The problems bringing up eth0 could be in your ifcfg-eth0 settings. Running ifconfig eth0 up with incorrect hardware settings could have changed the ifcfg-eth0 file...that may explain your new [failed] messages. Also check harddrake to see if your card is recognized. If the card is recognized in harddrake, you could try Mandrake Control Center to see if it will automatically set it up for you. If you can't configure it with control center, I would say check out the ifcfg-eth0 file to make sure there's no extra crap in it. You should be able to run ifcfg eth0 up and dhclient if the hardware is detected.