Alle Meije Wink wrote: [ ... ]
The thing is, after my computer halts (and no wireless connections are in use), I usually switch off the whole box by switching off the power socket. So when I fire up the system, the modem + router are usuallyjust starting as well.
[ ... ]This is the cause of your problem. This is how booting seems to work. During boot, Debian starts running the MTA (Mail Transport Agent) which is Exim4 in a default installation. It is looking for the network connection - this will be the internet. If your ethernet card connects immediately to the internet, Exim4 will start seamlessly. Otherwise, you will have to wait a minute or two until Debian gives up trying the connection and starts Exim4 anyway.
I usually switch off the whole box by switching off the power socket.
This is not a good idea with any system - you could easily get disc corruption. Always shutdown normally using the display manager command button (in gdm, kdm, xdm) in X, shutdown command or ctrl-alt-del in a console.
Chris.