Problems getting XP online

[SnoringFrog]

My uncle recently gave me another computer. It has a new installation of XP on it, which I need to register. I have to be online to do that, but I can't seem to get it to connect to the internet. I tried plugging it into a spare port on the router, but that didn't work, so instead I unplugged the main cord from my router to my computer and plugged it into the nwe computer. That also failed, so I bypassed the router entirely and just plugged the new computer into the modem, but still no luck.

Anyone know what I'm missing or what could be wrong here?

[Valkaiser]

Can you post the output of the console command ifconfig?
(Start->Run, type "cmd" and press enter, type "ifconfig" aand press enter)

[SnoringFrog]

I tried to run "ifconfig" but it didn't work. It returned " 'ifconfig' is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file." I thought you might have meant ipconfig, which I've used before, so I ran that and all it said was "Windows IP Configuration" with nothing else.

Also, when I booted with a Ubuntu live CD the internet worked just fine. So it is a Windows issue and not a hardware issue. I thought it might have been the cable or something before.

[Valkaiser]

Yeah, I said the Linux command, sorry
Anyway, it sounds like you either need to enable your network port from "network connections" or you don't have the proper LAN drivers yet.

[SnoringFrog]

When I go into "Network Connections" there is nothing. Is there a menu item I need to go through to enable the network port?

[Valkaiser]

If nothing shows up in network connections then you probably need a LAN driver.
I guess you'll have to download it on another computer and transfer it with a flash drive or something.

[SnoringFrog]

When I'm loading these LAN drivers via the Device Manager, what should I be updating? The only things I have displaying question marks are the following: ethernet controller, pci device, sm bus controller, and video controller (vga compatible).


Edit: I downloaded this driver pack: http://driverpacks.net/driverpacks/windows/xp/x86/lan/10.04

[Valkaiser]

Ick, it does not have an installer?
I assume the network port is integrated into the motherboard, right?
If that is the case then you are better off downloading the drivers directly from the motherboard manufacturer's website. The fact that the "sm bus controller" shows up with a ? means that you do not have motherboard drivers installed.

If that doesn't work for you, the "ethernet controller" is what you are looking for.

[SnoringFrog]

I have no idea if it's integrated into the motherboard or not. Is there a way to check that without opening up the computer itself? And how would I find the motherboard's manufacturer?

[Mithrandir]

If you look at the back, is the network plug near the USB and serial ports? If so, it's probably on the MB. The other alternative is it being in a PCI slot, but that seems less likely.

Here's a sample picture of a motherboard with an on-board network:
http://lib.store.yahoo.net/lib/directron/miniitxioportslg.jpg

[SnoringFrog]

Yes, the USB ports and the network plug are right next to each other.

[Kaligraphic]

Unless we're talking home-built here, you can probably just go to the manufacturer's web site and search for drivers for that model. It ought to have all of the drivers that you need in one place.

[SnoringFrog]

I'm using one of these: http://www.itxdepot.com/xcart/product.php?productid=1919&cat=44060&page=1. I'm pretty sure my uncle bought it, put in the components it doesn't come with, then gave it to me. I'm on the mini-itx site right now but can't find anything that seems useful.

[Kaligraphic]

If that's what you're using, then you should be able to get the driver from here (realtek.com.tw)

[SnoringFrog]

That did it, thanks! Now, what was I missing to know what to search for? I'd like to be able to figure more of this out on my own. in case similar problems pop up in the future.

Edit: And now I found out that there's no audio...is there anything I can do that'd fix all these problems at once? (I'm assuming this is another driver issue)

[Kaligraphic]

On that product listing page, it gives you product ids to look up. The easy way is to just feed those product ids into Google and pick the result that's from the manufacturer's site. Alternately, you can go straight to the manufacturer's web site and look for a "downloads", "software", or "drivers" section. There's usually some way to find the drivers for a specific part.

For instance, for audio, that page lists "Realtek ALC662 HD Audio CODEC with 6.0 CH". Popping that into Google gives us a link to "ALC662 - Realtek" at http://www.realtek.com.tw/products/productsView.aspx?Langid=1&PFid=37&Level=5&Conn=4&ProdID=144

Noting that this is the official Realtek web site, I find that this is a product page, with, interestingly enough, a link to their "HD Audio Codec Driver". I suspect that this driver would make your audio work.


Of course, if you know the model of the motherboard, you can often just go to the motherboard manufacturer and get drivers for all of the onboard components, but that's not listed on the page you linked and I don't feel like Topekaing for it. (The network and audio components are built into the motherboard, so it's often easier to just go through the motherboard manufacturer and get it all together.)

[Warrior4Christ]

Can you post the output of the console command ifconfig?
(Start->Run, type "cmd" and press enter, type "ifconfig" aand press enter)

XD
"ipconfig" is the command line Windows equivalent.
(I coincidentally just used ifconfig today at work..)

[Mithrandir]

XD
"ipconfig" is the command line Windows equivalent.
(I coincidentally just used ifconfig today at work..)

That's probably on average a daily thing for me at work. XD 10 times one day, then nothing for two weeks, then back at it with another server.