[SOLVED] requesting assistance with GRUB boot parameters, please

[Old-Polack]

Correct, old-polack; that functions precisely as described - thank you!  I edited /etc/rc.d/rc.local to include /sbin/pcmcia-socket-startup as a second line, save the file, check that the executable flag is set, and upon reboot the netcard is initialised and eth0 is up.

Thereby also flagging this thread as [SOLVED], I suppose.  :-)

For future reference, rc.local is kind of a catch all for system commands you want executed at each boot, and can't seem to find a proper place. During the boot process, it is the last file sourced after all the other items are done, before starting the X server. Those items that fail during boot are still being sought by the system, so when, for instance, your socket startup finally executes, the system finishes the network startup.

Had the network not come up, you could have also added;

service network restart

to a separate line, after the one you already added. That would pop that sucker right up.

[vc]

The unit still has a few more problems; however, they're all hardware in nature and therefore maintenance-related:  the fan, in particular, is jamming as the system heats up, which leads to the system hanging after a period of time; the LCD display connection is loose, occasionally causing the display to suddenly 'white-screen'; the CMOS battery is shot; etc. - yet despite such, the system itself is installed and updated and functioning now, nevertheless!  Not doing so poorly at all actually, for an 'obsolete' old business-class laptop - following a minor teardown and cleanup, it should once again be in proper order.

I wonder how well the forthcoming 2010 Enlightenment release could run on it?