Lose internet connection at reboot

O/S: WinXP home 5.1.26
CPU: AMD Athlon XP2800 Barton (2083mhz)
MoBo: Asus A7N8X2.0 Deluxe
Vid: NVIDIA GeForce FX5200
HD: Maxtor 80gb

Hi All! My problem is this: Every time I reboot my computer, I lose my internet connection and have to release and renew my IP using Command Prompt. I've had this happen intermittently for several months, now. It will be functioning fine one day, then for no apparent reason I'll lose the connection apon reboot or shutdown. It doesn't seem to coincide with any new software installs. I don't run any third-party firewalls but when I disabled the XP firewall, it had no effect. I have a good Anti-Virus, I run AdAware and Spybot S&D daily and I keep all these programs (and my O/S) updated regularly.

Having said that... the one irregularity is my home network. I have it connected in a rather clumsy fashion. Not knowing what I was doing, I ran the phone line to the ADSL modem, from the modem to my top network card, from the bottom NIC to a 5 port ethernet hub, and from the hub to my second computer. Then I ran the XP Network Wizard. I have been told that this is not the ideal set-up, but it works. The catch is that my first computer must be on-line for the second one to have a connection. I've tried to re-route the network cables and run the Wizard again, but in any other configuration it will not work. I've even tried System Restore to no avail. It would appear that if I don't want to reformat both 'puters, I am stuck with it.

Can anyone tell me if this network setup would cause me to lose my internet conection at reboot? If so, is there a way to fix things?
Any help or hints would be appreciated!

 

Hey wrisal_10!!! What the heck are you babbling about?? Who are the mods and why would they tell you not to give advice? This IS a forum for advice, isn't it? Did I post my question to the wrong place? Why did you reply at all?

HEY, MAJOR GEEKS MODERATORS! IS THIS HOW YOU TREAT ALL YOUR NEW MEMBERS???

 

AbbySue: I see that I did, in fact, jump the gun. My apologies. I was up very late trying to figure out my problem and I'm sorry that I flamed out in my post. I'm still new to this (and all) forums and got a little cranky. I welcome any, and all help that can be provided. I'll check back later...

 

well, I supose that it could be the ICS is not working properly on the gateway machine. For the sake of simpliciy I wil offer a workaround, it will probably e the easiest solution.

release and renew the IP address on the problem machine. Then type in "ipconfig /all" at the command prompt, without he quotes of couse. This will gve you all the information you need to set up a static IP address. Take note of the IP address, the subnet mask, gateway and most importantly your DNS numbers. Write them all down, then go into network properties, and edit your TCP/IP settings to a manual IP address and manual DnS numbers, use the information you got from your IPConfig screen. This way your problem machine will not have to get a lease from the DHCP machine, and should save those numbers indefinitely. If it still has problems after a reboot then I would most likely say that te TCP/IP is damaged on your machine and we'll have to work on that. let us know how it works out.

 

Fw190: Well, strike 1... I did as you said and wrote down the ipconfig/all numbers, entered them in to create a static IP, then rebooted. No dice. Still no connection. In fact, I then tried to re/re my IP to get back on the 'Net to post this, but Command Prompt politely informed me that "The operation failed as no adapter is in the state permissible for this operation." So I went back into Network Properties to reverse what I had done, but it gave me the same message. In fact, it knocked out my telephone service as well! A quick System Restore and I'm back here looking for more trouble! Kinda gave me the cold sweats till I thought of Restore! Gotta love that WinXP...
I've been told, in another forum, that I really should try to set my network up properly because with the ADSL modem going directly to my bottom NIC, I leave both computers vunerable to attack. I do have the XP Firewall up, but I have never been able to use any other (or better) third party firewall. Everytime I install one, it immediatly goes crazy detecting my second computer as a hijacker attempt. I've spent hours trying to configure it to accept it but with no luck. This leads me to believe that it's the way I have the Network cabled that is causing this (modem to bottom NIC, top NIC to hub, hub to second computer's NIC.) Problem is, I have tried to route the cables in a better way (modem to hub, hub to both computers) but it simply won't work any other way. It's as though once you've run the XP Network Wizard, the configuration is set in stone.
Is this true?
This is, of course, assuming that my lost connection problem is related to my Network Configuration. I am the first to admit that when it comes to Networking, I'm a babe in the woods, but as I am finding out, the learning curve is kinda like Electo-Shock Therapy: Effective, but very painfull!!!

I remain...patiently awaiting any advice