System: Pentium III 800MHz, 768MB RAM, Windows XP Home SP3
Q: Having upgraded from Windows 98 to XP some time ago, I have enjoyed Internet access on my system via a wired connection to a router (Echolife HG520s — as supplied by TalkTalk/AOL). Lately, however, several problems have developed and I am writing in the hope that you can help me regain my Internet connection — and therefore my sanity — on my ancient steam-driven PC.
In trying to remove the bloat of duplicate files I appear to have knocked out my network adaptors. The Realtek adaptor is showing with an exclamation mark in Device Manager and there are a whole series of WAN Miniport devices that I don’t recognise.
I had a local PC expert check my system and he confirmed that the signal from my ISP was okay to the router and was able to re-establish connection to my son’s newer PC which is connected wirelessly upstairs running Vista. This was a priority as he needs it for his GCSE revision.
I vaguely remember reading an article about a new virus that attacks or embeds itself in the networking system. Could this be the problem? I have Avast 4 and Spybot — Search & Destroy installed.
I have tried to reload Windows via the six floppy disk method as outlined on the Microsoft website. When I get to the point where I’m instructed to insert the original XP disc there is a conflict as this has Service Pack 2 on it and I’ve downloaded SP3. The PC recognises the disc as being older but I’m left high and dry.
The good news is that we don’t think this is a virus, simply a screwed up bunch of drivers and settings. The WAN Miniport is a non-specific hardware driver used by AOL as a go-between, sitting between their software and the network hardware. In itself it shouldn’t be causing a problem.
The first step to resolving this is to get the Realtek adaptor working again. To do this you’ll need to force the system to reload the drivers, these should be on the motherboard CD supplied with your system or can be downloaded from www.realtek.com.tw make sure you get the right version for your adaptor. Uninstall the adaptor by right-clicking on it in Device Manager, then reboot the PC to force Windows to redetect it and prompt you to load the driver.
With the network driver reloaded you should be able to contact the router, the IP address of which is usually on a label on the device itself. Make a note of this and go to Start, Run then type in ping followed by a space then the router address. If it responds then try to get on the Internet. If it doesn’t, try repairing your IP settings by running a program like WinSock XP Fix. You can download this from the Web or you’ll usually find it or a similar IP repair tool on PCU coverdiscs.
If that doesn’t fix the problem you need to reload your ISP settings from your AOL CD. Should that too fail then a repair install of Windows is the only remaining option. You should only need to use the floppy disc method if your PC can’t boot from the CD/DVD drive. Most relatively modern (within the last six years) PCs should be able to boot from CD, though you may have to enable the option in the BIOS first. It’s a good idea to go to Add/Remove programs and uninstall SP3 before you do a reinstall in order to avoid conflicts with your SP2 disc. Tick the box at the top to make updates visible in the programs list.
Uninstall an adaptor from Device Manager to force Windows to reload the drivers
Originally featured in PCU113