After finally fixing the problem I decided to make an account and hop on the forums to see if I could get some help. I know this is a problem with Ubuntu 10.04, which 2.7 was based on (Related: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1469089 ). I fixed the issue by uninstalling the OS and then unplugging for 30 seconds.
I noticed that the 2.7 forums are rarely posted on, so I decided to post here since this problem began to translate into my Windows installation. I wanted to try 2.7 since I heard it was the best, but it ended messing up my Ethernet connection on my desktop. Since a lot happened, I'll start from the beginning.
Recently I've been looking around for Linux distributions, and after trying out Debian (It's frustrating to use for someone just now trying out Linux) I decided on a more user friendly distro, namely either Ultimate Edition or Mint. After checking out Ultimate Edition 2.7 I really liked the way it looked and how user friendly it was so I went ahead and downloaded the ISO and burned it onto a disk.
So I test out the demo on the CD and everything works out fine. I go ahead and install it on my alternate hard drive (I picked the most space option and it defaulted to my second hard drive). The install goes fine and I reboot into Ultimate Edition. I immediately begin to set up my dual monitors but then notice that it isn't' detecting my second monitor and that it is locked in a very low resolution, so I know that the nVidia drivers haven't been installed. So I start up the browser and the internet connection doesn't load. I check the network settings and it will not connect to the default even though it was checked "Connect Automatically". I begin to look up some fixes, but nothing works. I restart and nothing works, so I just uninstall the OS to try a re-install.
Upon booting up Boot Repair Disk it also can't connect to my internet. So I boot up Windows and I've lost my internet. The E1 light is shut off and after trying two different Ethernet cables it still doesn't work. Thankfully I found the aforementioned thread and was able to fix my internet (before doing so it worked fine on several different computers plugged in with the same Ethernet cables I used. It still didn't work on my desktop).
TL:DR, 2.7 messed up my Ethernet somehow. I love the look and functions of 2.7, more than the newer versions, and I'd really like to be able to use it as my main Linux OS, but it looks like I'll have to just go to Mint. 2 unless I can get this problem figured out.
![Confused :?](./images/smilies/icon_e_confused.gif)