# Networking works on the LiveCD, not on the base system.

## MasonS

I went ahead and used genkernel and confirmed that all the modules loaded by the livecd are present on my base system. The only differences I can see are that the livecd uses netplug and the ethernet devices are in a different order. I've got three (!) on this new motherboard. The device times out on my base system. I've got symlinks for all three to net.lo.

ifconfig -a - The firewire device is actually eth2 on the livecd.

```
eth0      Link encap:UNSPEC  HWaddr 00-11-D8-00-01-3A-13-78-00-00-00-00-00-00-00-00  

          BROADCAST MULTICAST  MTU:1500  Metric:1

          RX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0

          TX packets:7 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0

          collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000 

          RX bytes:0 (0.0 b)  TX bytes:2324 (2.2 Kb)

eth1      Link encap:Ethernet  HWaddr 00:1A:92:D7:ED:B9  

          BROADCAST MULTICAST  MTU:1500  Metric:1

          RX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0

          TX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:7 overruns:0 carrier:0

          collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000 

          RX bytes:0 (0.0 b)  TX bytes:2422 (2.3 Kb)

          Interrupt:21 Base address:0x6000 

eth2      Link encap:Ethernet  HWaddr 00:1A:92:D8:D0:C3  

          BROADCAST MULTICAST  MTU:1500  Metric:1

          RX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0

          TX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0

          collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000 

          RX bytes:0 (0.0 b)  TX bytes:0 (0.0 b)

          Interrupt:20 Base address:0xe000 

lo        Link encap:Local Loopback  

          inet addr:127.0.0.1  Mask:255.0.0.0

          UP LOOPBACK RUNNING  MTU:16436  Metric:1

          RX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0

          TX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0

          collisions:0 txqueuelen:0 

          RX bytes:0 (0.0 b)  TX bytes:0 (0.0 b)
```

/etc/conf.d/net

```
modules=( "dhcpcd" )

config_eth0=( "dhcp" )

dhcp_eth0="nodns nontp nonis"

config_eth1=( "dhcp" )

dhcp_eth1="nodns nontp nonis"

config_eth2=( "dhcp" )

dhcp_eth2="nodns nontp nonis"
```

route

```
Kernel IP routing table

Destination     Gateway         Genmask         Flags Metric Ref    Use Iface

loopback        *               255.0.0.0       U     0      0        0 lo
```

mii-tool - says something like "SIOCGMIIPHY on eth0,1,2 failed: Operation not supported." It does the same on the livecd, though.

----------

## mw007

What happens when you type 

```
dhcpcp -d ethX
```

Replace ethX with each respective adapter that you think should be working.

----------

## MasonS

They all do the same:

```
Info, eth1: dhcpcd 3.0.16 starting

Info, eth1: hardware address = 00:1a:92:d7:ed:b9

Info, eth1: broadcasting for a lease

Debug, eth1: sending DHCP_DISCOVER with xid 1520113337

Debug, eth1: waiting on select for 20 seconds

Debug, eth1: sending DHCP_DISCOVER with xid 1520113337

Debug, eth1: sending DHCP_DISCOVER with xid 1520113337

Debug, eth1: sending DHCP_DISCOVER with xid 1520113337

Debug, eth1: sending DHCP_DISCOVER with xid 1520113337

Debug, eth1: sending DHCP_DISCOVER with xid 1520113337

Debug, eth1: sending DHCP_DISCOVER with xid 1520113337

Info, eth1: exiting
```

EDIT: Someone in the forum had success with udhcp, but it didn't work for me. It got stuck in discovery also.

----------

## MasonS

On the livecd, dhcpcd -d eth0 returns:

```
Info, MAC address = 00:1a:92:d7:ed:b9

Debug, broadcasting DHCP_REQUEST for 192.168.1.101

Debug, broadcastAddr option is missing in DHCP server response. Assuming 192.168.1.255

Debug, dhcpIPaddrLeaseTime=86400 in DHCP server response.

Debug, dhcpT1value is missing in DHCP server response. Assuming 43200 sec

Debug, dhcpT2value is missing in DHCP server response. Assuming 75600 sec

Debug, DHCP_ACK received from  (192.168.1.1)

Debug, broadcasting ARPOP_REQUEST for 192.168.1.101

Info, verified 192.168.1.101 address is not in use

Info, your IP address = 192.168.1.101

Debug, orig hostname = livecd
```

It also had an older version of dhcpcd (2.0.5) and I tried downgrading, but it still times out at DCHP_DISCOVER. The livecd uses DHCP_REQEST - is that significant?

----------

## MasonS

I'm fighting despair. This is a bump, hoping for the best.

----------

## MasonS

If I refresh the client list on my router, then I can see my base system show up briefly as it send DHCP_DISCOVER and disappear shortly thereafter. I thought that the router might be dropping it, so I tried a static IP which doesn't seem to work (though I may not have done it properly).

I tried dhcping which said that there was no response. That wasn't much of a surprise.

I think it might be kernel-related. I tried saying no to all firewire drivers, but for some reason my two on-board controllers are still at eth1 and eth2 (on the livecd they're eth0,1 and the firewire is eth2). Tomorrow I'll configure my own kernel and see what happens.

----------

## mw007

Have you tried setting up a small network between two computers with a cross-over cable? See if you can at least get ping to work between them and that will give us some insight as to what exactly is wrong (driver or dhcp).

----------

## thpani

Please post the output of

```
dmesg | grep -i eth
```

----------

## poly_poly-man

My post explains it all. eth1394, the IP-over-firewire driver, is taking up eth0. Your correct network adapter is either eth1 or eth2.

That's why I think my topic should be stickied.

hih,

poly-p man

----------

## MasonS

dmesg | grep -i eth

```
forcedeth.c: Reverse Engineered nForce ethernet driver. Version 0.60.

forcedeth: using HIGHDMA

eth0: forcedeth.c: subsystem: 01043:cb84 bound to 0000:00:11.0

forcedeth: using HIGHDMA

eth1: forcedeth.c: subsystem: 01043:cb84 bound to 0000:00:12.0

eth2: no link during initialization.
```

I also did the crossover network per mw007's suggestion. It didn't work. I boot a copy of the livecd on a laptop and tried setting it up on a partition with Ubuntu and got a ping going. When I boot into my base system it doesn't work. (The crossover is on eth2.) Is this right?

```
modules_eth2=( "ifconfig" )

config_eth2=( "192.168.1.100 netmask 255.255.255.0" )
```

What I find really confusing is that the kernel on my base system would assign eth0 to the firewire device and eth1,2 to the onboard devices while on the livecd the firewire device is on eth2. How is that decided? module-loading order? It's especially strange that the onboard devices are eth1,2 without an eth0. I saw poly_poly-man's post and recompiled a basic genkernel except that I said no to all firewire drivers...

EDIT: Never mind the device naming issue. I found the udev rules and fixed them. It doesn't solve the larger problem, though.

----------

## MasonS

I tried downgrading the kernel to the same as that of the live cd and configuring it with genkernel. It didn't help.

I configured my own kernel and setup networking as a static ip and I still can't ping my router.

When I ping to the machine with a crossover cable there's no response and no error. When I ping from it, the network is unreachable.

I have no idea what the problem could be. The hardware's fine - I'm on it right now in Ubuntu. Are there any particular packages on the livecd that I might be missing? I installed netplug already..

----------

## NeddySeagoon

MasonS,

Lets start at the beginning. Boot normally and run 

```
ifconfig -a
```

CAn you see your interfaces ?

If not, the kernel modules are not loaded, and perhaps hot compiled.

Post your lspci and we can tell you the modules you need.

This post will help with some checks and maybe even allow you to fix things.

One trap for the unwary is that interfaces are not started in a deterministic manner, so ethX is not bound to a particular phyisical port

You can spot this noting which HWAddr belongs to which ethX

----------

## MasonS

ifconfig -a

```
eth0      Link encap:Ethernet  HWaddr 00:1A:92:D7:ED:B9  

          inet addr:192.168.0.2  Bcast:192.168.0.255  Mask:255.255.255.0

          UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST  MTU:1500  Metric:1

          RX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0

          TX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0

          collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000 

          RX bytes:0 (0.0 b)  TX bytes:512 (512.0 b)

          Interrupt:23 Base address:0xe000 

eth1      Link encap:Ethernet  HWaddr 00:1A:92:D8:D0:C3  

          UP BROADCAST MULTICAST  MTU:1500  Metric:1

          RX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0

          TX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0

          collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000 

          RX bytes:0 (0.0 b)  TX bytes:0 (0.0 b)

          Interrupt:22 

lo        Link encap:Local Loopback  

          inet addr:127.0.0.1  Mask:255.0.0.0

          UP LOOPBACK RUNNING  MTU:16436  Metric:1

          RX packets:4 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0

          TX packets:4 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0

          collisions:0 txqueuelen:0 

          RX bytes:448 (448.0 b)  TX bytes:448 (448.0 b)
```

lspci

```
00:00.0 Host bridge: nVidia Corporation Unknown device 03a1 (rev a2)

00:00.1 RAM memory: nVidia Corporation Unknown device 03ac (rev a1)

00:00.2 RAM memory: nVidia Corporation Unknown device 03aa (rev a1)

00:00.3 RAM memory: nVidia Corporation Unknown device 03a9 (rev a1)

00:00.4 RAM memory: nVidia Corporation Unknown device 03ab (rev a1)

00:00.5 RAM memory: nVidia Corporation Unknown device 03a8 (rev a2)

00:00.6 RAM memory: nVidia Corporation Unknown device 03b5 (rev a1)

00:00.7 RAM memory: nVidia Corporation Unknown device 03b4 (rev a1)

00:01.0 RAM memory: nVidia Corporation Unknown device 03ad (rev a1)

00:01.1 RAM memory: nVidia Corporation Unknown device 03ae (rev a1)

00:01.2 RAM memory: nVidia Corporation Unknown device 03af (rev a1)

00:01.3 RAM memory: nVidia Corporation Unknown device 03b0 (rev a1)

00:01.4 RAM memory: nVidia Corporation Unknown device 03b1 (rev a1)

00:01.5 RAM memory: nVidia Corporation Unknown device 03b2 (rev a1)

00:01.6 RAM memory: nVidia Corporation Unknown device 03b3 (rev a1)

00:02.0 RAM memory: nVidia Corporation Unknown device 03b6 (rev a1)

00:02.1 RAM memory: nVidia Corporation Unknown device 03bc (rev a1)

00:02.2 RAM memory: nVidia Corporation Unknown device 03ba (rev a1)

00:03.0 PCI bridge: nVidia Corporation Unknown device 03b7 (rev a1)

00:06.0 PCI bridge: nVidia Corporation Unknown device 03b9 (rev a1)

00:07.0 PCI bridge: nVidia Corporation Unknown device 03bb (rev a1)

00:09.0 RAM memory: nVidia Corporation MCP55 Memory Controller (rev a1)

00:0a.0 ISA bridge: nVidia Corporation MCP55 LPC Bridge (rev a2)

00:0a.1 SMBus: nVidia Corporation MCP55 SMBus (rev a2)

00:0a.2 RAM memory: nVidia Corporation MCP55 Memory Controller (rev a2)

00:0b.0 USB Controller: nVidia Corporation MCP55 USB Controller (rev a1)

00:0b.1 USB Controller: nVidia Corporation MCP55 USB Controller (rev a2)

00:0d.0 IDE interface: nVidia Corporation MCP55 IDE (rev a1)

00:0e.0 IDE interface: nVidia Corporation MCP55 SATA Controller (rev a2)

00:0e.1 IDE interface: nVidia Corporation MCP55 SATA Controller (rev a2)

00:0e.2 IDE interface: nVidia Corporation MCP55 SATA Controller (rev a2)

00:0f.0 PCI bridge: nVidia Corporation Unknown device 0370 (rev a2)

00:0f.1 Audio device: nVidia Corporation MCP55 High Definition Audio (rev a2)

00:11.0 Bridge: nVidia Corporation MCP55 Ethernet (rev a2)

00:12.0 Bridge: nVidia Corporation MCP55 Ethernet (rev a2)

00:13.0 PCI bridge: nVidia Corporation Unknown device 0376 (rev a2)

00:14.0 PCI bridge: nVidia Corporation Unknown device 0374 (rev a2)

00:15.0 PCI bridge: nVidia Corporation Unknown device 0374 (rev a2)

00:16.0 PCI bridge: nVidia Corporation Unknown device 0378 (rev a2)

00:17.0 PCI bridge: nVidia Corporation Unknown device 0375 (rev a2)

00:18.0 PCI bridge: nVidia Corporation Unknown device 0377 (rev a2)

01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: nVidia Corporation G70 [GeForce 7600 GS] (rev a1)
```

I do see my interfaces and I've done everything the post you linked to suggested already. I found that the module I need to use is forcedeth, though a mistake on my part is definitely possible. I also said no to eth1394 (all firewire support, actually).

I reboot three times to be sure and I think udev is consistently binding 00:1A:92:D7:ED:B9 to eth0.

On the plus side, I found that I couldn't assign a static IP to a particular device without there was some connection to the router. So, there is something happening. Is forcedeth incorrect?

----------

## Robert S

The problem may lie in the file /etc/udev/rules.d/70-persistent-net.rules.  Change the devices that are assigned to eth* to the order you want then reboot.  I had this problem when I transferred my OS onto a new PC.  See https://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic-t-569240-highlight-.html

Good luck   :Wink: 

----------

## NeddySeagoon

MasonS,

Forcedeth is correct and your eth0 has an IP, so things are looking good.

can you 

```
ping 72.14.207.99
```

what about

```
ping google.com
```

If the ping by numbers works but by name fails, your name resolution is broken

look in /etc/resolv.conf  for a line starting nameserver.

You may insert 

```
nameserver 4.2.2.1
```

to test but it will drop out when your dhcp lease is renewed.

If thats the issue, post your /etc/conf.d/net

----------

## MasonS

I'd had a problem where they were on eth1 and eth2, but I did change the udev rules and now they're in an order that makes sense. eth0 is the one on top.. :Smile:  I don't think your problem applies to mine.

----------

## MasonS

```
PING 72.14.207.99 (72.14.207.99) 56(84) bytes of data.

From 192.168.0.2 icmp_seq=2 Destination Host Unreachable
```

The ping to google.com was an unknown host, of course. I stopped using DHCP because another thread suggested that that was a common problem. This is my /etc/conf.d/net and it works on the livecd:

```
config_eth0=( "192.168.0.2 netmask 255.255.255.0" )

routes_eth0=( "default via 192.168.0.1" )
```

----------

## NeddySeagoon

MasonS,

please post the output of 

```
routes -n
```

Try your network cable in both ports - eth0 may well have swapped from the liveCD, even if its stable now.

The error suggests it cant even reach your router. Does ping 192.168.0.1 work ?

Again, try the network cable in both ports.

----------

## MasonS

route -n

```
Kernel IP routing table

Destination     Gateway         Genmask         Flags Metric Ref    Use Iface

192.168.0.0     0.0.0.0         255.255.255.0   U     0      0        0 eth0

127.0.0.0       0.0.0.0         255.0.0.0       U     0      0        0 lo

0.0.0.0         192.168.0.1     0.0.0.0         UG    0      0        0 eth0
```

I tried the network cable in both ports and pinging 192.168.0.1 says that the destination is unreachable.

Thank you for giving me so much attention today, NeddySeagoon.

----------

## NeddySeagoon

MasonS,

Everything seems in order.

Go back to the liveCD and do 

```
route -n
```

 there, when the network works.

Also do ifconfig and make a note of the IP address and HWAddr of the working interface.

I'm beginning to suspect that the liveCD gets an IP in another subnet

----------

## MasonS

I noticed that the livecd uses one one of the DHCP addresses. Here's the routing table:

```
Kernel IP routing table

Destination     Gateway         Genmask         Flags Metric Ref    Use Iface

192.168.0.0     0.0.0.0         255.255.255.0   U     0      0        0 eth0

127.0.0.0       0.0.0.0         255.0.0.0       U     0      0        0 lo

0.0.0.0         192.168.0.1     0.0.0.0         UG    0      0        0 eth0
```

Here's the ifconfig from the livecd:

```
eth0      Link encap:Ethernet  HWaddr 00:1A:92:D7:ED:B9  

          inet addr:192.168.0.100  Bcast:192.168.0.255  Mask:255.255.255.0

          UP BROADCAST NOTRAILERS RUNNING MULTICAST  MTU:1500  Metric:1

          RX packets:58 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0

          TX packets:59 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0

          collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000 

          RX bytes:9489 (9.2 Kb)  TX bytes:6260 (6.1 Kb)

          Interrupt:22 Base address:0x6000 

lo        Link encap:Local Loopback  

          inet addr:127.0.0.1  Mask:255.0.0.0

          UP LOOPBACK RUNNING  MTU:16436  Metric:1

          RX packets:8 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0

          TX packets:8 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0

          collisions:0 txqueuelen:0 

          RX bytes:560 (560.0 b)  TX bytes:560 (560.0 b)
```

The only difference I see is that NOTRAILERS options. But I couldn't figure out how to set that in the ifconfig man page. The hardware address is on the same interface on the base system.

----------

## NeddySeagoon

MasonS,

The liveCD uses DHCP, so it JustWorks without you running net setup.

Some routers will not route statically assigned IPs unless the router knows the MAC address too.

Wireless routers are particularly prone to this 'feature'.

Ensure you have dhcpcd installed and put

```
config_eth0=( "dhcp" )

dhcpcd_eth0="-t 10" # Timeout after 10 seconds

dhcp_eth0="release nontp nonis" # Only get an address
```

into your /etc/conf.d/net file.

This is almost straight out of the handbook but I have removed the nodns because you will want dhcp to provide dns information

----------

## MasonS

I followed the handbook quite well, but I took your suggestion to no avail.  I came to Gentoo after I couldn't get a printer to work in Slackware. It was the exact same situation - all the package versions were the same, all the configs the same but they just didn't work. I'll try the vanilla-sources, but I expect I'll have to try another distribution. I hope it brings me as much joy as Gentoo.

----------

## MasonS

The vanilla-sources didn't help. I ran through all the ethtool options and there were a few differences. I don't know if they're at all useful...

ethtool -k eth0 (Base system has "generic segmentation offload: off" and the livecd doesn't have anything for that option.)

```
---- LiveCD ----

Offload parameters for eth0:

rx-checksumming: on

tx-checksumming: on

scatter-gather: on

tcp segmentation offload: on

udp fragmentation offload: off

---- Base system ----

Offload parameters for eth0:

rx-checksumming: on

tx-checksumming: on

scatter-gather: on

tcp segmentation offload: on

udp fragmentation offload: off

generic segmentation offload: off
```

ethtool -i eth0 (It's a different driver version. I had downgraded to the same kernel version. I may try that again, just to be sure.)

```
---- LiveCD ----

driver: forcedeth

version: 0.57

firmware-version: 

bus-info: 0000:00:11.0

---- Base system ----

driver: forcedeth

version: 0.60

firmware-version: 

bus-info: 0000:00:11.0
```

ethtool -t eth0 offline (The offline test fails for the base system with an interrupt of one. What does that mean?)

```
---- LiveCD ----

The test result is PASS

The test extra info:

link      (online/offline)    0

register  (offline)           0

interrupt (offline)           0

loopback  (offline)           0

---- Base system ----

The test result is FAIL

The test extra info:

link      (online/offline)    0

register  (offline)           0

interrupt (offline)           1

loopback  (offline)           0
```

----------

## MasonS

I bought a NIC and it happens to use the tulip driver. It works and it only cost $10. I wish I'd done it sooner!

----------

## NeddySeagoon

MasonS,

Hmm - 'the tulip driver' is realy a suit of related parts. Some chip sets that use the tulip driver are very picky about which parts of the driver are available and which are not. Others don't care, beyond a performace impact for missing parts.

----------

## MasonS

In my excitement I was imprecise - it uses the tulip module (beyond that I'm fairly ignorant). I'm going to continue to investigate the on-board device's problem, but I can at least get my system up.

----------

## PraetorZero

Have you made any progress in figuring this out yet?   I'm experiencing a similar issue with one of the onboard nic's on my mothboard.

----------

## NeddySeagoon

PraetorZero,

Tell us about your onboard NICs. Post the Ethernet information from lspci

Do they work with the liveCD and not your own kernel?

----------

## kilya

I have the same problem, unfortunately. DHCP works fine on the LiveCD, but just times out using my own kernel. I've even tried using gen-kernel, but it's a no-go aswell.

Oh, and I only have one NIC.

This is my lspci.

```
livecd ~ # lspci

00:00.0 Host bridge: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT8377 [KT400/KT600 AGP] Host Bridge (rev 80)

00:01.0 PCI bridge: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT8237 PCI Bridge

00:0f.0 RAID bus controller: VIA Technologies, Inc. VIA VT6420 SATA RAID Controller (rev 80)

00:0f.1 IDE interface: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT82C586A/B/VT82C686/A/B/VT823x/A/C PIPC Bus Master IDE (rev 06)

00:10.0 USB Controller: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT82xxxxx UHCI USB 1.1 Controller (rev 81)

00:10.1 USB Controller: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT82xxxxx UHCI USB 1.1 Controller (rev 81)

00:10.2 USB Controller: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT82xxxxx UHCI USB 1.1 Controller (rev 81)

00:10.3 USB Controller: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT82xxxxx UHCI USB 1.1 Controller (rev 81)

00:10.4 USB Controller: VIA Technologies, Inc. USB 2.0 (rev 86)

00:11.0 ISA bridge: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT8237 ISA bridge [KT600/K8T800/K8T890 South]

00:11.5 Multimedia audio controller: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT8233/A/8235/8237 AC97 Audio Controller (rev 60)

00:11.6 Communication controller: VIA Technologies, Inc. AC'97 Modem Controller (rev 80)

00:12.0 Ethernet controller: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT6102 [Rhine-II] (rev 78)

01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: nVidia Corporation NV17 [GeForce4 MX 420] (rev a3)
```

----------

## NeddySeagoon

kilya,

You need to use the via-rhine kernel module.

Look in 

```
ifconfig -a
```

for eth0. If its missing, do 

```
modprobe via-rhine
```

if there were no errors, check ifconfig -a  again.

If all is well 

```
/etc/init.d/net.eth0 restart
```

should make you network work.

Should you get an error from modprobe - you will need to add via-rhine to your kernel.

----------

## kilya

Thanks for the reply.

I have the NIC loaded, and it's actually sending the DHCP_DISCOVER's, just like for MasonS, but after that it just times out.

Same error with the NIC loaded as a module.

----------

## NeddySeagoon

kilya,

Try the same solution - suggest an IP address you would like.

Its beginning to sound like a DHCP problem. I would not be surprised to learn that dhcpcd on the liveCD is a different version to the one in your install. Can you check ?

```
emerge -vp dhcpcd 
```

will show the version you have now.  I'm not sure if dhcpcd supports -v or -V or some other way of determining the version since my network is all static, I don't have it

----------

## kilya

Okay, it's definately a bug in dhcpd (the versions differ). I "solved" it by installing pump instead.

Good for now, I suppose!

----------

## PraetorZero

 *NeddySeagoon wrote:*   

> PraetorZero,
> 
> Tell us about your onboard NICs. Post the Ethernet information from lspci
> 
> Do they work with the liveCD and not your own kernel?

 

After almost a week of troubleshooting, I think I've got it narrowed down to a problem with my router.   Had a DD-WRT WRT54G acting as the firewall with a WRT55AG acting as an access point for wireless and a gigabit switch for the desktops.  The DD-WRT completely died earlier in the week and I think did some damage (somehow) to the WRT55AG.   I say this, because I had reset the config on the WRT55AG to act as the firewall + access point with the desktops still plugged into the switch. 

I had an extra router lying around so I thought I would test with that.  Lo and behold, I'm now able to connect on my Marvell Yukon 88E8056 using the Sky2 drive again. 

I still don't understand why I could connect to the internet using the (apparently) defective WRT55AG using Vista or the gentoo live cd, but not with my normal, everyday, gentoo install.  The mind boggles.   Thanks for the offer of help though.   :Smile: 

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