workaround(struct e1000_hw *hw)
[...]

/******************************************************************************
* Work-around for 82566 Kumeran PCS lock loss:
* On link status change (i.e. PCI reset, speed change) and link is up and
* speed is gigabit-
* 0) if workaround is optionally disabled do nothing
* 1) wait 1ms for Kumeran link to come up
* 2) check Kumeran Diagnostic register PCS lock loss bit
* 3) if not set the link is locked (all is good), otherwise...
* 4) reset the PHY
* 5) repeat up to 10 times
* Note: this is only called for IGP3 copper when speed is 1gb.
*
* hw - struct containing variables accessed by shared code
******************************************************************************/
static int32_t
e1000_kumeran_lock_loss_workaround(struct e1000_hw *hw)

[...]

Also the init needs some special treatment.


Conclusion: The 82566 chip is a big pice of {censored}! But at some point of time apple will have to fix their AppleIntel8255x.kext.

Anyway - what we need is a driver! Here two suggestions:

1) Can somebody with an Apple Developer Network access please try extracting the 8255x (or a possible successor) from the 10.5.2 beta patches?

2) I try to add the linux patches to the 8255x Kext. But i need some help. Somebody with coding skills or knowlege on the IOKit please PM me.


Happy hackint0shing.

One coming: http://forum.insanelymac.com/index.php?s=&...ost&p=54533

You can read the thread for more details. Bigdaddyrob2g said he worked with someone from Small Tree, which is a company that wrote several ethernet drivers for their mac based products. (Google it )

Thx. You helped me with the Small Tree hint. Their readme also contains some hints that the 82566 is a damn pice of s*it. After a suspend the network might be not reconnected. That's why the linux guys wrote theres workarounds.

I am currently still hacking my own driver based on the Darwin source. But i currently have no success in reading the EPROM status bits.

Did the same thing but haven't really had time to sit down and look at it.

Ars Technica has a great tutorial about writing a ethernet driver in OS X that might be useful to look over.
If you can't find it and want it PM me, I think PDF version of it.

I still have problems in reading the eeprom. Still no success in geting the MAC.

I found out that the 52866 is the e1000_ich8lan.

Great work, you can hopefully text bigdaddyrob2g with your findings, or make your own driver.
His number is on post 276 on the xps 410 resource extravaganza.
as for me, you may be asking why I'm not coding. I'll tell you, I wish I could, but I have absolutely no programming knowledge, I just know a lot on how to operate windows, and the innards of computers. I don't enjoy this position a lot

bump.

Any news about your work on the kext ?

I'd love a linky to this Can't find it anywhere on the site.

Hi, here is the link to the tutorial, good luck.

Any luck? Would love for some gigabit love on my OS X.

If you have a desktop machine, pick up a PCI network card.
We're unlikely to see a driver unless some PCI products based on this chipset appear on the market.

My HP DC7700 comes with the Intel 82566 built in, I replaced it with a Intel 82558 PCI card and OSX finds it out of the box, I am using the Compaq PCI card model NC3121, can be found on ebay cheap.

yeah, I have the same network onboard...
still wait

Ok so I decided to start writing a driver that will work with the 82566. I have EEPROM access working and I can pull the MAC address. The driver registers with OSX and pops up the "new network interface found" dialog. Some transmit/receive logic and it should be usable in a limited capacity (auto-negotiation only, no workarounds or fixes yet)

How many different systems are based on this chip? I have a laptop, otherwise I would have just popped a new NIC in there and not bothered with it...

- Turbo

Hi Turbo,

I hope you get it working, it has been a long standing issue for many users like me. I think that almost any Intel motherboard based on the 965 chipset or newer is using some variant of the 82566 NIC in my case is a DP965LT. If you need any beta testing let me know I will do it for the simple pleasure of see this bitch live and kicking, because as many hopeless owners - until today - of this NIC I decided to buy a PCI replacement.

Cheers and wish you full success.

Hey, let me know if you get it working I need this driver.....

wow! That's some great work man! =) Do you think that this driver could work for the Intel 82575EB to?

If you need any help, let me know. I was thinking about starting this as well, but if you've already got a start, awesome.



Tons. Most ultra-new laptops have this chip, or a chip like it. HP has started using it, and IBM/Lenovo are using it in the T61, R61, and X61.

can you share your Intel Gigabit Ethernet driver,Turbo ? I see it on your blog,look likes work!

bump, ran across this thread and would also like to see some gigabyte love on my max os!

Turbo has a blog? Where?

I just bought a new Intel DG35EC mobo and it, too, has this ethernet chip on it. All motherboards with the ICH8 chipset probably have one. I'm not planning on running OSX on the new machine I'm building, but in the future who knows?

The Ars articles by cremes were helpful to me when I wrote my latest driver, but only up to a point. He goes overboard with the C++ classes in my opinion, and that makes his tulip driver overly complicated. If you're new to IOKit device drivers then creme's driver is going to confuse you more than it will help you. By all means read what he has to say, but I wouldn't use that driver code as a starting point. Some of the samples available from Apple's developer site are easier to understand (that doesn't mean they are "easy").

creme's driver was written in 2002, way before Leopard was released, so it doesn't completely represent the "state of the art" in OSX device drivers.

Hi
I have the Intel gigabit 82566 network onboard.
The only thing that does not work for me.
Anywone can help me?

Post #11 above. Some of you people don't deserve any help, I swear. Can't you read? You probably didn't even bother.

Easy cowboy, while i totally agree with what you're saying, its unfortunate but some people need to have things spelled out in ascii art. =/


tubro's blog can be found here:

http://0xfeedbeef.com/osx86/

He apparently reports that his nic is working but theres no link to download it!

/facepalm


Turbo, can you please post the link to download the sacred driver!!!

.. with cream and sugar on top!

I, too, am looking for this magical driver however I am unable to find a link to download it... does anyone know where I may get it

Best of luck man. I am sure you will get success someday...

I sent turbo an email to see if he would distribute the driver - no response as yet. Will post back here if I do! Even if its only 10Mbps it would do me..

just look at his page:


so all we need to do is donate...

Its a toss up though - whether to just put money into buy a new NIC which works or donate in the hope we get drivers for our existing cards ho hum...

Thanks in advance Turbo, most lenovo ?61 series laptops use this nic as well. I know that that are many a lenovo owner that would love to have that nic working.

Keep up the excellent work.

Don't forget to donate to the cause at Turbo's site.