Two network connections NICs not activating on Fedora 3 Linux 2.6.11-1.14_FC3

Hi,

Running Fedora kernel 2.6.11-1.14_FC3

This problem has been present since Fedora 2 (kernel 2.6 ?)

I have a generic laptop with built-in UTP LAN socket and a Netgear
802.11b PCMCIA card.

When the laptop boots, the onboard LAN is assigned eth0 and the
PCMCIA Netgear eth1 .

Both appear as Active in the Network Device dialog - even if no UTP
cable is connected to the eth0 port .

When UTP cable is plugged in, the eth0 can get DHCP IP Address from
the router and then connect out to the internet.

However, when there is no UTP cable connected but there is wireless
card that shows steady green light, the device is not connected to the
router. I have to disable BOTH eth0 and eth1 then activate eth1 (the
wireless card) to get a DHCP IP address and then an active network
connection

Is there anyway to get the NetGear wireless card on eth1 active and
usable after boot without going through all of this?

Thanks

Clive