Quote Originally Posted by shmookles
So, after getting my system board replaced the problem went away right away. I didn't have to mess with drivers or anything. This is apparently a known IBM problem and it is when dust gets on the system board and allows a circuit to form between to resistors on the board. Call IBM and get them to replace your board, this is the ONLY fix for this problem.
After a system board replacement, I have been connecting at 2.0 for quite a while now. IBM came out and replaced the board no problem, technician was very nice, and everything is fine. I suspect that other people having the same problem will not be able to resolve it with driver and software patches, unfortunately. I had a thick layer of dust on my system board, by the way.