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NewEdgeTech · Aug 16, 2006, 11:56 AM

I am starting with a clean install of Windows XP Professional on an HP Pavilion ZT3000 laptop with both an ethernet connection and wireless.

I am on a small business network with a DHCP server that is working normally and with plenty of addresses available.

I am not able to get an address on either of my network adapters, even though the PC sees the local wireless network and says I am connected, and also says I am connected through the Ethernet connection.

I have tested the TCP/IP by pinging the localhost and that comes back fine, and the Windows XP Network troubleshooter says the network cards have passed the test, although it pinged the default IP's in the 169.xxx range, and reported a bad DHCP server address of 255.255.255.255

Both adapters are sending packets, but not receiving. Although this machine did briefly try and resolve a DNS host when I took it home and connected it to my home network.

I have been searching all over Google for answers and I have tried everything from WinsockFix tool's, to reinstalling the drivers, to resetting the TCP/IP stack and I still am not able to get this PC to see any networks.

The IPconfig file from the laptop looks like this (any blank spaces are that way in the file):

Windows IP Configuration

Host Name.. . : hp3000

Primary Dns Suffix.. . :

Node Type.. . : Unknown

IP Routing Enabled.. . : No

WINS Proxy Enabled.. . : No

Ethernet adapter Wireless Network Connection:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :

Description.. . : Intel(R) PRO/Wireless LAN 2100 3B Mini PCI Adapter

Physical Address.. . : 00-04-23-6B-AC-B4

Dhcp Enabled.. . : Yes

Autoconfiguration Enabled.. . : Yes

Autoconfiguration IP Address.. . : 169.254.232.94

Subnet Mask.. . : 255.255.0.0

Default Gateway.. . :

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :

Description.. . : Realtek RTL8139C+ Fast Ethernet NIC

Physical Address.. . : 00-02-3F-65-A9-66

Dhcp Enabled.. . : Yes

Autoconfiguration Enabled.. . : Yes

Autoconfiguration IP Address.. . : 169.254.236.134

Subnet Mask.. . : 255.255.0.0

Default Gateway.. . :

Meanwhile a desktop that does connect to that network reads as follows:

Windows IP Configuration

Host Name.. . : t6

Primary Dns Suffix.. . : NET.local

Node Type.. . : Hybrid

IP Routing Enabled.. . : No

WINS Proxy Enabled.. . : No

DNS Suffix Search List.. . : NET.local

Net.local

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : net.local

Description.. . : Intel(R) PRO/100 VE Network Connection

Physical Address.. . : 00-13-20-7B-C0-E3

Dhcp Enabled.. . : Yes

Autoconfiguration Enabled.. . : Yes

IP Address.. . : 192.168.254.16

Subnet Mask.. . : 255.255.255.0

Default Gateway.. . : 192.168.254.1

DHCP Server.. . : 192.168.254.254

DNS Servers.. . : 192.168.254.1

192.168.254.254

Primary WINS Server.. . : 192.168.254.254

Lease Obtained.. . : Wednesday, August 16, 2006 8:33:44 AM

Lease Expires.. . : Thursday, August 24, 2006 8:33:44 AM

I am not able to force a network connection by manually confiquing an IP and Gateway either.

I know someone has seen this before and can offer something to try that I haven't already.

cajalat · Aug 16, 2006, 12:27 PM

I've seen something similar to this in the past. Lets start with this:

- Disable any windows firewalling or personal firewall that you have if any.

- Disable your wireless connection and see if your laptop can operate normally on the WIRED side. After you disable the wireless, disconnect the wired side from the LAN and reconnect it (one way to force it to renew the DHCP lease). Cut/paste the output of the "ipconfig /all" and "netstat -rn" commands.

- Now reverse it and disable your WIRED side and enable your WIRELESS side. I suspect that this will also work. Do the same thing again and print the output of the above two commands

Also if you could print the output of those commands when both are enabled that would help troubleshoot the problem further. You could be running into DHCP/default conflicts when both NICs are enabled at the same time.

Casey

NewEdgeTech · Aug 16, 2006, 12:49 PM

I took turns enabling one connection or the other as requested, but still no reply from the DHCP server:

There are no firewalls in place on this PC.

Here is the Ethernet cable connection only

Windows IP Configuration

Host Name.. . : hp3000

Primary Dns Suffix.. . :

Node Type.. . : Unknown

IP Routing Enabled.. . : No

WINS Proxy Enabled.. . : No

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :

Description.. . : Realtek RTL8139C+ Fast Ethernet NIC

Physical Address.. . : 00-02-3F-65-A9-66

Dhcp Enabled.. . : Yes

Autoconfiguration Enabled.. . : Yes

Autoconfiguration IP Address.. . : 169.254.236.134

Subnet Mask.. . : 255.255.0.0

Default Gateway.. . :

================================================== =========================
Interface List
0x1... MS TCP Loopback interface
0x50004... 00 02 3f 65 a9 66... Realtek RTL8139C+ Fast Ethernet NIC - Packet Scheduler Miniport
================================================== =========================
================================================== =========================
Active Routes:
Network Destination Netmask Gateway Interface Metric
127.0.0.0 255.0.0.0 127.0.0.1 127.0.0.1 1
169.254.0.0 255.255.0.0 169.254.236.134 169.254.236.134 20
169.254.236.134 255.255.255.255 127.0.0.1 127.0.0.1 20
169.254.255.255 255.255.255.255 169.254.236.134 169.254.236.134 20
224.0.0.0 240.0.0.0 169.254.236.134 169.254.236.134 20
255.255.255.255 255.255.255.255 169.254.236.134 169.254.236.134 1
================================================== =========================
Persistent Routes:
None

Route Table

And here is the wireless only (card shows connection to a unsecure wireless network called NewEdge with a "Very Good" signal strength:

Windows IP Configuration

Host Name.. . : hp3000

Primary Dns Suffix.. . :

Node Type.. . : Unknown

IP Routing Enabled.. . : No

WINS Proxy Enabled.. . : No

Ethernet adapter Wireless Network Connection:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :

Description.. . : Intel(R) PRO/Wireless LAN 2100 3B Mini PCI Adapter

Physical Address.. . : 00-04-23-6B-AC-B4

Dhcp Enabled.. . : Yes

Autoconfiguration Enabled.. . : Yes

Autoconfiguration IP Address.. . : 169.254.232.94

Subnet Mask.. . : 255.255.0.0

Default Gateway.. . :

================================================== =========================
Interface List
0x1... MS TCP Loopback interface
0x80002... 00 04 23 6b ac before... Intel(R) PRO/Wireless LAN 2100 3B Mini PCI Adapter - Packet Scheduler Miniport
================================================== =========================
================================================== =========================
Active Routes:
Network Destination Netmask Gateway Interface Metric
127.0.0.0 255.0.0.0 127.0.0.1 127.0.0.1 1
169.254.0.0 255.255.0.0 169.254.232.94 169.254.232.94 30
169.254.232.94 255.255.255.255 127.0.0.1 127.0.0.1 30
169.254.255.255 255.255.255.255 169.254.232.94 169.254.232.94 30
224.0.0.0 240.0.0.0 169.254.232.94 169.254.232.94 30
255.255.255.255 255.255.255.255 169.254.232.94 169.254.232.94 1
================================================== =========================
Persistent Routes:
None

Route Table

And finally with both enabled:

Windows IP Configuration

Host Name.. . : hp3000

Primary Dns Suffix.. . :

Node Type.. . : Unknown

IP Routing Enabled.. . : No

WINS Proxy Enabled.. . : No

Ethernet adapter Wireless Network Connection:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :

Description.. . : Intel(R) PRO/Wireless LAN 2100 3B Mini PCI Adapter

Physical Address.. . : 00-04-23-6B-AC-B4

Dhcp Enabled.. . : Yes

Autoconfiguration Enabled.. . : Yes

Autoconfiguration IP Address.. . : 169.254.232.94

Subnet Mask.. . : 255.255.0.0

Default Gateway.. . :

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :

Description.. . : Realtek RTL8139C+ Fast Ethernet NIC

Physical Address.. . : 00-02-3F-65-A9-66

Dhcp Enabled.. . : Yes

Autoconfiguration Enabled.. . : Yes

Autoconfiguration IP Address.. . : 169.254.236.134

Subnet Mask.. . : 255.255.0.0

Default Gateway.. . :

================================================== =========================
Interface List
0x1... MS TCP Loopback interface
0x80002... 00 04 23 6b ac before... Intel(R) PRO/Wireless LAN 2100 3B Mini PCI Adapter - Packet Scheduler Miniport
0x80004... 00 02 3f 65 a9 66... Realtek RTL8139C+ Fast Ethernet NIC - Packet Scheduler Miniport
================================================== =========================
================================================== =========================
Active Routes:
Network Destination Netmask Gateway Interface Metric
127.0.0.0 255.0.0.0 127.0.0.1 127.0.0.1 1
169.254.0.0 255.255.0.0 169.254.232.94 169.254.232.94 30
169.254.0.0 255.255.0.0 169.254.236.134 169.254.236.134 20
169.254.232.94 255.255.255.255 127.0.0.1 127.0.0.1 30
169.254.236.134 255.255.255.255 127.0.0.1 127.0.0.1 20
169.254.255.255 255.255.255.255 169.254.232.94 169.254.232.94 30
169.254.255.255 255.255.255.255 169.254.236.134 169.254.236.134 20
224.0.0.0 240.0.0.0 169.254.232.94 169.254.232.94 30
224.0.0.0 240.0.0.0 169.254.236.134 169.254.236.134 20
255.255.255.255 255.255.255.255 169.254.232.94 169.254.232.94 1
255.255.255.255 255.255.255.255 169.254.236.134 169.254.236.134 1
================================================== =========================
Persistent Routes:
None

Route Table

cajalat · Aug 16, 2006, 12:55 PM

OK, strange... lets take DHCP out of the picture all together. See if you can do this:

- Disable Wireless (under network neighborhood properties or under device settings)
- Enable WIRED
- Manually configure an IP, Subnet, default route (pick an IP that you know isn't used)

If this doesn't work then the issue has nothing to do with DHCP. See if you can do that and report back results.

Curlyben · Aug 16, 2006, 02:11 PM

Are we looking at a Domain or workgroup setup here.
Could be something as simple as not being a correct member.
Might be worth unjoining and rejoining to see if this helps.

Also have you FULLY patched this machine as SP2 includes a whole bunch of networking fixes.

Failing that a repair of the OS maybe in order.
Just slap in the cd and follow the prompts for a normal install and you'll get to a repair option, not the recovery console but repair.

NewEdgeTech · Aug 16, 2006, 02:19 PM

Consigured ethernet with a static IP after disabling wireless.

Can ping own IP address, but cannot ping gateway or other workstations on the network.

I actually tried this last night on my home network with no success

Windows IP Configuration

Host Name.. . : hp3000

Primary Dns Suffix.. . :

Node Type.. . : Unknown

IP Routing Enabled.. . : No

WINS Proxy Enabled.. . : No

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :

Description.. . : Realtek RTL8139C+ Fast Ethernet NIC

Physical Address.. . : 00-02-3F-65-A9-66

Dhcp Enabled.. . : No

IP Address.. . : 192.168.254.33

Subnet Mask.. . : 255.255.255.0

Default Gateway.. . : 192.168.254.1

DNS Servers.. . : 192.168.254.1

192.168.254.254

================================================== =========================
Interface List
0x1... MS TCP Loopback interface
0x80004... 00 02 3f 65 a9 66... Realtek RTL8139C+ Fast Ethernet NIC - Packet Scheduler Miniport
================================================== =========================
================================================== =========================
Active Routes:
Network Destination Netmask Gateway Interface Metric
0.0.0.0 0.0.0.0 192.168.254.1 192.168.254.33 20
127.0.0.0 255.0.0.0 127.0.0.1 127.0.0.1 1
192.168.254.0 255.255.255.0 192.168.254.33 192.168.254.33 20
192.168.254.33 255.255.255.255 127.0.0.1 127.0.0.1 20
192.168.254.255 255.255.255.255 192.168.254.33 192.168.254.33 20
224.0.0.0 240.0.0.0 192.168.254.33 192.168.254.33 20
255.255.255.255 255.255.255.255 192.168.254.33 192.168.254.33 1
Default Gateway: 192.168.254.1
================================================== =========================
Persistent Routes:
None

Route Table

Curlyben · Aug 16, 2006, 02:22 PM

Something else I have just thought about.
As this is a fresh build have you ensured that you are running the most up to date drives for your NICs.

Also have you tried throwing in a known good NIC and seeing if the problem continues ?

NewEdgeTech · Aug 16, 2006, 02:23 PM

Originally Posted by Curlyben

Are we looking at a Domain or workgroup setup here.
Could be something as simple as not being a correct member.
Might be worth unjoining and rejoining to see if this helps.

Also have you FULLY patched this machine as SP2 includes a whole bunch of networking fixes.

Failing that a repair of the OS maybe in order.
Just slap in the cd and follow the prompts for a normal install and you'll get to a repair option, not the recovery console but repair.

Right now, I am just trying to set it up as an individual workstation, so that I can download SP2 with all the patches. Eventually if I could see the networks, I would join it to a domain, but that's getting a little ahead of things considering the current lack of connectivity.

When I have tried to repair the OS previously, it asked me which version of windows I want to enter, which there is only one, so I indicated that. It asks me for an administator password, which there isn't one, so I just hit return and all it gives me from there is a windows> prompt and it ges no further.

Originally Posted by Curlyben

Something else I have just thought about.
As this is a fresh build have you ensured that you are running the most up to date drives for your NICs.

Also have you tried throwing in a known good NIC and seeing if the problem continues ?

I downloaded all of the drivers right from the HP website using the express tag so they should be recent and accurate. This is an onboard NIC for the Ethernet, so replacing the NIC means replacing the motherboard. I suspected a bad NIC could be the case, but why would I not be able to get wireless either?

cajalat · Aug 16, 2006, 02:26 PM

OK, this eliminates DHCP as a potential problem and also eliminates the DOMAIN as a potential problem.

Has this machine ever connected successfully onto the network?
If you look under the device manager, does the NIC appear to be configured properly? i.e. it doesn't have an X (red) or ? (yellow) mark next to the NIC?

If it does then I would recommend that you highlight the NIC under "Network adaptors" in your Device manager, hit the delete key, then highlight the machine name, choose "Action", choose "Scan for hardware changes". BEFORE you do that make sure that you have the Windows XP CD handy and also a copy of the drivers for the NIC card handy.

OK, under network neighborhood, properties. Advanced tab, do you have this (protect my computer stuff) checked on or off?

NewEdgeTech · Aug 16, 2006, 02:29 PM

Originally Posted by cajalat

OK, this eliminates DHCP as a potential problem and also eliminates the DOMAIN as a potential problem.

Has this machine ever connected successfully onto the network?
If you look under the device manager, does the NIC appear to be configured properly? i.e. it doesn't have an X (red) or ? (yellow) mark next to the NIC?

If it does then I would recommend that you highlight the NIC under "Network adaptors" in your Device manager, hit the delete key, then highlight the machine name, choose "Action", choose "Scan for hardware changes". BEFORE you do that make sure that you have the Windows XP CD handy and also a copy of the drivers for the NIC card handy.

Yes this computer was able to connect frequently to both home, office and WIFI networks in the past.

I am having no device manager conflicts with any of my hardware, but even so, I have deleted them earlier today and rebooted the machine.

Originally Posted by cajalat

ok, under network neighborhood, properties. Advanced tab, do you have this (protect my computer stuff) checked on or off?

ICF is not checked and enabled

cajalat · Aug 16, 2006, 02:33 PM

Ok, so lets try the obvious... do you have another device (laptop/pc) that you can plug in the same cable as this laptop that you can try? Or have you tried that in the past?

The other thing to check is if the NIC is configured for AUTO or fixed to something like 100/FULL.

Curlyben · Aug 16, 2006, 02:37 PM

Originally Posted by NewEdgeTech

When I have tried to repair the OS previously, it asked me which version of windows I want to enter, which there is only one, so I indicated that. It asks me for an administator password, which there isn't one, so I just hit return and all it gives me from there is a windows> prompt and it ges no further.

In my opinion, with a repair giving this issue, I would cut my losses and start again from scratch (full format, The Works) as this sounds like ones of those wonderful Undocumented Features

NewEdgeTech · Aug 16, 2006, 02:39 PM

Originally Posted by cajalat

Ok, so lets try the obvious...do you have another device (laptop/pc) that you can plug in the same cable as this laptop that you can try? Or have you tried that in the past?

The other thing to check is if the NIC is configured for AUTO or fixed to something like 100/FULL.

I am replying on a workstation using a cable that only a half hour ago was in the laptop.

I have tried to connect both ways with the laptop NIC set as Auto, and also as 100/Full Duplex. Had no effect either way.

I really have gone over all the basic simple stuff already, I'm just trying to not have to call the customer and tell them their PC is nothing more than a portable DVD player now. This is the third network it has not been able to get on since the PC was wiped and reinstalled.

cajalat · Aug 16, 2006, 02:52 PM

OK, one last option... which will be definitive in my opinion as to whether you have a bum PC.

Do this: Download a copy of KNOPPIX (http://www.knoppix.com/)

This is a bootable Live CD (Linux). You can boot your machine from it and start a command window. Issue the following commands:

Ifconfig -a
Netstat -rn

And then see if you can ping the IP address that you were assigned and the gateway.

If you don't even get an IP then your machine/NIC is bad at this point. If you do get an IP and can ping yourself and your gateway then the problem is with Windows.

I use KNOPPIX all the time and it really helps in narrowing problems like this down to either hardware or software.

Casey

Curlyben · Aug 16, 2006, 02:53 PM

Also on the reinstall did you use a normal XP CD or the OEM recovery CD ?
At least the OEM CD will have all the needed drivers etc for the rebuild and they shouldn't need updating.
Might be an issue, but at this point anything is worth considering.

cajalat · Aug 16, 2006, 02:53 PM

By the way... KNOPPIX will not touch your hard drive at all so your data will not be affected in any way.

EDIT: And it also has a lot of troubleshooting tools for wired AND wireless so this will come in handy.

NewEdgeTech · Aug 16, 2006, 02:57 PM

Originally Posted by Curlyben

Also on the reinstall did you use a normal XP CD or the OEM recovery CD ?
At least the OEM CD will have all the needed drivers etc for the rebuild and they shouldn't need updating.
Might be an issue, but at this point anything is worth considering.

It was a licensed normal XP CD, and I am running a Service Pak 2 CD I found in our Microsoft Partner library. As we speak. I am not overly confident that anything in SP2 will change the situation much, but we'll see what happens

Originally Posted by cajalat

By the way...KNOPPIX will not touch your hard drive at all so your data will not be affected in any way.

EDIT: And it also has a lot of troubleshooting tools for wired AND wireless so this will come in handy.

Yes, I also use Knoppix often as a data recovery tool. I'll run those tests momentarily

Originally Posted by cajalat

ok, one last option....which will be definitive in my opinion as to whether or not you have a bum PC.

Do this: Download a copy of KNOPPIX (http://www.knoppix.com/)

This is a bootable Live CD (Linux). You can boot your machine from it and start a command window. Issue the following commands:

ifconfig -a
netstat -rn

I get no response back from the netstat command in Linux.

cajalat · Aug 16, 2006, 03:47 PM

Can you post the result of the ifconfig -a command? (you will have to run it as root)

EDIT: What version of KNOPPIX are you running?

Curlyben · Aug 16, 2006, 03:48 PM

Edge, time to throw it all in and start over.
May just be a "bad" build.
If you could dig out an OEM CD all for the better.

NewEdgeTech · Aug 17, 2006, 08:04 AM

Originally Posted by cajalat

Can you post the result of the ifconfig -a command? (you will have to run it as root)

EDIT: What version of KNOPPIX are you running?

I ran version 3.8.2

Eth0 Link encap:Ethernet HWddr 00:04:23:6B:AC:B4
BROADCAST MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1
RX Packets:0 errors:0 cropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX Packets:8 errors:0 cropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
Collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
RX bytes:0 (0.0 b) TX bytes:2688 (2.6 KiB)
Interupt:5 Memory:90000000-90000fff

Eth1 Link encap:Ethernet HWddr 00:02:3F:65:A9:66
BROADCAST MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1
RX Packets:0 errors:0 cropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX Packets:4 errors:0 cropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
Collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
RX bytes:0 (0.0 b) TX bytes:1368 (1.3 KiB)
Interupt:10 Base Address:0xc000

Lo Link encap: Local Loopback
Inet addr:127.0.0.1 Mask:255.0.0.0
UP LOOPBACK RUNNING MTU: 16436 Metric: 1
RX Packets:6 errors:0 cropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX Packets:6 errors:0 cropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
Collisions:0 txqueuelen:0
RX bytes:400 (400.0 b) TX bytes:400 (400.0 b)