Network connection died

[Nick]

I have XP pro running a pc connected to the net through broadband
which worked ok until recently. Two weeks ago I got infected with a
viruses and spyware which took me a week to clear down. Then all of a
sudden the network connection died on this pc.

I cannot surf to the web, send/receive email or ping anything. In
Network connections the connection is showing as live and 'connected
at 10mbs' etc but shows a few packets sent but nothing received. The
light on the router shows a connection although there is no polling.
The router app shows no connection coing from the pc. I know that the
cable is ok and the router is ok as well as I have tested them with a
different pc.

I am suspicious that either the network card has died or a virus has
somehow shutdown network connections. I am all confused. Any
suggestions please on how I can isolate the problem.

 

[John B]

If you're convinced it's a "software issue," then you might re-install the
operating system in a separate folder. With any luck, you might
successfully access the internet and thereby verify that your hardware is
intact.
If your hardware has been damaged, then re-installing the o/s won't cure it.
But, obviously, nothing is proven if, after re-installing your o/s, nothing
works.

I am not suggesting you repair or replace you o/s. I am suggesting you
install it in a separate folder (WINNT2 perhaps) on your computer. I have
done this many times with W2K Pro, but, admittedly, not with WinXP. Perhaps
someone else might comment on the feasibility of that. There are various
"flavors" of WinXP, so that might matter.

Perhaps you might elaborate on your flavor. For starters, is it XP Home,
Pro, Media Center, etc.? How OLD is your computer and its o/s?

I am operating on the assumption that your removal of malware was complete,
and will not resurface to damage your new installation.

I "lost" my main computer to spyware in 2003. Though I might have
re-installed the o/s, I didn't bother. I just bought a new computer,
because the old one wasn't worth saving.

 

[Nick]

Its XP pro running on a 2 year-old pc. I think I cleared all the
malware but you can never be sure.

I 'repaired' the os today without any luck. Still does not prove
anything. I also installed an old network card but there is no
difference. The reason I dont want to start all over again is because
I have too many applications installed; dont want to have to install
again.

I think I am going to get a small HD and install XP afresh (whilst
other old HD is diconnected) and see if that brings back the
connection.

 

[John B]

In accordance with the battlefield strategy of "divide and conquer," that
would help isolate the problem...by vindicating the raw hardware, anyway.

Are you sure that "old" NIC is any good?

I applaud your "tactical" approach, as opposed to my "strategic" suggestion.
Hopefully someone else has more tactical suggestions before you "do anything
major." But I cannot suggest any.

 

[Nick]

Actually I am not sure about the old network card. When you plug the
cable in, a green light comes on. However there is no flashing light
which you normally see on working cards. But then it is an old card.

 

[John B]

Pull known-good NIC from some other computer. Install drivers and look for
indications of proper operation under "Device Manager," within the
troublesome computer. Repeat test.

BEFORE you pull the card from that other computer, inspect "Device Manager"
in that computer, regarding said NIC.

"Eliminate variables!"

 

[Nick]

Problem with computers is that the NICs are embeded on the motheboard.
Can't remove them.

 

[mcp6453]

Problem with computers is that the NICs are embeded on the motheboard.
Can't remove them.

Install a NIC in a PCI slot, disable the onboard NIC in the BIOS, and
give it a try.

 

[John B]

Exactly.
Put that untested NIC in known-good computer, to verify functionality.
Passing that test, repeat usage test in the "bad" computer ("UUT" unit
under test).

 

[Nick]

I just found a wireless dongle lying around. I installed the software
and attached it to the usb port. It picks up the wireless network and
connects to it successfully with the wep key. The connections shows
100% signal strength and send packets out but is not receiving any
back. Still no internet and still cant ping anything.

If I look on the router (through another pc) it reports no wireless
connections.

 

[Nick]

I have bought a new network card and installed it. The light on it is
flashing and the light on the router is flashing for this connection
indicating that it is being polled. But still no connection.

I moved the cable directly to the broadband modem but there is still
no connection.

What I am seeing is the network connection icon (2 monitors) there is
continous transmission but no receive.

Could it be that a virus is active and has made a tunnel through the
system and the router? This is really getting to me.

 

[Nick]

Its still not responding. Next plan of action is to install a small HD
and Xp onto it and try to connect to router.

 

[Nick]

Here is the current situation:

The new network card works and is polling and the router seems to be
picking up the polling. So network card is working, cable is working
and I already know router is working. The connection icon on task bar
says connected at and showing flashing lights but there is no
connection and I cannot ping anything.

What I have just discovered is that the the settings are for
automatically obtain IP address on the pc but it is not picking up or
renewing the ip address. I manually entered the relevant ip address
and DNS entries which enabled me to ping the router or any ip address
on the net. However I cannot ping any domain name. Also I cannot
access anything from the browser.

If I connect the pc direct to the cable modem, it sill fails to
connect or obtain an IP address.

But the main question is why is it not obtaining an ip address from
the router.

 

[Nick]

So basically the problem is that the xp is not grabbing an IP address.
Should I delete and re-install tcp/ip etc? I have already done an xp
repair and sp2. Would this have repaired the tcp/ip stuff?

Alternatively if I could get the dns working using the manual settings
described above and access through the browser.