network adapter problem

I'm working on a friend's Dell Dimension E310 for her. I had to replace her hdd, reinstall XP Pro, and now am having difficulties getting her back online.

I have the computer hooked up to my router. When I try to get it connected to the network via the onboard network adapter, the network setup wizard says it cannot find any network hardware. I have downloaded and installed all drivers for the system from the Dell site, including bios updates etc, and have even contacted Dell tech support to make certain that I had not missed anything.

I popped in a separate NIC and was able to connect with no problems through it.

Given that, I am inclined to think that the onboard adapter has just given up and she will need to purchase a dedicated NIC, but I figured it would be worth a post here to see if any of the resident geeks had any other ideas to try before I make my friend spend another $15 to get online.