Lan connection blocked/unrecognized

Hey folks,
I'm having a similar problem to something that AbbySue posted a few pages back but there are minor differences in the situation and I need it explained to me in much simpler terms so hopefully you don't mind me making a new post.

Situation:
My home network has been working fine for the most part for a year, but recently I have had a problem. I'll call the host PC A, and mine B. For some reason I can't connect in the normal way, like Abby I'm sending packets but not receiving any. I'm not running any firewalls (I'll doublecheck to make sure WinXP firewall is off in a minute). Both the host computer and another computer are connected without problems, and wireless is working too so I assume the problem is specifically with my own PC. I didn't specifically change any settings recently, and usually I can just reset the router on the infrequent occasions where my internet is down but its not working this time.

After poking around on my own and being lost for the past week I came back to here since this community has helped me in the past. Random symptoms I've noticed. The same day that I first noticed the problem I got an error about IPC failure. I am fairly certain this was coming from an anti-virus program which I have since uninstalled (since I haven't downloaded anything since, and still have my spyware scanner running I think I'm still safe for the time being) and the errors have dissapeared.

As I said, my connection shows packets being sent out, but nothing coming in. When I type "Ipconfig" into my command prompt all I receive back is the text "Windows IP Configuration". No further information is given for my IP address and I think the details field if I check the properties for my connection is blank too. Also, if I hit the repair connection button, it returns a message that I can paraphrase as "Windows appears to be trying to repair something that is not a socket". I can get the exact text for my next post when I come back. All cables are connected properly, and the lights on my LAN port are on.

I appreciate any help or suggestions you can give me, especially if you explain it the way you would to oh, say a six year old child Thanks.

 

Maybe, this is very MAYBE, your NIC is gone bad.
If you have a extra NIC handy, try installing it and see if it works.
And make sure your drivers are updated.