Thanks,

I still don't understand how it is that e1000e_recover didn't work for you, but I admit that
I have been using it as a tool, and don't understand its inner workings. 

Let's try another approach to get the invalid NVM content listed, this time
by the driver when it reads the data. I attach a patch "e1000e-1.0.15.shownvm.patch" 
which can be applied our latest e1000e sourceforge release.
To install the driver, and collect that result , please proceeed as follows

1) Copy this patch to a local directory
2) Download e1000e-1.0.15.tar.gz from  http://sourceforge.net/projects/e1000/files/
3) Untar the tarball to a local directory,
         tar xvzf e1000e-1.0.15.tar.gz
4) cd e1000e-1.0.15/src
5) Apply the patch
        patch -p2 <../../e1000e-1.0.15.shownvm.patch
6) Remove the old driver, build & install the new one
        rmmod e1000e
        make 
        insmod e1000e.ko
7) The system message log should have the NVM content that was read.

The driver should also load even in the presence of the errored NVM. Please let me know whether it does load
and work, and .send me the dmesg log that includes the NVM dump, and I will see if I can fix it up and return
it to you with instructions on how to apply the fixed-up version,

Thanks
Dave

________________________________________
From: <email address hidden> [<email address hidden>] On Behalf Of bonsiware [<email address hidden>]
Sent: Wednesday, October 07, 2009 10:28 AM
To: Graham, David
Subject: [Bug 263555] Re: [intrepid] 2.6.27 e1000e driver places Intel ICH8     and ICH9 gigE chipsets at risk

lspci -tv:

+-19.0  Intel Corporation 82566DC Gigabit Network Connection

lspci -xxx:
00:19.0 Ethernet controller: Intel Corporation 82566DC Gigabit Network Connection (rev 03)
00: 86 80 4b 10 03 01 10 00 03 00 00 02 00 00 00 00
10: 00 00 40 fe 00 40 42 fe 21 18 00 00 00 00 00 00
20: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 86 80 00 00
30: 00 00 00 00 c8 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 0b 01 00 00

dmesg:
[    1.652371] e1000e: Intel(R) PRO/1000 Network Driver - 1.0.2-k2
[    1.652374] e1000e: Copyright (c) 1999-2008 Intel Corporation.
[    1.652440] e1000e 0000:00:19.0: PCI INT A -> GSI 16 (level, low) -> IRQ 16
[    1.652447] e1000e 0000:00:19.0: pci_enable_pcie_error_reporting failed 0xfffffffb
[    1.652456] e1000e 0000:00:19.0: setting latency timer to 64
[    1.652628]   alloc irq_desc for 28 on node -1
[    1.652630]   alloc kstat_irqs on node -1
[    1.652647] e1000e 0000:00:19.0: irq 28 for MSI/MSI-X
[    1.739443] ohci1394 0000:1c:03.4: PCI INT A -> GSI 16 (level, low) -> IRQ 16
[    1.757784] 0000:00:19.0: 0000:00:19.0: The NVM Checksum Is Not Valid
[    1.787486] e1000e 0000:00:19.0: PCI INT A disabled
[    1.787495] e1000e: probe of 0000:00:19.0 failed with error -5

--
[intrepid] 2.6.27 e1000e driver places Intel ICH8 and ICH9 gigE chipsets at risk
https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/263555
You received this bug notification because you are a direct subscriber
of the bug.

Status in The Linux Kernel: Fix Released
Status in “linux” package in Ubuntu: Fix Released
Status in “linux-lpia” package in Ubuntu: Fix Released
Status in linux in Ubuntu Intrepid: Fix Released
Status in linux-lpia in Ubuntu Intrepid: Fix Released
Status in “linux” package in Fedora: Fix Released
Status in “linux” package in Gentoo Linux: Fix Released
Status in “linux” package in Mandriva: Fix Released
Status in “linux” package in Suse: Fix Released

Bug description:
In some circumstances it appears possible for the 2.6.27-rc kernels to corrupt the NVRAM used by some Intel network parts to store data such as MAC addresses.
This is limited to the new e1000e driver, and reports have only appeared from users of "82566 and 82567 based LAN parts (ich8 and ich9)" (to quote Intel). The reports seem to be isolated to laptops, but it is not clear if this is because desktop/server parts are not vulnerable, or if use cases simply increase the chances of laptop users being hit.

Once this corruption has occurred, recovery may be possible via a BIOS update, but may well require replacement of the hardware. Use of Intel's IABUTIL.EXE is strongly discouraged, as it will worsen the problem to the point where the network part will no longer appear on the PCI bus.

(this is a new description, the original one was based on too much guesswork. Below are the URLs originally referenced)
(the driver i blacklisted in Ubuntu for  2.6.27-rc in the latest releases, so if your network is not working, it doesn't have to be damaged, but just disabled in order to prevent any accidents until this bug is solved, don't wary!)
http://www.blahonga.org/~art/rant.html (search for "em0")
http://<email address hidden>/msg00360.html
http://<email address hidden>/msg00398.html