[finalizedsven]

iBook g4 1.33Ghz from 2005
1.5GB ram
10.4.11

my iBook has served me well for about 4 years now, but tonight the ethernet port doesn't seem to work.
it's almost acting like the ethernet device doesn't have a driver because in the "network" pane of the control panel only the AirPort card is listed, but at the same time, the network utility seems to know it's there, and the system profiler knows it's there too.

I've tried different ethernet cables, I've tried setting it up as an internet sharing host, I've tried plugging it directly into different DHCP servers...for some reason only the airport seems to work now.

what's going on?

[ghporter]

First things first: Have you restarted the computer? If you still have the issue after a complete restart, do you have your original OS X install discs? You can use the Hardware Test disc to diagnose the Ethernet port and see if there's a hardware issue.

[finalizedsven]

Yes, I restarted and as of just now I have run and completed the hardware test. It says everything passed....so hopefully it's just a software issue, but if it is I have no idea what to do to fix it; I've never seen an apple do this before.

*** edit

somehow while just messing around with the ethernet cable, I was able to get an IP address for about a second, but I haven't been able to duplicate the effects so now I'm pretty sure the software is ok.....but there's a non-vital part of the device that's become damaged somehow, I might as well open it up

[ghporter]

Since messing with the cable made a difference, but you've tried other cables, that sounds like your actual, physical port is giving you a problem. Look at it closely, with a strong light. There should be EIGHT gold wires going in and down at an angle. They should all be parallel. Here's what the connector should look like.

One thing that sometimes happens is that one or another (sometimes more than one) of these wires gets bent to one side or stuck in a lifted position. See what you see and maybe even post a picture.

[finalizedsven]

Yeah, I've had little hunks of metal get stuck under those before which caused similar problems. However this time, I looked really closely at the port, saw nothing wrong, so I could only assume that the problem was in one of the multiple layers of the logic board....I went ahead and took off the ethernet connector's boxy enclosing and then pushed an ethernet cable down onto the pins directly so I could see clearly if there was anything wrong...which there wasn't visibly and the problem persisted. I noticed that when I pushed down REALLY hard, or pushed up really hard, that caused the connection to be made, but if I maintained the pressure I was holding for that, the logic board would eventually warp or snap. Given the fact that pushing so hard in either direction solved the problem temporarily, I can't think of anything else other than one of the middle layers of the PCB somehow got messed up. Regardless, I've confirmed there is no visible damage or corruption to the data pins, but rather something between the pins and the chipset is messed up. I'm thinking now I'll just settle for a USB ethernet adapter, like Apple's, and get the tiger drivers for it; unless you can imagine some reason to advise against that.

*** edit

So.....now that I've completely removed the ethernet box you posted a picture of (leaving the data pins intact)....it seems now that it has NO TROUBLE making ethernet connections.....the last time I posted here I tested it when it was in the exact same physical condition (freshly after I had removed the ethernet box) and it didn't work then...but now....magically....it's fine, it's almost as if nothing was ever wrong, it comes right up as a DHCP client, and the network window shows the ethernet as being actively connected

you can't imagine the level of profanity that came out of me when i saw it was working only after I had removed the box, and only after letting it sit for a few days....this stupid thing....in fact when I tested it today, I sarcastically said to myself "yeah....watch....it'll work fine now" and then ....it did......I've never been more angry to see something work

all it needs now is tape or maybe some super glue