Can't get IP address from network card

  • Thread starter Thread starter Guest
  • Start date Start date
G

Guest

Hi,

I'm not sure if this is exactly the right forum for this question, but I've
run into what seems to be an unresolvable problem with my internet connection.
I should mention from the outset that I'm not really an expert with windows,
and I've reached the stage where I'm thrashing around in the dark. with this
and I need some advice.

A few days back, my laptop
went through an 'unscheduled shutdown' for no apparent reason (I suspect it
may have overheated, as I didn't have it on a hard surface...) Anyway, on
restarting I discovered that my ethernet card can't get an IP address. The
card itself seems to be improperly installed;
the dialogue that pops up when clicking on 'properties' on the LAN connection
doesn't show the card name, and the TCP/IP protocol is missing also.
Attempts to reinstall
TCP/IP fail with a "missing file" error.

This machine is dual boot with a Linux partition, and the internet
connection works fine from there, so it's apparently not a hardware issue.

I've tried using ipconfig /release , /renew which doesn't help. I've tried
resetting TCP/IP with netsh (as advised by several online articles) and also
repairing the registry keys with
a utility called WinsockFix, but no joy. I also removed the Winsock registry
keys at
one point and succeeded in reproducing the symptoms of a missing TCP/IP, so
I'm pretty sure it's not the protocol itself that's missing. This leaves me
leaning toward the view that it's the card. Unfortunately, the Wireless LAN
card has the same problems, which then argues against it being the card,
but.......

Next step is try to deinstall and reinstall the card. Windows doesn't like
this and it is not
apparently possible. So, I've tried reinstalling the drivers (this is
apparently a Realtek 8139/810x family NIC ...or similar). The driver
reinstallation basically never works for me,
the process always hangs.

I've also tried disabling the sound card, which I've heard can cause
conflicts with the ethernet card, but I can't acheive this either.

Right now, my next idea is to go to the BIOS and change the PCI socket IRQ
to the number for the ethernet card (5). Hopefully, the OS will then think
there's
an ethernet card in the PCI slot and give me a chance to install the right
drivers.

I'd really appreciate any feedback at all on any of these issues. I'm
particularly
concerned about my inability to reinstall the card drivers. Is this usually
a difficult
or problematic thing to do? Also, is it possible I've overlooked womething
simple
which could be easily fixed? I have to confess that I think I"ve tried
nearly every combination of the various options in the popup boxes, but it's
possible I"ve missed something. Also, with the TCP/IP missing file problem, I
believe the system
looks in windows/system32/drivers/etc , I've checked in there and there is
a system file called protocols, as well as some others. What could be
missing?
 
Alex said:
Hi,

I'm not sure if this is exactly the right forum for this question, but I've
run into what seems to be an unresolvable problem with my internet connection.
I should mention from the outset that I'm not really an expert with windows,
and I've reached the stage where I'm thrashing around in the dark. with this
and I need some advice.
Click to expand...

You seem to have done most if not all of the obvious things to try and
fix this problem, but to no avail.

Try booting the computer into Safe Mode then go into Device Manager
and remove all of the entries for Network adapters. Then reboot the
computer and let Windows XP redetect the device(s).

Good luck

Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
 
Thanks Ron, for that reply. I've tried what you suggest, and I made some
progress,
although I didn't solve the problem. It's possible, with some complaining
from the machine, to disable the card in safe mode, and the card is then
redetected on a normal startup. The driver installation seems to always fail,
but now it actually fails rather than hangs. Attempts to reinstall the
drivers usually end with "missing file" errors.

Since TCP/IP also seems to run into missing file errors, I wondered whether
the system
might be looking in the wrong places for drivers etc. I successfully ran
dir/%SystemRoot% from the cmd shell, which proves that it points to
something.

Do you know if it is possible to check that;

- the system is looking in the right places for files (values of system
variables
or registry keys). Also, what exactly is necessary to install a driver? I
have assumed
you need only the driver .sys file somewhere, and you can point the system
to such a file
and go. Is there something I'm missing (I said already I'm not a windows
expert. I've never installed drivers before, and it's entirely possible that
I'm doing (or not doing)
something really dumb without realising it.)

I have somehow decided that the system looks for drivers in

Windows/system32/drivers

for TCP/IP in

Windows/system32/drivers/etc (where there is a file called protocols)

I'm not sure of the function of the folders

Windows/inf

and

Windows/options/cam (I think, this is from memory. Could be
Windows/options/cab)

both of which seem to feature in various contexts.


Also, is it possible to install drivers using some other method, such as
from the cmd prompt?

Again, many thanks for any and all replies.
 
Alex said:
Thanks Ron, for that reply. I've tried what you suggest, and I made some
progress,
although I didn't solve the problem. It's possible, with some complaining
from the machine, to disable the card in safe mode, and the card is then
redetected on a normal startup. The driver installation seems to always fail,
but now it actually fails rather than hangs. Attempts to reinstall the
drivers usually end with "missing file" errors.
Click to expand...

What is the actual make and model of the network card in the computer?
What type of network card does the "found new hardware" wizard report?
What are the file names from the "missing file" error messages?



When you are installing hardware the priority places to look for the
drivers are:
1. The drivers disk that came with the hardware
2. The folder containing the drivers downloaded from the hardware
manufacturer's website.

Once we get the problems with the network adapter sorted out then we
can tackle the TCP/IP issues, if there are still any remaining. They
may also be resolved when the network adapter issues are.

Good luck

Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
 
What is the actual make and model of the network card in the computer?
What type of network card does the "found new hardware" wizard report?
What are the file names from the "missing file" error messages?
Click to expand...

According to the Linux hardware manager, the card is
an Asustek RTL8139

windows reports Realtek RTL8139/810x Family fast ethernet NIC.
In fact this has now transmogrified into
Realtek RTL8139/810x Family fast ethernet NIC #2, while the original seems
to have
disappeared.

By the way, the LAN connection is no longer appearing under Network
Resources.

the autodetect program reports "Error during installation of peripheral:
Impossible
to find the specified file"

If I try to install using the hardware manager, I get a similar error (the
filename isn't given, just "Impossible to find the correct software"). Note
that the operating
system for this computer is in Italian (it's my girlfriend's computer
originally)
so these are my translations of the error messages.

The drivers I download are called variously RTnicxp or similar or RTL8139. I
also downloaded the setup utility from Realtek.
 
According to the Linux hardware manager, the card is
an Asustek RTL8139

windows reports Realtek RTL8139/810x Family fast ethernet NIC.
In fact this has now transmogrified into
Realtek RTL8139/810x Family fast ethernet NIC #2, while the original seems
to have
disappeared.

By the way, the LAN connection is no longer appearing under Network
Resources.

the autodetect program reports "Error during installation of peripheral:
Impossible
to find the specified file"

If I try to install using the hardware manager, I get a similar error (the
filename isn't given, just "Impossible to find the correct software"). Note
that the operating
system for this computer is in Italian (it's my girlfriend's computer
originally)
so these are my translations of the error messages.

The drivers I download are called variously RTnicxp or similar or RTL8139. I
also downloaded the setup utility from Realtek.
Click to expand...

Can you try moving the network card to a different PCI slot on the
motherboard?

Avoid, if possible, using the PCI slot that is closest to the AGP
video card slot as most motherboards have these two slots hard-wired
to share the same IRQ.

Good luck

Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
 
Back
Top