I know that this is not a problem with KnoppMyth, but I'm wondering if anyone has any thoughts...

My frontend will not start up if I have the ethernet cable plugged in. The computer will not power on at all. If I remove the ethernet cable, press the power button and then plug the cable in it works just fine...

The only thing I can think of is an issue with either the motherboard or the power supply. Thoughts?

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LinHES 8.3, 1 BE, 3 FE

Assuming it is on board ethernet, there should be a setting in BIOS to disable the ethernet "card." If it is a proper card, remove it. You can add a new ethernet card for a few bucks these days.

I had the same problem with one particular machine a while ago. I have since repacked that machine (meaning I removed the components and put them in a new case) and have not experienced the problem (knocking on the table).

It could be caused by any of a number of things, but the quick answer is that you probably have some sort of short circuit, for lack of a better term. It could be anything from an errant screw in an odd place to a bad Ethernet cable or switch. If you are feeling ambitious, I would suggest rebuilding the box. Personally, I took the lazy route and unplugged the Ethernet cable whenever I started the machine.

I've seen this kind of problem before. The power supply wont start
up because it sees that there is a small amount of power already on
it's output lines. In my case it was a modem feeding negative power
onto the +12v line and the power supply thought that it was
producing bad power and shut down before it started.

The culprit may be "ground loops" in your house wiring. Unplug
whatever is on the other end of that cable and plug it into the same
power outlet as the computer under test (even if that means running
a long extension cord) and see if that makes the problem go away.

Another possiblilty: are you running power over ethernet on that
cable?

Cliff

Not running POE, and this problem cropped up without a change in network configuration or what's plugged in. The fan on the power supply just started making an awful noise, so I'm going to replace that and will report if it fixes the problem.

It's an Asus mobo, btw, and as such has a green light on the motherboard. Whenever I plug the ethernet cable in, the light visibly dims. The only way to get it back to full brightness is to unplug the ethernet cable and then power cycle the power supply.

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LinHES 8.3, 1 BE, 3 FE

This was a problem with the power supply, btw.

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LinHES 8.3, 1 BE, 3 FE