New Install FC5 Thinkpad 600e 2645-4AU 3com Megahertz 574B eth0 Fails to Activate

[Terin Lyr D'Amico]

Hello,

I've been trying to install FC5 on a Thinkpad 600e (2645-4AU). I'm
installing via a good DVD image.

I can get through the installation process without a hitch (if I pick the
right packages), and when I bootup, I have two problems.

1. I don't have network connectivity.
2. Sound doesn't work.

I'm sure I can fix the sound issue. I fixed it with FC4 before, but what's
the sense if I can't get the network card working?

The problem does not exist with a fresh FC4 install. I installed it, and
networking worked fine.

Installed FC5, and it doesn't work, so I know I don't have a hardware issue.

I've tried two different cards - a Xircom cardbus card, and a 3com 574.

The O/S can't even identify/see the Cardbus card, but can identify/see the
3com.

So, it appears FC5 has an issue with Cardbus.

That's OK, because I prefer to use the 3com.

When I try to activate the 3com card (DHCP), it fails to determine the IP
information for eth0.

I noticed on bootup that the system was disabling IRQ 10. After disabling
apmd and cpuspeed, I stopped seeing that message during bootup, although it
may still be getting disabled.

I tried:

1. Adding irqpoll to grub.conf.
2. Adding acpi=noirq.
3. Disabling cpuspeed and apmd services.
4. Updating the BIOS to the latest (and last) version.
5. Adding acpi=ht
6. Configuring eth0 with static IP.  I suspect it didn't work because my
router is set for DHCP.  I have to keep router as DHCP because of my VOIP
service.

Again, I can duplicate that networking works with FC4 and not with FC5. I've
installed/reinstalled both multiple times over the past few days.

Without the network connectivity, I can't download any files to possibly
update/apply patches.

I also can't copy and paste any info from the system, since it has no
network connectivity.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I'm anxious to "play" with FC5.

Regards,

Terin