Networking nightmare...

[Scott]

I have a real head scratcher here... I've been banging my head against the
wall for a couple of days now. I've stumped a friend at work who is an
MCSE, and I'm just about ready to wipe the system and start from scratch.
This is what I'm really trying to avoid.

I have a Windows XP Home Edition system with SP2 that has been running fine
for several months. This is connected to a Linksys broadband router that
does DHCP. Let me stress that this configuration has worked flawlessly for
months. The system is a custom built, that I built myself. The motherboard
is an Abit AB9 Pro that has a pair of built-in GigE network ports.

A few nights ago everything was working fine. The next morning I had no
Ethernet connectivity. I specifically mean I had no Ethernet connectivity
because my work laptop is connected to the same Linksys router and is
working fine. I tried step one of Windows troubleshooting and rebooted.
This obviously didn't work. I disabled DHCP and assigned a static IP. I
was able to ping the IP I just assigned to the card, but was unable to ping
the router. I replaced the Ethernet cable and rebooted and still nothing.

At this point I thought maybe I have a bad network port on the motherboard,
so I went out and bought a brand new Linksys Ethernet card. I installed
this and it would also NOT pickup a DHCP address. I assigned a static IP
with the same results. Out of pure frustration I went out and bought a new
broadband router, and this too made NO difference. Obviously several
reboots have occurred in this time.

I ran this by an MCSE friend at work. He suggested doing a repair install
of Windows XP and this sounded like a good idea, although I'm still stuck
without Ethernet connectivity after this. The only thing left that I can
think of is to give up and either call Microsoft (I'm not paying the money
for that), or wipe the system and re-install from scratch. The last thing
I'm going to try this evening to completely rule out hardware is to download
a Live CD version of Linux and make sure that I have network connectivity
that way. I suspect that this is some kind of TCP/IP corruption, but I have
no idea how to straighten this out.

Please help me avoid having to wipe and reload the system. I know that this
being Windows I need to do this once a year or so, but I just built this
system less than 6 months ago. Even Windows should be able to run without
having to be reloaded for that period of time. Thanks in advance for any
help.

Scott

[Brian A.]

"Scott" > wrote in message
t...
>I have a real head scratcher here... I've been banging my head against the wall for
>a couple of days now. I've stumped a friend at work who is an MCSE, and I'm just
>about ready to wipe the system and start from scratch. This is what I'm really
>trying to avoid.
>
> I have a Windows XP Home Edition system with SP2 that has been running fine for
> several months. This is connected to a Linksys broadband router that does DHCP.
> Let me stress that this configuration has worked flawlessly for months. The system
> is a custom built, that I built myself. The motherboard is an Abit AB9 Pro that
> has a pair of built-in GigE network ports.
>
> A few nights ago everything was working fine. The next morning I had no Ethernet
> connectivity. I specifically mean I had no Ethernet connectivity because my work
> laptop is connected to the same Linksys router and is working fine. I tried step
> one of Windows troubleshooting and rebooted. This obviously didn't work. I
> disabled DHCP and assigned a static IP. I was able to ping the IP I just assigned
> to the card, but was unable to ping the router. I replaced the Ethernet cable and
> rebooted and still nothing.
>
> At this point I thought maybe I have a bad network port on the motherboard, so I
> went out and bought a brand new Linksys Ethernet card. I installed this and it
> would also NOT pickup a DHCP address. I assigned a static IP with the same
> results. Out of pure frustration I went out and bought a new broadband router, and
> this too made NO difference. Obviously several reboots have occurred in this time.
>
> I ran this by an MCSE friend at work. He suggested doing a repair install of
> Windows XP and this sounded like a good idea, although I'm still stuck without
> Ethernet connectivity after this. The only thing left that I can think of is to
> give up and either call Microsoft (I'm not paying the money for that), or wipe the
> system and re-install from scratch. The last thing I'm going to try this evening
> to completely rule out hardware is to download a Live CD version of Linux and make
> sure that I have network connectivity that way. I suspect that this is some kind
> of TCP/IP corruption, but I have no idea how to straighten this out.
>
> Please help me avoid having to wipe and reload the system. I know that this being
> Windows I need to do this once a year or so, but I just built this system less than
> 6 months ago. Even Windows should be able to run without having to be reloaded for
> that period of time. Thanks in advance for any help.
>
> Scott
>

If your using any software firewall check it to make sure the LAN IP(s) aren't
being blocked.
All of the below may not be necessary for you:

Right click My Network Places on the Desktop.
Click Properties.
Right click Local Area Connection.
Click Properties.

Under "This connection uses....."
Click "Client for MS Networks".
Click Properties.
Select "Windows Locator" from the dropdown box, if disabled skip.
Click Ok.

Scroll to and select Internet Protocol (TCP/IP).
Click Properties.

Under the General tab make sure "Obtain an IP address automatically" is selected.
Click the Advanced button.

Under the DNS tab:
Selected "Append Primary and Parent DNS suffixes.
Register this connections address in DNS"

Under the WINS tab > NetBIOS:
Selected Default.
Ok out of MNP.
Reboot if required.

Test connectivity:
Open a command prompt, click Start > Run, type in: cmd and press Enter.
At the prompt type each command below and press Enter after each.
**Note: Command noted by =, Space noted by ^. Do not type the = or ^.

=ping ^ 192.168.1.1 *Routers IP, change as necessary.
If it times out then there is no communication between the router and machine.
If not then the machine communicates with the router.

=ping ^ google.com
If it times out then there is no connection to the net.
If not then net connection is established and all is well.

ping 127.0.0.1
If it fails it may be a TCP/IP stack problem.

Ping each computer from the other using the UNC:
=ping ^ computername
If it fails either way there's an IP or Name resolution problem.

If pinging times out on any address, to see if the machines IP is correct along with
other settings.
= ipconfig ^ /all
If anything isn't correct, at the prompt type and press Enter after each command:

=ipconfig ^ /release
=ipconfig ^ /flushdns
=ipconfig ^ /renew
=ipconfig ^ /registerdns
=exit
If that fails reopen the command prompt, run /release and /flushdns only and exit.

Shut down the machine.
Pull the power from the router.
Pull the power from the modem.
Wait approx 30 secs.
Apply power to the modem and wait for it to finish synchronizing with the cable.
Apply power to the router and wait for it to finish synchronizing with the modem.
Power up the machine.
The machine should now be assigned a new IP from the router.
Run ipconfig or attempt net connection to test.


--

Brian A. Sesko { MS MVP_Shell/User }
Conflicts start where information lacks.
http://basconotw.mvps.org/

Suggested posting do's/don'ts: http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
How to ask a question: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/555375

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

"Scott" > wrote in message
t...
>I have a real head scratcher here... I've been banging my head against the
>wall for a couple of days now. I've stumped a friend at work who is an
>MCSE, and I'm just about ready to wipe the system and start from scratch.
>This is what I'm really trying to avoid.
>
> I have a Windows XP Home Edition system with SP2 that has been running
> fine for several months. This is connected to a Linksys broadband router
> that does DHCP. Let me stress that this configuration has worked
> flawlessly for months. The system is a custom built, that I built myself.
> The motherboard is an Abit AB9 Pro that has a pair of built-in GigE
> network ports.
>
> A few nights ago everything was working fine. The next morning I had no
> Ethernet connectivity. I specifically mean I had no Ethernet connectivity
> because my work laptop is connected to the same Linksys router and is
> working fine. I tried step one of Windows troubleshooting and rebooted.
> This obviously didn't work. I disabled DHCP and assigned a static IP. I
> was able to ping the IP I just assigned to the card, but was unable to
> ping the router. I replaced the Ethernet cable and rebooted and still
> nothing.
>
> At this point I thought maybe I have a bad network port on the
> motherboard, so I went out and bought a brand new Linksys Ethernet card.
> I installed this and it would also NOT pickup a DHCP address. I assigned
> a static IP with the same results. Out of pure frustration I went out and
> bought a new broadband router, and this too made NO difference. Obviously
> several reboots have occurred in this time.
>
> I ran this by an MCSE friend at work. He suggested doing a repair install
> of Windows XP and this sounded like a good idea, although I'm still stuck
> without Ethernet connectivity after this. The only thing left that I can
> think of is to give up and either call Microsoft (I'm not paying the money
> for that), or wipe the system and re-install from scratch. The last thing
> I'm going to try this evening to completely rule out hardware is to
> download a Live CD version of Linux and make sure that I have network
> connectivity that way. I suspect that this is some kind of TCP/IP
> corruption, but I have no idea how to straighten this out.
>
> Please help me avoid having to wipe and reload the system. I know that
> this being Windows I need to do this once a year or so, but I just built
> this system less than 6 months ago. Even Windows should be able to run
> without having to be reloaded for that period of time. Thanks in advance
> for any help.
>
> Scott

If this was my machine then I would put it on the bench in
a controlled environment and build things up one little step
at a time like so:
- I would use another machine to ping the router. This would
confirm the router's IP address. It would also confirm the
quality of the cable.
- Using the same cable, I would ping the router from the
problem machine.
- If this did not work then I would install a network sniffer,
e.g. Ethereal, to monitor the traffic on the network.
- I would also use a spare disk and load a vanilla version
of WinXP, to confirm that there are no hardware problems.
Booting with a Bart PE CD would achieve the same.

I suspect that your current problem is a simple oversight,
e.g. an incorrect IP address. This often happens when
running round in circles while solving persistent problems.

[Rick McMillion]

I've recently had the same problems as you have. One compute works fine,
another does not.

A friend, who is in the internet service business said to reboot my router.
He tells me that recently, Linksys routers cause a lot of problems, and he
does not allow them to be used in his business any longer.

I did a hard restart of my Linksys router by holding the reset button and
applying power, and sure enough, it resolved the problem. I've had this
happen on three different occasions.

The last time this happened to me, I was able to log into the router from
one machine. From the admin page, I chose "factory default" reset. That
also cleared my problem.


"Scott" > wrote in message
t...
>I have a real head scratcher here... I've been banging my head against the
>wall for a couple of days now. I've stumped a friend at work who is an
>MCSE, and I'm just about ready to wipe the system and start from scratch.
>This is what I'm really trying to avoid.
>
> I have a Windows XP Home Edition system with SP2 that has been running
> fine for several months. This is connected to a Linksys broadband router
> that does DHCP. Let me stress that this configuration has worked
> flawlessly for months. The system is a custom built, that I built myself.
> The motherboard is an Abit AB9 Pro that has a pair of built-in GigE
> network ports.
>
> A few nights ago everything was working fine. The next morning I had no
> Ethernet connectivity. I specifically mean I had no Ethernet connectivity
> because my work laptop is connected to the same Linksys router and is
> working fine. I tried step one of Windows troubleshooting and rebooted.
> This obviously didn't work. I disabled DHCP and assigned a static IP. I
> was able to ping the IP I just assigned to the card, but was unable to
> ping the router. I replaced the Ethernet cable and rebooted and still
> nothing.
>
> At this point I thought maybe I have a bad network port on the
> motherboard, so I went out and bought a brand new Linksys Ethernet card.
> I installed this and it would also NOT pickup a DHCP address. I assigned
> a static IP with the same results. Out of pure frustration I went out and
> bought a new broadband router, and this too made NO difference. Obviously
> several reboots have occurred in this time.
>
> I ran this by an MCSE friend at work. He suggested doing a repair install
> of Windows XP and this sounded like a good idea, although I'm still stuck
> without Ethernet connectivity after this. The only thing left that I can
> think of is to give up and either call Microsoft (I'm not paying the money
> for that), or wipe the system and re-install from scratch. The last thing
> I'm going to try this evening to completely rule out hardware is to
> download a Live CD version of Linux and make sure that I have network
> connectivity that way. I suspect that this is some kind of TCP/IP
> corruption, but I have no idea how to straighten this out.
>
> Please help me avoid having to wipe and reload the system. I know that
> this being Windows I need to do this once a year or so, but I just built
> this system less than 6 months ago. Even Windows should be able to run
> without having to be reloaded for that period of time. Thanks in advance
> for any help.
>
> Scott
>

[Not Me]

I have seen the router settings changed to only have 1 or 2 DHCP addresses
available.
But by typing the address into the window, you should be able to ping the
router.
I have also had to remove/uninstall the NIC (ALL of them) from device
manager and reboot.
Once it finds & reinstalls the NIC, it re-establishes the DHCP settings
automatically.

"Scott" > wrote in message
t...
>I have a real head scratcher here... I've been banging my head against the
>wall for a couple of days now. I've stumped a friend at work who is an
>MCSE, and I'm just about ready to wipe the system and start from scratch.
>This is what I'm really trying to avoid.
>
> I have a Windows XP Home Edition system with SP2 that has been running
> fine for several months. This is connected to a Linksys broadband router
> that does DHCP. Let me stress that this configuration has worked
> flawlessly for months. The system is a custom built, that I built myself.
> The motherboard is an Abit AB9 Pro that has a pair of built-in GigE
> network ports.
>
> A few nights ago everything was working fine. The next morning I had no
> Ethernet connectivity. I specifically mean I had no Ethernet connectivity
> because my work laptop is connected to the same Linksys router and is
> working fine. I tried step one of Windows troubleshooting and rebooted.
> This obviously didn't work. I disabled DHCP and assigned a static IP. I
> was able to ping the IP I just assigned to the card, but was unable to
> ping the router. I replaced the Ethernet cable and rebooted and still
> nothing.
>
> At this point I thought maybe I have a bad network port on the
> motherboard, so I went out and bought a brand new Linksys Ethernet card.
> I installed this and it would also NOT pickup a DHCP address. I assigned
> a static IP with the same results. Out of pure frustration I went out and
> bought a new broadband router, and this too made NO difference. Obviously
> several reboots have occurred in this time.
>
> I ran this by an MCSE friend at work. He suggested doing a repair install
> of Windows XP and this sounded like a good idea, although I'm still stuck
> without Ethernet connectivity after this. The only thing left that I can
> think of is to give up and either call Microsoft (I'm not paying the money
> for that), or wipe the system and re-install from scratch. The last thing
> I'm going to try this evening to completely rule out hardware is to
> download a Live CD version of Linux and make sure that I have network
> connectivity that way. I suspect that this is some kind of TCP/IP
> corruption, but I have no idea how to straighten this out.
>
> Please help me avoid having to wipe and reload the system. I know that
> this being Windows I need to do this once a year or so, but I just built
> this system less than 6 months ago. Even Windows should be able to run
> without having to be reloaded for that period of time. Thanks in advance
> for any help.
>
> Scott
>

[Scott]

I appreciate all of the responses so far. Unfortunately, I have already
ruled out all of these possibilities with the exception of the firewall
suggestion. I disabled the Windows firewall and this did not help. Several
suggestions involved rebooting and/or changing the router configuration.
Believe me, I have rebooted the computer several times during the
troubleshooting. As mentioned in the original post, I even went so far as
to purchase and configure via my laptop a new router. I also purchased a
new NIC, and I have been dealing with that exclusively.

If I statically assign an IP address to the new NIC, I can ping it fine.
However, using the same cable that is plugged into my laptop I am unable to
ping the router from the problem computer. I can ping the router from my
laptop. I cannot ping the problem computer from my laptop.

Thanks again for the responses. Keep em coming.

Scott

"Scott" > wrote in message
t...
>I have a real head scratcher here... I've been banging my head against the
>wall for a couple of days now. I've stumped a friend at work who is an
>MCSE, and I'm just about ready to wipe the system and start from scratch.
>This is what I'm really trying to avoid.
>
> I have a Windows XP Home Edition system with SP2 that has been running
> fine for several months. This is connected to a Linksys broadband router
> that does DHCP. Let me stress that this configuration has worked
> flawlessly for months. The system is a custom built, that I built myself.
> The motherboard is an Abit AB9 Pro that has a pair of built-in GigE
> network ports.
>
> A few nights ago everything was working fine. The next morning I had no
> Ethernet connectivity. I specifically mean I had no Ethernet connectivity
> because my work laptop is connected to the same Linksys router and is
> working fine. I tried step one of Windows troubleshooting and rebooted.
> This obviously didn't work. I disabled DHCP and assigned a static IP. I
> was able to ping the IP I just assigned to the card, but was unable to
> ping the router. I replaced the Ethernet cable and rebooted and still
> nothing.
>
> At this point I thought maybe I have a bad network port on the
> motherboard, so I went out and bought a brand new Linksys Ethernet card.
> I installed this and it would also NOT pickup a DHCP address. I assigned
> a static IP with the same results. Out of pure frustration I went out and
> bought a new broadband router, and this too made NO difference. Obviously
> several reboots have occurred in this time.
>
> I ran this by an MCSE friend at work. He suggested doing a repair install
> of Windows XP and this sounded like a good idea, although I'm still stuck
> without Ethernet connectivity after this. The only thing left that I can
> think of is to give up and either call Microsoft (I'm not paying the money
> for that), or wipe the system and re-install from scratch. The last thing
> I'm going to try this evening to completely rule out hardware is to
> download a Live CD version of Linux and make sure that I have network
> connectivity that way. I suspect that this is some kind of TCP/IP
> corruption, but I have no idea how to straighten this out.
>
> Please help me avoid having to wipe and reload the system. I know that
> this being Windows I need to do this once a year or so, but I just built
> this system less than 6 months ago. Even Windows should be able to run
> without having to be reloaded for that period of time. Thanks in advance
> for any help.
>
> Scott
>

[Brian A.]

"Scott" > wrote in message
.. .
> I appreciate all of the responses so far. Unfortunately, I have already ruled
> out all of these possibilities with the exception of the firewall suggestion. I
> disabled the Windows firewall and this did not help. Several suggestions involved
> rebooting and/or changing the router configuration. Believe me, I have rebooted the
> computer several times during the troubleshooting. As mentioned in the original
> post, I even went so far as to purchase and configure via my laptop a new router.
> I also purchased a new NIC, and I have been dealing with that exclusively.

What are the results for both machines when you run at a cmd prompt?

ipconfig /all

Check that "Windows Firewall/Internet Connection Sharing (ICS)" service is started.
Click Start > Run, type in: sevices.msc and press Enter or click Ok.
Right click the service and click Start in the popup menu.

>
> If I statically assign an IP address to the new NIC, I can ping it fine.

From the other machine?
By IP and/or Name?
Can you run "tracert" successfully by IP and/or Name?

> However, using the same cable that is plugged into my laptop I am unable to ping
> the router from the problem computer. I can ping the router from my laptop. I
> cannot ping the problem computer from my laptop.

What's the reported status on the NIC(s) in Device Manager?


--

Brian A. Sesko { MS MVP_Shell/User }
Conflicts start where information lacks.
http://basconotw.mvps.org/

Suggested posting do's/don'ts: http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
How to ask a question: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/555375



>
> "Scott" > wrote in message
> t...
>>I have a real head scratcher here... I've been banging my head against the wall
>>for a couple of days now. I've stumped a friend at work who is an MCSE, and I'm
>>just about ready to wipe the system and start from scratch. This is what I'm really
>>trying to avoid.
>>
>> I have a Windows XP Home Edition system with SP2 that has been running fine for
>> several months. This is connected to a Linksys broadband router that does DHCP.
>> Let me stress that this configuration has worked flawlessly for months. The
>> system is a custom built, that I built myself. The motherboard is an Abit AB9 Pro
>> that has a pair of built-in GigE network ports.
>>
>> A few nights ago everything was working fine. The next morning I had no Ethernet
>> connectivity. I specifically mean I had no Ethernet connectivity because my work
>> laptop is connected to the same Linksys router and is working fine. I tried step
>> one of Windows troubleshooting and rebooted. This obviously didn't work. I
>> disabled DHCP and assigned a static IP. I was able to ping the IP I just assigned
>> to the card, but was unable to ping the router. I replaced the Ethernet cable and
>> rebooted and still nothing.
>>
>> At this point I thought maybe I have a bad network port on the motherboard, so I
>> went out and bought a brand new Linksys Ethernet card. I installed this and it
>> would also NOT pickup a DHCP address. I assigned a static IP with the same
>> results. Out of pure frustration I went out and bought a new broadband router,
>> and this too made NO difference. Obviously several reboots have occurred in this
>> time.
>>
>> I ran this by an MCSE friend at work. He suggested doing a repair install of
>> Windows XP and this sounded like a good idea, although I'm still stuck without
>> Ethernet connectivity after this. The only thing left that I can think of is to
>> give up and either call Microsoft (I'm not paying the money for that), or wipe the
>> system and re-install from scratch. The last thing I'm going to try this evening
>> to completely rule out hardware is to download a Live CD version of Linux and make
>> sure that I have network connectivity that way. I suspect that this is some kind
>> of TCP/IP corruption, but I have no idea how to straighten this out.
>>
>> Please help me avoid having to wipe and reload the system. I know that this being
>> Windows I need to do this once a year or so, but I just built this system less
>> than 6 months ago. Even Windows should be able to run without having to be
>> reloaded for that period of time. Thanks in advance for any help.
>>
>> Scott
>>
>
>

[Rick McMillion]

Scott,

I've had a couple of Linksys routers do similar things to me. Have you
tried a hard reset on your Linksys router? The last time mine did that, I
could log onto it with one computer, but not another. I went to the web
access page on the router and did a "restore to factory defaults" to clear
the problem.

With most Linksys routers, there is a reset button beside the power
connector. Grab a pencil or pen, or a paper clip, and depress the reset
button while you apply power to the router. Keep holding the reset button
for about 30 seconds.

Rick M


"Scott" > wrote in message
t...
>I have a real head scratcher here... I've been banging my head against the
>wall for a couple of days now. I've stumped a friend at work who is an
>MCSE, and I'm just about ready to wipe the system and start from scratch.
>This is what I'm really trying to avoid.
>
> I have a Windows XP Home Edition system with SP2 that has been running
> fine for several months. This is connected to a Linksys broadband router
> that does DHCP. Let me stress that this configuration has worked
> flawlessly for months. The system is a custom built, that I built myself.
> The motherboard is an Abit AB9 Pro that has a pair of built-in GigE
> network ports.
>
> A few nights ago everything was working fine. The next morning I had no
> Ethernet connectivity. I specifically mean I had no Ethernet connectivity
> because my work laptop is connected to the same Linksys router and is
> working fine. I tried step one of Windows troubleshooting and rebooted.
> This obviously didn't work. I disabled DHCP and assigned a static IP. I
> was able to ping the IP I just assigned to the card, but was unable to
> ping the router. I replaced the Ethernet cable and rebooted and still
> nothing.
>
> At this point I thought maybe I have a bad network port on the
> motherboard, so I went out and bought a brand new Linksys Ethernet card.
> I installed this and it would also NOT pickup a DHCP address. I assigned
> a static IP with the same results. Out of pure frustration I went out and
> bought a new broadband router, and this too made NO difference. Obviously
> several reboots have occurred in this time.
>
> I ran this by an MCSE friend at work. He suggested doing a repair install
> of Windows XP and this sounded like a good idea, although I'm still stuck
> without Ethernet connectivity after this. The only thing left that I can
> think of is to give up and either call Microsoft (I'm not paying the money
> for that), or wipe the system and re-install from scratch. The last thing
> I'm going to try this evening to completely rule out hardware is to
> download a Live CD version of Linux and make sure that I have network
> connectivity that way. I suspect that this is some kind of TCP/IP
> corruption, but I have no idea how to straighten this out.
>
> Please help me avoid having to wipe and reload the system. I know that
> this being Windows I need to do this once a year or so, but I just built
> this system less than 6 months ago. Even Windows should be able to run
> without having to be reloaded for that period of time. Thanks in advance
> for any help.
>
> Scott
>

[George]

Scott,

See if your router has a firewall. If so drop it down a notch and see if
that helps...maybe if you have highspeed internet your Highspeed modem has a
built in firewall and router??? Been there done that :-( was not fun
figuring that out.

George


"Scott" > wrote in message
.. .
> I appreciate all of the responses so far. Unfortunately, I have
> already ruled out all of these possibilities with the exception of the
> firewall suggestion. I disabled the Windows firewall and this did not
> help. Several suggestions involved rebooting and/or changing the router
> configuration. Believe me, I have rebooted the computer several times
> during the troubleshooting. As mentioned in the original post, I even
> went so far as to purchase and configure via my laptop a new router. I
> also purchased a new NIC, and I have been dealing with that exclusively.
>
> If I statically assign an IP address to the new NIC, I can ping it
> fine. However, using the same cable that is plugged into my laptop I am
> unable to ping the router from the problem computer. I can ping the
> router from my laptop. I cannot ping the problem computer from my laptop.
>
> Thanks again for the responses. Keep em coming.
>
> Scott
>
> "Scott" > wrote in message
> t...
>>I have a real head scratcher here... I've been banging my head against
>>the wall for a couple of days now. I've stumped a friend at work who is
>>an MCSE, and I'm just about ready to wipe the system and start from
>>scratch. This is what I'm really trying to avoid.
>>
>> I have a Windows XP Home Edition system with SP2 that has been running
>> fine for several months. This is connected to a Linksys broadband router
>> that does DHCP. Let me stress that this configuration has worked
>> flawlessly for months. The system is a custom built, that I built
>> myself. The motherboard is an Abit AB9 Pro that has a pair of built-in
>> GigE network ports.
>>
>> A few nights ago everything was working fine. The next morning I had no
>> Ethernet connectivity. I specifically mean I had no Ethernet
>> connectivity because my work laptop is connected to the same Linksys
>> router and is working fine. I tried step one of Windows troubleshooting
>> and rebooted. This obviously didn't work. I disabled DHCP and assigned a
>> static IP. I was able to ping the IP I just assigned to the card, but
>> was unable to ping the router. I replaced the Ethernet cable and
>> rebooted and still nothing.
>>
>> At this point I thought maybe I have a bad network port on the
>> motherboard, so I went out and bought a brand new Linksys Ethernet card.
>> I installed this and it would also NOT pickup a DHCP address. I assigned
>> a static IP with the same results. Out of pure frustration I went out
>> and bought a new broadband router, and this too made NO difference.
>> Obviously several reboots have occurred in this time.
>>
>> I ran this by an MCSE friend at work. He suggested doing a repair
>> install of Windows XP and this sounded like a good idea, although I'm
>> still stuck without Ethernet connectivity after this. The only thing
>> left that I can think of is to give up and either call Microsoft (I'm not
>> paying the money for that), or wipe the system and re-install from
>> scratch. The last thing I'm going to try this evening to completely rule
>> out hardware is to download a Live CD version of Linux and make sure that
>> I have network connectivity that way. I suspect that this is some kind
>> of TCP/IP corruption, but I have no idea how to straighten this out.
>>
>> Please help me avoid having to wipe and reload the system. I know that
>> this being Windows I need to do this once a year or so, but I just built
>> this system less than 6 months ago. Even Windows should be able to run
>> without having to be reloaded for that period of time. Thanks in advance
>> for any help.
>>
>> Scott
>>
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