No Connectivity Through Network

[Gumsy]

I'm really getting frustrated now so hopefully somebody can help me

On Monday I recieved my new amd64 3000+ and ABIT KV8 Pro mobo. I put it all in and got it up and running perfectly. Had a small game related problem to begin with that i fixed by resetting all the bios settings to default. Anyway, I connect to the internet via another computer's internet connection, over one connecting cable straight from my computer to the other. The network and internet worked perfectly immediatly after installing the new mobo and processor until... i switched off my computer on the Tuesday night as normal, and on the wednesday morning, it was showing limited or no connectivity and i wasn't able to connect to the other computer or the internet.
I've searched all over the net and tried everything! i've ran and installed the XP SP2 network fixes and reg fix, ran the netsh TCP stack fix, uninstalled SP2 on both computers, done a full norton anti-virus system scan, full spybot- S&D scan and swapped cables and network cards around. I've even reinstalled Windows and nothing has worked. Now i know it's something to do with my computer as the other one can connect to the modem through either of it's network cards.
The only thing i havn't done is reformatted my hard disk, which i don't want to do as i don't have a CD/RW in it anymore and so can't save files and info that will take well over 1-2 weeks to download again with my 300k connection.
The only thing i did on the Tuesday afternoon was flash the bios, in order to fix the game issue but i restarted it a few times and the network still worked.

Any ideas?

[z1p]

You've got my head spinning with that post. But I'll try to help anyway

To start with I need more info.

What is your configuration? Is this correct?

New PC connected to old PC via crossover cable
Old PC has internet access (modem or broadband?)
Old PC is running some connection sharing software, like ICS

What versions of windows are you running?

On both PCs run 'ipconfig /all' in a command window. post the output.

[Gumsy]

Thx, it's gettin my head spinning a little as well!

That configuration is right yes, and the old pc is connected to a cable modem for broadband.
Although, the 'new' computer is just a new mobo and processor and with the same HDD and everything else i had before, and the network worked perfectly for 2 years and for a couple of days with the new mobo and processor.

Both computers HAD Windows XP with SP2, though most boards i've read say that this is a SP2 problem so after the fixes didn't work, i uninstalled SP2 on both machines, and when that didn't work i reinstalled it on the old, but not on the new one.

The results of the 'ipconfig /all' on both comps are:

OLD:

Windows IP Configuration

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : Harthan
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Unknown
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No

Ethernet adapter Network: ---->Connected to New PC

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Realtek RTL8139/810x Family Fast Ethernet NIC
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-50-FC-74-73-6C
Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration IP Address. . . : 169.254.59.35
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.0.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . :

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection: ---->Connected to cable modem

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Realtek RTL8139/810x Family Fast Ethernet NIC
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-30-BD-05-1E-71
Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 81.103.231.172
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 81.103.231.254
DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 62.254.0.20
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 194.168.8.100
194.168.4.100
Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : 27 November 2004 10:16:04
Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : 28 November 2004 19:05:24



NEW:

Windows IP Configuration

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : dilbert
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Mixed
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection 7:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : VIA Networking Velocity Family Giga-bit Ethernet Adapter
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-50-8D-6A-60-45
Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 0.0.0.0
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 0.0.0.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . :
DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.255

Now i'm hoping it's something simple in here that i can't see

[Gumsy]

ok, i found an old hard disk and decided to put it in and format it. Once i'd formatted it i installed windows XP Professional and started it up. The network still doesn't work...
This means it's either the 'old' computer not working, or something to do with the hardware on the new computer.
However, i've connected the old computer to the cable modem with both of its network adapters and both cables, and it works, which means that the network card and cable connecting the computers are fine. I've actually got 2 network cards in the new computer: 'VIA RHINE' ethernet adapter which is onboard the ABIT KV8 Pro motherboard, and a RealTek adapter the same as the two on the old computer, and they both work fine.

Could it be something to do with when i flashed the bios? although it worked straight after i did it. I've flashed it back to the version it was on, and reset the CMOS a few times, and the network still wont work. I'm going to put the old mobo back in and see what happens. If it still doesn't work i think somebodies put a curse on me or something

Any ideas...

[Gumsy]

lastnight i found an old HDD, so i formatted it and installed windows, so everything was new, no old files etc. and the network still doesn't work...
Now it definatly isn't anything to do with the cables or the network cards as they all work between the other PC and the cable modem. So this means it's the motherboard?
Could it be something to do with me flashing it on the Tuesday? Since then i've flashed it back to the previous version, and reset the CMOS a few times.
I'm going to put my old one back in, and then see what happens.

[z1p]

It looks like it may be quite simple. It appears that you don't have ICS enabled on the old PC. Let's try enabling it and see how it goes.

Go to the Control Panel, Network Connections.
Open the properties for the network connection to the internet.
Select Advanced.
Click on network setup wizard.
In the Wizard,
Select Next and Next again
make sure that 'This computer directly connects ..." is selected and click NEXT
Select you internet connection and click next
select NEXT
make sure the work group name is correct (the wizard always resets is to MSHOME) and click next
click next and wait...
click finish
reboot for good measure
Let me know how it goes. If it does not work, repost the new output of ipconfig.

[Gumsy]

It isn't that i've just put my old motherboard in, along with the formatted hard disk, and it's working. This means it's something to do with my new motherboard. I'm not an expert at motherboards so i have no idea what has done it, though I would point it towards the fact i flashed the bios on the Tuesday afternoon, and on the Wednesday the network wouldn't work. I know for a fact that it isn't anything to do with the old computer, as the internet is working fine on the new computer now i've put the old motherboard and processor in. Should i just send the new motherboard back and try and get it replaced?

[z1p]

Don't know on the motherboard. And I don't understand how it affected the settings on PC1. The output you posted should the 2nd NIC on PC 1 as having an IP of 169.254.59.35, which is usually the default IP if a valid IP is not received from the DHCP server. The output also shows that DHCP is enabled for the 2nd NIC, which it shouldn't be as there shouyld be a DHCP server on that connection (between the 2 PCs). Can you post the ipconfig output from when its working? Maybe can I figure out why it wasn't before?

[degsy]

Are you connecting to the Ethernet Port on the Motherboard?

Have you installed the motherboard drivers?
Is the port enabled in the BIOS?

[Gumsy]

I've tried connecting to the ethernet port on the motherboard and my old network card which works with the old motherboard.
I've installed all the drivers and the bios settings are now exactly the same as they were when i first put it in, when it worked.

I'll post the output of the ipconfig in this post in a short while, after i've swapped the motherboards back round

[derry22]

i had been having the same problem with a Realtek RTL8139 ..it appears when i install Win xp SP2 and seems to be inherent with this nic card model..i finally found this simple solution in a forum (after trying numerous fixes including Winsock patch,updating drivers,ipconfig,etc.)...."Answer is simple ... PPPoE uses bridging not IP to communicate. The limited or no connectivity mean IP (actually DHCP) could not get an IP address.

Simple solution, un-tick TCP/IP in your protocols for your adapter. Its not need for PPPoE (unless you use the interface for other IP comms as well ... then manually set the IP addr).
I used the ip addresses and dns servers etc recommened by Linkysy for verizon dsl service....everything seems to be fine so far..

[bAdWaYz]

Thanks for the imput derry but that poster was using a cable internet connection. Most cable connections use tcp/ip not PPPoE. Normally PPPoE is used for dsl. Also unless your ISP gives you a static address its not really a "fix" to static address your computer. The fact is that most cable and dsl connections are in fact dynamic. The addressing may not change for months at a time but they can and do change. So if one where to statically address a computer then the down steam dhcp and dns servers change you would lose connection pretty fast.