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I have recently received a Raspberry Pi computer, and the ethernet is not working. It was not working with the Pre-Flashed Raspbian OS, and I installed it again with NOOBS, and it wasn't working. Can you please help me?

Edit: At request of user, here is my system log:

pi@raspberrypi ~ $ tail /var/log/syslog

Jun 19 07:06:29 raspberrypi ntpd[1970]: Deferring DNS for 2.debian.pool.ntp.org 1
Jun 19 07:06:29 raspberrypi ntpd[1970]: Deferring DNS for 3.debian.pool.ntp.org 1
Jun 19 07:06:29 raspberrypi ntpd[1976]: signal_no_reset: signal 17 had flags 4000000
Jun 19 07:08:37 raspberrypi dbus[1909]: [system] Activating service name='org.freedesktop.ConsoleKit' (using servicehelper)
Jun 19 07:08:37 raspberrypi dbus[1909]: [system] Activating service name='org.freedesktop.PolicyKit1' (using servicehelper)
Jun 19 07:08:37 raspberrypi polkitd[2112]: started daemon version 0.105 using authority implementation `local' version `0.105'
Jun 19 07:08:37 raspberrypi dbus[1909]: [system] Successfully activated service 'org.freedesktop.PolicyKit1'
Jun 19 07:08:37 raspberrypi dbus[1909]: [system] Successfully activated service 'org.freedesktop.ConsoleKit'
Jun 19 07:08:51 raspberrypi dbus[1909]: [system] Activating service name='org.freedesktop.UDisks' (using servicehelper)
Jun 19 07:08:51 raspberrypi dbus[1909]: [system] Successfully activated service 'org.freedesktop.UDisks'
goldilocks
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user2603709
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    It's going to be hard without more information. Unplug the cable, wait 30 seconds, then plug the cable in and before you do anything else copy paste the output of tail /var/log/syslog, then edit that into your post (it should say something relevant). Hopefully you can save it to a file on a usb stick to transfer it. – goldilocks Aug 17 '13 at 13:42

2 Answers2

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Most of the online forums say that the cable is the problem. Ethernet Cables have two intertwined wires inside of them usually. If one gets broken, the Ethernet is very poor quality but still can be detected by laptops and computers. However, such poor quality Ethernet cannot even be detected by Pi's. Try using another Ethernet cable.

hildred
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crownusa
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  • Although this answer seems a bit unlikely I just had a similar problem with a switch - one port worked perfectly with a laptop and Ethernet camera but not the Pi but it started working when I switched to a different port. – PeterJ Apr 18 '19 at 11:14
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That there is nothing in /var/log/syslog when you plug the cable in is not good; the kernel should at least say something like eth0: link up. Try grep "link up" /var/log/syslog to see if there is any record of that at all.

Do the green and yellow LEDs on the pi (next to the red power one) light up when you plug the ethernet cable in and turn off when you unplug it? If not, there may be a hardware problem: make sure the jack is connected firmly at both ends and your router is up and running. If the lights still don't come on, try another cable.

Check the output of ifconfig. Is eth0 listed there or is there just the lo interface? If not, try ifconfig eth0 up and see if it gets added.

If eth0 is listed by ifconfig, this indicates the kernel has detected the ethernet jack and loaded a driver for it (whether or not a cable is connected). If that is the case and the LEDs are not on when a cable is connected, I think you may have broken hardware: on mine, those lights are on whenever a cable is plugged in, even if the interface is down and not being used. You could try describing this scenario exactly ("cable in, eth0 up, link LEDs do not turn on") on the troubleshooting forum, and/or asking your retailer for an opinion, if possible.

goldilocks
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  • Both Eth0 and the loopback device show up. The lights do not come on at all, and I can't do Grep, since the | key is just displaying a ~ instead. – user2603709 Aug 17 '13 at 16:38
  • @user2603709 : You don't have have to use |, take a closer look at what I wrote. I've added a final paragraph based on your symptoms, my prognosis is not good :( but I am not an expert on the hardware. – goldilocks Aug 17 '13 at 17:13