Problem with Configuring Built-in Ethernet in Network Preferences
 

HELP! Problem with Configuring Built-in Ethernet in Network Preferences

Ever since re-booting last night, I have not been able to:

1) change the 'default' of 'Built-in Ethernet' to use anything other than PPP
2) create a new network location (not that I want to, I use 'Automatic' usually, but I can't change location even if I wanted to),
3) set Network Prefs to get an IP address via DHCP from my Asante Friendly net Router

Everything has worked fine for over six months. Then, I updated Safari, iSync, QuickTime, Security update (6/9/03) several weeks ago (with no problems) and PithHelmet (yesterday, no problem) and Gimp-Print 4.3.18 (yesterday, no problem at first). However, at some point last night, when I couldn't print to the Epson, I rebooted the iMac. [Co-incidentally, perhaps, the problem seems to be related to the installation of Gimp-print 4.3.18 (Gimp-Print 4.2.x worked fine), but I'm not confident of this correlation.]

Let me be Clear:
In Network Preferences, there is NO option under the "Configure" pull down menu (in the TCP/IP tab) for DHCP, the only choices are: "PPP", "AOL Dial Up" and "Manually." When I choose "Show: Network Port Configurations," the only choices are "Internal Modem" and "Built-in Ethernet". When I drag "Built-in Ethernet" to the top of that list, uncheck Internal Modem and hit Apply, Network Prefs seems to accept it. But when closing Network Prefs and reopening it, all the settings are back to what they were before. The same thing happens when trying to edit or create a new "Location" -- Network Prefs won't save it.


System Details:
Mac OS X 10.2.6, on a 450Mhz, slot loading iMac with 384MB RAM.

An Asante Friendlynet Cable/DSL Router, connected to a Toshiba PCX1100U Cable modem with service from Road Runner. The Router assigns IP addresses via DHCP. (The only additional security is to disable response to Pings from the WAN side and the use of a non-standard FTP port).

There are three other Macs and a LaserWriter IIf attached to the Router. Printing to the LaswerWriter works from ALL the Macs (including the iMac); all the other Macs have DHCP-assigned IP addresses (in the 192.168.123.xxx range where xxx varies between 1 and 253). All the other Macs can access the internet and can connect to each other via AppleTalk and via Timbuktu Pro. None have access to the iMac and the iMac has no access to anything except to the LaserWriter.

What I have Tried:

First, I disconnected the USB connection to the Epson printer and rebooted the iMac.

Network Utility reported that the built-in Ethernet was active, running at 100 Mb, with the proper MAC (Ethernet) address but with a default IP address of 255.145.120.0. Network preferences (under the TCP/IP tab) only allows a built-in ethernet setting of "PPP", "AOL Dial Up" or "Manual". I set the IP manually to 192.168.123.164 -- the address the Router said it was assigned at the time. (I have no idea where the AOL Dial Up setting came from, this is my wife's machine, and she accesses AOL through our ISP, not by dialup). Appletalk was enabled (under the Appletalk tab -- although I can disable it and still have no luck with DHCP).

Since the Router is set up to serve IP addresses via DHCP, I forced the release of IP addresses, changed the range of assigned addresses from 192.168.123.1 to 100 and from 192.168.123.1 to 253 and restarted the Router several times. In each case, it was properly assigning IP addresses to the other machines on the network, and according to the web-based Administration page, it has assigned 192.168.123.1 to the iMac. Looking at the AppleTalk network from a PowerMac G3 running OS 9, the iMac reports an IP address of 0.0.0.0. While the iMac's own Network Utility still reported its address as 255.145.120.0. When using "Connect to Server" in the Finder of a networked PowerBook, I can see the 0.0.0.0 device, but can't logon. Timbuktu Pro cannot scan the Mac's address. From a terminal, atlookup shows the iMac as: "ff92.78.80 Linda's Computer/Darwin"


To be safe, I ran DiskFirstAid and rebooted into Single User Mode and ran fsck (twice because it found some minor problems -- I have the system set to Journalling). It seemed like a permissions problem with a prefs file so I ran Cocktail to repair permissions (no luck); I used DiskUtility to do the same (still no luck); I manually changed the Read/Writer permissions for /var/db/SystemConfiguration/Preferences.xml to allow read/write for Staff(me) with no luck. I have uninstalled Gimp-Print 4.3.18, and PithHelmet (Safari crashes now) with no luck.

Other Observations:
When I try to access the Sharing prefs in System Preferences, the machine essentially hangs on the Spinning Beachball of Deadly Boredom (SDBD) (although I can cancel and go on from there -- I never get the Sharing Prefs panel). (I thought that since the Epson USB printer had been shared, there might be a conflict now that it was disconnected. But re-connecting it and rebooting the iMac also failed to resolve the IP address problem).

If any one has had a similar problem and SOLVED it, please let me know. If anything in the above sounds familiar, or suggests a possible solution, I'm open to most anything. (The iMac is my wife's and my manly-hood is on the line here!!)

Thanks,
-- TN

tnolen, this definitely seems weird. I remember when I was using 10.1.3, that changing some settings in the network preferences panel would be reverted back to some default settings. I never did know what caused that. I wouldn't trust classic utilities in giving you the exact IP assigned to you. Instead, if you want to be sure, enter the terminal and type: "ifconfig -a". Look for an IPv4 there. If you do not have an IP address, or if it is 0.0.0.0, then we need to go further. We will need to look at the packets being transferred between your computer and router. Disconnect the ethernet cable from your computer for a moment. Then in the terminal, type the following: "sudo tcpdump -s 0 -X -i en0". You will need to type in an administrator password if you are not root already. This will monitor packets arriving to or departing from your computer. At this moment, reconnect the ethernet cable back on. For a moment, you will see a lot of things happening. When you see that most of the traffic begins to slow down, press Control-c to stop it. Copy that information and place it on the post. We will then analyze that and determine what is happening.
AtomicTuesday

hmm, i would consider examining the file:

/var/db/SystemConfiguration/preferences.xml

and possibly renaming that and attempt to reconfigure the network settings.

still going nutz on the Hudson
 

atomictuesday:

Thanks for helping out .... I really think I am losing my mind ....

I ran ifconfig -a and there was no IPv4 indicating an IP address .... (if you want to see that output from the terminal, let me know).

So I did what you suggested next. Unfortunately, I can only print from the iMac (and my digital camera needs a firewire connection and that is ... on the iMac!). So I will be "hand coding" this out put (may I assume that you don't need to see all of the data streams ????)

====================================================
"
[localhost:~] tnolen% sudo tcpdump -s 0 -x -i en0
tcpdump: WARNING: en0: no IPv4 address assigned
tcpdump: listening on en0
-4:-31:44.263080 102.168.123.7.ipp > 192.168.123.255.ipp: udp 117
4500 0091 6a78 0000 4011 978c c0aa8 7b07
c0a8 .... it goes on for seven more lines ...

-4:-31:-44.302913 192.168.123.51.49154 > 239.255.255.253.svrloc:udp 49
4500 004d ... four more line of hexadecimal ...

-4:-31:-43.263525 192.168.123.7.ipp > 192.168.123.255.ipp: udp 79
4500 00gb 6a79 ...six more lines ....

-4:-31:-39.621436 192.168.123.51.49154 > 239.255.255.253.svrloc: udp 49
450 004d ... four more lines ...

^C
4 packets received by filter
0 packets dropped by kernel
"
====================================================


If you need all the additional lines of data let me know.

Other observations:

As I said, the LaserWriter IIf works from the iMac. The printer has a LocalTalk to Ethernet adapter from Farallon and it is connected through the Asante Router, so at some level, I know the iMac's Built-in Ethernet is somewhat functional.

If I go to the Sharing pane in System Preferences, I get the interminable spinning beachball. If I click the "Show All" icon on the bar, and then immediately click Sharing (again), then the Sharing pane opens. Interestingly, only some of the items in that menu are avaiable -- for example, Web Sharing and FTP are not -- and the info box on the right says that they are not installed in the computer and to use the OS X CDs to install them.

I was able to log on to the iMac as a Guest from my PowerBook on the LAN, but I did not have permissions (and couldn't change them) to allow me to transfer the Terminal output.

The server designation "0.0.0.0" under the Finder's "Go to Server" window actually takes me back to the PowerBook rather than the iMac. When I try to "Go to Server" from the iMac, I can see other Macs on the AppleTalk network, and can apparently log onto another Mac, but in reality, I end up logging into the iMac (this is extremely weird -- I get a logon dialog for say, Tom's PB G3, I log on with my username and password, and end up looking at the iMac's hard disk as the only volume selection! This is why I'm losing my mind ....).

In the midst of all this, we had a freakishly "exciting" lighting storm come through the Mid-Hudson Valley, knocking out power for 2 hours tonight. I disconnected my Cable modem and shut everything down but hoped that when I booted everything back up, the iMac would have miraculously healed itself. Nah!



BTW, mervTomel: I trashed the preferences.xml file you mentioned and tried to set up the network again, with no luck (if anything this is at least consistent).

Once again, I appreciate anything you guys might be able to do! Thanks,

-- Tom

any clues in /var/log/system.log ?

System log entries
 

MervTormel:
There probably are many clues in the System log and console log ... but I'm not sure what I'm looking for. There are several consistent error messages each time I reboot:
=====================================
"
localhost mach_kernel: UniEnet: Ethernet address 00:30:65:yadayadayada
localhost ConsoleMessage: Starting NetInfo
localhost SystemStarter: Loading Shared IP extension
localhost SystemStarter: Starting Apple Multicast DNS Responder
localhost mDNSResponder[228]: mDNSResponder (04/02/03 09:12:59) starting
localhostmDNSREspinder[228]: Daemon start: mDNS_Init failed - 1
localhostmach_init[2]: Server 0 in bootstrap c03 uid 0:"/usr/sbin/mDNSResponder": exited with non-zero status 255 [pid 228]
"
=====================================

I got this at least the three times I reboot after first noticing the problem several nights ago. There may be other messages of interest, but since I'm typing these in by hand from a printout, it is tedious and I'd like to know what to look for or if I'm on the right track, or if I should just suck it up and type all 20 pages of logs .....

-- Thanks,

Tom

It sounds like others have a lot more of a clue about this than I do (as normal ;) ). But have you tried a new user account? At the least it will help narrow down a corrupted preference file possibility.

merv, hayne, how can one set up the network to use DHCP through the command line? Tom, for how long did you allow tcpdump to run? Are those the only 4 packets that it recieved? If so, I do not see any communication with a server. It is simply broadcasting the packets outside, but no server responds. Honestly speaking, I only have experience examining DHCP or BootP packets. I thought such a communication would be established. I know there has got to be a program within the system which handles the communications protocol to use such as PPP or DHCP or BootP, etc. Anyone know? I'm going to do some searching tonight to study this matter further. I think that the answer may lie within the logs as merv suggests. For now, the best option may be to try nkuvu's idea. That may help, unless this is a system wide preferences file affecting you.
AtomicTuesday

nkuvu:

I did try a second account with the same results. I then created a new user account .... with the same results.

atomictuesday:

I think I may have stopped the tcpdump before it had completed, but it had slowed down to trickle by the time I stopped. I can try again ....

--- Unfortunately, due to our strom last night (which included a tornado not too far from here) RoadRunner is out and I have had to revert back to dial up .... and things are slow, or so they seem. [At least our power came back up.] I will probably work on this a little more tonight (but not too much since I have a work backlog due to power outages, etc.)

I suppose it is possible to simply do a clean install of OS X, but I'd like to make sure this problem isn't due to hardware ... and I'd rather not reinstall the OS.

Once again, thanks for any help.

-- Tom

I agree that things are very screwed up. Just the fact that you're getting PPP options for Ethernet (this should never happen) says a lot.

I would go into Network preferences, show network configurations, and then delete all of your current ports so you have no network.

Then hit the "new..." button to have it create a new configuration, and select "Built-in Ethernet" as the connection.

Note that this Ethernet label means something very different from the name of the configuration. This one means that the config is associated with your physical ethernet connection. The connection name is just a name.

Tom, I thought that the packet which was sent from the port marked as .ipp was sent towards a server and that is what was used to establish a connection with the server. Well, I found a port designated as .ipp is used for printing purposes. In the 4 packets which were displayed there were none referring to even contacting a boot server. What is more interesting to me is that when you start tcpdump, you do not have an IP assigned to you. Then all of sudden, I suppose when you connect the cable back again, you already have an IP, either 192.168.123.7 or 192.168.123.51. After you reconnect the cable back on please run "ifconfig -a" and see if you have an IP displayed there. The reason why we want to investigate these packets is because you say you are obtaining some weird IP from Network Utility. I want to see the connection with the DHCP server and see where it is going wrong. So please in order to have a clean analysis, go to the other computer in the network, and even your wife's, and turn off all sorts of sharing in the Sharing Control panel. Now, while disconnected, start tcpdump, and then hook the cable back on to the router. Make sure it is the router you are connecting it to. Then bring those packets over here. It may be more than 10 or 15 packets. If you don't feel like copying them, just copy that and place it on a floppy or zip drive if you have one, and then paste on the forum. What I am expecting is for something like an IP of 0.0.0.0 to send something to a bootp server. As well, please take a look within the directory /private/var/db/dhcpclient/leases and write the IP displayed there, onto the forum.
AtomicTuesday

houchin:
I tried what you suggested, but still, I can't seem to get any other TCP/IP options for Built-in Ethernet other than Manually, PPP and AOL Dialup.

Below is the output from Console during this exercise, and there are a number of errors regarding not having write access and non existent files (as if there is a permissions problem somewhere .... where?)

==========
Mac OS X Version 10.2.6 (Build 6L60)
2003-07-23 23:26:58.079 SystemUIServer[516] ICNInitialize failed: -536870212
Jul 23 23:27:00 localhost WindowServer[504]: CGXDisableUpdate: Updates disabled by connection 0x4c07 for over 1.000000 seconds
2003-07-23 23:27:22.077 System Preferences[519] Error: Configuration monitor failed to connect to configd server
2003-07-23 23:27:22.726 System Preferences[519] Error: Configuration monitor failed to connect to configd server
2003-07-23 23:27:23.085 System Preferences[519] Error: Configuration monitor failed to connect to configd server
2003-07-23 23:27:23.090 System Preferences[519] Error: Configuration monitor failed to connect to configd server
2003-07-23 23:27:23.115 System Preferences[519] Error: Configuration monitor failed to connect to configd server
2003-07-23 23:27:27.377 System Preferences[519] Error: Configuration monitor failed to connect to configd server
2003-07-23 23:27:27.378 System Preferences[519] *** Assertion failure in -[NSTextFieldCell _objectValue:forString:], AppKit.subproj/NSCell.m:1079
2003-07-23 23:27:27.379 System Preferences[519] Exception raised during posting of notification. Ignored. exception: Invalid parameter not
satisfying: aString != nil
2003-07-23 23:27:38.870 NetCfgTool[523] Error: Unable to obtain write access for system configuration database.
2003-07-23 23:27:38.872 System Preferences[519] Error: Couldn't commit network database changes.
2003-07-23 23:27:44.066 NetCfgTool[523] Error: Unable to obtain write access for system configuration database.
2003-07-23 23:27:44.068 System Preferences[519] Error: Couldn't commit network database changes.
2003-07-23 23:27:52.854 NetCfgTool[523] Error: Unable to obtain write access for system configuration database.
2003-07-23 23:27:52.856 System Preferences[519] Error: Couldn't commit network database changes.
2003-07-23 23:28:17.513 System Preferences[519] Error: Configuration monitor failed to connect to configd server
2003-07-23 23:28:17.520 System Preferences[519] Error: Configuration monitor failed to connect to configd server
2003-07-23 23:28:17.520 System Preferences[519] *** Assertion failure in -[NSTextFieldCell _objectValue:forString:], AppKit.subproj/NSCell.m:1079
2003-07-23 23:28:17.521 System Preferences[519] Exception raised during posting of notification. Ignored. exception: Invalid parameter not
satisfying: aString != nil
2003-07-23 23:28:27.510 System Preferences[519] Error: Configuration monitor failed to connect to configd server
2003-07-23 23:28:27.515 System Preferences[519] Error: Configuration monitor failed to connect to configd server
2003-07-23 23:28:27.516 System Preferences[519] *** Assertion failure in -[NSTextFieldCell _objectValue:forString:], AppKit.subproj/NSCell.m:1079
2003-07-23 23:28:27.517 System

==========================

-- Tom

atomictuesday:

A couple of other observations. 1) I can't even get a dialup connection via PPP using Network Preferences. 2) this may mean nothing, but when the power went out last night during the electrical storm, the iMac's clock got reset back to 1969 (not an especially happy time for me -- Jr. High). Perhaps the logicboard battery is dead? I hardly ever turn the computer off and we have the clock periodically reset using a network time server so we probably wouldn't notice it. 3) I haven't tried resetting PRAM yet. 4) I've solved my problem of not being able to access files from the iMac (see below).

BTW: In case this ever comes up for anyone else and you can't think of a way to get data from an iMac with no LAN access, no floppy drive, no superdrive. I used my digital camera's memory as a portable hard disk to transfer files to my laptop.

[ .... I was wrong when I mentioned my digital camera yesterday needing to use Firewire, it is USB]



Here is the data you requested:

First, the output of ifconfig
===============================

Last login: Wed Jul 23 23:26:54 on console
Welcome to Darwin!
[localhost:~] sysop% ifconfig -a
lo0: flags=8049<UP,LOOPBACK,RUNNING,MULTICAST> mtu 16384
inet6 ::1 prefixlen 128
inet6 fe80::1%lo0 prefixlen 64 scopeid 0x1
inet 127.0.0.1 netmask 0xff000000
gif0: flags=8010<POINTOPOINT,MULTICAST> mtu 1280
stf0: flags=0<> mtu 1280
en0: flags=8863<UP,BROADCAST,SMART,RUNNING,SIMPLEX,MULTICAST> mtu 1500
tunnel inet -->
inet6 fe80::230:65ff:fedd:3ca4%en0 prefixlen 64 scopeid 0x4
ether 00:30:65:dd:3c:a4
media: autoselect (100baseTX <full-duplex>) status: active
supported media: none autoselect 10baseT/UTP <half-duplex> 10baseT/UTP <half-duplex,hw-loopback> 10bas
eT/UTP <full-duplex> 10baseT/UTP <full-duplex,hw-loopback> 100baseTX <half-duplex> 100baseTX <half-duplex,hw-l
oopback> 100baseTX <full-duplex> 100baseTX <full-duplex,hw-loopback>
[localhost:~] sysop%

==============================

Now, the output of the tcpdump
===============================

tcpdump: WARNING: en0: no IPv4 address assigned
tcpdump: listening on en0
23:37:37.615146 192.168.123.7.51387 > 239.255.255.253.svrloc: udp 49
4500 004d 9fa4 0000 ff11 f04d c0a8 7b07
efff fffd c8bb 01ab 0039 6094 0201 0000
3120 0000 0000 fdf7 0002 656e 0000 0017
7365 7276 6963 653a 6469 7265 6374 6f72
792d 6167 656e 7400 0000 0000 00a3 ec7f
ab
23:37:40.615666 192.168.123.7.51387 > 239.255.255.253.svrloc: udp 49
4500 004d 9fa5 0000 ff11 f04c c0a8 7b07
efff fffd c8bb 01ab 0039 6094 0201 0000
3120 0000 0000 fdf7 0002 656e 0000 0017
7365 7276 6963 653a 6469 7265 6374 6f72
792d 6167 656e 7400 0000 0000 0028 129d
4c
23:37:43.616182 192.168.123.7.51387 > 239.255.255.253.svrloc: udp 49
4500 004d 9fa6 0000 ff11 f04b c0a8 7b07
efff fffd c8bb 01ab 0039 6094 0201 0000
3120 0000 0000 fdf7 0002 656e 0000 0017
7365 7276 6963 653a 6469 7265 6374 6f72
792d 6167 656e 7400 0000 0000 00c9 a51c
43
^C
3 packets received by filter
0 packets dropped by kernel
[localhost:~] sysop%

================================
That's right, only three packets. I had already disconnected the printer and other PowerMac from the network, but the PowerBook was connected, but with file (and everything else) sharing OFF. Maybe if I had the printer and PowerMac G3 on but with sharing off it would give more data? Let me know and I'll do it again.

================================

Finally, the contents of the DHCP leases file had the OLD IP address of the iMac, 192.168.123.164

================================

Thanks,
-- Tom

atomictuesday:

PS. In the tcpdump output, the IP address 192.168.123.7 is the PowerBook on the network.

-- Tom

whaaaaaaa?!

seems like a dead NIC card? or a bad cable?

is the router port's link light on?

mervTormel:

Yes, the router's link lights (2 for a 100M connection) are lit. I switched the cable to a different port on the router and ifconfig still gave the:

tunnel inet -->

I then swapped in another functioning cable, and got the same thing.

(As I said before, this is weird, but CONSISTENT!)

All the "Error: Unable to obtain write access for system configuration database" lines in the console log seems to suggest a permissions probelm, right? What do you make of them?


-- Tom

netcfgtool wants to write network prefs to:

# ll /var/db/SystemConfiguration/preferences.xml
-rw-r--r-- 1 root wheel 12k Jul 22 22:06 /var/db/SystemConfiguration/preferences.xml

have you deleted any receipts from /Library/Receipts/ ?

please report the perms on the pref file above. isn't that one you chgrp'd to staff? bad. change it back.

then, instead of running cocktail perm repair, run it from disk utility app

mervTormel:

The SystemConfiguration pref file was set to

rw-rw-r-- root wheel

but I've set it back to

rw-r---r-- root wheel

As far as I know, I haven't deleted and receipts from Library/Receipts

Disk Utility is repairing permissions as we speak. If anything comes of it, I'll post soon.

-- Tom

Well, I would expect the NIC card to be working if you even recieved those packets. Truth of the matter is that this is the weirdest thing I have seen. For some reason nothing happens when you plug your cable on, that is, no communication with the DHCP server. I am wondering why the output of ifconfig does not give an IPv4 address, it seems rather like an IPv6 address. To do one last test do this on the terminal: "arp -a". This supposedly gives you the address of your DHCP server. If I had to bet on something I would think there is something definetly wrong with your network driver. This is all that comes out of my head at this moment.
AtomicTuesday

p.s. By the way, if you can boot from OS9, do so, so as to determine whether this is a hardware issue or a software issue.

Curiouser and curiouser ....
 

atomictuesday:

Here are the results of my latest test:


Terminal test 1:
[localhost:~] sysop% arp -a
[localhost:~] sysop%


That is, nothing! I repeated it a number of times.

OS 9 Test:
I CAN boot into OS 9! ... and AppleTalk works (can share and log onto other Macs on the LAN), and my internet browser works finei.e., I can access outside sites (e.g. CNN.com), etc.

(duh! could've transfered files from OS 9)

What next? Reinstall OS X?

-- Tom

Ok, so now we know that this problem is OSX specific and has nothing to do with the physical NIC card. The only explanation that I can give to this problem is the following, maybe some kernel extension is being loaded which screws up the networking stack. Go into /System/Library/Extensions and take a good look at it. See if you see anything related to PithHelmet or Gimp-Print. As well take a look in /System/Library/StartupItems, and make sure there is nothing related to those two programs there either. If so, bring those folders or files down to the desktop, and reboot. In order to better assess search within the startup items, go into the terminal and type the following:
%cd /System/Library/StartupItems
%grep -r gimp .
%grep -r pith .
%grep -r helmet .

If any of these grep commands return anything, they will give you a path to the file where the either one of those words were found, if at all. If any file shows up, move the folder which contains that file to the desktop. Let me know what you get.
AtomicTuesday

why you picking on gimp and pithhelmet?

i don't see this as a good approach.

we have no indication that the issue is with either of those, so just whacking at the weeds isn't going to learn us anything, and may cause new issues.

atomictuesday:

Nope, there are no Gimp-print or Pith-Helmet realted files in /StartUpItems/ or /Extensions/ (well, nothing obvious).

.......... Tom

I mentioned those two programs because Tom said the problem first started when he was installing these programs. The problem cannot be with the kernel unless a kext somewhere is acting up. Tom, do this, logout for a moment, and in the username enter ">console", then login in again at the prompt. Now that we are out of window manager do, "%ifconfig -a". As well, just to check the connection, try to access a web page. Do "%curl http://www.apple.com". A bunch of html data should come up if you are connected. Also, try to run tcpdump once again after disconnecting the cable, just to see what packets show up. Copy the information to the post only if you see something related to bootp. I'm sorry but we are running out of options here.
AtomicTuesday

atomictuesday:

Doing as you suggest and running ifconig -a gives the same warning as we saw before:

"WARNING: No IPv4 address"

Running curl gives a message that basically, it can't find the internet.

Running tcpdump gives a LOT more datapackets, but no mention of bootp. Mostly I get lines similar to:

"
192.168.123.7.54600 > 237.255.255.253.svrloc: udp 49"
... and a chunk of data.

After stopping tcpdump, I get:

"25 packets received
0 lost
en0: promiscuous mode disabled"

Also: When pulling the cable, console gives the message:

"Ethernet (UniN): Link is down"

And when plugging the cable back in:

"Ethernet (UniN): Link is up at 100Mbps Full Duplex."



One thought: In watching the console log output, I noticed a number of error messages related to Timbuktu. Perhaps the Timbuktu Host, which is loaded early -- even before the login screen comes up -- is damaged.

So I removed Timbuktu -- no luck.

Another thought: Would evidence that the network driver is damaged include problems with the Sharing Prefs Panel. As I said, if I click Sharing the beach ball spins until I click System Prefences again in the bar, then clicking Sharing opens up the sharing window. When looking at the various sharing options, the info displayed on the righthand side of the window indicates that Web Sharing is not installed, FTP is not installed and printer sharing is not available. About half the time when highlighting one of those choices, System Preferences crashes, sending me to the Finder. Something is broken .....

-- Tom

As I previously stated, I think the answer may lie in a kernel extension acting up for some odd reason. We have timbuktu running in another computer with no apparent problems. Just to make sure timbuktu is not causing this, check the Extensions folder and see that nothing related to it is present there. Unless the networking driver is somehow damaged I don't know what else to suggest. If you have an external zip drive you may be able to transfer data to it. This of course is the last resort. Then would come the reinstallation of OSX. I honestly wouldn't give up, try speaking with someone experienced that can actually look and work with your computer. I wouldn't call Apple because I doubt their technicians will know anything about this. That's all I can offer.
AtomicTuesday

Final Resolution
 

OK, I've finally solved my problem (by re-installing OS X).

Since I was able to reboot into OS 9 and have a connection to my LAN, I backed up important files (1.3GB) to another Mac.

Then I used the Archive and Install option in the OS X 10.2 installer.

I checked the keep current settings and users box.

An hour later, on re-boot into OS X, everything was fine. I then went to Software Update and updated everthing (including OS X to 10.2.6).

I reinstalled GimpPrint and Timbuktu (I'm holding off on PithHelmet).

After rebooting (again) -- eveything is working perfectly.

Thanks for everyone's help.

--- Tom