Wired internet is not working for Marvell card in Toshiba Satellite

[MajinSaha]

I did all your points.
2) I tried both

sudo ifconfig eth0 down
sudo ifconfig eth0 10.200.48.100

and

sudo ifonfig eth0 down
sudo ifconfig eth0 165.91.119.145

and nothing changed.
The last address is the one I found by typing "ifconfig eth0" in the other linux machine to which I plugged the same cable.
3) When I typed "sudo modprobe -rv sk98lin", the output was "FATAL: Module sk98lin is in use.", but I proceeded with other commands anyway. I tried both combinations of 2) in the end. Nothing changed.
4) I checked the hardware address, it still was ff:ff:...
Then I typed your suggested command, and after "ifconfig eth0" I saw the hardware address you suggested, i.e. a0:b0:56:c0:00:00. Point 2) provided no connection though.

By the way, I remember installing my Ubuntu about two years ago, and I still had no cable connection there, there were no flashes.

[varunendra]

The last address is the one I found by typing "ifconfig eth0" in the other linux machine to which I plugged the same cable.

You should try a slightly different address. The same address won't work as long as it is being used by some other device on the network. With some routers, it won't work even if the other device to which it was originally assigned is disconnected (only a few minutes ago), as they tend to remember and expect the same MAC address as well.

3) When I typed "sudo modprobe -rv sk98lin", the output was "FATAL: Module sk98lin is in use.", but I proceeded with other commands anyway. I tried both combinations of 2) in the end. Nothing changed.

3 won't work if the first command failed. To do it otherwise, you can blacklist the sk98lin driver to permanently prevent it from loading automatically -

echo "blacklist sk98lin" | sudo tee -a /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf

Then reboot and check -

lsmod | egrep 'sk98|sky'

You should only see sky2 driver in the output, not sk98lin. If even sky2 isn't listed, load it manually -

sudo modprobe -v sky2

..and check lsmod again to confirm it got loaded. Once it is sky2 in use, try all other options I suggested with that one again.

Oh, and please confirm this also - When it is (only) sky2 driver in use, do you get a more sensible MAC (HWaddr) address in ifconfig? If not, I highly suspect a corrupt card or firmware, since you have already tried resetting the BIOS. In that case, probably an Ethernet to USB adapter is your only hope.

[MajinSaha]

I repeated the procedure with another IP address: I added 1 or 2 to the last three digist of the address I obtained earlier: 165.91.119.146 or 165.91.119.147. Nothing changed.
Then, I blacklisted sk98lin as you suggested. Then I rebooted. I remind you that my sk98lin driver has to be reinstalled each time I reboot, even "modprobe sk98lin" alone does not load it. But this time I did not reinstall it. I executed

lsmod | egrep 'sk98|sky'

and the output was

sky2                   53628  0

All this time, there had been no flashes in the outlet since reboot, which means the driver was not active ( if it was there at all ).
Then I tried old options:

sudo ifconfig eth0 down
sudo ifconfig eth0 165.91.119.146

The output was

SIOCSIFFLAGS: Cannot assign requested address

Loading driver via

sudo modprobe -v sky2

did not help remove this message.
However, this error message disappeared after I assigned a hardware address

sudo ifconfig eth0 hw ether a0:b0:56:c0:00:00

and tried those commands again.
I saw flashes appear in the outlet and the system try to connect to the internet. This is the first time I see the adapter returning back to life without reinstalling a sk98lin driver from scratch! The connection did not manage to be established though, as before...

[varunendra]

So with either drivers, the HWaddr remanis the same (ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff)?

If so, I'm inclined to believe it is a broken card, but let's see the outputs of (with driver sky2 loaded, and HWaddr assigned) -

sudo mii-tool

Or much better, install 'ethtool' while being connected to internet via wifi -

sudo apt-get install ethtool

..and post back its output -

sudo ethtool eth0

[MajinSaha]

To make it clear for you, this is my log after the fresh boot:

saha@saha-laptop:~$ sudo ifconfig eth0
[sudo] password for saha: 
eth0      Link encap:Ethernet  HWaddr ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff  
          BROADCAST MULTICAST  MTU:1500  Metric:1
          RX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000 
          RX bytes:0 (0.0 B)  TX bytes:0 (0.0 B)
          Interrupt:17 

saha@saha-laptop:~$ sudo modprobe -v sky2
saha@saha-laptop:~$ sudo ifconfig eth0
eth0      Link encap:Ethernet  HWaddr ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff  
          BROADCAST MULTICAST  MTU:1500  Metric:1
          RX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000 
          RX bytes:0 (0.0 B)  TX bytes:0 (0.0 B)
          Interrupt:17 

saha@saha-laptop:~$ sudo ifconfig eth0 hw ether a0:b0:56:c0:00:00
saha@saha-laptop:~$ sudo ifconfig eth0
eth0      Link encap:Ethernet  HWaddr a0:b0:56:c0:00:00  
          BROADCAST MULTICAST  MTU:1500  Metric:1
          RX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000 
          RX bytes:0 (0.0 B)  TX bytes:0 (0.0 B)
          Interrupt:17 

saha@saha-laptop:~$ sudo modprobe -v sky2
saha@saha-laptop:~$ sudo ifconfig eth0 down
saha@saha-laptop:~$ sudo ifconfig eth0 165.91.119.146

Only after the last command I saw flashes ( so it takes both hw ether and IP address to make adapter try to connect ).
Then I typed

saha@saha-laptop:~$ sudo ifconfig eth0 down

to shut it off.
Only after that, I generated the output you requested:

saha@saha-laptop:~$ sudo mii-tool
eth0: negotiated 100baseTx-FD, link ok

After the installation of ethtool, I got

saha@saha-laptop:~$ sudo ethtool eth0
Settings for eth0:
	Supported ports: [ TP ]
	Supported link modes:   10baseT/Half 10baseT/Full 
	                        100baseT/Half 100baseT/Full 
	Supported pause frame use: No
	Supports auto-negotiation: Yes
	Advertised link modes:  10baseT/Half 10baseT/Full 
	                        100baseT/Half 100baseT/Full 
	Advertised pause frame use: No
	Advertised auto-negotiation: No
	Speed: 100Mb/s
	Duplex: Full
	Port: Twisted Pair
	PHYAD: 0
	Transceiver: internal
	Auto-negotiation: on
	MDI-X: Unknown
	Supports Wake-on: pg
	Wake-on: d
	Current message level: 0x000000ff (255)
			       drv probe link timer ifdown ifup rx_err tx_err
	Link detected: yes

[varunendra]

When it has accepted both HWaddr and IP, please try -

sudo ethtool -s eth0 speed 100 duplex full autoneg off

If this fails to bring it up, please also try "speed 10".

There are two interrupts related parameters available with the driver that you may use ("disable_msi" and "legacy_pme", both of them accept values "1" (on) or "0" (off)), sometimes they can do the magic. For example, to try parameter "disable_msi", do this -

sudo modprobe -rv sky2
sudo modprobe -v sky2 disable_msi=1

This will be a temporary change that will be lost at next boot (or a driver unload --> reload cycle, without parameter). If it seems to help, it can be made permanent.

Please keep in mind that the IPs you are trying is just a guess. Even if everything else is good, it won't work if such an IP is assigned that is already in use. Besides, I have no idea which of the combinations of the fixes are required. If it is the interrupt call error, the above parameters should fix it and nothing else should be needed.

To be sure, just try some combinations of the fixes (only parameters first, then with the manually assigned HWaddr/IP) and report back what you tried, and we may look into some further options if possible.

[MajinSaha]

I tried what you said.
The first command did not do anything. However, the command with speed 10 makes it even worse, the connection is no longer seen in the list of the available connections. So I returned to speed 100.
Then I played with interruptions.
Trying

sudo modprobe -rv sky2
sudo modprobe -v sky2 XXX

alone (where XXX is one of the 4 variants: disable_msi=0, disable_msi=1, legacy_pme=0, legacy_pme=1) does not make the adapter try to connect. Apparently it needs hardware and IP address.
So I did 4 successions of the following commands:

sudo modprobe -rv sky2
sudo modprobe -v sky2 XXX
sudo ifconfig eth0 hw ether a0:b0:56:c0:00:00
sudo ifconfig eth0 YYY

Here XXX is one of the 4 variants: disable_msi=0, disable_msi=1, legacy_pme=0, legacy_pme=1.
YYY was one of 4-5 IP addresses I tried within each succession, with last 3 digits ranging from 144 to 149.
The output after driver removal was

rmmod /lib/modules/3.2.0-57-generic-pae/kernel/drivers/net/ethernet/marvell/sky2.ko

The output after driver loading was

insmod /lib/modules/3.2.0-57-generic-pae/kernel/drivers/net/ethernet/marvell/sky2.ko XXX

Nothing change in my connections. It tries to connect forever, as before, and posts "Wired connection 1 disconnected" every few minutes.
I was lazy typing

sudo ifconfig eth0 down

before assigning new IP address. Was that important to do?
I think changing IP address does not really affect the way it tries to connect, only the first command matters after hardware address assignment. This is because the way it tries to connect on the top right corner of the screen is not correlated with what IP address I type and when I type it after the previous one ( 30 seconds or 1 minute later ). This is only my observation and is not necessarily true.

[varunendra]

I was lazy typing

sudo ifconfig eth0 down

before assigning new IP address. Was that important to do?

No it is not. The IP address needs to be assigned only once and as long as it sticks across different other operations you do on the interface, it is not required again. Of course it must be a correct and available IP on the network, not one which is already in use or 'reserved for' another device on the network.

Whatever we have gotten from the interface so far as a response still indicates it may be a broken card or firmware. As a last attempt to get something that confirms it is NOT broken, you can take a look at syslog when it 'tries' to connect.

The moment its light flashes and it seems to be trying to connect, please run this command -

tail -40f /var/log/syslog

The output will show last 40 lines from /var/log/syslog file, and keep watching it for any further messages. Watch it for a few seconds or a couple of minutes (if the new messages seem to be network related), then press Ctrl-Z to stop the monitoring and post back the entire output here. It may give us some clue to confirm where the remaining problem is.

One more thing - In an attempt to test windows driver on the card, you may try HBCD (Hiren's Boot CD) which includes WinXP-PE (Pre-Installed Environment of Windows XP). It offers a very limited functionality of Windows XP in live environment and has a lot of inbuilt network drivers. You get a "Start Networking" wizard icon on its desktop which tries to load correct driver for your card and establish a connection using DHCP (if dhcp is enabled on your network). You can also add your own windows xp drivers to its live environment but that shouldn't be needed for this card.

If even windows drivers fail to activate and use this card, it is almost certainly broken. The windows command to check IP and MAC addresses is "ipconfig", although I'm not sure if it is available or not on HBCD. If even there the MAC address is the same ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff, I have no further suggestions other than discarding this port and using an Ethernet-to-USB adapter.

[MajinSaha]

The output for your command was:

Dec 23 13:11:02 saha-laptop NetworkManager[826]: <info> Policy set 'tamulink-wpa' (wlan0) as default for IPv4 routing and DNS.
Dec 23 13:11:03 saha-laptop kernel: [54338.775257] sky2 0000:02:00.0: eth0: Link is up at 100 Mbps, full duplex, flow control rx
Dec 23 13:11:03 saha-laptop kernel: [54338.776107] ADDRCONF(NETDEV_CHANGE): eth0: link becomes ready
Dec 23 13:11:03 saha-laptop NetworkManager[826]: <info> (eth0): carrier now ON (device state 30)
Dec 23 13:11:05 saha-laptop NetworkManager[826]: <info> Auto-activating connection 'Wired connection 1'.
Dec 23 13:11:05 saha-laptop NetworkManager[826]: <info> Activation (eth0) starting connection 'Wired connection 1'
Dec 23 13:11:05 saha-laptop NetworkManager[826]: <info> (eth0): device state change: disconnected -> prepare (reason 'none') [30 40 0]
Dec 23 13:11:05 saha-laptop NetworkManager[826]: <info> Activation (eth0) Stage 1 of 5 (Device Prepare) scheduled...
Dec 23 13:11:05 saha-laptop NetworkManager[826]: <info> Activation (eth0) Stage 1 of 5 (Device Prepare) started...
Dec 23 13:11:05 saha-laptop NetworkManager[826]: <info> Activation (eth0) Stage 2 of 5 (Device Configure) scheduled...
Dec 23 13:11:05 saha-laptop NetworkManager[826]: <info> Activation (eth0) Stage 1 of 5 (Device Prepare) complete.
Dec 23 13:11:05 saha-laptop NetworkManager[826]: <info> Activation (eth0) Stage 2 of 5 (Device Configure) starting...
Dec 23 13:11:05 saha-laptop NetworkManager[826]: <info> (eth0): device state change: prepare -> config (reason 'none') [40 50 0]
Dec 23 13:11:05 saha-laptop NetworkManager[826]: <info> Activation (eth0) Stage 2 of 5 (Device Configure) successful.
Dec 23 13:11:05 saha-laptop NetworkManager[826]: <info> Activation (eth0) Stage 3 of 5 (IP Configure Start) scheduled.
Dec 23 13:11:05 saha-laptop NetworkManager[826]: <info> Activation (eth0) Stage 2 of 5 (Device Configure) complete.
Dec 23 13:11:05 saha-laptop NetworkManager[826]: <info> Activation (eth0) Stage 3 of 5 (IP Configure Start) started...
Dec 23 13:11:05 saha-laptop NetworkManager[826]: <info> (eth0): device state change: config -> ip-config (reason 'none') [50 70 0]
Dec 23 13:11:05 saha-laptop NetworkManager[826]: <info> Activation (eth0) Beginning DHCPv4 transaction (timeout in 45 seconds)
Dec 23 13:11:05 saha-laptop dhclient: Internet Systems Consortium DHCP Client 4.1-ESV-R4
Dec 23 13:11:05 saha-laptop NetworkManager[826]: <info> dhclient started with pid 20822
Dec 23 13:11:05 saha-laptop NetworkManager[826]: <info> Activation (eth0) Beginning IP6 addrconf.
Dec 23 13:11:05 saha-laptop dhclient: Copyright 2004-2011 Internet Systems Consortium.
Dec 23 13:11:05 saha-laptop NetworkManager[826]: <info> Activation (eth0) Stage 3 of 5 (IP Configure Start) complete.
Dec 23 13:11:05 saha-laptop dhclient: All rights reserved.
Dec 23 13:11:05 saha-laptop dhclient: For info, please visit https://www.isc.org/software/dhcp/
Dec 23 13:11:05 saha-laptop dhclient: 
Dec 23 13:11:05 saha-laptop NetworkManager[826]: <info> (eth0): DHCPv4 state changed nbi -> preinit
Dec 23 13:11:05 saha-laptop dhclient: Listening on LPF/eth0/a0:b0:56:c0:00:00
Dec 23 13:11:05 saha-laptop dhclient: Sending on   LPF/eth0/a0:b0:56:c0:00:00
Dec 23 13:11:05 saha-laptop dhclient: Sending on   Socket/fallback
Dec 23 13:11:05 saha-laptop dhclient: DHCPDISCOVER on eth0 to 255.255.255.255 port 67 interval 3
Dec 23 13:11:08 saha-laptop dhclient: DHCPDISCOVER on eth0 to 255.255.255.255 port 67 interval 5
Dec 23 13:11:13 saha-laptop dhclient: DHCPDISCOVER on eth0 to 255.255.255.255 port 67 interval 8
Dec 23 13:11:15 saha-laptop kernel: [54350.568069] eth0: no IPv6 routers present
Dec 23 13:11:21 saha-laptop dhclient: DHCPDISCOVER on eth0 to 255.255.255.255 port 67 interval 15
Dec 23 13:11:25 saha-laptop NetworkManager[826]: <info> (eth0): IP6 addrconf timed out or failed.
Dec 23 13:11:25 saha-laptop NetworkManager[826]: <info> Activation (eth0) Stage 4 of 5 (IPv6 Configure Timeout) scheduled...
Dec 23 13:11:25 saha-laptop NetworkManager[826]: <info> Activation (eth0) Stage 4 of 5 (IPv6 Configure Timeout) started...
Dec 23 13:11:25 saha-laptop NetworkManager[826]: <info> Activation (eth0) Stage 4 of 5 (IPv6 Configure Timeout) complete.
Dec 23 13:11:36 saha-laptop dhclient: DHCPDISCOVER on eth0 to 255.255.255.255 port 67 interval 21
Dec 23 13:11:50 saha-laptop NetworkManager[826]: <warn> (eth0): DHCPv4 request timed out.
Dec 23 13:11:50 saha-laptop NetworkManager[826]: <info> (eth0): canceled DHCP transaction, DHCP client pid 20822
Dec 23 13:11:50 saha-laptop NetworkManager[826]: <info> Activation (eth0) Stage 4 of 5 (IPv4 Configure Timeout) scheduled...
Dec 23 13:11:50 saha-laptop NetworkManager[826]: <info> Activation (eth0) Stage 4 of 5 (IPv4 Configure Timeout) started...
Dec 23 13:11:50 saha-laptop NetworkManager[826]: <info> (eth0): device state change: ip-config -> failed (reason 'ip-config-unavailable') [70 120 5]
Dec 23 13:11:50 saha-laptop NetworkManager[826]: <warn> Activation (eth0) failed.
Dec 23 13:11:50 saha-laptop NetworkManager[826]: <info> Activation (eth0) Stage 4 of 5 (IPv4 Configure Timeout) complete.
Dec 23 13:11:50 saha-laptop NetworkManager[826]: <info> (eth0): device state change: failed -> disconnected (reason 'none') [120 30 0]
Dec 23 13:11:50 saha-laptop NetworkManager[826]: <info> (eth0): deactivating device (reason 'none') [0]
Dec 23 13:11:50 saha-laptop NetworkManager[826]: <info> (eth0): taking down device.
Dec 23 13:11:50 saha-laptop kernel: [54385.207250] sky2 0000:02:00.0: eth0: disabling interface
Dec 23 13:11:50 saha-laptop NetworkManager[826]: <warn> (eth0): failed to change interface MAC address
Dec 23 13:11:50 saha-laptop NetworkManager[826]: <warn> (eth0): failed to reset MAC address to FF:FF:FF:FF:FF:FF
Dec 23 13:11:50 saha-laptop NetworkManager[826]: <info> (eth0): bringing up device.
Dec 23 13:11:50 saha-laptop kernel: [54385.213981] sky2 0000:02:00.0: eth0: enabling interface
Dec 23 13:11:50 saha-laptop NetworkManager[826]: <info> (eth0): carrier now OFF (device state 30, deferring action for 4 seconds)
Dec 23 13:11:50 saha-laptop kernel: [54385.216892] ADDRCONF(NETDEV_UP): eth0: link is not ready
Dec 23 13:11:50 saha-laptop NetworkManager[826]: <info> Policy set 'tamulink-wpa' (wlan0) as default for IPv4 routing and DNS.
Dec 23 13:11:50 saha-laptop NetworkManager[826]: <info> Policy set 'tamulink-wpa' (wlan0) as default for IPv4 routing and DNS.
Dec 23 13:11:51 saha-laptop kernel: [54386.682926] sky2 0000:02:00.0: eth0: Link is up at 100 Mbps, full duplex, flow control rx
Dec 23 13:11:51 saha-laptop kernel: [54386.683697] ADDRCONF(NETDEV_CHANGE): eth0: link becomes ready
Dec 23 13:11:51 saha-laptop NetworkManager[826]: <info> (eth0): carrier now ON (device state 30)
Dec 23 13:11:53 saha-laptop NetworkManager[826]: <info> Auto-activating connection 'Wired connection 1'.
Dec 23 13:11:53 saha-laptop NetworkManager[826]: <info> Activation (eth0) starting connection 'Wired connection 1'
Dec 23 13:11:53 saha-laptop NetworkManager[826]: <info> (eth0): device state change: disconnected -> prepare (reason 'none') [30 40 0]
Dec 23 13:11:53 saha-laptop NetworkManager[826]: <info> Activation (eth0) Stage 1 of 5 (Device Prepare) scheduled...
Dec 23 13:11:53 saha-laptop NetworkManager[826]: <info> Activation (eth0) Stage 1 of 5 (Device Prepare) started...
Dec 23 13:11:53 saha-laptop NetworkManager[826]: <info> Activation (eth0) Stage 2 of 5 (Device Configure) scheduled...
Dec 23 13:11:53 saha-laptop NetworkManager[826]: <info> Activation (eth0) Stage 1 of 5 (Device Prepare) complete.
Dec 23 13:11:53 saha-laptop NetworkManager[826]: <info> Activation (eth0) Stage 2 of 5 (Device Configure) starting...
Dec 23 13:11:53 saha-laptop NetworkManager[826]: <info> (eth0): device state change: prepare -> config (reason 'none') [40 50 0]
Dec 23 13:11:53 saha-laptop NetworkManager[826]: <info> Activation (eth0) Stage 2 of 5 (Device Configure) successful.
Dec 23 13:11:53 saha-laptop NetworkManager[826]: <info> Activation (eth0) Stage 3 of 5 (IP Configure Start) scheduled.
Dec 23 13:11:53 saha-laptop NetworkManager[826]: <info> Activation (eth0) Stage 2 of 5 (Device Configure) complete.
Dec 23 13:11:53 saha-laptop NetworkManager[826]: <info> Activation (eth0) Stage 3 of 5 (IP Configure Start) started...
Dec 23 13:11:53 saha-laptop NetworkManager[826]: <info> (eth0): device state change: config -> ip-config (reason 'none') [50 70 0]
Dec 23 13:11:53 saha-laptop NetworkManager[826]: <info> Activation (eth0) Beginning DHCPv4 transaction (timeout in 45 seconds)
Dec 23 13:11:53 saha-laptop NetworkManager[826]: <info> dhclient started with pid 20827
Dec 23 13:11:53 saha-laptop NetworkManager[826]: <info> Activation (eth0) Beginning IP6 addrconf.
Dec 23 13:11:53 saha-laptop NetworkManager[826]: <info> Activation (eth0) Stage 3 of 5 (IP Configure Start) complete.
Dec 23 13:11:53 saha-laptop dhclient: Internet Systems Consortium DHCP Client 4.1-ESV-R4
Dec 23 13:11:53 saha-laptop dhclient: Copyright 2004-2011 Internet Systems Consortium.
Dec 23 13:11:53 saha-laptop dhclient: All rights reserved.
Dec 23 13:11:53 saha-laptop dhclient: For info, please visit https://www.isc.org/software/dhcp/
Dec 23 13:11:53 saha-laptop dhclient: 
Dec 23 13:11:53 saha-laptop NetworkManager[826]: <info> (eth0): DHCPv4 state changed nbi -> preinit
Dec 23 13:11:53 saha-laptop dhclient: Listening on LPF/eth0/a0:b0:56:c0:00:00
Dec 23 13:11:53 saha-laptop dhclient: Sending on   LPF/eth0/a0:b0:56:c0:00:00
Dec 23 13:11:53 saha-laptop dhclient: Sending on   Socket/fallback
Dec 23 13:11:53 saha-laptop dhclient: DHCPDISCOVER on eth0 to 255.255.255.255 port 67 interval 3
Dec 23 13:11:56 saha-laptop dhclient: DHCPDISCOVER on eth0 to 255.255.255.255 port 67 interval 4
Dec 23 13:12:00 saha-laptop dhclient: DHCPDISCOVER on eth0 to 255.255.255.255 port 67 interval 10
Dec 23 13:12:03 saha-laptop kernel: [54398.784052] eth0: no IPv6 routers present
Dec 23 13:12:10 saha-laptop dhclient: DHCPDISCOVER on eth0 to 255.255.255.255 port 67 interval 14
Dec 23 13:12:13 saha-laptop NetworkManager[826]: <info> (eth0): IP6 addrconf timed out or failed.
Dec 23 13:12:13 saha-laptop NetworkManager[826]: <info> Activation (eth0) Stage 4 of 5 (IPv6 Configure Timeout) scheduled...
Dec 23 13:12:13 saha-laptop NetworkManager[826]: <info> Activation (eth0) Stage 4 of 5 (IPv6 Configure Timeout) started...
Dec 23 13:12:13 saha-laptop NetworkManager[826]: <info> Activation (eth0) Stage 4 of 5 (IPv6 Configure Timeout) complete.
Dec 23 13:12:24 saha-laptop dhclient: DHCPDISCOVER on eth0 to 255.255.255.255 port 67 interval 9
Dec 23 13:12:33 saha-laptop dhclient: DHCPDISCOVER on eth0 to 255.255.255.255 port 67 interval 21
Dec 23 13:12:38 saha-laptop NetworkManager[826]: <warn> (eth0): DHCPv4 request timed out.
Dec 23 13:12:38 saha-laptop NetworkManager[826]: <info> (eth0): canceled DHCP transaction, DHCP client pid 20827
Dec 23 13:12:38 saha-laptop NetworkManager[826]: <info> Activation (eth0) Stage 4 of 5 (IPv4 Configure Timeout) scheduled...
Dec 23 13:12:38 saha-laptop NetworkManager[826]: <info> Activation (eth0) Stage 4 of 5 (IPv4 Configure Timeout) started...
Dec 23 13:12:38 saha-laptop NetworkManager[826]: <info> (eth0): device state change: ip-config -> failed (reason 'ip-config-unavailable') [70 120 5]
Dec 23 13:12:38 saha-laptop NetworkManager[826]: <warn> Activation (eth0) failed.
Dec 23 13:12:38 saha-laptop NetworkManager[826]: <info> Activation (eth0) Stage 4 of 5 (IPv4 Configure Timeout) complete.
Dec 23 13:12:38 saha-laptop NetworkManager[826]: <info> (eth0): device state change: failed -> disconnected (reason 'none') [120 30 0]
Dec 23 13:12:38 saha-laptop NetworkManager[826]: <info> (eth0): deactivating device (reason 'none') [0]
Dec 23 13:12:38 saha-laptop NetworkManager[826]: <info> (eth0): taking down device.
Dec 23 13:12:38 saha-laptop kernel: [54433.213931] sky2 0000:02:00.0: eth0: disabling interface
Dec 23 13:12:38 saha-laptop NetworkManager[826]: <warn> (eth0): failed to change interface MAC address
Dec 23 13:12:38 saha-laptop NetworkManager[826]: <warn> (eth0): failed to reset MAC address to FF:FF:FF:FF:FF:FF
Dec 23 13:12:38 saha-laptop NetworkManager[826]: <info> (eth0): bringing up device.
Dec 23 13:12:38 saha-laptop NetworkManager[826]: <info> (eth0): carrier now OFF (device state 30, deferring action for 4 seconds)
Dec 23 13:12:38 saha-laptop kernel: [54433.221049] sky2 0000:02:00.0: eth0: enabling interface
Dec 23 13:12:38 saha-laptop kernel: [54433.222308] ADDRCONF(NETDEV_UP): eth0: link is not ready
Dec 23 13:12:38 saha-laptop NetworkManager[826]: <info> Policy set 'tamulink-wpa' (wlan0) as default for IPv4 routing and DNS.
Dec 23 13:12:38 saha-laptop NetworkManager[826]: <info> Policy set 'tamulink-wpa' (wlan0) as default for IPv4 routing and DNS.
Dec 23 13:12:39 saha-laptop kernel: [54434.773774] sky2 0000:02:00.0: eth0: Link is up at 100 Mbps, full duplex, flow control rx
Dec 23 13:12:39 saha-laptop kernel: [54434.774544] ADDRCONF(NETDEV_CHANGE): eth0: link becomes ready
Dec 23 13:12:39 saha-laptop NetworkManager[826]: <info> (eth0): carrier now ON (device state 30)
Dec 23 13:12:41 saha-laptop NetworkManager[826]: <info> Auto-activating connection 'Wired connection 1'.
Dec 23 13:12:41 saha-laptop NetworkManager[826]: <info> Activation (eth0) starting connection 'Wired connection 1'
Dec 23 13:12:41 saha-laptop NetworkManager[826]: <info> (eth0): device state change: disconnected -> prepare (reason 'none') [30 40 0]
Dec 23 13:12:41 saha-laptop NetworkManager[826]: <info> Activation (eth0) Stage 1 of 5 (Device Prepare) scheduled...
Dec 23 13:12:41 saha-laptop NetworkManager[826]: <info> Activation (eth0) Stage 1 of 5 (Device Prepare) started...
Dec 23 13:12:41 saha-laptop NetworkManager[826]: <info> Activation (eth0) Stage 2 of 5 (Device Configure) scheduled...
Dec 23 13:12:41 saha-laptop NetworkManager[826]: <info> Activation (eth0) Stage 1 of 5 (Device Prepare) complete.
Dec 23 13:12:41 saha-laptop NetworkManager[826]: <info> Activation (eth0) Stage 2 of 5 (Device Configure) starting...
Dec 23 13:12:41 saha-laptop NetworkManager[826]: <info> (eth0): device state change: prepare -> config (reason 'none') [40 50 0]
Dec 23 13:12:41 saha-laptop NetworkManager[826]: <info> Activation (eth0) Stage 2 of 5 (Device Configure) successful.
Dec 23 13:12:41 saha-laptop NetworkManager[826]: <info> Activation (eth0) Stage 3 of 5 (IP Configure Start) scheduled.
Dec 23 13:12:41 saha-laptop NetworkManager[826]: <info> Activation (eth0) Stage 2 of 5 (Device Configure) complete.
Dec 23 13:12:41 saha-laptop NetworkManager[826]: <info> Activation (eth0) Stage 3 of 5 (IP Configure Start) started...
Dec 23 13:12:41 saha-laptop NetworkManager[826]: <info> (eth0): device state change: config -> ip-config (reason 'none') [50 70 0]
Dec 23 13:12:41 saha-laptop NetworkManager[826]: <info> Activation (eth0) Beginning DHCPv4 transaction (timeout in 45 seconds)
Dec 23 13:12:41 saha-laptop NetworkManager[826]: <info> dhclient started with pid 20829
Dec 23 13:12:41 saha-laptop NetworkManager[826]: <info> Activation (eth0) Beginning IP6 addrconf.
Dec 23 13:12:41 saha-laptop NetworkManager[826]: <info> Activation (eth0) Stage 3 of 5 (IP Configure Start) complete.
Dec 23 13:12:41 saha-laptop dhclient: Internet Systems Consortium DHCP Client 4.1-ESV-R4
Dec 23 13:12:41 saha-laptop dhclient: Copyright 2004-2011 Internet Systems Consortium.
Dec 23 13:12:41 saha-laptop dhclient: All rights reserved.
Dec 23 13:12:41 saha-laptop dhclient: For info, please visit https://www.isc.org/software/dhcp/
Dec 23 13:12:41 saha-laptop dhclient: 
Dec 23 13:12:41 saha-laptop NetworkManager[826]: <info> (eth0): DHCPv4 state changed nbi -> preinit
Dec 23 13:12:41 saha-laptop dhclient: Listening on LPF/eth0/a0:b0:56:c0:00:00
Dec 23 13:12:41 saha-laptop dhclient: Sending on   LPF/eth0/a0:b0:56:c0:00:00
Dec 23 13:12:41 saha-laptop dhclient: Sending on   Socket/fallback
Dec 23 13:12:41 saha-laptop dhclient: DHCPDISCOVER on eth0 to 255.255.255.255 port 67 interval 3
Dec 23 13:12:44 saha-laptop dhclient: DHCPDISCOVER on eth0 to 255.255.255.255 port 67 interval 4
Dec 23 13:12:44 saha-laptop wpa_supplicant[895]: WPA: Group rekeying completed with 00:0b:85:99:3d:4c [GTK=CCMP]
^Z
[1]+  Stopped                 tail -40f /var/log/syslog

There are two internet cables in my office, one plugged to the university provided computer and the other being the one I'm currently struggling with. I checked the ip address of the first cable on the first machine, and it is 165.91.119.145, despite the fact that it was absolutely the same address when I tried the second cable a few days ago on the same computer. Can both outlets have the same ip address assigned to them? I'm really not familiar with how this ip-internet stuff works, I'm just using it.
I will try to use HBCD within next few days and will let you know how it goes.
So, since we may end up with broken firmware, I'm curious what I could have done so it broke?
By the way, how does firmware differ from either software or hardware? I get it it's somewhere in between, but what is it precisely? It's actually the first time I hear such word.

[varunendra]

There are two internet cables in my office, one plugged to the university provided computer and the other being the one I'm currently struggling with. I checked the ip address of the first cable on the first machine, and it is 165.91.119.145, despite the fact that it was absolutely the same address when I tried the second cable a few days ago on the same computer. Can both outlets have the same ip address assigned to them?

This indicates one of three reasons -
1) Your other computer has been given a permanent IP address manually in the computer itself. In that case, its IP will remain always the same until changed manually.
2) It has been getting a 'fixed' IP from the router through DHCP (in the router). DHCP can be configured to always assign the same IP to a particular machine which it identifies by its MAC address.
3) The DHCP lease had not expired when you checked the IP again with the second cable. Even though it was a different cable, it was connected to the same router (or DHCP server) which had granted that particular IP to that particular computer (or in other words, to that particular MAC address).

If you really checked the cable a 'few days' ago and this 'few days' means more than 48 hrs., the 3rd possibility is highly unlikely, because generally DHCP leases don't last more than 2-3 days (although it can be configured to last as long as desired).

My guess is that the university router or dhcp server may have been configured to not connect to any machine which it does not recognize. This is specially done in some office setups. If so, no external computer will be able to connect via those extra cables (by default). In that case, you can make your troublesome computer mimic the same MAC address (HWaddr) as the one which is easily getting connected. Of course you will have to disconnect that one when you try to connect the one we are trying to troubleshoot.

So as a test, note down the MAC address of the second computer which has a working connection, then disconnect it. Using the same "sudo ifconfig.." command, assign the same MAC address to your computer, then connect it to the same cable which was connected to the second computer. If that gets you connected, it is the university's networking policy that is preventing it from getting connected (by not accepting an unknown MAC address).

However, the weird ff:ff:.... address with multiple drivers is a strong indication of a fault at either the driver or the card level and so the chance of success with above experiment is very little.

So, since we may end up with broken firmware, I'm curious what I could have done so it broke?

While it can be any of the other reasons like a buggy card, wearing out of electronic components, some physical damage or system crash during its operation, the most common cause of such faults is some abnormal power supply or power surge on the card. Most of the logical chips are highly sensitive to power ratings and can't stand even half volts higher than they are supposed to get.

That being said, the firmware is just a special kind of software, and it can get corrupted due to any reason which can corrupt a normal software, most often - accidentally.

By the way, how does firmware differ from either software or hardware? I get it it's somewhere in between, but what is it precisely? It's actually the first time I hear such word.

From Wikipedia -

In electronic systems and computing, firmware is the combination of persistent memory and program code and data stored in it.

In a very generalized form, it is a miniature Operating System software which controls the device.

Normal OS and Software are usually installed by the user as per their needs, can be very versatile, and they work on a varying set of data generally supplied by the user.

In contrast, the firmware is embedded in the device (or in some cases, loaded in the device just before it becomes operational), does some very specific job (of controlling the device), and works with a fixed set of data which is also stored as a part of it.

Hope this gives a rough difference between the OS, Software and firmware.