Quoting elemint@hotpop.com:

> I am not sure if this is fixed yet but here are a few suggestions:
> 
> Is the new nic the same chipset?  
> 
> Is the driver for the nic a module or built into the kernel if it is a
> module you can modprobe "module name" and the system will let you know
> if the nic was found.
> 
> You can type lsmod to see what modules are loaded to see if your nic
> module is loaded.
> 
> I am sure knoppix might be faster but here is something else to check
> out.
> 
> http://www.ncsu.edu/resnet/runt/

Thanks for the attempt to help me. I have already compared th lsmod and noted 
that in a subsecent email.

I am not sure what good a linux on a thumb drive would do me?