XP Broadband Woes

[LawnMM]

Heres one for you...

Fresh install of XP on the new NF7-S...cpu and memory not OC'd. No connection to the internet through the onboard network interface. The odd thing was, I had it working...perfectly. Then I went to install some additional drivers or a program, which hung up on me, so I thought that was it. I tried repair installation, nothing, blasted the HD partition and reloaded windows entirely...same thing.

If I run ipconfig in the command prompt it identifies the IP address that I guess distributes the IPs, maybe the DHCP server or something. I've seen it before though pre-upgrades on coolmon immediately after resetting the cable and just prior to receiving my own IP after which I was able to connect to the internet.

So it looks like it isn't acquiring an IP address or something. Any thoughts? Does XP not being activated matter? It worked earlier unactivated...so for the moment I'm stumped. Ideas?

[primesuspect]

Activation has no bearing on being able to pull an IP, or any networking functionality whatsoever...

Does the IP that you get start with 169? If it does, that means your DHCP server cannot be seen. If no DHCP server is present, then your computer will give itself an IP that starts with 169.xxx.xxx.xxx - it's called an autoconfig IP.

If it starts with something else, like 192. then it is indeed getting an IP.

[LawnMM]

Yeah, its a 169.xxx, the interesting thing is...whats what I used to see when resetting the cable. I'd reset it, the IP would switch to 0.0.0.0...then the 169 ip, then the 24.blahblahblah it ended at with my being able to connect.

I'm stumped, I'm not sure why it stopped, it was working earlier on the first installation. Now I can't seem to get it back. :scratch:

[primesuspect]

Can you give me a basic network diagram? Since you're posting here it sounds like you have multiple computers on a router. Is the router the DHCP server or do you pull an IP directly from the cable modem?

Have you tried just turning the cable modem off and back on?

[LawnMM]

No problem. No, its connected directly to the modem. I'm a networking n00b, and I'll admit it, so forgive any terminology flounderings. I've tried resetting the modem several times, no avail. My mother's office machine that I'm posting from also has cable, same house, and hers is functioning, so I highly doubt its a service problem.

It usually pulls an IP right from the modem, when the modem has one to pull anyway.

[primesuspect]

The problem is one of the following:

Your onboard NIC has somehow changed MAC addresses or is failing or dead

You have a bad patch cable between the computer and the modem

Your cable modem is dead

Not sure what to say here. Try swapping the patch cable with a known good one, like the one from your mom's machine. Actually, if it's possible, bring a different computer or device over and plug it into the cable modem to see if you can pull an IP. If that's not possible or practical, try the patch cable thing.

[LawnMM]

Brand new board, I can't believe it would be dead. How would having its MAC address change cause a problem?

I'll drag it down here tomorrow and try it on the office cable line.

**Edit**

Decided to throw my old NIC in as it would be easier and faster, did so, and now I'm posting from my machine. So there definitely seems to be something funked about the onboard network interface. Think a little extra chipset voltage might help?

[Straight_Man]

Section 1:

Reset modem (power off for about 30 seconds, power on), some modems lock if they are confronted with a new MAC while in a period that they have a good lease and end up having 2 IPs in them. Then call your internet service provider, tell them your new mobo in same box is problem, modem locked with 2 IPs possibly, and you need to have a new config set pushed. Then when they say it is coming AND then after they say the modem is synced, you can do one of two things:

Either do this set of commands in a console (Start|Run, type in "CMD" without quotes):

ipconfig /release
ipconfig /renew

or

restart XP.

Section two:

Um, missed last post, sorry-- given last post, probable you need the NIC driver reinstalled from CD.

Delete network connect after substitute NIC is out of box(take it out powered off), and look in Control Panel|System|Hardware Tab|Device Manager and delete all NIC drivers--UNINSTALL them, one by one.

Restart.

Stick motherboard CD in, and install network card (chip embedded on board, might be a newer REV or speed than XP thinks it is) driver if no autoinstall that results in XP showing you a working network connect. Reason for wiping both, is to get XP to not use the wrong driver for embedded chip again.

THEN do as at top of post in Section 1.

John.

[LawnMM]

I tried forcing the driver from the CD to load rather than the newer one that installed as part of the latest forceware for the NF7-S. Any way to seperate the network driver from the package so I can mess around trying to switch them?

I can remove the network controllers and reboot, but XP is just going to autoinstall the driver when it autodetects the controller when I reboot.

[ginipig]

Are you getting any activity on the cable modem? If so, it's probably just misconfigured Network Settings.

[LawnMM]

Its definitely some kind of windows problem. As stated previously, it works flawlessly with my PCI NIC. I just can't get it to work with the onboard NIC. I've run the silly internet connection wizard a thousand times telling it how to connect. So that much is right. Its just some kind of driver issue or something with the onboard.

**Edit**

Its literally as simple as switching the cable. Works fine in the PCI NIC, plug it into onboard, no internet. Plug it back into the PCI NIC...bang, right on. Ugh

:banghead:

[primesuspect]

Seriously, it sounds like the onboard NIC is dead. I'd RMA the board if it's still under warranty. If it doesn't bother you to have a PCI NIC in there, just skip the onboard NIC altogether.

[LawnMM]

I think thats what I'm gonna do. Its not worth the hassle or downtime to RMA it for this, its too easy to work around. I'll just stick with the PCI NIC.

[primesuspect]

Make sure you shut it off in the BIOS to free up an IRQ.

[LawnMM]

Bump...

FYI...it appears to be a bios related issue. Original bios chip is running bios 18, I left that alone and flashed the backup bios chip to 21, which is apparently when the onboard nic stopped working. I tried flipping the switch and booting off the bios 18 chip, onboard nic worked. I've since flashed the backup chip to 20, no dice, no nic. I'm going to try 19 and 18 tomorrow.

I don't know why this isn't affecting anybody else. If I flash the backup all the way to 18 and still get no response, I'm going to have to assume its the backup bios chip causing the problem somehow. In which case I'll start flashing the primary instead of the backup and use the backup for safe keeping rather than the primary.