Wireless not working, and neither is the wired

Hi guys,
My brother recently got a load of spyware and viruses, so it's my job to fix it.
I used a few antispyware tools, and antivirus tools, and managed to clean his system of viruses.
As of right now, his computer is virus/spyware free. He is running Windows XP Home, SP2
So, I went to reenable his wireless connection last night, and it will not connect. It tells me to enable the WZC service (Wireless Zero Configuration), but when I go into services, that service is already started.
In order to avoid fixing this, I hooked up his computer by an ethernet cable to the router, and it would not connect that way either. There is no error message with the LAN connection, and all it says is "acquiring network address."
Can someone please help me?
Thanks in advance
-Jason

 

I have the same problem with my wifes laptop. After cleaning viruses from the system it will not connect to the internet with a ethernet cable. Is the NIC active?

 

recycled means ... throw away ... right?

abri

 

I believe he means powercycled, which is the process of unplugging both the modem and router, and letting them both sit for five minutes no power. Then plug first the modem in, waiting until all the status lights go normal again, then plugging the router back in, waiting again for lights to go normal, then rebooting the computer with a hardwire connection and trying the connection again.

 

lol ... I bet that is what he meant. Thanks for spelling it out in such a useful way.
abri

 

Could I do this by just pulling the power cord from the computer for minutes? (and the router)

 

yes and no, better to manual unplug the modem/router devices, the computer just needs reinstalled.

 

Sorry I mean rebooted not reinstalled.