Ok, I think it is fixed. Here's what I have found, summarised for the list so I can refer back to it later. If anyone has anything to add about why these changes were necessary I'd like to know.
1) I have discarded the (16-bit) Xircom PCMCIA card and I am using the 32-bit Realtek. 2) There are two 8139 modules that are loaded, and it seems that they fight. This is a known bug. The modules are 8139too and 8139cp. It turns out that I need the 8139too, so I put 8139cp in the /etc/hotplug/blacklist file. 3) I removed IPV6 based on information in the link I gave earlier. I think it is a red-herring, but still, I don't need it. 4) I added acpi=force and pci=noacpi to the boot parameters. I rebooted (the Ubuntu Breezy image on hard disc) and presto! I have ethernet. I can now either start again with Kubuntu, or in 4 hours I will have the Mepis v6.0 ISO... My opinion is the acpi... boot parameters were the important ones, since the 16-bit card did not use the Realtek drivers and should have worked, and the other changes would not be relevant for it. Thanks for help and suggestions, Andrew
