You mentioned tcpdump.


Are the addresses on your network, can you ping some of them.

I can't get back to the box until tomorrow, but will reply then. I really appreciate all your feedback.
John

David--
when I ping the broadcast (ping -b 144.171.77.255), here's what I get:
[jhoway@localhost jhoway] ping -b 144.171.77.255
WARNING: pinging broadcast address
PING 144.171.77.255 (144.171.77.255) from 144.171.77.38 : 56(84) bytes of data.
Warning: time of day goes back, taking countermeasures.
64 bytes from 144.171.77.38: icmp_seq=0 ttl=255 time=133 usec
64 bytes from 144.171.77.38: icmp_seq=0 ttl=255 time=45 usec
64 bytes from 144.171.77.38: icmp_seq=0 ttl=255 time=22 usec
64 bytes from 144.171.77.38: icmp_seq=0 ttl=255 time=22 usec

--- 144.171.77.255 ping statistics ---
4 packets transmitted, 4 packets received, 0% packet loss
round-trip min/avg/max/mdev = 0.022/0.055/0.133/0.046 ms

DP, don't leave me now! I've hit deadends with this problem in every other forum I've tried--you're the only one to stick with this!!
thanks!
jdh

I ran into a problem with one onboard NIC and one NIC card in a system. Even if I disabled it Linux would try to use it as eth0. If you think this can not be your problem then it seems like one or both of two things,

1.) You are not transmitting through the switch.

See if lights are flashing on the switch when you run the ping -b command.
Put a working hub in place of the switch.
Try a different cable.
Try a different port on the switch.


2.) The default route or your ip address is not correct.

Check a working computer to confirm the default gateway and make sure your ip address is allowed access.