For most routers you want to have the tcp/ip properties set to "Obtain an IP address automatically".  After doing that, reboot the computer then go to Start > Run and type cmd and click OK.  In the command prompt window that comes up, type ipconfig /all then hit the Enter key.  You should be getting an IP address in the range 192.168.xxx.xxx.  Report back what you find.

Steve

It gave me a 169.xxx.xx.xx number. I also tried to release/renew it. When did the renew it said that it couldn't renew because it couldn't connect to my DHCP server.

Try running winsockfix for xp from Here. Note that you will have to download it on a working computer, copy it to a floppy disk or CD-R, then copy it to the problem computer and run it. Steve

I ran it on the problem computer. It said to reboot after it was done automatically fixing the problem. I rebooted but was still unable to connect to the internet. Do you think it has something to do with xp home?

It has nothing to do with different versions of Windows XP.  Try going through the the procedure outlined in This Document. Steve

Yep, I did that but I still can't connect.

Try this.  Go to Start > Run and type services.msc then click OK.  See if DHCP client is started and running.  If it isn't started, click on it, and start it and set it to run automically.

Steve

It says my DHCP client is already started and running but when I got to the command prompt and type in ipconfig/all, it says DHCP is not enabled. It changes though, when I manually put in the IP and all that info, it says its disabled. But when I let it automatically find the IP it says the DHCP is enabled.

Everything you report appears to be normal.  If you input a static IP address, this is telling it that you do not need dhcp, so dhcp is disabled.  If you tell it to obtain an IP address automically, this is telling it to use dhcp to obtain an IP address, so dhcp should be enabled.   The problem is that for some reason your network card cannot get an IP address from the router when it is supposed to.  Winsockfix or the winsock reset procedure should have fixed the problem, so I am now quite puzzled.  Hopefully you haven't changed something when you were experimenting with different IP addresses that would cause this problem.  If you have, it would be nearly impossible for me to tell from this end.  

Has this computer ever worked on the network?  Does it work if you plug it directly into the modem? (note that if you change the device connected to the modem, you need to reset the modem and the network by turning everything off, then turning on the modem first, waiting a few minutes, then turning on the router, if still present in the network setup, then finally turning on the computers).  Have you tried reinstalling the drivers for the network adapter?

Steve

It has worked on a network before. Awhile back I used to run a router but we had a storm and it's never worked since. It fried my router so I had to go buy a new one. I've tried multiple routers and none have worked. It does work when I directly connect it to my modem. I did try reinstalling the driver for my network card yesterday but it didn't seem to help any.

Several months ago, we had a lightening storm here that caused the failure of a router and a network card on one of the computers on the network, so your scenario appears to be similar.  Network cards can be found for less $10.  Installing a new network card would be a rather cheap troublshooting step.

Steve