I have two computers in my house hooked to a Linksys BEFSR41 v.3 wired router. I use an RCA DCM425 cable modem and Comcast is my ISP. Several days ago there was a bad storm and a lightning strike knocked out internet connection. After the storm ended, I was not able to get online on either computer. I contacted my ISP and we were able to get one of my computers back online by renewing my IP address, but the other computer just would not renew.

We went through everything, ipconfig /release and /renew, we tried resetting the winsock, we tried connecting that computer directly to the cable modem bypassing the router, and still nothing. My ISP told me I needed to call Microsoft because it was a Windows XP issue.

When I ran an ipconfig /all, the ip address that comes up is a 169.xxx.x number, and my IP says this is not a valid address. When we tried to renew, a message popped up that said "An error occurred and address could not be renewed . . . . . "

Any recommendations would be appreciated.

Okay, let me ask this.. . If I reformat my hard drive and reinstall XP, will that solve my problem?

It may be your network card in the PC that maybe got "fried"

Or possibly the cable

First try a different cable, use one that you know works

If these are desktop PC's, try and take the one (Net Card) that is working and put it in the one that is not working to see if it connects

If it does, it is the card that is not working

If it does not, would be something other than the card

Okay, let me ask this . . . . If I reformat my harddrive and reinstall XP, will that solve my problem?

Reinstalling everything should be a last resort.