After reinstalling XP, I cannot connect to the internet

Greetings, I have an old Dell pc that was getting very slow and flaky. So I decided to reinstall XP from the cd that came with the computer. I believe the OS was successfully reinstalled as the computer boots up and I can use the Control Panel and Windows Explorer and such. However, I can't figure out how to connect to the internet. When I execute Internet Explorer, it tries to go to a microsoft.com website. It displays an error of "The page cannot be displayed." If I then click on "Detect Network Settings", I get the "work offline" dialog. It says "No connection to the internet is currently available…." When I try to go to www.google.com or any other website, I get a pop up message "Internet explorer could not open the search page" I know that my cable modem is working fine, because I am using it now to post this message. When I run the Charter Pipeline Installer cd, it finds a network adapter, but then I get the message "No modem was detected." In Device Manager, under modems, it says "BCM V.90 56K modem". Clearly this is a dial up modem? Should there be any entry in here for my cable modem? If so, how do I get that in there? Also in Device Manager, under Network Adapters, it says "Microsoft loopback adapter". Is that correct? There were 3 cds that came with the computer that may or may not be useful to me in some fashion. They contain tools and drivers and utilities. I tried running them, but I don't really know what I need to do with them. If anyone can help, I would very much appreciate it!

HI ChampionOfthaca.

First, I got rid of your second, duplicate post. Please post only one thread for a problem and stick with it, thanks.

Now, for your problem, you need to install the driver for your network card or onboard network adapter.

What is the model number of your Dell? If you go to http://support.dell.com you can enter your Service ID and then download all the drivers for your model. Looks like the Dell site is having problems right now so you may need to wait a while to get though.

If you have problems finding what you need post back and I'll try to help, but will need the Dell model number.

Sorry about the duplicate post. The first time I posted it, I got a "time out" message and I just assumed that it didn't stick, so I did it again. I went to the Dell Support site and downloaded all of the drivers that it said I needed. There was one for a dial up modem and one for the video card. There wasn't anything for a "Network Adapter". I loaded the new drivers on my PC and rebooted. Now the monitor is working better, but I still can't connect to the internet. I have a Dell Dimension 4550. The service tag is FMGB221.

I went back to the Dell Support site and discovered a driver download that seemed relevant:

http://support.dell.com/support/downloads/…mp;fileid=61613

So I downloaded it and installed it. Note that my original sales receipt says "Intel Pro 100M Integrated PCI NIC Card". So anyways, when I was installing the driver, the instructions said to highlight either "Intel Pro 100 M Network Card" or "Intel Pro 100 VE Network Card" in Device Manager. There wasn't any entry for "Intel Pro 100 M…", but there was one for "Intel Pro 100 Network Connection" (WIthout the M).

I tried that one, but it didn't work. There was some error message about that not being the correct driver.

So I uninstalled that driver. Then I installed the driver for the Intel Pro 100 VE Network Card. That seemed to be installed ok. And it now shows up in Device Manager under Network Adapters.

But still I can't connect to the internet. I'm getting the same messages that I described in my first post.

One thing that I noticed is now the computer knows when I plug the ethernet cable into the cable modem and also when I unplug it. So it's aware of something.

What should I try next?

If you provide the model number of your Dell I can do some looking too. Also, open Device Manager, expand Network Connections then right click on the network card that is now listed and select Properties. Click on the Details tab. Post the 2 parts of the string that starts with PCI\VEN_. We can search on that to determine exactly what network card you have installed. For instance, mine is a Intel ® Pro/100 VE Network Connection and the string for it is: PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_2449 and when I do a Google search on that string, I get Intel ® Pro/100 VE returned from several reputable sites (driverguide.com is one of them).

Just thought I'd throw this in although I don't know if it is relevant here.

If your old CD is pre SP1 you might have this old RASMAN issue:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/329441

I don't know why or how, but it is working now. My only idea for a potential explanation is that I installed the driver "Intel Pro 100 VE Network Card". I thought I rebooted after installing that. But maybe I didn't reboot. Is a reboot required after installing a network driver? At any rate, it is working now and I am done with this thread. You may close it if you wish. Thanks a lot!!!

Good to hear its working As for rebooting, it is always a good idea, when installing hardware / system files. No matter if requested or not. So it could very well be the reboot that did the trick Cheers