[Thinkpad] Disappearing NIC *solved*

[Jon Etkins]

Thanks to Mario and Bruce for their suggestions, which forced me to take 
yet another look at the hardware settings.  It turns out the culprit was 
the "Deep Smart Power Down" setting, and a Google search for that term 
lead me to the following item in the ReadMe from the latest ethernet 
driver update for the T60:

  - (New) Deep Smart Power Down support for ThinkPad T60/T60p

     Deep Smart Power Down (DSPD)
     ----------------------------
     Deep Smart Power Down turns off the on-board Ethernet when link
     is down or the network cable is disconnected.  After a timeout
     period, the Ethernet will power off.  To the operating system,
     this appears as a "hot-unplugged" Ethernet.  When the network
     cable is reconnected and link is restored, the Ethernet powers
     up and functionality is fully restored.  This appears as a
     "hot-plugged" Ethernet.  This function is available in Windows
     XP and functions when the system is battery mode.

     DSPD information:
     -----------------

     To disable DSPD,
     ----------------
     1. Connect AC power to the system
     2. Open Device Manager
     3. Double-click Network adapters
     4. Double-click Intel(R) PRO/1000 PL Network Connection
     5. Click Advanced tab, Select Deep Smart Power Down, and
        change the value to Disabled


Sure enough, with that setting disabled, the NIC never goes away, and 
with it enabled the device magically appears and disappears if I connect 
or disconnect a LAN cable while running on battery - actually quite a 
cool feature that should help prolong battery life.  Armed with that 
knowledge, I'll probably leave it enabled most of the time.

Caveats:

What they *don't* tell you is that it only works if you're connected to 
a hub, router, or switch - the NIC will not power on if it's connected 
to another NIC via a crossover cable, which is exactly what I was trying 
to do when I struck problems.

And of course you have to remember to check the setting before leaving 
your desk, because if all you have available on site is a crossover 
cable and no AC adapter, there's no way to make the device reappear so 
you can change the setting!  Can you spell "catch-22," boys and girls?

Cheers,
   Jon.

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