How do I use both network jacks on my new motherboard?

Hopefully y'all can help me with this one. Here goes:

I have used a Linksys 5 port gigabit switch in my attic to feed drops in different rooms of my house from my router. In my office I have so much connected that I added another 5 port gigabit switch there. Everything worked great under XP, but under Vista, I get no connectivity through the switch and have had to plug the machine straight into the wall jack to get connected to the network.

What I was thinking was to keep the Vista PC linked to the wall jack and use the second network port in it to feed the switch for my printer and laptops, but I have no idea as to how to use the second network jack to "extend" my home network into that switch. Any ideas on either issue?

To use both ethernet ports in a computer to route the internet, you need router software, like Windows Server 2003, IPCop, Clarkconnect or m0n0wall. You don't want to do that.
Try a different port on the switch. Sometimes there is a bad port.