Are you able to connect the Windows XP machine to the cable modem directly, reboot the computer, and when Windows loads, connect to the Internet?

Have there recently been any software or hardware changes to the Windows XP system? If so, you may want to try a System Restore back to a date before the software or hardware changes occurred, removing any additional hardware that was installed after that time.

If you cannot run ipconfig or ping from a command prompt, there may have been files deleted from your system. Has there been any "hard drive cleaning" software used in the recent past on your system?

If your Windows XP system can access the internet when connected directly to the cable modem, ensure your antivirus software is fully up-to-date, and then perform a full system scan. Also, you may need to run an excess software removal tool on your system such as AdAware or SpyBot.

loi_c,

Every 3-4 weeks my 4500 will neither pick up an ip adress from the router, nor directly connect to the internet via my cable modem. What you can try is:

-shut down the computer,
-remove the electricity plug from your computer
-wait 5 minutes
-attach the plug and start the computer again.

Although I don't think this an elegant solution it worked for me. You can give it a try.

Herman

I would have responded sooner but up until yesterday I was still having problems connecting. I finally out of frustration unplugged everything from their power sources Everything meaning the router, the modem, and both computers. I left these along for a day and a half.

When I reconnected everything, I used the router this time, I was back on the internet. I have no idea what happened to cause or correct the problem. What I find interesting, the day I unplugged everything I had someone come over with their pc and hooked it up to the modem with the same result, unable to connect and picking up the same bad ip addresses.

Now the only thing I have to do if I do anything is repairing my XP since the ipconfig and ping commands are still not functioning.

Thanks to all

lois

OK, so that is more or less the same behaviour as my 4500 sometimes displays. This problem is related to the network card, although you may not see this in your device manager. What I notice is that the lights on my router indicate that even in the powered down mode the networkcard is still active. After unplugging the 4500 of the power source the lights on the router went out. The implication of is that the network card wil only be re-set after unplugging it from its power source. By the way, 1.5 day is really long enough ;), 5 minutes or even less is sufficient.

About the ping command: it may help if you open de Dos screen, and run the ipconfig or ping command form the windows\system32 directory.

Herman

One and a half days is pretty long but I did that more out of frustration and just being a little tired of turning my pc, modem,  and router on and off to no avail.  I thought I would give myself a little break.  I was beginning to get not so much obseessed with correcting the problem but darn it I was missing that internet more than I thought I would.

Thanks so much for your response. 

lois

 

I don't think this is a problem specific to Dell computers because

I experienced a similar one with another well-known model.

I am able to establish the connection but afterwards the

IP-Address rcognition fails and nothing helps any more.

Even professionnels had no other suggestion than to

reboot the whole system and to retry with an empty "beast"

But no virus was detected and so I still hope that there

may be someone who has another idea and the "final solution"