Wired Internet not Working but Wireless OK

Hello, I am attempting to fix my sister's desktop computer which is not connecting to the Internet using an ethernet cable to an Open iConnect 625W modem/router. I did the usual easy checks such as physically checking the ethernet cable connections, switching off the modem/router and allowing time for the capacitors to discharge before switching it back on, fully shutting down the desktop and then booting up again, even starting in "Safe Mode with Networking", but all to no avail. I also tried uninstalling the NIC from Device Manager then rebooting to allow Windows XP to reload the drivers, and I also downloaded and installed the latest driver for the Network Interface Card. I am pretty sure I have isolated the problem to the desktop computer. I am able to connect wirelessly to the Internet using two different laptops, one an HP PC, the other a Mac. To ensure the fault was not in the ethernet cable itself, I switched off the wireless on both laptops and was able to connect both laptops (separately) to the Internet using the ethernet cable to the modem/router. On the desktop computer, I tried opening Network Connections > right clicking Local Area Connection 5 > Repair but got the following error message: "Windows could not finish repairing the problem because the following action cannot be completed: Renewing your IP address" I have also tried downloading and then running winsockxpfix.exe but that did not work. The system is a Dell 3000 desktop running Windows XP SP3 connected physically via an ethernet cable to an Open iConnect 625W modem/router which is located about 5 feet away. Here is the ipconfig /all report: Microsoft Windows XP [Version 5.1.2600] © Copyright 1985-2001 Microsoft Corp. C:\Documents and Settings\David>ipconfig /all Windows IP Configuration Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : D93R4G1S Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . : Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Hybrid IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection 5: Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Intel® PRO/100 VE Network Connection Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-13-20-79-47-28 Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.100 Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0 Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.254 DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.254 DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.254 Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : Thursday, 10 June 2010 2:31:20 PM Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : Thursday, 17 June 2010 2:31:20 PM C:\Documents and Settings\David> Any help would be greatly appreciated.

IPCONFIG shows that you are getting an IP address, so I'm not sure why windows would complain it couldn't renew your IP address. Go into control panel -> network connections -> right click local area connection -> click properties -> click TCP/IP -> click properties. Make sure obtain IP automatically, and obtain DNS automatically are selected. Under alternate configuration, make sure nothing is entered in there. From command prompt, type PING 192.168.1.254. Do you get reply, or timeout? From command prompt, type PING yahoo.com. Do you get host not found, reply, or timeout? If you changed any settings in your network connection settings from above, please post a new IPCONFIG /ALL output. If you get reply from PING 192.168.1.254, type NSLOOKUP yahoo.com. Do you get an answer listing IP addresses for yahoo.com? If you get reply from PING yahoo.com, then please tell me how you know you are not online? What problem are you experiencing? Please click control panel -> internet options -> connections tab -> lan settings. Make sure everything is unchecked there. Restart internet explorer and try internet again.

Hello appleoddity, I checked that Obtain IP automatically and DNS automatically are selected and there is nothing entered under Alternate Configuration. I typed PING 192.168.1.254 and the request timed out. Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 1, Lost = 3 (75% loss) I typed PING yahoo.com and the request timed out. Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 0, Lost = 4 (100% loss) I have not changed any network settings from my first post. I cannot connect to the Internet because no web page will load using Internet Explorer 7 or Firefox 3.0.17 Even though I did not get a reply from yahoo.com, I looked at control panel > internet options > connections > LAN settings. You said that if I got a reply from PING yahoo.com (which I didn't), I should confirm that everything was unchecked. In fact, under Proxy server, there is a check mark against "Use a proxy server for your LAN" and also against "Bypass proxy server for local addresses". Should I uncheck these? The proxy address is for the ISP and the Port is 8080. Thanks for your help.

Interesting. What this appears to show is that you have a bad connection on your lan. Either due to a bad ethernet card, or a bad cable. I think you said you checked the cable. So, I would have to say the network card is bad. You could try wiggling the cord around where it plugs into the ethernet adapter. If the ethernet adapter has lights on it you might see them go in and out as you wiggle it around. We know this is a bad connection because your ping to 192.168.1.254 (which is the address of your router) dropped 3 packets and returned 1. This is reinforced by the fact that you have a valid IP address, but when you tried to repair the connection you got an error about renewing the IP address. This tells us that you are again having a problematic or intermittent connection where it was unable to renew an IP address at that time but then did shortly after. This is pretty clearly not a software issue. With it partially working like this it is unlikely it is anything but a bad ethernet adapter. You can physically examine the plug and make sure the connection looks clean. You can try spraying some contact cleaner in it, or examining the feel of the connection to see if it is lose in some way. But, ethernet cards are cheap so probably just replacing it is the way to go. About $10.

Thanks for your help. I suspected it was the NIC but I didn't want to replace it before eliminating other possibilities first. Like you said, about $10 for a new one so it's no big deal. I'll try that next.

The suspect Network adapter is integrated into the motherboard, so I disabled it in the BIOS then fitted a new NIC to a spare PCI slot. The modem/router ethernet light is now steady (previously it was blinking when connected to the desktop, and steady when connected to either of my two laptops). I still cannot connect to the Internet. When I go to Control Panel > Network Connections, there is no LAN connection. If I try to run the Network Setup Wizard, it says "the wizard cannot find your network hardware." I then ran the Add Hardware wizard and it appears there is a conflict. The message says "This device cannot find enough free resources that it can use. (Code 12)"

Install the drivers provided with the new network adapter.

There were no drivers with the NIC. The installation instructions said that XP should install the drivers automatically. However, all is working now. I physically moved the NIC to a different PCI slot and moved the fax/modem card to another PCI slot and now there is no conflict. I can connect to the Internet using an ethernet cable connected to the modem/router. Thanks for your help.

Thats great. I'm glad you got it resolved.