[lug] dead network ../.. compaq

[Holshouser, David]

OK, this is semi-Linux, semi-general computer knowledge.

I have a RH6.2 box at my brothers place acting as firewall, IP masq, 
gateway (to @home cable), internal dhcpd, and smb server. 

My brother's Compaq Presario 4660 has recently started getting very 
sporadic connection activity. After testing everything I could think 
of (restarting network/dhcpd, tcpdump->ping hisIP, new rj45, new nic),
I couldn't find anything wrong with the network. 

So last night I took my home machine down to his house and plugged in.
It turns out that one rh45 was bad afterall, but the real dinger is,
my machine ran great for a little while, went sporadic, and then was 
great for the rest of the night. When my machine was connecting, it
got much faster connection speeds than he has gotten since he got 
cable (maybe I'm just biased since it's my machine).

My conclusion is that his motherboard is flaking out on him and needs 
to be replaced, and my machine just caught a normal hick-up.  I'm going 
to leave my machine with him for a week or so, to let him catch up on 
email and just to be sure that the sporadic connection doesn't come 
back to my machine.

Any other things I should check before replacing the motherboard?

As for the more general computer knowledge, his machine is a compaq...

I've got a spare, old, 486 baby-AT case and am willing to toss his 
mobo/case, keep his other noncompaq parts, and have to replace 
nothing but motherboard, video, and sound.
He has a PII-300 and upgraded PC100 RAM. Can that PII run reliably 
on a 100mhz bus if we buy a mobo that can handle it? Just to be sure, 
the PII-350's were the first Intel processor's to be OEM shipped running 
on a 100mhz bus, right?

I'll goto Tom's to check on mobo's for that processor.

--
David Holshouser
Engineer I
Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp.
(303)939-5085  dholshou at ball.com