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Date: Mon, 22 Jan 2007 00:51:05 -0500
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Subject: Re: Loosing Ethernet Connectivity
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David Schulz wrote:
> Hello all,
>
> every once in a while i have a machine (6.1) that out of the blue,
> sometimes after days, some after 6 months, looses Ethernet Connectivity. 
When something is frequently erratic, suspect software.  But your
problem looks like intermittent hardware.  I have observed that the LAN
will be marked down if you boot without it connected. Then if you
connect the LAN and click a web bookmark, it will recover automatically
without human intervention.

CAT5 LAN cables with RJ45 plugs are not very  robust. And people tend to
handle them carelessly... stepping on them, tripping over them etc. They
are usually single strand copper which can break inside the insulation
with frequent flexing. The RJ45 plugs have poor strain relief such that
the outer insulation pulls out of the plug creating another failure point.

So for vexing problems like yours, I would examine the hardware very
closely.

Cheers,     -BobMc-