[ltp] t60 hangs when using wired ethernet

[Jeff Lessem]

I'm trying to solve a problem with the wired ethernet on a Thinkpad
T60 (2.0Ghz dual core, 2GB RAM, ATI Video).  When not using the wired
ethernet, wireless only, the computer is completely stable, and can
achieve uptimes of 30+ days.  Using the wired ethernet it hangs after
1-20 hours.

When using the wired ethernet the computer will hard lockup after a
period of time.  There is no oops, panic, or other indication.  The
computer simply stops responding to all keyboard or network input, and
the screen freezes.  The only way to bring the computer back is
holding down the power button until it turns off.

The wired ethernet is the same Intel e1000 gigabit PCIe card used in
other T60s.  This crash occurs with the hard disk installed
Debian/unstable based system, on all kernels I've tried from
2.6.17-2.6.20, using the in kernel e1000 driver or the Intel one from
http://sourceforge.net/projects/e1000/ (up through 7-4-27).  The crash
happens when using a Knoppix livecd, or a custom Debian-based livecd.

The crash only occurs if an ethernet cable is plugged into the
computer, merely loading the e1000 driver is not enough to crash the
system.

The system BIOS is the latest from Lenovo, but the problem has
occurred since the system was new (August, 2006).

I've run the DOS based PC-Doctor ethernet tests, and they complete
successfully, and can run for hours without crashing the computer.

Any advice will be appreciated.