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    Virgin Media Modem Mode Cannot Retrieve a WAN IP.

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved Problems Installing or Upgrading pfSense Software
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    • DaddyGoD
      DaddyGo @A Former User
      last edited by

      @adowson
      This seems perfectly good, so what is a reasonable explanation?

      since the LEDs also turn off, the NIC or cable is faulty
      but I think you've already checked the cables

      look in the shell to make sure all (em4) are well recognized
      (of course if you have a serial consol connection)

      Cats bury it so they can't see it!
      (You know what I mean if you have a cat)

      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • ?
        A Former User
        last edited by

        Here's the funny thing. When I plug something into em3 and em4 (both unconfigured) they do light up and stay illuminated (with flashing packet light). My laptop doesn't connect with DHCP though.

        When I connect the same laptop to em2 (configured, LAN). It behaves like the WAN port and switches off after a few moments.

        Something weird is going on. I need an old preist and a young preist. Going to reinstall pfsense and see if I can get it working just with my laptop connected into LAN.

        DaddyGoD 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • DaddyGoD
          DaddyGo @A Former User
          last edited by

          @adowson

          this was what I wanted to suggest 2.4.5 -p1

          pay attention to the first settings in the shell, leave the WAN on DHCP and configure only the LAN

          assign interface + IP + DHCP (for default)

          Cats bury it so they can't see it!
          (You know what I mean if you have a cat)

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          • C
            chrisgtl @A Former User
            last edited by

            @adowson

            Has the HP ever worked with pfSense or did it just bork all of a sudden?

            I would start by disconnecting that NIC completely if it is an expansion card. Reseat it.

            Reset BIOS to factory defaults and reinstall pfSense.

            Think I had a similar experience (not with pfSense) and it was down to the negotiation method/link/speed.

            DaddyGoD 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • DaddyGoD
              DaddyGo @chrisgtl
              last edited by DaddyGo

              @chrisgtl Has the HP ever worked with pfSense or did it just bork all of a sudden?

              @adowson "But when I restarted the modem it did work. It worked great initially, but then the lights on both LAN and WAN ports went off overnight. Restarting results in it failing to retrieve my WAN address. It does give me a LAN address but the port doesn't light up and it's unreachable. The NIC is working I've tested it in other devices.

              @chrisgtl and reinstall pfSense.
              @adowson Going to reinstall pfsense and see if I can get it working just with my laptop connected into LAN.

              BIOS alone is a usable idea, although the box has already worked ☺ ✋

              Cats bury it so they can't see it!
              (You know what I mean if you have a cat)

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              • ?
                A Former User
                last edited by

                It's a good point though, I haven't updated the BIOS. I'll give that a try if this doesn't work.

                DaddyGoD 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                • DaddyGoD
                  DaddyGo @A Former User
                  last edited by

                  @adowson

                  My friend, the health of the hardware is always first ☺
                  but you said it already worked, hmmm
                  (this raises additional questions)

                  Cats bury it so they can't see it!
                  (You know what I mean if you have a cat)

                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • P
                    pwood999
                    last edited by

                    I also have Virginmedia cable, but have no issues at all. Is your virgin connection stable ?

                    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                    • ?
                      A Former User
                      last edited by

                      This is a weird one. I have reinstalled and I'm only seeing em0 (WAN) and em1 (LAN) as listed interfaces on that card. FreeBSD does correctly recognise it as an Intel gigabit NIC. It lists both interfaces as down, setting them up does nothing.

                      If I plug into the two other unlisted and uncofigured ports (em3 and em4) they do light up and flicker (orange which is gigabit), but no connection is acheived from my laptop using DHCP. I've got nothing plugged into em0 (WAN) just to keep things simple (I only want to reach the web gui).

                      I've upgraded the BIOS and reset all of it's settings but no change in behaviour.

                      If it was DOA I would understand, but why is worked initially I don't know. I did have some issues when I first setup and had to direct connect em1 (LAN) to my laptop which allowed me to reach the web gui and then plug into WAN which allowed it work for two days. Other than network gremlins I can't see any other reason why it would suddenly drop at 1am.

                      DaddyGoD 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                      • P
                        pwood999
                        last edited by pwood999

                        @adowson said in Virgin Media Modem Mode Cannot Retrieve a WAN IP.:

                        T620 Plus rev b motherboard

                        Clean the PCIe connector on the NIC.
                        Test the PC & all NIC ports using a different OS, and make sure they are stable for >>24 hours.
                        Then re-install PfSense and start from scratch.

                        And disable the bios power-saving options.

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                        • T
                          tomashk
                          last edited by

                          Do you find anything interesting in logs for the time of problematic situation? Without logs it looks like guessing game :)

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                          • ?
                            A Former User
                            last edited by

                            No I didn't really know where to look if I'm honest. I've not previously used FreeBSD, does it have a equivalent /var/log?

                            I'll remove the card and riser and clean them with some 90% isopropyl and test with Debian.

                            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                            • DaddyGoD
                              DaddyGo @A Former User
                              last edited by DaddyGo

                              @adowson said in Virgin Media Modem Mode Cannot Retrieve a WAN IP.:

                              I have reinstalled and I'm only seeing em0 (WAN) and em1 (LAN) as listed interfaces on that card. FreeBSD does correctly recognise it as an Intel gigabit NIC. It lists both interfaces as down, setting them up does nothing.

                              this is normal behavior - two interfaces WAN / LAN recognized done
                              have you set up the initial configuration for the LAN? (via shell)

                              with these steps:

                              b03c6ab7-1e6b-443f-b58c-6927ea2d672a-image.png

                              60f51364-e8d8-42d2-8444-db4f1d9de89e-image.png

                              ccc967a2-02bf-4bf8-8035-48fe85b6b324-image.png

                              after that you get access to the GUI and everything will be easier, if you don't know FreeBSD, don't think about shell instructions

                              Cats bury it so they can't see it!
                              (You know what I mean if you have a cat)

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                              • ?
                                A Former User
                                last edited by

                                Yup I've setup the config via the inital installer choosing em0 for WAN and em1 for LAN both are on the HP/Intel NIC. I have tried re-assigning the interfaces and the IP address is set to the default.

                                DaddyGoD 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                • DaddyGoD
                                  DaddyGo @A Former User
                                  last edited by

                                  @adowson

                                  Ok, you can go for a full reboot and the GUI will be available hereupon and you can give me more or more info

                                  Cats bury it so they can't see it!
                                  (You know what I mean if you have a cat)

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                                  • ?
                                    A Former User
                                    last edited by

                                    Hi all, apologies for the delay. Took me awhile to find another identical gigabit card to test with since cleaning the riser and card connector with isopropyl didn't work unfortunately. I also had to get a new modem from ISP since mine was way out of support.

                                    It is now working fine with DHCP, appears to have been hardware gremlins in the gigabit card and the old modem being clunky with DHCP.

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