No IP address until logged into desktop

[planetofsound]

I have a strange problem with a fresh install of Fedora 8 from LiveCD (installed on hard disk, livecd was just used as the installer).

After booting, the networking does not work until I log into the desktop. After logging into the desktop (Gnome) the network works normally. If I log out, then the network continues to be OK. If I reboot, then it stops working again. The very odd thing is that I don't run any commands or change any configuration when I log in, just logging in then logging out again is suffcient to bring the networking into life. Logging in to a text console does not cause the networking to start working, has to be the graphical desktop.

When the networking is not working, "ifconfig eth0" shows that the interface is UP and receiving packets, but the lines which list the IP address are missing (the ones starting "inet" and "inet6"). After logging in and out of the desktop the IP addresses magically appear in the "ifconfig eth0" and the networking is working. I'm using static IP configuration and I can see the correct values for IP address, gateway etc in the various network configuration files.

NB Using Fedora 8 rather than latest for specific compatibility reasons, using livecd as this is simplest single CD install on PC with no DVD drive. I'm guessing that this problem is some quirk of having installed from a livecd.

[lisa3214]

Sounds like network manager is running the show. Is this a laptop?

Try going into Administration/network and make sure the eth0 device is set to start automatically and that it isn't controlled by network manager.

That's my 2 cents worth....

Lisa

[Firewing1]

If that happens, then you're stuck to using either DHCP or static IP until you re-configure the interface... If this is a laptop, that's a big tradeoff for wireless
Firewing1