exclude irq in config.opts ignored and other pcmcia problems

[jonathan.share at syngenta.com]

Hi,

I have just installed Fedora Core 1 on my laptop(more details provided on
request). All devices were detected and installed correctly the only
problems I am having are with my PCMCIA network card (Realtek RTL 8139
based).

Firstly on boot the kernel attempts to load the 8139cp driver which fails
suggesting I use the 8139too driver. If after booting if I attempt to bring
the interface up the 8139too driver gets installed without complaint. I do
not understand why a different driver is selected here, can anyone enlighten
me on this point?

Secondly configuration by DHCP sometimes fails sometimes doesn't. If I bring
the interface up using manual configuration then pinging any other device on
my network yields anywhere between 20 and 70% packet loss. This will not
even support a telnet session. Investigation into this problem has shown me
that all my devices are being piled on IRQ 5 and believe this could be part
of my problem. I tried adding exclude irq 5 to my
/etc/sysconfig/pcmcia/config.opts file but this appears to be ignored. What
am I doing wrong?

Can anyone help me with either of these point? More details (lspci, dmesg,
/var/log/messages) can be provided upon request.

Thanks in advance

Jonathan