Beanz said:
I installed sp2 on my dell a couple of weeks ago. Up until that time
it would connect to the internet without any problems. I hooked the
computer up to a router now with another computer, with just xp sp1.
The one with just sp1 works fine but the one with sp2 gives a "Limited
or no Connectivity Message" and will no longer connect to the
internet. I searched around for a patch for the problem and i got the
KB884020 patch that is supposed to fix this problem but does nothing.
Now i also have a laptop that has Sp2 on it and it can not connect to
the router either and the patch does not work for it either. Is the
router the problem, even though the other computer with just Xp works
perfectly, or is there a way to connect, even if i have to deleted the
OS and reinstall without SP2?
Here is lots of information on that error with various solutions. You
obviously can skip the bit about applying the patch since you've
already done that with no joy ensuing, although the PCHell article
suggests creating and running the registry fix afterwards. If you
didn't do that, you might want to try reapplying the patch and do the
registry fix.
How to Troubleshoot and Fix Windows XP SP2 Limited or No Connectivity
Error Message
http://www.pchell.com/support/limitedconnectivity.shtml
After installing Windows XP Service Pack 2, you may receive the
following error message in the System Tray:
"This connection has limited or no connectivity. You might not be able
to access the Internet or some network resources. "
It appears this is a bug in Service Pack 2 of Windows XP dealing with a
loss of network connectivity for workstations that use Microsoft?s
L2TP-based virtual private networking (VPN) client to connect to
servers that are connected to NAT-based networks. However, this bug
seems to appear in situations that are not associated with VPNs either.
Solutions to the problem are varied, however most of the solutions found
on the web just mask the problem by simply guiding the user through
turning off this notification. Now this solution may work great for
systems that are showing a false positive error, but what if the system
genuinely has lost its local area connection or the connection is
unstable, what then?
How do I know if my system is affected by this bug?
If you have installed Windows XP Service Pack 2 and are experiencing any
of the
following symptoms, this bug is affecting your system.
a. After installing Windows XP SP2, your network connection reports a
problem with "Limited or No Connectivity"
b. You have trouble connecting to the Internet or your local area
network after installing Windows XP Service Pack 2.
c. Your network connection gets stuck "Acquiring IP Address"
If you are receiving this error, you should run the Microsoft patch
(KB884020) for it. Follow the instructions below to do this.
1) Download the patch from Microsoft's site
2) Run the update to install it
3) Run this short Registry fix to complete the update. Type the
following lines in Notepad and save the file as FixReg.reg on your
desktop, then double click on it to install into your registry.
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\IPSec]
"AssumeUDPEncapsulationContextOnSendRule"=dword:00000002
4) Reboot your computer
If you experience the error message again, reboot your computer first.
In most cases this will solve many connectivity issues that are not
associated with this SP2 bug.
Other Causes For This Problem
If you are still experiencing this error message even after running the
patch shown above, you may be experiencing one of several problems
shown below:
1) Your Network or DSL router may have bad or missing information.
Powercycle your router and/or rebuild the configuration in your router.
2) Double-check your cabling to the computer. Make sure you have the
correct type of cabling, straight-through CAT 5 or possibly a crossover
cable and try another cable or test the cable to make sure its working
properly.
3) Check your network card to make sure its configured correctly and
working properly. Many times setting the network card to 10Mbps/Full
Duplex will solve this issue. To do this, open Control Panel, System,
Device Manager. Go to the properties of the Network card, click on the
Advanced tab and find the Link Speed and Duplex section. Change it from
Auto Detect to 10Mbps/Full Duplex.
4) Check and test your firewall. Your firewall, especially if its a
software firewall like ZoneAlarm, Black Ice, Norton Firewall or
something else could be blocking the connection. Disable your firewall
and test the connection. You may have to resolve the problem by even
uninstalling and reinstalling the firewall.
5) Check your IP address assignments and workgroup settings in the
computer for accuracy.
6) Reset your TCP/IP stack by downloading and running WinsockXPFix.exe a
Visual Basic program designed to fix corrupted TCP/IP issues, host file
problems and a variety of other connectivity issues.
And info from MVP Steve Winograd about this error:
That message means that the network connection can't get an IP address
from a DHCP server. If there isn't a DHCP server on your network, then
the message doesn't indicate a problem. The computers will
automatically assign themselves compatible IP addresses in 169.254.x.x
and communicate just fine.
With no DHCP server, you have these choices:
1. Ignore the error message.
2. Disable the error message:
a. Right-click the network connection.
b. Click Properties.
c. Un-check "Notify me when this connection has
limited or no connectivity".
3. Assign a static IP address to each computer.
If you have an ad-hoc wireless network using an access point (not a
router), there probably isn't a DHCP server anywhere.
HTH,
Malke
--
MS MVP - Windows Shell/User
Elephant Boy Computers
www.elephantboycomputers.com
"Don't Panic!"
