The usually simple task of adding an ethernet NIC is turning into such a nightmare I'm remembering why I abandoned linux years ago in favor of FreeBSD. The system absolutely refused to use a particular ethernet card, even going so far as to have configs like:

eth0: no device
eth1: no device
eth2: e1000 port 1
eth3: e1000 port 2

under no circumstances will it allow the e1000 card to be eth0 and 1, even though its probed first. It insists on loading ieee1394 even though its commented out in autoconfig and /etc/modules.

While all of this autoconfig stuff is powerful at start, there needs to be some easier way to make a simple change like deciding that the onboard nvidia ethernet controller is a piece of crap and being able to use something else.

I miss rc.modules so much. I really do.

DT

Can't you disable the onbord ethernet in BIOS and take the OS out of the picture? That seems like the correct course if you deem the onboard to be unusable.

On the other hand does it really matter which number gets assigned? If the interface is unused it should be marked as "down" In my experience there is a trade-off between ease-of-use; and I-want-it-my-way customization. Maybe knoppix isn't for you; many people report happiness with Gentoo. sounds like you might too.

To my mind it's like getting a tailored suit versus buying off-the-rack. If you buy off-the-rack don't bitch about the fit; if you insist on the tailored fit be prepared to invest. If you want a tailored OS the investment is your time.

***To all the KM Maintainers/Contributors: I apologize for comparing knoppix, and by extension KM, to a cheap suit. I really didn't mean it in a bad way...