interrupt(s) dropped when lid closed

[Theodore Wynnychenko <t-wynnychenko@northwestern.edu>]

hello:

i have a old Dell latitude LM running debian linux 2.4.20, with 2 pcmcia
10/100 cards installed.

i would like to be able to connect to the laptop via ssh when the lid is
closed.  however, if i close the lid, i am unable to connect.

if i try pinging the machine (or really any network activity directed at the
machine), when i open the lid i get "eth1: interrupt(s) dropped" (eth1 is
the nic that i am trying to ssh into)

(by the way, if i close the cover, don't direct any network traffic to the
laptop, and then open it, there is NO interrupt(s) dropped message)

once the laptop is open, everything works fine again.  i do not have apm
configured on the laptop, as it is "always" plugged in.

i went into bios and tried disabling the bios suspend options, but i still
get the same error.

prior to the kernel upgrade, runnign 2.2, i was able to close the cover and
still connect.

i know i haven't provided much specific, but i am not really sure what kind
of specifics i should provide. i have been looking for some info in the
mailing lists, but have come across nothing that seems to help.

does anyone have any ideas?  right now my options appear to be either leave
the laptop always open, or cut off the little tab so that it doesn't
"suspend" when i close the lid.

thanks - ted