XP DHCP not working in normal mode

I have an HP Pavillon with an Intel Pro 10/100 VE adapter. The PC is running Windows Media Center. The PC is attached via an Ethernet cable to a Westell router (although i've also tried it with a Linksys & Netgear router).

The problem is after a booting in normal mode I cannot access the Internet (via Internet Explorer, Firefox or Chrome). Booting into Safe mode allows me to access the Internet (via any of the 3 browsers).

Initial research shows when in Safe mode with Networking an IP address is being delivered by the Westell (or any of the other routers when attached).

When in normal mode, an IP address is not being assigned by the router (in fact I cannot even ping the router). Thus, the IP Address is being assigned by Microsoft (Automatic IP Address), not by the Router. Running an IPCONFIG /ALL cmd gives the following info:
Windows IP Configuration
Host Name . . . . . . . . . . : 4dacd0ea75
Primary DNS Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . : Hybrid
IP Routing Enabled . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled . . . . . . : No

Ethernet Adapter Local Area Connection 5
Connection-Specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . : Intel Pro/100 Intel VE Connection
Physical Address . . . . . . . . : 00-15-F2-F1-0E-5B
DHCP Enabled . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration IP Address . . .: 169.254.48.107
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . .: 255.255.0.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . : 169.254.48.107

An ipconfig -flushdns completes successfully

The Winsock has been successfully reset (netsh winsock reset). And after a reboot the same error exists.

An ipconfig /renew gives an error msg of Unable to contact DHCP server.

I have tried repairing the Local Area Connection 5 while in Network connections. It gets to renewing IP Address and it does not complete. Clicking on properties on Local Area Connection 5 and chossing the TCp/IP protocol has the following options active:
Obtain an IP Address Automatically and,
Obtain DNS server automatically

I tried 2 other PCs on the same Ethernet cable and the same router and they get an IP address from the router and connect to the Internet.

When I move the HP Pavillon to other routers, I get the same issue in Normal mode and am able to connect to the Internet while in Safe Mode with Networking.

I have even tried putting another Ethernet Card (Netgear Gigabyte adapter) in the HP pavillon and has the same issue getting to the Internet in normal mode. I cannot seem to flush the 169.254.48.107 address out and get an IP address fron the routers DHCP service.

I have also run combofix and malwarebytes and the PC seem fairly clean (just some adware type hits).

Any assistance would be apprciated. Thanks!
Bill

 

can i ask why you have 5 connections?

 

I don't. I have 1 connection to a Westell router (direct Ethernet adapter).

In trying to isolate the problem I have tried attaching to different routers and actually installed a second Ethernet adapter in the PC (now uninstalled) and found the same error was occurring. I have determined it is not the routers dhcp service and actually not even the Ethernet card (as it works in safe mode).

I have also tried other PCs attached to the same router and they attach successfully to the Internet.

Thanks.
Bill

 

Hi Bill, a couple of things for you to try out;

First, > Internet Options > Lan Settings > uncheck "Automatically detect settings", ok your way back out, reboot and test.

Second, find the IP address of the router from Safe Mode, reboot into normal mode and set your network adapter's TCP/IP settings to use the router IP address as it's Default Gateway.

 

Thanks.

Executed the 2 steps you recommended. Set off Automatically detect settings n Internet Explorer.

Then booted into Safe Mode to get Deault Getway Address (192.168.1.1), IP address (192.168.1.45), subnet mask (255.255.255.0) and DNS Server (192.168.1.1).

Then booted in normal mode, selected TCP/IP protocol on LAN Connection 5 (the Rthernet adapter) and chose Use following IP address info and Use the following DNS Server address and assigned the same address & subnet info that works in Safe Mode. I then rebooted and still cannot connect to the Internet.

Running IPConfig /All displays the following:

Windows IP Configuration
Host Name . . . . . . . . . . : 4dacd0ea75
Primary DNS Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . : Hybrid
IP Routing Enabled . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled . . . . . . : No

Ethernet Adapter Local Area Connection 5
Connection-Specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . : Intel Pro/100 Intel VE Connection
Physical Address . . . . . . . . : 00-15-F2-F1-0E-5B
DHCP Enabled . . . . . . . . . : No
IP Address . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.45
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . .: 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1

I cannot ping the default gateway address or the IP Address for that matter.

Also if i now boot in safe mode, I no longer can access the Internet.

Any other suggestions would be appreciated.
Bill

 

I think my hosts file is corrput. When I use Notepad to view the Hosts file in c:\%windows%\system32\drivers\etc\ all there is
127.0.0.1 local host

Is this part of the issue? And if so, how can I remedy it?

Thanks.
Bill

 

Make sure that DHCP is enabled in your ethernet adapter TCP/IP settings. Leave the IP address blank, if the PC finds the gateway at 192.168.1.1, the router should then give the PC an available IP address.

The hosts file looks fine if you are unsure about it, delete it and Windows should, I think, create a new one.

 

You were right the Hosts file was not the problem as I copied a clean copy from another PC. Still no Internet connecitivity.

DHCP is enabled on the LAN adapter (at least it says it is in advanced settings of the TCP/IP protocol). If I do not type an IP address in the adapters IP address is set to 169.254.48.107 (via Microsofts Automatic Private Address function) - it does not get the IP address from the router, even though the Default Gateway address is 192.168.1.1 (the router's address). Also the subnet address is incorrect 255.255.0.0.

Could the TCP/IP protocol stack have been corrupted?

Thanks.
Bill

 

Can you check in Windows Management, Services that DHCP is set to start automatically and is started?

 

My 2 cents.......

Go to Hardware Device Manager and find the NETWORK. Go to the network card and delete it PROVIDED YOU HAVE THE DRIVERS FOR THE CARD. Restart Windows and allow it to set up the drivers and TCP/IP. See if that takes care of it.

 

Using Services.msc, both the DHCP client and the DNS are started and set to Automatic. Note when I first opened this thread DNS client was not started. I discovered and corrected that during the course of trying to isolate the issue.

With the changes we've made to date an IPConfig /all after booting in normal mode shows the following:

Windows IP Configuration
Host Name . . . . . . . . . . : 4dacd0ea75
Primary DNS Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . : Hybrid
IP Routing Enabled . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled . . . . . . : No

Ethernet Adapter Local Area Connection 5
Connection-Specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . : Intel Pro/100 Intel VE Connection
Physical Address . . . . . . . . : 00-15-F2-F1-0E-5B
DHCP Enabled . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration IP Address . . .: 169.254.48.107
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . .: 255.255.0.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1

Again, I cannot ping 192.168.1.1, eventhough it is listed as the Default Gateway.

Thanks.

 

Yup, feels like that must be the next step.

Version 4.3 of the network card drivers choose Windows Media Centre in the OS selection window; there's a later version for all operating systems but it's 154Mb!! I guess they'll have that for download as individual installs soon.

 

Hi BBarber,

many routers require that service pack 2 is installed on the pc's. If needed, here's the download http://www.microsoft.com/DOWNLOADS/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=049c9dbe-3b8e-4f30-8245-9e368d3cdb5a#Overview

Also, you can try adding the attached registry entry into the Windows registry and then reboot.

*The dword value of 0, turns Autoconfiguration IP Addressing off (ie: auto assignment of 169.254 etc...)

**Before rebooting, ensure that the network card's tcp/ip is set to obtain dynamic ip.

Techsent

 

Do you have any references for that, techsent?

 

Hi Satrow,

Myself and this router that my son and I use...

http://www.dlink.com/products/?pid=565 and then click on Specifications.

*we experienced a problem like bbarber. We tried everything under the sun. I then checked the router's specs and realized that XP only had sp1. We bumped up to 2 and all was well.

Techsent

 

I don't read anything obvious in the stats that would prevent anyone plugging a 486 running W95 or a G3 running OS9 into it and being able to connect. Sure, the only way to make full use of all the available facilities is to use a more modern OS but that shouldn't prevent an older OS from connecting over ethernet.

 

I think they have built their router firmware for XP SP2 and greater.

Minimum System Requirements • Cable or DSL Modem
• Computer with:• Windows® Vista**, Windows® XP SP2**, or Windows® 2000 SP4**, or Mac OS® X (v10.4)***
• Internet Explorer v6 or Mozilla Firefox v1.5
• CD-ROM Drive
• Network Interface Card

• For Internet Access:• Cable or DSL Modem
• Subscription with an Internet Service Provider (ISP)

** Computer must adhere to Microsoft's recommended System Requirements.

Techsent

 

Thanks for all the input.

My PC is XP Media Center and SP2 was installed prior to opening the thread.

I have uninstalled the adapter (via device) and rebooted the PC and loaded the device driver referenced below and Windows successfully setup the Adapter and TCP/IP (and other protocols) successfully. I have the same exact error with the same addresses getting assigned (169.254.48.107). The adapter tries to acquire an IP Address (by dhcp), cannot and one gets assigned by Windows (Automatic IP Address).

And it still works in Safe mode with Networking (gets its IP Address from the Default Gateway (192.168.1.1) and thus we can get to the Internet, which is very, very baffling to me.

Is it time to relaod Windows? Thanks for all the info so far.
Bill

 

are you running windows defender? if you are go to system explorer and get a list of processes that are running. if not you can download it from MS and run it. post the result here so we can see what the heck is going on.

 

Finally ... Here is the issue. There was an old version of Norton Internet Security 2006, whose subscription had expired long ago, but that was never removed from the PC. The Firewall got turned on and all DNS activity seems to have been blocked. Turning off the firewall and everything is working fine.

I had tried turning off the Windows firewall early early on during problem isolation and it had no effect. I never thought of Norton Internet Security 2006's firewall, since it had not been used in years. Obviously time to remove it.

Thanks for all the assistance...
Bill

 

Glad to read you've tracked down the culprit Bill

If you haven't done so already, it's probably a good time to run the Norton removal tool and CCleaner's registry cleaner to ensure there are no dregs left.

 

I will run the Norton Removal Tool. But first I have one more question. The description says it will remove all Norton products from my computer. Is that truly the case?

I am still using Norton 360 and do not want it to remove it.

Thanks Satrow and everyone else for the assistance.
Bill

 

Ah, in that case Bill, don't run the removal tool - it would remove everything Symantec-related.

 

glad to hear you figured it out. how did you find it?

 

The underlying factor that troubled me from the beginning was it worked in Safe Mode and not in Normal mode.

Finally got me thinking to look at all Services running in Normal mode that were not in Safe mode. That what pointed me towards the old Norton Internet 2006 - like I said I'd never thought about it prior to that point (although early on I had turned off Windows Firewall). Now who and how the Norton firewall got turned on and why that restricted all DNS activity (cannot imagine that is their default setting) remains an issue. But that is for anoither day ...
Bill