usb_modeswitch, network-manager and pccardctl

I think I’ve made an interesting discovery. Sometimes when I’m on the train I loose my connection. Getting it running again could prove diffucult, and, like today, even a reboot of the computer doesn’t really solve everything, since network-manager doesn’t find the 3G card even after I’ve executed usb_modeswitch.

The discovery is pccardctl, and not only that program as such, but that it shouldn’t be executed with sudo. If I do pccardctl seems to hang. So, when encountering problems that cannot be solved by “disconnect / connect” in network manager I think this is the way to go:
pccardctl eject

take out the card and insert it again.
pcardctl insert
sudo usb_modeswitch

Then connect through network-manager. I will test this furter as soon as I get a chance with a crashed connection.

Running pretty good, but scared the shit out of me the other day.

Yesterday I tried to install a 3G datacard while ridin’ a train. Didn’t go particularly well. Computer hung and I had to reboot a couple of times until I gave up.

When I got home I tried to start the computer with no success. It wouldn’t start xwindows and it wouldn’t mount /home. It felt impossible to have the second hard disk corruption in two days, but I tried everything I could think of. After about 5 reboots everything came back up and has been running perfectly ever since. Scary. I will start to work on some sort of backup pretty soon.