Hello,
I have a Dell laptop (about 4 years old) running Windows XP on it and cannot get the internet connection to work. A couple of months ago I reformatted because (I think) there was some sort of virus or spyware that I had. The system is running fine now with the exception of the internet connection. I'm pretty sure I got everything I need back on, but I might be missing something. It should also be noted that the internet was working fine before the reformat. I'm using Comcast high speed internet and the connection is fine on my desktop which also runs XP, but won't work on my laptop. I don't have a router, I just unplug the ethernet cable from my desktop and plug it into my laptop. I've tried to troubleshoot as much as I can and this is what I've found: 1394 Net Adapter the connection is Enabled, and the Status is Connected. There is no activity (sent or received). All of the TCP/IP information is unavailable (i.e. the address type, IP Address, Subnet Mask, and Default Gateway). The TCP/IP settings are set to automatically obtain IP and DNS server addresses. Under the "advanced" part of the settings under IP Address it says DHCP enabled. NetBios is set to default. Under device status (for the driver) it lists the location C:Windows\System32\Drivers\nic\1394.sys. When I try to repair the connection it says "Failed to query TCP/IP settings of connection." When I run ipconfig "Windows IP Configuration" comes up, but nothing else. When I ping 127.0.0.1 it sends 4 packets, receives 4 packets all with <1 ms round trip times. Also, it appears that the port is working...whenever I plug in the cable, the orange light turns on. Thank you for your help.

This post has been edited by brandonbird: Oct 30 2007, 08:20 AM

127.0.0.1 is your own computer. If it doesn't receive packets from that address, you have major issues

1394 connection is firewire, not your cable internet connection. You should have another LAN/Local Area Connection icon in the Network Connections box. If not, and you know it was there before you wiped the machine, you should take a trip to Dell's site and download the network driver for your laptops' network port.

Press start then run then type devmgmt.msc
then press <enter>

Or

Right click My Computer then choose Manage then Device Manager

Do you see any yellow ? or !

I see several yellow ? !. They are all under other devices: Ethernet Controller, Multimedia Audio Controller, PCI Modem, and Video Controller (VGA Compatible). I'm going to try downloading the network driver from Dell as suggested above and I will reply ASAP.

Ok, I downloaded drivers from Dell...and now it IS WORKING!!! You guys are amazing. Thanks!