MacBook Pro 10.8 problems

Question

Hardware Overview:
  Model Name:    MacBook Pro
  Model Identifier:    MacBookPro3,1
  Processor Name:    Intel Core 2 Duo
  Processor Speed:    2.2 GHz
  Number of Processors:    1
  Total Number of Cores:    2
  L2 Cache:    4 MB
  Memory:    2 GB
  Bus Speed:    800 MHz
  Boot ROM Version:    MBP31.0070.B07
  SMC Version (system):    1.16f11
  Serial Number (system):    W87******TYAL
  Sudden Motion Sensor:
  State:    Enabled
After installing 10.8 error message randomly appears
"There was a problem connecting to the server"
Took the laptop to the Genius Bar we also discover the ethernet and the 800FW were disabled.
Starting system with 10.7 ports worked.
The 400FW port seems to shut down during sleep mode. Waking up the system randomly results in error message.
Problems don't seem to be distructive. Mostly annoying.
<Serial Number Edited by Host>

Answer 1

HI,
Those two messages you are seeing are outgoing calls from your Computer.
There are several possibles about how it was set up.
1)
Making a connection to a Server and then making that permanent (each Start up)
Starting with the Library as the Front app
Go Menu > Go to Server.
A pop up appears where you can browse or enter an IP address.
As I mentions the IP address is normally with a format type as in SMB://192.168.0.36 in my case.
It could be AFP (Apple File Protocol) or SMB to do file sharing.
As I also said VNC:// (IP address) invokes the Finder's Screen Sharing
You get asked for User Name (your Access Name) on the "Server" and the Password.
If the Server or Drive on a computer needs your to list it then that tends to be next.
With the first two of these (SMB or AFP) a blue server icon appears on the desk top (most likely with the Name of the Drive, folder or place you accessed.
To make it permanent and start up each time your turn the computer on you go to System Preferences > Accounts (Users and Groups in Mountain Lion) and then Login Items on your account.
From there you use the + icon and navigate to the Desktop and chose the Drive.
It will then tend to remember the User Name and Password and connect each time.
2)
If your Time Machine Back up is on a External Drive on another computer you may have had to do part of 1) above to "See" the disk on the Desktop.
Having got that far you can then chose it as a Disk in the System Preferences > Time Machine  as the Backup drive.
This to will then automatically login (or at least try) each time the computer is turned On.
3)
Slightly more unlikely is having a drive or  computer showing on the desktop already (As in 1) )
Then using it for temporary files (Such as Photoshop's Scratch disk)
In Photoshop and Photoshop Elements you can, in the Preferences, set the space that the app uses to hold temporary files.  It is called the Scratch disk.  My G4 tower has server Drives and the non boot drives (free space) gets used as th Scratch Disk.
It would slow the Undo and Redo functions but it would be possible.
Certain App such as HTML editors can show the File:// as the URL in the relevant Field  in a browser when testing some web pages.
However there tends to be an extra slash as well.  (file:///Users/ralph/Desktop/button.html)
8:00 PM      Friday; September 14, 2012
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