IPv6 won't make any difference. I've dealt with this issue more times than I can count, to put it mildly. (My fingerprints are on at least 150 tickets with the exact same problem, from the ISP side of cable modems.)
Here's your ONLY fix:
Reboot to Safe Mode with Networking
Start -> Run -> CMD
"ipconfig /release"
"ipconfig /flushdns"
Go to the affected NIC's properties.
Remove IPv6 and IPv4. Yes. You have to uninstall IPv4.
Run "SFC /F" at a command prompt (Optional but recommended.)
Reboot normally.
Reboot again. (Seriously.)
Readd IPv4 to NIC.
Reboot YET AGAIN. (Tired of rebooting yet?)
Start -> Run -> cmd
"ipconfig /renew"
If you get any 192.168.254 address? You'll have to repeat again. From step one. This is not a guaranteed fix.
The issue is that your NIC is working fine. It's a bug in Windows XP's DHCP client. What's happening is you're getting a DHCPOFFER and the IP address doesn't agree with what XP thinks it has or wants. The second this happens, ipconfig /release stops working 9 out of 10 times. No matter how many DHCPOFFERs the system gets, it will fail internally and never respond to them - doesn't even DHCPACK or DHCPNAK. This is guaranteed to happen if Windows XP has ever seen the IP it's being offered in any way at any time. The only way to fix it is to obliterate the entire IPv4 stack, for no logical reason. I wish I were joking, but, I'm not.
The only other fix is to assign a static IP and never, ever change it. Even changing the static IP can put you through the same migraine, even when Windows has never seen that IP before. If you're getting a routed IP from your cable modem/gateway, this isn't an option.
Comments
Here's your ONLY fix:
Reboot to Safe Mode with Networking
Start -> Run -> CMD
"ipconfig /release"
"ipconfig /flushdns"
Go to the affected NIC's properties.
Remove IPv6 and IPv4. Yes. You have to uninstall IPv4.
Run "SFC /F" at a command prompt (Optional but recommended.)
Reboot normally.
Reboot again. (Seriously.)
Readd IPv4 to NIC.
Reboot YET AGAIN. (Tired of rebooting yet?)
Start -> Run -> cmd
"ipconfig /renew"
If you get any 192.168.254 address? You'll have to repeat again. From step one. This is not a guaranteed fix.
The issue is that your NIC is working fine. It's a bug in Windows XP's DHCP client. What's happening is you're getting a DHCPOFFER and the IP address doesn't agree with what XP thinks it has or wants. The second this happens, ipconfig /release stops working 9 out of 10 times. No matter how many DHCPOFFERs the system gets, it will fail internally and never respond to them - doesn't even DHCPACK or DHCPNAK. This is guaranteed to happen if Windows XP has ever seen the IP it's being offered in any way at any time. The only way to fix it is to obliterate the entire IPv4 stack, for no logical reason. I wish I were joking, but, I'm not.
The only other fix is to assign a static IP and never, ever change it. Even changing the static IP can put you through the same migraine, even when Windows has never seen that IP before. If you're getting a routed IP from your cable modem/gateway, this isn't an option.