Can't start DHCP Service - fixed

[Lance]

I had a problem last night with my home network (802.11b Linksys router,
XP Pro/Home, wired/wireless mix) and fixed it by resetting my TCP/IP
stack. I hardly ever see this suggested, so maybe someone else can
benefit from my experience.

Symptoms:

- One wireless computer no longer receives an IP address from my
router. ipconfig /all shows 0.0.0.0 All other computers working fine.
- Properties of the wireless card shows "Low" signal strength (this is
normal for this computer) and 2 mbps connection speed (11 mbps is normal).
- In Services.msc, DHCP shows neither Start or Stop though it is set
to Automatic.
- Attempting to start DHCP service results in "Error 2: The system
cannot find the file specified" (or pretty close to that).
- Uninstall/Reinstall of card does not fix problem. Device manager
shows no problems with the card.

The fix for me was to reset the TCP/IP stack in accordance with the
following MS article. I learned that it is not possible to re-install
the stack (at least for WinXP) and that a reset is that closest thing.

Microsoft Knowledge Base Article - 299357
How to reset Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;299357&Product=winxp

My log file looks a lot like the sample. Can anyone venture a guess how
it can get so messed up?

Lance
*****

 

[JR]

Hi Lance,
I have seen instances where users had IP stack problems
after removing spyware/parasites from their machine
Thanks for sharing your experience

 

[Lance]

-----Original Message-----
I had a problem last night with my home network (802.11b Linksys router,
XP Pro/Home, wired/wireless mix) and fixed it by resetting my TCP/IP
stack. I hardly ever see this suggested, so maybe someone else can
benefit from my experience.

My log file looks a lot like the sample. Can anyone venture a guess how
it can get so messed up?

Found out what is was - Cisco 3000 VPN client. I can
recreate the problem by doing a repair install of Cisco
VPN. The problem gets fixed by resetting the TCP/IP stack.

Lance
*****

 

[Lance]

-----Original Message-----
(802.11b
Linksys router,



Found out what is was - Cisco 3000 VPN client. I can
recreate the problem by doing a repair install of Cisco
VPN. The problem gets fixed by resetting the TCP/IP stack.

Lance
*****

I found the REAL fix is uninstalling and reinstalling
Cisco 3000 VPN client...at least I think so...my network
is working for now.

This is interesting and may help others. Turns out Cisco
3000 VPN client installs components of ZoneLabs'
ZoneAlarm firewall (vsdata.dll, vsdatant.sys, etc). I can
confirm this by uninstalling and reinstalling the Cisco
client - the ZoneAlarm files come and go along with the
client. Plus, the files are digitally signed by ZoneLabs.

My troubleshooting searching didn't find this info on
Google, VPN client help files, or even the Cisco support
forums. "ZoneLabs" or "ZoneAlarm" doesn't show up in
Add/Remove Programs or even searching the registry. But,
you can follow the directions for a manual uninstall of
ZoneAlarm firewall to remove these components.

I'm guessing this must have to do with a "Stateful
Firewall" on/off setting available in the Cisco client
settings. Somewhere along the line, something must have
gotten corrupted and the ZoneAlarm firewall components
got activated when they shouldn't have.

So if someone swears up and down that his system doesn't
have ZoneAlarm, but his symptoms point to a ZoneAlarm
problems - he may have Cisco VPN installed on his system.

After a fresh install of Cisco 3000 VPN client, my home
NetBIOS network works even when I'm using VPN to connect
to work - this is something I've never, ever been able to
do in the past.

Lance
*****