Ok it sound wierd enough to assume that the latest
kernel 2.6.13 ethernet driver has done something wrong
with the NIC and sustain the condition after reboot or
turn off the machine.
Here is my configuration.
Laptop Asus A4500d. dmesg shows:
eth0: Yukon Gigabit Ethernet 10/100/1000Base-T Adapter
It is working as normal with 2.6.12 and winXP before.-
Today I did upgrade the kernel to 2.6.13 and it still
works. The problem is now I switch to the older kernel
that is 2.6.12.5 and .6 it no longer works. dmesg
shows like this:
eth0: Yukon Gigabit Ethernet 10/100/1000Base-T Adapter
PrefPort:A RlmtMode:Check Link State
Boot window XP now, and the link always shows that
media disconnected. So the NIC is unuseable with
WinXP, 2.6.12 __but__ still works with 2.6.13. and
power off the machine does not restore the NIC.