Hi Rufino,

Assuming that the box further works well.

Network problems by software, is possible.
Best is to always try another image file before thinking of a hardware failure.

The U10 LVC244A, it's possible because the led part data goes trough this chip.
When this failed, it could influence the working of the network port.

Further, it's also possible that it is a crystal issue, more about this see/read here.