Strange net config - possible? Alternatives? (2 NICs per PC 2 PCs)

[Guest]

Hi,

This may be the wrong way to do things, but my config desire is this:

1. I want to have 2 PCs behind a NAT router. That NAT router (Linksys
BEFSR41) is connected independently to each PC's first NIC. Auto DHCP, DNS,
WINS NetBIOS disabled over TCP/IP. Runs fine. Router connects to Internet.
2. 2nd NIC in each PC each talk to the other on a pipe separate from 1. --
no connection to Internet. Static IP assigned (192.168.x.x? 169.254 APA?).
NetBIOS over TCP/IP disabled. No DHCP server? Or where does DHCP get DNS
resolution from here?
3. Windows Firewall up, File and Printer Sharing Exception allowed, but only
on local subnet (middle of the 3 choices in Advanced tab).

What's wrong with this picture?

Reason for it: don't want to have one computer be Internet Connection
Sharer, if it needs to go down want other one to be going on Internet without
interruption.

So, to make sure this is clear, one line goes out of each computer to the
Linksys, which takes them both out to the DSL line and Internet. A different
line from each computer goes out from its 2nd NIC to a hub, and hopefully
enables file/printer sharing between the 2 PCs, without engagement with line
1.

Thoughts? Thanks!

Steve

 

[Steve Winograd [MVP]]

Hi,

This may be the wrong way to do things, but my config desire is this:

1. I want to have 2 PCs behind a NAT router. That NAT router (Linksys
BEFSR41) is connected independently to each PC's first NIC. Auto DHCP, DNS,
WINS NetBIOS disabled over TCP/IP. Runs fine. Router connects to Internet.
2. 2nd NIC in each PC each talk to the other on a pipe separate from 1. --
no connection to Internet. Static IP assigned (192.168.x.x? 169.254 APA?).
NetBIOS over TCP/IP disabled. No DHCP server? Or where does DHCP get DNS
resolution from here?
3. Windows Firewall up, File and Printer Sharing Exception allowed, but only
on local subnet (middle of the 3 choices in Advanced tab).

What's wrong with this picture?

Reason for it: don't want to have one computer be Internet Connection
Sharer, if it needs to go down want other one to be going on Internet without
interruption.

So, to make sure this is clear, one line goes out of each computer to the
Linksys, which takes them both out to the DSL line and Internet. A different
line from each computer goes out from its 2nd NIC to a hub, and hopefully
enables file/printer sharing between the 2 PCs, without engagement with line
1.

Thoughts? Thanks!

Steve

I see no benefit to adding a second NIC to each computer.

Each computer already has independent Internet access through the NAT
router. Neither of your computers is an "Internet Connection
Sharer". If one goes down, it has no effect on the other.

Why have you disabled NetBIOS over TCP/IP? It's necessary for network
browsing.

In your proposed setup, you'd assign a static IP address to the 2nd
NIC in each computer, using a different subnet than the 1st NIC.
Assuming that the NAT router uses 192.168.1.x, the second NICs could
use 192.168.2.x. To make sure that the second NIC is used for file
sharing, you'd un-bind "File and Printer Sharing" and "Client for
Microsoft Networks" from the 1st NIC in Network Connections | Advanced
| Advanced Settings.
--
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

 

[Guest]

Thank you very much. That explains things extremely clearly.

I believe you when you indicate adding a 2nd NIC to the computers provides
no benefit -- I'm just experimenting with this to see what works and what
doesn't, and why.

One last small question I'm sure you've answered a thousand times: so if I
enable NetBIOS over TCP/IP for the primary NICs, they'll see each other
through the router and be able to share that way -- securely -- behind the
router?

Thanks again, your explanation cleared up a mystery for me (I was under the
impression one could work without NetBIOS entirely, in a WinXP Pro-only
environment... my amateur error).

Steve

 

[Steve Winograd [MVP]]

Thank you very much. That explains things extremely clearly.

You're welcome, Steve.

I believe you when you indicate adding a 2nd NIC to the computers provides
no benefit -- I'm just experimenting with this to see what works and what
doesn't, and why.

Sure. That's a great way to learn.

One last small question I'm sure you've answered a thousand times: so if I
enable NetBIOS over TCP/IP for the primary NICs, they'll see each other
through the router and be able to share that way -- securely -- behind the
router?

The computers will be able to see each other and share -- securely --
behind the router.

The router assigns private IP addresses to the computers. Those IP
addresses are inaccessible from the Internet, because Internet routers
drop packets addressed to them.

Someone might be able to hack your router from the Internet, since its
WAN interface has a public IP address. Make sure that your router
doesn't allow logins from the Internet: disable remote login and/or
change the router's default password.

Thanks again, your explanation cleared up a mystery for me (I was under the
impression one could work without NetBIOS entirely, in a WinXP Pro-only
environment... my amateur error).

File sharing is possible without NetBIOS in a WinXP Pro-only
environment. See this site:

The Advantages of Direct Hosting of SMB over TCP/IP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;315267

However, network functions that use NetBIOS names (network browsing,
My Network Places, accessing a computer by name) aren't possible.

To access another computer without NetBIOS, you must specify the
computer's IP address (e.g. \\192.168.1.2 in the Start | Run box).

Direct hosting of SMB uses DNS for name resolution. That requires a
domain controller running a local DNS server on the LAN, so it isn't
possible in a WinXP Pro-only environment.

Steve

--
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

 

[Guest]

Much appreciated. It's this kind of clarity and real information that gets
me excited about and interested in learning more - many thanks.

Steve

 

[Guest]

My PC is connected by ethernet cable to a Linksys router which provides
wireless network for three laptops based on DSL broadband. The laptops work
fine wirelessly but the PC can only obtain an Automatic Private IP Address
169.254..etc.

By disabling all auto configuration and typing in a valid static IP address
commencing 192.168 etc.. I was able to connect to the router on pinging
192.168.1.1 and also on pinging www.yahoo.com, sending 4 packets and
receiving 4 packets. But I cannot connect to the internet with that PC on
that configuration through that router using IE or Firefox or after resetting
to the default auto detect settings etc.

I have tried ipconfig/renew and release and have reinstalled WIndows twice.
And I have checked the integrity of the cable itself. I have also run
winsockfixxp.exe to no avail.

What do you suggest?

 

[Robert L [MS-MVP]]

when you assigned IP manually, which DNS you assigned to?

Bob Lin, MS-MVP, MCSE & CNE
Networking, Internet, Routing, VPN Troubleshooting on http://www.ChicagoTech.net
How to Setup Windows, Network, VPN & Remote Access on http://www.HowToNetworking.com
My PC is connected by ethernet cable to a Linksys router which provides
wireless network for three laptops based on DSL broadband. The laptops work
fine wirelessly but the PC can only obtain an Automatic Private IP Address
169.254..etc.

By disabling all auto configuration and typing in a valid static IP address
commencing 192.168 etc.. I was able to connect to the router on pinging
192.168.1.1 and also on pinging www.yahoo.com, sending 4 packets and
receiving 4 packets. But I cannot connect to the internet with that PC on
that configuration through that router using IE or Firefox or after resetting
to the default auto detect settings etc.

I have tried ipconfig/renew and release and have reinstalled WIndows twice.
And I have checked the integrity of the cable itself. I have also run
winsockfixxp.exe to no avail.

What do you suggest?

 

[Steve Winograd [MVP]]

My PC is connected by ethernet cable to a Linksys router which provides
wireless network for three laptops based on DSL broadband. The laptops work
fine wirelessly but the PC can only obtain an Automatic Private IP Address
169.254..etc.

By disabling all auto configuration and typing in a valid static IP address
commencing 192.168 etc.. I was able to connect to the router on pinging
192.168.1.1 and also on pinging www.yahoo.com, sending 4 packets and
receiving 4 packets. But I cannot connect to the internet with that PC on
that configuration through that router using IE or Firefox or after resetting
to the default auto detect settings etc.

I have tried ipconfig/renew and release and have reinstalled WIndows twice.
And I have checked the integrity of the cable itself. I have also run
winsockfixxp.exe to no avail.

What do you suggest?

If you assign TCP/IP properties manually, make all of these settings.
Since you say that pinging www.yahoo.com is working, I assume that
you've already done this:

IP Address: 192.168.1.x (1<x<255)
Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway: 192.168.1.1
DNS Server = 192.168.1.1 or your ISP's DNS server

Turn off automatic detection of settings, and turn off all proxy
server settings.

Try these addresses in your web browses. What exactly happens when
you do? They should both take you to Google.

http://google.com
http://216.239.57.99
--
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

 

[Guest]

Steve thanks,
I have done as requested but no connections are made through the IE browser.

I can successfully ping in DOS [4 packets sent & received] to both 192.168
etc and 216.239 etc but not to the domain name yahoo or google: The response
is "Ping request could not find host www.google.com". Previously, I had
pinged to yahoo's domain name through DOS but not this time.

For the record, some groups are reporting difficulties with Zone Alarm but I
have used ZA support to meticulously remove every trace of ZA before
proceeding.

Regards,
Mark.

 

[Steve Winograd [MVP]]

If you assign TCP/IP properties manually, make all of these settings.
Since you say that pinging www.yahoo.com is working, I assume that
you've already done this:

IP Address: 192.168.1.x (1<x<255)
Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway: 192.168.1.1
DNS Server = 192.168.1.1 or your ISP's DNS server

Turn off automatic detection of settings, and turn off all proxy
server settings.

Try these addresses in your web browsers. What exactly happens when
you do? They should both take you to Google.

http://google.com
http://216.239.57.99

Steve thanks,
I have done as requested but no connections are made through the IE browser.

I can successfully ping in DOS [4 packets sent & received] to both 192.168
etc and 216.239 etc but not to the domain name yahoo or google: The response
is "Ping request could not find host www.google.com". Previously, I had
pinged to yahoo's domain name through DOS but not this time.

For the record, some groups are reporting difficulties with Zone Alarm but I
have used ZA support to meticulously remove every trace of ZA before
proceeding.

Regards,
Mark.

The problem could be caused by bad entries in the Hosts file. To edit
the file, enter this command in the Start | Run box, making sure to
include the "." at the end of the command:

notepad C:\Windows\System32\Drivers\Etc\Hosts.

If you find lines with the names of the sites that you can't access,
delete those lines, save the file, and try again.

Make sure that the DNS Client service is running and is configured to
start automatically (Start | Run | services.msc).

Are there any relevant messages in Event Viewer? To run it, click
Start | Control Panel | Performance and Maintenance | Administrative
Tools | Event Viewer. For more information, see:

HOW TO: View and Manage Event Logs in Event Viewer in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=308427
--
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

 

[Guest]

Thanks Steve,

The HOSTS notepad says that it "is a sample HOSTS file used by Microsoft
TCP/IP for Windows" At the foot it says "127.0.0.1 localhost.

The DNS client starts automatically.

The Event Viewer records many items including many "Warnings" and "Errors".
Which ones should be of concern?

Thanks for this help so far,
Mark Watson.

My PC is connected by ethernet cable to a Linksys router which provides
wireless network for three laptops based on DSL broadband. The laptops work
fine wirelessly but the PC can only obtain an Automatic Private IP Address
169.254..etc.

By disabling all auto configuration and typing in a valid static IP address
commencing 192.168 etc.. I was able to connect to the router on pinging
192.168.1.1 and also on pinging www.yahoo.com, sending 4 packets and
receiving 4 packets. But I cannot connect to the internet with that PC on
that configuration through that router using IE or Firefox or after resetting
to the default auto detect settings etc.

I have tried ipconfig/renew and release and have reinstalled WIndows twice.
And I have checked the integrity of the cable itself. I have also run
winsockfixxp.exe to no avail.

What do you suggest?

If you assign TCP/IP properties manually, make all of these settings.
Since you say that pinging www.yahoo.com is working, I assume that
you've already done this:

IP Address: 192.168.1.x (1<x<255)
Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway: 192.168.1.1
DNS Server = 192.168.1.1 or your ISP's DNS server

Turn off automatic detection of settings, and turn off all proxy
server settings.

Try these addresses in your web browsers. What exactly happens when
you do? They should both take you to Google.

http://google.com
http://216.239.57.99

Steve thanks,
I have done as requested but no connections are made through the IE browser.

I can successfully ping in DOS [4 packets sent & received] to both 192.168
etc and 216.239 etc but not to the domain name yahoo or google: The response
is "Ping request could not find host www.google.com". Previously, I had
pinged to yahoo's domain name through DOS but not this time.

For the record, some groups are reporting difficulties with Zone Alarm but I
have used ZA support to meticulously remove every trace of ZA before
proceeding.

Regards,
Mark.

The problem could be caused by bad entries in the Hosts file. To edit
the file, enter this command in the Start | Run box, making sure to
include the "." at the end of the command:

notepad C:\Windows\System32\Drivers\Etc\Hosts.

If you find lines with the names of the sites that you can't access,
delete those lines, save the file, and try again.

Make sure that the DNS Client service is running and is configured to
start automatically (Start | Run | services.msc).

Are there any relevant messages in Event Viewer? To run it, click
Start | Control Panel | Performance and Maintenance | Administrative
Tools | Event Viewer. For more information, see:

HOW TO: View and Manage Event Logs in Event Viewer in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=308427
--
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

 

[Steve Winograd [MVP]]

My PC is connected by ethernet cable to a Linksys router which provides
wireless network for three laptops based on DSL broadband. The laptops work
fine wirelessly but the PC can only obtain an Automatic Private IP Address
169.254..etc.

By disabling all auto configuration and typing in a valid static IP address
commencing 192.168 etc.. I was able to connect to the router on pinging
192.168.1.1 and also on pinging www.yahoo.com, sending 4 packets and
receiving 4 packets. But I cannot connect to the internet with that PC on
that configuration through that router using IE or Firefox or after resetting
to the default auto detect settings etc.

I have tried ipconfig/renew and release and have reinstalled WIndows twice.
And I have checked the integrity of the cable itself. I have also run
winsockfixxp.exe to no avail.

What do you suggest?

If you assign TCP/IP properties manually, make all of these settings.
Since you say that pinging www.yahoo.com is working, I assume that
you've already done this:

IP Address: 192.168.1.x (1<x<255)
Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway: 192.168.1.1
DNS Server = 192.168.1.1 or your ISP's DNS server

Turn off automatic detection of settings, and turn off all proxy
server settings.

Try these addresses in your web browsers. What exactly happens when
you do? They should both take you to Google.

http://google.com
http://216.239.57.99

Steve thanks,
I have done as requested but no connections are made through the IE browser.

I can successfully ping in DOS [4 packets sent & received] to both 192.168
etc and 216.239 etc but not to the domain name yahoo or google: The response
is "Ping request could not find host www.google.com". Previously, I had
pinged to yahoo's domain name through DOS but not this time.

For the record, some groups are reporting difficulties with Zone Alarm but I
have used ZA support to meticulously remove every trace of ZA before
proceeding.

Regards,
Mark.

The problem could be caused by bad entries in the Hosts file. To edit
the file, enter this command in the Start | Run box, making sure to
include the "." at the end of the command:

notepad C:\Windows\System32\Drivers\Etc\Hosts.

If you find lines with the names of the sites that you can't access,
delete those lines, save the file, and try again.

Make sure that the DNS Client service is running and is configured to
start automatically (Start | Run | services.msc).

Are there any relevant messages in Event Viewer? To run it, click
Start | Control Panel | Performance and Maintenance | Administrative
Tools | Event Viewer. For more information, see:

HOW TO: View and Manage Event Logs in Event Viewer in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=308427

Thanks Steve,

The HOSTS notepad says that it "is a sample HOSTS file used by Microsoft
TCP/IP for Windows" At the foot it says "127.0.0.1 localhost.

The DNS client starts automatically.

The Event Viewer records many items including many "Warnings" and "Errors".
Which ones should be of concern?

Thanks for this help so far,
Mark Watson.

Look for items related to DNS, TCP/IP, and networking in general.

Make sure there isn't another firewall, like Norton or McAfee.
--
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

 

[Guest]

My PC is connected by ethernet cable to a Linksys router which provides
wireless network for three laptops based on DSL broadband. The laptops work
fine wirelessly but the PC can only obtain an Automatic Private IP Address
169.254..etc.

By disabling all auto configuration and typing in a valid static IP address
commencing 192.168 etc.. I was able to connect to the router on pinging
192.168.1.1 and also on pinging www.yahoo.com, sending 4 packets and
receiving 4 packets. But I cannot connect to the internet with that PC on
that configuration through that router using IE or Firefox or after resetting
to the default auto detect settings etc.

I have tried ipconfig/renew and release and have reinstalled WIndows twice.
And I have checked the integrity of the cable itself. I have also run
winsockfixxp.exe to no avail.

What do you suggest?

If you assign TCP/IP properties manually, make all of these settings.
Since you say that pinging www.yahoo.com is working, I assume that
you've already done this:

IP Address: 192.168.1.x (1<x<255)
Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway: 192.168.1.1
DNS Server = 192.168.1.1 or your ISP's DNS server

Turn off automatic detection of settings, and turn off all proxy
server settings.

Try these addresses in your web browsers. What exactly happens when
you do? They should both take you to Google.

http://google.com
http://216.239.57.99

Steve thanks,
I have done as requested but no connections are made through the IE browser.

I can successfully ping in DOS [4 packets sent & received] to both 192.168
etc and 216.239 etc but not to the domain name yahoo or google: The response
is "Ping request could not find host www.google.com". Previously, I had
pinged to yahoo's domain name through DOS but not this time.

For the record, some groups are reporting difficulties with Zone Alarm but I
have used ZA support to meticulously remove every trace of ZA before
proceeding.

Regards,
Mark.

The problem could be caused by bad entries in the Hosts file. To edit
the file, enter this command in the Start | Run box, making sure to
include the "." at the end of the command:

notepad C:\Windows\System32\Drivers\Etc\Hosts.

If you find lines with the names of the sites that you can't access,
delete those lines, save the file, and try again.

Make sure that the DNS Client service is running and is configured to
start automatically (Start | Run | services.msc).

Are there any relevant messages in Event Viewer? To run it, click
Start | Control Panel | Performance and Maintenance | Administrative
Tools | Event Viewer. For more information, see:

HOW TO: View and Manage Event Logs in Event Viewer in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=308427

Thanks Steve,

The HOSTS notepad says that it "is a sample HOSTS file used by Microsoft
TCP/IP for Windows" At the foot it says "127.0.0.1 localhost.

The DNS client starts automatically.

The Event Viewer records many items including many "Warnings" and "Errors".
Which ones should be of concern?

Thanks for this help so far,
Mark Watson.

Look for items related to DNS, TCP/IP, and networking in general.

Make sure there isn't another firewall, like Norton or McAfee.
--
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

Steve,
Thanks. I will confine myself to Event Viewer logs for today only, there are
so many of them.

There are 11 Errors and 1 Warning.
The Warning reads - Source "Dhcp" - Description "Your computer was unable to
configure the IP parameters for the Network card with the network address
000C41269826. The following error occurred during configuration: The
requested service provider could not be loeaded or initialised."
The Errors, the first 7 of which have Source - "Service Control Manager" read:
"The 6to4 service terminated with the following error: The requested serivce
provider could not be loaded or initialised."
"The IPSEC Services service terminated with the following error: The
requested service provider could not be loaded or initialised."
The Background Intelligent Transfer Service service terminated with
service-specific error 2147952506 (0x8007277A)."
"The LifeView FlyVideo WDM Video Capture service failed to start due to the
following error: The system could not find the file specified."
"The Task Scheduler service terminated with the following error: Not enough
resources are available to complete this operation."
"The OMSCAN service failed to start due to the following error: The system
cannot find the file specified."
"The General Purpose USB Driver (adildr.sys) service failed to start due to
the following error: The service cannot be started , either because it is
disabled or because it has no enabled devices associated with it."

The remaining 4 errors are identical. Source is "NetBT". Description reads:
"Initialisation failed because the driver device could not be created."

Seem to be a few clues here! I hope you can decipher them.
Regards,
Mark Watson.

 

[Guest]

Steve,
Do you have any more comment to make about my findings on this pc please?

My PC is connected by ethernet cable to a Linksys router which provides
wireless network for three laptops based on DSL broadband. The laptops work
fine wirelessly but the PC can only obtain an Automatic Private IP Address
169.254..etc.

By disabling all auto configuration and typing in a valid static IP address
commencing 192.168 etc.. I was able to connect to the router on pinging
192.168.1.1 and also on pinging www.yahoo.com, sending 4 packets and
receiving 4 packets. But I cannot connect to the internet with that PC on
that configuration through that router using IE or Firefox or after resetting
to the default auto detect settings etc.

I have tried ipconfig/renew and release and have reinstalled WIndows twice.
And I have checked the integrity of the cable itself. I have also run
winsockfixxp.exe to no avail.

What do you suggest?

If you assign TCP/IP properties manually, make all of these settings.
Since you say that pinging www.yahoo.com is working, I assume that
you've already done this:

IP Address: 192.168.1.x (1<x<255)
Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway: 192.168.1.1
DNS Server = 192.168.1.1 or your ISP's DNS server

Turn off automatic detection of settings, and turn off all proxy
server settings.

Try these addresses in your web browsers. What exactly happens when
you do? They should both take you to Google.

http://google.com
http://216.239.57.99

Steve thanks,
I have done as requested but no connections are made through the IE browser.

I can successfully ping in DOS [4 packets sent & received] to both 192.168
etc and 216.239 etc but not to the domain name yahoo or google: The response
is "Ping request could not find host www.google.com". Previously, I had
pinged to yahoo's domain name through DOS but not this time.

For the record, some groups are reporting difficulties with Zone Alarm but I
have used ZA support to meticulously remove every trace of ZA before
proceeding.

Regards,
Mark.

The problem could be caused by bad entries in the Hosts file. To edit
the file, enter this command in the Start | Run box, making sure to
include the "." at the end of the command:

notepad C:\Windows\System32\Drivers\Etc\Hosts.

If you find lines with the names of the sites that you can't access,
delete those lines, save the file, and try again.

Make sure that the DNS Client service is running and is configured to
start automatically (Start | Run | services.msc).

Are there any relevant messages in Event Viewer? To run it, click
Start | Control Panel | Performance and Maintenance | Administrative
Tools | Event Viewer. For more information, see:

HOW TO: View and Manage Event Logs in Event Viewer in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=308427

Thanks Steve,

The HOSTS notepad says that it "is a sample HOSTS file used by Microsoft
TCP/IP for Windows" At the foot it says "127.0.0.1 localhost.

The DNS client starts automatically.

The Event Viewer records many items including many "Warnings" and "Errors".
Which ones should be of concern?

Thanks for this help so far,
Mark Watson.

Look for items related to DNS, TCP/IP, and networking in general.

Make sure there isn't another firewall, like Norton or McAfee.
--
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

Steve,
Thanks. I will confine myself to Event Viewer logs for today only, there are
so many of them.

There are 11 Errors and 1 Warning.
The Warning reads - Source "Dhcp" - Description "Your computer was unable to
configure the IP parameters for the Network card with the network address
000C41269826. The following error occurred during configuration: The
requested service provider could not be loeaded or initialised."
The Errors, the first 7 of which have Source - "Service Control Manager" read:
"The 6to4 service terminated with the following error: The requested serivce
provider could not be loaded or initialised."
"The IPSEC Services service terminated with the following error: The
requested service provider could not be loaded or initialised."
The Background Intelligent Transfer Service service terminated with
service-specific error 2147952506 (0x8007277A)."
"The LifeView FlyVideo WDM Video Capture service failed to start due to the
following error: The system could not find the file specified."
"The Task Scheduler service terminated with the following error: Not enough
resources are available to complete this operation."
"The OMSCAN service failed to start due to the following error: The system
cannot find the file specified."
"The General Purpose USB Driver (adildr.sys) service failed to start due to
the following error: The service cannot be started , either because it is
disabled or because it has no enabled devices associated with it."

The remaining 4 errors are identical. Source is "NetBT". Description reads:
"Initialisation failed because the driver device could not be created."

Seem to be a few clues here! I hope you can decipher them.
Regards,
Mark Watson.