ICS with XP host, ME client not quite working

[Dazed]

I have a two-PC home network, with an XP Home (SP2) host connected to
the internet via a cable modem and a Windows ME client (two NIC cards
on the host, no hub). Recently re-installed ME on the client, and went
through the XP Network Wizard process to re-establish Internet
Connection Sharing.

The client machine is not yet able to fully connect to the internet;
all ideas are welcome.

Status:
1) All host PC apps (OE, IE6, AIM, etc.) can access the internet
properly;
2) File sharing works properly both ways; ie from either computer I
can view the contents of the other's hard drives;
3) The only client application that can access the internet is Winamp
(example http://64.236.34.67:80). All others - IE, OE, AVG
(anti-virus), Spybot, for example - can not connect. I can use the IE
address bar to navigate to and view the host hard drives but nothing on
the web.
4) The client machine does have an "Internet Gateway" icon in the
taskbar, suggesting that the right network applications exist.

Troubleshooting steps taken to date:
1) Re-ran the XP Network Wizard completely, including re-creating the
network disk.
2) Followed the XP home networking troubleshooter all the way through.
(Whew.) No hardware conflicts, pinged in zero time, IP addresses OK.
3) Disabled the XP firewall on both connections. At the moment, the
Internet connection firewall has been re-established, but remains
disabled on the LAN connection.
4) Followed the troubleshooting steps from here:

http://groups-beta.google.com/group...b/browse_thread/thread/f86b0444aefb3bf9?hl=en

which did lead to successful ICS implementation three years ago.

I don't think I'm too far from regaining internet connectivity from the
client. All suggestions are welcome.

Thanks -

 

[Chuck]

I have a two-PC home network, with an XP Home (SP2) host connected to
the internet via a cable modem and a Windows ME client (two NIC cards
on the host, no hub). Recently re-installed ME on the client, and went
through the XP Network Wizard process to re-establish Internet
Connection Sharing.

The client machine is not yet able to fully connect to the internet;
all ideas are welcome.

Status:
1) All host PC apps (OE, IE6, AIM, etc.) can access the internet
properly;
2) File sharing works properly both ways; ie from either computer I
can view the contents of the other's hard drives;
3) The only client application that can access the internet is Winamp
(example http://64.236.34.67:80). All others - IE, OE, AVG
(anti-virus), Spybot, for example - can not connect. I can use the IE
address bar to navigate to and view the host hard drives but nothing on
the web.
4) The client machine does have an "Internet Gateway" icon in the
taskbar, suggesting that the right network applications exist.

Troubleshooting steps taken to date:
1) Re-ran the XP Network Wizard completely, including re-creating the
network disk.
2) Followed the XP home networking troubleshooter all the way through.
(Whew.) No hardware conflicts, pinged in zero time, IP addresses OK.
3) Disabled the XP firewall on both connections. At the moment, the
Internet connection firewall has been re-established, but remains
disabled on the LAN connection.
4) Followed the troubleshooting steps from here:

http://groups-beta.google.com/group...b/browse_thread/thread/f86b0444aefb3bf9?hl=en

which did lead to successful ICS implementation three years ago.

I don't think I'm too far from regaining internet connectivity from the
client. All suggestions are welcome.

Thanks -

Let's take a look at "ipconfig /all" from both computers. Follow instructions
in this article, and linked articles. Run browse and ping diagnostics on the
client too please:
<http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/2005/05/troubleshooting-internet-service.html#AskingForHelp>

 

[Steve Winograd [MVP]]

I have a two-PC home network, with an XP Home (SP2) host connected to
the internet via a cable modem and a Windows ME client (two NIC cards
on the host, no hub). Recently re-installed ME on the client, and went
through the XP Network Wizard process to re-establish Internet
Connection Sharing.

The client machine is not yet able to fully connect to the internet;
all ideas are welcome.

Status:
1) All host PC apps (OE, IE6, AIM, etc.) can access the internet
properly;
2) File sharing works properly both ways; ie from either computer I
can view the contents of the other's hard drives;
3) The only client application that can access the internet is Winamp
(example http://64.236.34.67:80). All others - IE, OE, AVG
(anti-virus), Spybot, for example - can not connect. I can use the IE
address bar to navigate to and view the host hard drives but nothing on
the web.
4) The client machine does have an "Internet Gateway" icon in the
taskbar, suggesting that the right network applications exist.

Troubleshooting steps taken to date:
1) Re-ran the XP Network Wizard completely, including re-creating the
network disk.
2) Followed the XP home networking troubleshooter all the way through.
(Whew.) No hardware conflicts, pinged in zero time, IP addresses OK.
3) Disabled the XP firewall on both connections. At the moment, the
Internet connection firewall has been re-established, but remains
disabled on the LAN connection.
4) Followed the troubleshooting steps from here:

http://groups-beta.google.com/group...b/browse_thread/thread/f86b0444aefb3bf9?hl=en

which did lead to successful ICS implementation three years ago.

I don't think I'm too far from regaining internet connectivity from the
client. All suggestions are welcome.

Thanks -

Keep the firewall enabled on the host! It's dangerous to connect to
the Internet without a firewall.

The suggestion to re-build the TCP/IP Winsock2 registry keys that I
made in 4) doesn't apply to a host computer running XP.

Try these commands on the client:

ping 216.239.37.99
ping google.com

If the first one succeeds and the second one fails, DNS resolution
isn't working. In that case, check the client's DNS server address.
It should be 192.168.0.1 or your ISP's DNS server. If it's set to
192.168.0.1, try changing it to your ISP's DNS server.
--
Best Wishes,
Steve Winograd, MS-MVP (Windows Networking)

Please post any reply as a follow-up message in the news group
for everyone to see. I'm sorry, but I don't answer questions
addressed directly to me in E-mail or news groups.

Microsoft Most Valuable Professional Program
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com

 

[Dazed]

Here goes . . .

The XP Home SP2 (host), with word wrap off as requested -

Windows IP Configuration Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . :
The4500 Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . : Node Type .
.. . . . . . . . . . . : Hybrid IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . .
: Yes WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : NoEthernet adapter
Local Area Connection: Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Realtek RTL8139/810X Family PCI
Fast Ethernet NIC Physical Address. . . . . . . . . :
00-30-BD-03-3D-A6 Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1 Subnet Mask . .
.. . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0 Default Gateway . . . . . . .
.. . : Ethernet adapter GVC used for the internet:
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : Description . . . . . . . .
.. . . : GVC-REALTEK Ethernet 10/100 PCI Adapter Physical
Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-C0-A8-7F-AA-73 Dhcp Enabled. . . .
.. . . . . . . : Yes Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 67.80.92.183 Subnet Mask .
.. . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.252.0 Default Gateway . . . . . .
.. . . : 67.80.92.1 DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . :
167.206.3.173 DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 167.206.3.173
167.206.3.172
167.206.3.239 Lease Obtained. . . . .
.. . . . . : Monday, August 01, 2005 9:27:15 PM Lease Expires . .
.. . . . . . . . : Friday, August 05, 2005 9:27:15 AM

The ME PC, again with word wrap off -

Windows IP Configuration Host Name . . . . . . . . . :
OLDDELL.mshome.net DNS Servers . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1 Node Type
.. . . . . . . . . : Mixed NetBIOS Scope ID. . . . . . : IP Routing
Enabled. . . . . : Yes WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . : No NetBIOS
Resolution Uses DNS : No0 Ethernet adapter : Description . . . . . . .
.. : PPP Adapter. Physical Address. . . . . . : 44-45-53-54-00-00 DHCP
Enabled. . . . . . . . : Yes IP Address. . . . . . . . . :
0.0.0.0 Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . : 0.0.0.0 Default Gateway . . . . .
.. : DHCP Server . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.255 Primary WINS Server
.. . . . : Secondary WINS Server . . . : Lease Obtained. . . . . . . :
Lease Expires . . . . . . . : 1 Ethernet adapter : Description . . . .
.. . . . : F5D5000, PCI Card/Desktop Network PCI Card Physical Address.
.. . . . . : 00-30-BD-03-46-B0 DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . : Yes IP
Address. . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.10 Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . :
255.255.255.0 Default Gateway . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1 DHCP Server . .
.. . . . . . : 192.168.0.1 Primary WINS Server . . . . : Secondary WINS
Server . . . : Lease Obtained. . . . . . . : 08 02 05 7:56:50 PM Lease
Expires . . . . . . . : 08 09 05 7:56:50 PM

I can't explain why there's two adapters shown on the ME results. I
don't recall that this is that way by design.

If by "make sure that Format - Word Wrap is NOT checked" you meant
something other than what's above, I can try again with the text that
appears upon opening Notepad.


Ping and browse results:
Host computer - ping between 15 and 19 ms (www.yahoo.com) and 92-107
(66.94.230.33)
browser pulled up a yahoo webpage with both
www.yahoo.com and 66.94.230.33.
Client - ping test gave "unknown host" response on www.yahoo.com,
82-110 ms from 66.94.230.33.
browser pulled up a yahoo webpage with 66.94.230.33 in the
address bar, "no page to display" after entering www.yahoo.com.

I know just enough to suspect that the client isn't getting the right
access to DNS servers . . .

Thanks -

 

[Chuck]

Here goes . . .

The XP Home SP2 (host), with word wrap off as requested -

Windows IP Configuration Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . :
The4500 Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . : Node Type .
. . . . . . . . . . . : Hybrid IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . .
: Yes WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : NoEthernet adapter
Local Area Connection: Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Realtek RTL8139/810X Family PCI
Fast Ethernet NIC Physical Address. . . . . . . . . :
00-30-BD-03-3D-A6 Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1 Subnet Mask . .
. . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0 Default Gateway . . . . . . .
. . : Ethernet adapter GVC used for the internet:
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : Description . . . . . . . .
. . . : GVC-REALTEK Ethernet 10/100 PCI Adapter Physical
Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-C0-A8-7F-AA-73 Dhcp Enabled. . . .
. . . . . . . : Yes Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 67.80.92.183 Subnet Mask .
. . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.252.0 Default Gateway . . . . . .
. . . : 67.80.92.1 DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . :
167.206.3.173 DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 167.206.3.173
167.206.3.172
167.206.3.239 Lease Obtained. . . . .
. . . . . : Monday, August 01, 2005 9:27:15 PM Lease Expires . .
. . . . . . . . : Friday, August 05, 2005 9:27:15 AM

The ME PC, again with word wrap off -

Windows IP Configuration Host Name . . . . . . . . . :
OLDDELL.mshome.net DNS Servers . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1 Node Type
. . . . . . . . . : Mixed NetBIOS Scope ID. . . . . . : IP Routing
Enabled. . . . . : Yes WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . : No NetBIOS
Resolution Uses DNS : No0 Ethernet adapter : Description . . . . . . .
. : PPP Adapter. Physical Address. . . . . . : 44-45-53-54-00-00 DHCP
Enabled. . . . . . . . : Yes IP Address. . . . . . . . . :
0.0.0.0 Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . : 0.0.0.0 Default Gateway . . . . .
. : DHCP Server . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.255 Primary WINS Server
. . . . : Secondary WINS Server . . . : Lease Obtained. . . . . . . :
Lease Expires . . . . . . . : 1 Ethernet adapter : Description . . . .
. . . . : F5D5000, PCI Card/Desktop Network PCI Card Physical Address.
. . . . . : 00-30-BD-03-46-B0 DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . : Yes IP
Address. . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.10 Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . :
255.255.255.0 Default Gateway . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1 DHCP Server . .
. . . . . . : 192.168.0.1 Primary WINS Server . . . . : Secondary WINS
Server . . . : Lease Obtained. . . . . . . : 08 02 05 7:56:50 PM Lease
Expires . . . . . . . : 08 09 05 7:56:50 PM

I can't explain why there's two adapters shown on the ME results. I
don't recall that this is that way by design.

If by "make sure that Format - Word Wrap is NOT checked" you meant
something other than what's above, I can try again with the text that
appears upon opening Notepad.


Ping and browse results:
Host computer - ping between 15 and 19 ms (www.yahoo.com) and 92-107
(66.94.230.33)
browser pulled up a yahoo webpage with both
www.yahoo.com and 66.94.230.33.
Client - ping test gave "unknown host" response on www.yahoo.com,
82-110 ms from 66.94.230.33.
browser pulled up a yahoo webpage with 66.94.230.33 in the
address bar, "no page to display" after entering www.yahoo.com.

I know just enough to suspect that the client isn't getting the right
access to DNS servers . . .

Thanks -

OK, try configuring OldDell DNS settings. Try #1 then #2.
1) Select "Obtain DNS server address automatically".
2) Select "Use the following DNS server addresses:", and input
167.206.3.173
167.206.3.172

 

[Dazed]

I think I found this last night, under Control Panel|Network. (I don't
have access to that machine right now.) I do recall a proliferation of
PPP, TCP/IP, and other items configured, and that "Obtain DNS server
address automatically" was checked for all TCP/IP protocols . . . is it
best to do #2 {grin} to all TCP/IP protocols (four of those, I think)
or try to weed out the inapplicable ones first?

 

[Chuck]

I think I found this last night, under Control Panel|Network. (I don't
have access to that machine right now.) I do recall a proliferation of
PPP, TCP/IP, and other items configured, and that "Obtain DNS server
address automatically" was checked for all TCP/IP protocols . . . is it
best to do #2 {grin} to all TCP/IP protocols (four of those, I think)
or try to weed out the inapplicable ones first?

You'll be looking at network adapter name "F5D5000..." on OldDell. It doesn't
appear to have any DNS right now, though it does have a DHCP server 192.168.0.1,
which corresponds to the adapter "Realtek RTL8139/810X..." on The 4500.

 

[Dazed]

Conditional success. . . . the client can now call up webpages in IE
with domain names, or at least it tries . . . . There's still a
problem somewhere, since only the simplest of pages (google, for
example) can be viewed. Other, larger pages yield a "This page cannot
be found".

The host computer still hauls in webpages at normal speed. What might
I check to speed the client back up to historical levels?

Thanks -

 

[Chuck]

Conditional success. . . . the client can now call up webpages in IE
with domain names, or at least it tries . . . . There's still a
problem somewhere, since only the simplest of pages (google, for
example) can be viewed. Other, larger pages yield a "This page cannot
be found".

The host computer still hauls in webpages at normal speed. What might
I check to speed the client back up to historical levels?

Thanks -

OK, let me get this straight. You now have internet working on the client, sort
of. Some web pages load, but others don't?

That probably means that you now have an MTU setting problem.
<http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/2005/06/internet-connectivity-problems-caused.html>

 

[Dazed]

Thanks . . . I feel like I'm getting closer but not quite there.

The second link was most instructive, and allowed me to determine the
maximum client MTU to be 1472. However, when I navigated through the
registry to
"HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\ System\ CurrentControlSet\ Services\ Class\ Net\"
I was unable to find a key where the DriverDesc showed TCP/IP. (Two
had "F5D5000 . . . ", the third had "Internet Connection Sharing".)
Since I'm not much for experimenting with the registry, I didn't insert
a MaxMTU key anywhere.

Is the lack of a "TCP/IP" key unusual?

I've also been speculating on why just now does this MTU problem crop
up - I'm guessing it stems from the fact that when I first set up this
network the original release of XP was on the host. Now that the host
has been converted to SP1 perhaps system behavior got worse here, not
better.

Thanks -

 

[Chuck]

Thanks . . . I feel like I'm getting closer but not quite there.

The second link was most instructive, and allowed me to determine the
maximum client MTU to be 1472. However, when I navigated through the
registry to
"HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\ System\ CurrentControlSet\ Services\ Class\ Net\"
I was unable to find a key where the DriverDesc showed TCP/IP. (Two
had "F5D5000 . . . ", the third had "Internet Connection Sharing".)
Since I'm not much for experimenting with the registry, I didn't insert
a MaxMTU key anywhere.

Is the lack of a "TCP/IP" key unusual?

I've also been speculating on why just now does this MTU problem crop
up - I'm guessing it stems from the fact that when I first set up this
network the original release of XP was on the host. Now that the host
has been converted to SP1 perhaps system behavior got worse here, not
better.

Thanks -

Last question first. From what I've read, an MTU problem could happen to
anyone, at any time. It's a combination of four factors:
1) You are accessing a server that doesn't accept fragmented packets.
2) The route from your computer to that server somewhere involves a segment
that encapsulates your packets (causing an overhead of header bytes).
3) The overhead generated by encapsulating your packets causes them to be too
large for some router between you and the server in question, so your packets
then have to be fragmented (ie, one packet must be split into two).
4) Your MTU is set to the maximum value, to make your packets efficient for you
(and allowing for no overhead between you and any servers that you wish to
access).

You can control #4. You can control #1, by not accessing certain servers. You
cannot control #2 or #3.

One of the more common occurrence of the MTU setting problem starts with someone
having PPPoE DSL service, or accessing problem servers from an ICS client.
Since you're mentioning "client" and "host", I'm guessing that you have ICS in
there somewhere.

As far as changing the MTU value, I'm going to recommend that you use DrTCP.
Why do it by hand when you can use a free tool? See the updated copy of my
article:
<http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/2005/06/internet-connectivity-problems-caused.html>

 

[Dazed]

Got DrTCP, stashed away on the host PC . . . just one more question (we
hope) - do I run the MTU change from the client or the host, or both?

 

[Chuck]

Got DrTCP, stashed away on the host PC . . . just one more question (we
hope) - do I run the MTU change from the client or the host, or both?

The client is, hopefully, where you're having problems? You run it on the
computer having the problems.

 

[Dazed]

Thanks. Sorry to be so obtuse.

Invoked DrTCP on the client machine, changed the MTU on both the
FDF5000 ... and Internet Connection Sharing connections, to 1472.
Still no webpages (not even Google, tonight); the page-load status in
the lower left of my IE window sits on "Looking up site www.yahoo(or
google, or whatever).com" and ultimately gives me a "page not found".
Same with MTU set to 1470.

I also changed the order of the DNS servers, with no improvement.

One last thing, which may help . . . I pinged both www.yahoo.com and
www.google.com, and their IP equivalents (68.142.226.40 and
64.233.161.99). Pinging the "www"s gave 14 ms times, but it took
nearly 20 seconds for the ping results to begin appearing after I
invoked the ping command. Pinging the IP addresses directly also gave
good results, but the results began appearing immediately. Is this an
indication that the client is still having difficulty properly
accessing DNS lookups?

It's not network congestion . . . on the host computer pages load with
normal speed.

Thanks -

 

[Chuck]

Thanks. Sorry to be so obtuse.

Invoked DrTCP on the client machine, changed the MTU on both the
FDF5000 ... and Internet Connection Sharing connections, to 1472.
Still no webpages (not even Google, tonight); the page-load status in
the lower left of my IE window sits on "Looking up site www.yahoo(or
google, or whatever).com" and ultimately gives me a "page not found".
Same with MTU set to 1470.

I also changed the order of the DNS servers, with no improvement.

One last thing, which may help . . . I pinged both www.yahoo.com and
www.google.com, and their IP equivalents (68.142.226.40 and
64.233.161.99). Pinging the "www"s gave 14 ms times, but it took
nearly 20 seconds for the ping results to begin appearing after I
invoked the ping command. Pinging the IP addresses directly also gave
good results, but the results began appearing immediately. Is this an
indication that the client is still having difficulty properly
accessing DNS lookups?

It's not network congestion . . . on the host computer pages load with
normal speed.

Thanks -

Try testing with both the client and host against the same websites, both
browsing and pinging. Using name and ip address.

Where are you, geographically? Both 64.233.161.99 and 68.142.226.40 show as
being in Northern California, and both Google and Yahoo seem to be using content
distribution, which should make your name resolutions sensitive to your
geographical location.

Try pinging your DNS servers from both the client and host, and compare the
results. The 2 DNS servers appear to be on the East coast, in NY and VA
according to VisualRoute.

 

[Dazed]

I, and my ISP, are both in the northeast. I picked those IP addresses
only because the ping command response mentioned them in the results
header.

Pinging the websites from the host gave the same results as from the
client (14-20 ms). The long wait at the start of the "www" ping
response (the client behavior noted above) does not occur on the host.

Also, I pinged the three DNS servers from both machines. For all
three, replies came in 10-15 ms. Client ping results were slightly
better (some <10 ms) but this is probably just a statistical oddity.

Finally, the host machine can show both yahoo and google pages
immediately, whether they're accessed via the IP address or the name.
The client machine also shows these pages immediately when the IP
address is typed in; when the name is entered the page will either take
~20 seconds to load (often incompletely) or I'll ultimately get only a
"page not found".

 

[Chuck]

I, and my ISP, are both in the northeast. I picked those IP addresses
only because the ping command response mentioned them in the results
header.

Pinging the websites from the host gave the same results as from the
client (14-20 ms). The long wait at the start of the "www" ping
response (the client behavior noted above) does not occur on the host.

Also, I pinged the three DNS servers from both machines. For all
three, replies came in 10-15 ms. Client ping results were slightly
better (some <10 ms) but this is probably just a statistical oddity.

Finally, the host machine can show both yahoo and google pages
immediately, whether they're accessed via the IP address or the name.
The client machine also shows these pages immediately when the IP
address is typed in; when the name is entered the page will either take
~20 seconds to load (often incompletely) or I'll ultimately get only a
"page not found".

Well, that sure sounds like a DNS problem. And just on the client.

I reran VisualRoute - you, and all 3 DNS servers, are located in Hicksville NY
(or maybe the router connecting to the ATM network or whatever). So I don't see
a problem with the DNS servers themselves.

Maybe the problem is OLDDELL. See if we have an LSP / Winsock problem.
<http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/2005/05/problems-with-lsp-winsock-layer-in.html>

I notice that OLDDELL is using a qualified DNS name. I remember that's for a
reason, but I'm not sure that it applies in your case. Can you go reminisce
about when and why you changed it to OLDDELL.mshome.net?

 

[Dazed]

Hahhh. Ran WinsockFix on Olddell, rebooted, and all now appears to be
back to normal. (Webpages, complicated and simple, come up rapidly,
for example.) The only remaining issue is actually just humorous . . .
each time I restart the client (Olddell) it sticks another Internet
Gateway icon on my desktop . . . after a few weeks it will get pretty
cluttered.

I'm drawing a blank on the "qualified DNS name" topic. The ME
reinstallation was only about a week ago, and the only things I'd done
on the new install came from the XP ICS network disc install or the
various troubleshooting steps above.

Thanks for all your help; I think I'm there.

 

[Chuck]

Hahhh. Ran WinsockFix on Olddell, rebooted, and all now appears to be
back to normal. (Webpages, complicated and simple, come up rapidly,
for example.) The only remaining issue is actually just humorous . . .
each time I restart the client (Olddell) it sticks another Internet
Gateway icon on my desktop . . . after a few weeks it will get pretty
cluttered.

I'm drawing a blank on the "qualified DNS name" topic. The ME
reinstallation was only about a week ago, and the only things I'd done
on the new install came from the XP ICS network disc install or the
various troubleshooting steps above.

Thanks for all your help; I think I'm there.

Well, well, another LSP / Winsock related problem. Don't worry about the
qualified DNS issue if fixing the Winsock took care of things. Just rejoice.

I'm not sure about the duplicate IG objects though. Do they all have the same
properties? When was the first one created?

 

[Dazed]

The "IG objects", more precisely, are shortcuts to that item in the
Network Connections folder. They're all the same . . . upon each
startup a balloon tells me I am to click on an icon in the taskbar,
which then offers me the opportunity to place a shortcut on the
desktop. When I've not followed the process all the way through to
shortcut creation, there's been no connection to the host computer,
never mind the outside web world.

I'll keep my eye out for this behavior now that the network appears to
be working as intended. Perhaps this redundant behavior was due to
misfiring connections so far -