harold wrote:
Can someone please direct me to the details of XP's settings for a
cable modem? Thanks..

Nothing special, usually.

Enable your XP firewall (or make sure you have another firewall installed &
running) before connecting to the Internet, even for a split second, via any
connection

Connect your ethernet cable to the cable modem, presuming you're connecting
directly and not through a home gateway/firewall/router type device. Make
sure you're using a regular patch cable, not a crossover cable.

Make sure your network connection settings, properties of TCP/IP, are set
for "automatically obtain an IP address" (same for DNS)

In a command prompt, type

ipconfig /all

If you don't have a valid address (such as, you see 0.0.0.0 no matter how
many times you run the above command, or you see an address beginning with
169.x.x.x), turn off your cable modem (unplug it; there isn't usually a
power switch), count to 10, plug it back in, and try ipconfig /all again a
couple of minutes after the cable modem boots up.

If this doesn't work, type

ipconfig /renew

and see if you get an IP address.

If *this* doesn't work, reboot your computer and try again. Also, check your
cable modem to make sure it doesn't have a little "disconnect/connect"
button - several models do... press it, if so, and try again.

If none of this works, call your cable company for tech support.