XP fails to connect to Internet

Terry60

Telephone Sanitizer (2nd Class)
Staff member
Has anyone else noticed any recent problems with connecting XP to the net since Friday ?

I have a Dual-boot Vista/XP system hard wired from the ethernet connection to a wireless router, and a backup XP system available via wireless link to the same router.
The backup XP system is frozen at a previous point in time and not in communication with Windows Update, the new dual booted XP is completely up to date.

Until Friday, all 3 OSs enjoyed 6.9Mb/s internet access.

Now, since Friday evening, my up-to-date XP will no longer connect to the net.
The Vista system on the indentical hardware is fine.
The old XP on the wireless link is fine.
XP says that the LAN is connected at 100Mb/s, but no attempt to access the net will work.
If I try to rerun my ISPs connection CD to reinitialize the connection, it says that it's not connected to the router, though it obviously is, since the same connection works fine if Vista is in charge.
Anyone else having similar problems ?
I don't remember (and can't access my history obviously) if there were XP WUDs on friday which might have clobbered LAN ?
 
im using XP and using the internet fine. My wireless wouldnt connect a copule of days ago but i restarted and its fine.
 
Terry, you can try a system restore point and save yourself the trouble of diagnosing the whole issue.
 
You're right again CG,
I didn't even think of sys res since I hadn't done anything to change XP for a week. (Ironic considering why I came here all those months ago)
Restore to last Monday has me talking to you now from XP again.

ADD

No WUD to do, so presumably nothing backed out either.
So I haven't the slightest clue what happened to the system.
 
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Peter had the same thing with Windows Vista the other day (HTTPS not working) for no good reason..... guess bad stuff happens to good people without rhyme or reason :smile:
 
As Terry60 and Computer Guru may remember, I installed XP Pro SP2 without problems. Btw, I can dual-boot without any problems. The current problem I have now is trying to connect to the Internet on XP. I tried setting up different things but they all don't work.

Also, I did not get an ISP CD because my family never needed one. I was able to connect two computers to my ISP without a CD. I tried connecting to the router via the wireless adapter in my computer but nothing happens. It's like it's not even recognizing any connection to the Internet even when I brought my computer down to the basement and connected it wiredly.

I have no idea as to what I should do for this problem. Be great if someone could respond quickly as I'm typing from my mother's laptop and I abhor laptop keyboards. I'm not going to bring the computer back up to my room until I solve the XP Internet connection problem. I suppose I could wait by installing those DIMM ram chips I got today...

Thanks.
 
I can't help a lot Digitus, since you'll see I didn't know why my ability to connect just disappeared, and system restore was my salvation - a solution I assume you cannot copy if you've never been able to make XP connect.

Just for background, I'll add the following detail, and ask for comparison which browser you use ?

I use Maxthon (uses IE engine) and I noticed in the week before connectivity disappeared completely that if I left XP booted but idle all evening; when I came to connect, Maxthon would give a "website not found" message to any URL. (the broadband router is "always on" and the router indicator and the LAN icon in the notification area both indicate "connected")
Using Opera to open the same URL would succeed, at which moment Maxthon also was suddenly able to communicate again.
This was happening for about a week, and I thought little of it until the moment when suddenly nothing would connect, no browser nor AVG's daily update.

It doesn't help you much I know, but on the principle that any extra info might prompt some reader with an in depth knowledge of networking, into a recollection of something useful, I'll add it here.

Worryingly, when I hit the link to come here before posting this, Maxthon couldn't connect till I kicked it into life by starting Opera !
I have quickly set a restore point whilst connected !
 
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As Terry60 and Computer Guru may remember, I installed XP Pro SP2 without problems. Btw, I can dual-boot without any problems. The current problem I have now is trying to connect to the Internet on XP. I tried setting up different things but they all don't work.

Also, I did not get an ISP CD because my family never needed one. I was able to connect two computers to my ISP without a CD. I tried connecting to the router via the wireless adapter in my computer but nothing happens. It's like it's not even recognizing any connection to the Internet even when I brought my computer down to the basement and connected it wiredly.

I have no idea as to what I should do for this problem. Be great if someone could respond quickly as I'm typing from my mother's laptop and I abhor laptop keyboards. I'm not going to bring the computer back up to my room until I solve the XP Internet connection problem. I suppose I could wait by installing those DIMM ram chips I got today...

Thanks.
Try manually assigning the IP address instead of using DHCP.
 
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