[clue-tech] home network mystery

[Collins Richey]

I have a sudden failure of Linux systems to communicate with my home network.

Here's the setup:

Comcast cable -> modem -> Netgear router -> 4 local connections. 1
connection goes to a WinXP PC (currently working), 1 connection to
this PC (currently booted and working with WinXP), 2 other connections
are currently unused (occasional use by laptops). The router is
192.168.0.1 and gives out leases 192.168.0.n. Nothing about this setup
has changed for a coon's age. The router responds to
http://192.168.0.1 and confirms that  the setup is unchanged.

I rebooted this PC to WinXP to checkout a soundcard. Put in a PCI
soundcard yesterday to see if I could get any sound from Linux; the
onboard sound has failed to work on Linux. WinXP came up, reset the
drivers for the new sound card, and sound was working.

Shutdown WinXP, and the shutdown was delayed while WinXP downloaded
and applied 25 updates. Reboot of WinXP OK and network working.

Since that point, none of my Linux distros on this box can get a DHCP
lease. I have CentOS4.3, Debian Etch, and Kubuntu 6.06. The ethernet
connection is working, since WinXP can get a lease. I've tried
switching the cables. I've rebooted the Cable modem and the router.

I'm stumped. If it were just Kubuntu and Debian I could understand,
since Ubuntu and Debian installers have some difficulty (erratic
rsults) getting a DHCP lease. Debian based network stuff (my
experience) isn't that reliable. But even the CentOS distro fails, and
that has always worked.

Any suggestions.

As an aside, the CentOS setup now plays sounds, but I can't get either
of the Debian based distros to make a sound. Yes, sound card is
unmuted, and all the expected modules are lodaded. The sound module is
ensonic esnnn (not booted now, so don't remember) in all cases.

It's a bummer to have to fall back on WinXP.

-- 
Collins Richey
     If you fill your heart with regrets of yesterday and the worries
     of tomorrow, you have no today to be thankful for.