Sending DHCP requests .... timed out

[Ingo Wichmann]

Hi!

Under the same subject someone asked a similar question i'm now
confronted with:
http://archives.free.net.ph/message/20051208.073309.50d674ac.en.html

What works:
* the install-client boots and gets a pxelinux bootprompt
* kernel loads

Then the kernel prints out:

  Sending DHCP requests ..... timed out!

But no packets are sent, i've checked this with tcpdump.
After a while the kernel tries again ( and again, and ... ):

  tg3: eth0: Link is up at 100 Mbps, full duplex.
  tg3: eth0: Flow control is on for TX and on for RX.
  IP-Config: Reopening network devices ...
  Sending DHCP requests ..... timed out!

tg3 is the right module, eth0 is the right interface and

If i configure ip with the kernel-append parameter
  ip=172.16.240.157:172.16.240.6::255.255.255.0:blablub::
the clients still sends no packets at all

debian-installer, suse-installer and centos/redhat-installer have no
problems with network boot. Machines with different nic's work too. So i
guess its a problem with tg3 in the fai-kernel version 1.12 from etch.
fai-kernel 2.6.8 from sarge complains "Couldn't get firmware" and
doesn't work also.

Any hints?

Ingo