> The NIC is el-cheapo no-name hardware.  It is not removable.
>      Please tell me I don't need to go browsing through the linux hardware 
> compatibility lists. 

Lots more information is needed.  Mainly what Card/Chipset is it?  (you 
can generally get this by doing lspci -vv (even if its part of the 
motherboard).  Then we can confirm you have the proper driver installed 
and go from there.

If its on board and newer machine its very likely a 'realtek' which is 
supported both in 2.2 and 2.4 series.

-Derek