[stepheny2k2]

Evening guys,

I returned from my new year celebrations to the usual look on my parents face's when I've been away - computer problems. Typical.

At some time on New Years Eve the laptop would no longer access the internet.


-----
My ISP is o2 in the U.K
Expected Upstream is around 3000Kbps/800Kbps
O2 wireless box II
Product Name: TG585v7
Software Release: 7.4.20.3

Problem occurs whether wired or wireless
Fujitsu Siemans Amilo
Windows Vista Home Premium
Cannot connect in any browsers.
-----

1) We have three machines in the house. A desktop and laptop running Windows XP have no problems connecting. The remaining laptop running Windows Vista fails to connect.

I contacted my ISP, and told me it wasn't an ISP issue as when I ran the following tests from within the command prompt...

: netsh int ip reset
: netsh winsock reset catalog
: etc

...no IP information was returned.

2) I have disabled/&reinstalled Anti-virus(AVG free) and Firewall(Zone alarm Free) to No effect. But Zone alarm is struggling to initiialize - True Vector service I think.

3) I have disabled/&Uninstalled the network adapters to no effect.

4) I am now going to copy in a log of the standard ping tests.

Microsoft Windows [Version 6.0.6000]
Copyright (c) 2006 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

C:\Users\dave>ping 206.190.60.37

Pinging 206.190.60.37 with 32 bytes of data:

PING: transmit failed, error code 1231.
PING: transmit failed, error code 1231.
PING: transmit failed, error code 1231.
PING: transmit failed, error code 1231.

Ping statistics for 206.190.60.37:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 0, Lost = 4 (100% loss),

C:\Users\dave>ping yahoo.com
Ping request could not find host yahoo.com. Please check the name and try again.


C:\Users\dave>nbtstat -n
NetBT is not bound to any devices
C:\Users\dave>ipconfig /all

Windows IP Configuration

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : dave-PC
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Hybrid
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No

5) A system restore had already been attempted by my parents, which apparently failed. There were restore points for the past two days(back to 31/12/2008). but everyone of them failed. I noticed that on New Years Eve and again on New Years Day there was a restore point created for the installation of a Windows Update. Apparently Zone alarm was updated to,(again not by me). So there may be a conflict here. That was a further reason for disabling and resinstalling Zone Alarm.

6) I checked for known issues with any new windows updates and couldn't find any but the person on the helpdesk of my ISP told me they had heard of some. Whatever that means.

7) I tried booting in safe mode, again without effect. As stated earlier I have also tried using a wired connection instead of a wireless one.

------

I've ran out of ideas. I hope I have included all pertinent information, I realise it's already a huge initial post but I have added a DxDiag to the attachments if it helps.

I would appreciate any and all help on this issue, and will be monitoring feedback so I can answer any questions you may have.

Thanks in advance to the community,

Stepheny2k2

[JohnWill]

You might want to try the proper repairs for Vista.

TCP/IP stack repair options for use with Windows Vista.

Start, Programs\Accessories and right click on Command Prompt, select "Run as Administrator" to open a command prompt.

In the command prompt window that opens, type type the following commands:

Reset WINSOCK entries to installation defaults: netsh winsock reset catalog

Reset IPv4 TCP/IP stack to installation defaults. netsh int ipv4 reset reset.log

Reset IPv6 TCP/IP stack to installation defaults. netsh int ipv6 reset reset.log

Reboot the machine.



Then, connect with a wired connection and post this.

Hold the Windows key and press R, then type CMD to open a command prompt:

In the command prompt window that opens, type type the following command:

Note that there is a space before the /ALL, but there is NOT a space after the / in the following command.

IPCONFIG /ALL

Right click in the command window and choose Select All, then hit Enter to copy the contents to the clipboard.
Paste the results in a message here.

If you are on a machine with no network connection, use a floppy, USB disk, or a CD-RW disk to transfer a text file with the information to allow pasting it here.

[etaf]

can you look in device manager and see whats in the network adapters

any ?
are all the adapters listed correctly

[stepheny2k2]

@etaf - Within device manager the two network adapters are displayed as normal(one for wired, one wireless). No problems reported.

@JohnWill - tried the revised Vista repairs you suggested. Have copied the output to the repairs and the IPCONFIG/ALL results to.

Microsoft Windows [Version 6.0.6000]
Copyright (c) 2006 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

C:\Windows\system32>netsh winsock reset catalog

Sucessfully reset the Winsock Catalog.
You must restart the computer in order to complete the reset.


C:\Windows\system32>netsh int ipv4 reset reset.log
Reseting Echo Request, failed.
Access is denied.

Reseting Global, OK!
Reseting Interface, OK!
A reboot is required to complete this action.


C:\Windows\system32>netsh int ipv6 reset reset.log
Reseting Echo Request, OK!
A reboot is required to complete this action.


C:\Windows\system32>

------
####After reboot####
------
Microsoft Windows [Version 6.0.6000]
Copyright (c) 2006 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

C:\Windows\system32>ipconfig /all

Windows IP Configuration

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : dave-PC
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Hybrid
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No

C:\Windows\system32>

Thanks again guys,

Stepheny2k2

[JohnWill]

You appear to be missing the network drivers.

Hold the Windows key and press R, then type devmgmt.msc

Please respond to all the following steps.

1. Under Network adapters, please tell me all the devices listed.
2. Are there any devices under Network adapters that have a red x displayed?
3. Also, are there any devices anywhere in the Device Manager display with yellow ? or ! displayed?

[stepheny2k2]

1) Network Adapters:-

Atheros AR5007EG Wireless Network Adapter ( driver 31/01/2007 v. 7.2.0.132)
RealTek RTL8139/810x Family Ethernet NIC ( driver 21/06/2006 v. 5.640.630.2006)

2) No network devices marked with Red X
3) No other devices marked with ? or !

[JohnWill]

Well, in that case, you didn't post all of the IPCONFIG /ALL output requested.

[stepheny2k2]

1)Thanks JohnWill but I followed your instructions to the letter.

I reran the IPCONFIG /ALL command. This is all I get.

C:\Windows\system32>ipconfig /all

Windows IP Configuration

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : dave-PC
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Hybrid
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No

C:\Windows\system32>
------

Running IPCONFIG without the /ALL argument returns


C:\Windows\system32>ipconfig

Windows IP Configuration

----
2)I updated my RealTek driver to:- 29/10/2008 v.6.110.1029.2008 to see if it made a difference. No joy

3)I disabled Zone alarm on startup and have been just running Windows Firewall. When I tried to boot up Zone Alarm it fails to initialise....I assume this is because I have no IP details.

4) It seems strange for both the Wireless and Wired Network adapters to both fail at the same time independently. This suggests something has caused both adapters to lose their IP details and is preventing their reinitialisation, which is why after removing/disabling anti-virus and Firewall to remove their influence, I suspected the Windows update which occurred around the same time to be the culprit.

I can't find anything online mentioning problems with a Vista update so I am still at a bit of a loss.

John, if the IPCONFIG /ALL command should be showing more details(I suspect you mean for each adapter) then for what reasons wouldn't it?

Thanks for your continued help.

Kind Regards,

Stepheny2k2

[stepheny2k2]

Okay guys I found the following command which returns data about visible wireless connections, drivers and interfaces I have installed.

This may help with getting you some of the information you asked for in the IPCONFIG /ALL command which only returned the few lines specified in my previous post.

The command is NETSH WLAN SHOW ALL. I have never used the command before so am unsure if this will help at all but here is the output:-

C:\Windows\system32>netsh wlan show

The following commands are available:

Commands in this context:
show all - Shows complete wireless device and networks information.
show autoconfig - Shows whether the auto configuration logic is enabled or
disabled.
show blockednetworks - Shows the blocked network display settings.
show createalluserprofile - Shows whether everyone is allowed to create all
user profiles.
show drivers - Shows properties of the wireless LAN drivers on the system.
show filters - Shows the allowed and blocked network list.
show interfaces - Shows a list of the wireless LAN interfaces on
the system.
show networks - Shows a list of networks visible on the system.
show profiles - Shows a list of profiles configured on the system.
show settings - Shows the global settings of wireless LAN.
show tracing - Shows whether wireless LAN tracing is enabled or disabled.

C:\Windows\system32>netsh wlan show all
Wireless System Information Summary
(Time: 05/01/2009 12:54:10)


=======================================================================
============================== SHOW DRIVERS ===========================
=======================================================================


Interface name: ?¶2S?¶???¶☻

Driver : Atheros AR5007EG Wireless Network Adapter
Vendor : Atheros Communications Inc.
Provider : Atheros Communications Inc.
Date : 31/01/2007
Version : 7.2.0.132
INF file : C:\Windows\INF\oem9.inf
Files : 1 total
C:\Windows\system32\DRIVERS\athr.sys
Type : Native Wi-Fi Driver
Radio types supported : 802.11b 802.11g
Authentication and cipher supported in infrastructure mode:
Open None
Open WEP-40bit
Shared WEP-40bit
Open WEP-104bit
Shared WEP-104bit
Open WEP
Shared WEP
WPA-Enterprise TKIP
WPA-Personal TKIP
WPA2-Enterprise TKIP
WPA2-Personal TKIP
WPA-Enterprise CCMP
WPA-Personal CCMP
WPA2-Enterprise CCMP
WPA2-Personal CCMP
Authentication and cipher supported in ad-hoc mode:
Open None
Open WEP-40bit
Open WEP-104bit
Open WEP
WPA2-Personal CCMP


=======================================================================
============================= SHOW INTERFACES =========================
=======================================================================


There is 1 interface on the system:

Name :
Description : Atheros AR5007EG Wireless Network Adapter
GUID : dead8b93-17cd-43a4-8e6b-750e4ea994ad
Physical Address : 00:c0:a8:fb:04:a2
State : connected
SSID : Casa Del Wolstencroft
BSSID : 00:1d:68:0a:7e:5f
Network Type : Infrastructure
Radio Type : 802.11g
Authentication : WPA-Personal
Cipher : TKIP
Connection Mode : Discovery (secured)
Channel : 7
Receive Rate (Mbps) : 54
Transmit Rate (Mbps) : 54
Signal : 100%


=======================================================================
============================= SHOW SETTINGS ===========================
=======================================================================


Wireless LAN settings
---------------------
Show blocked networks in visible network list: No.

Auto configuration logic is enabled on interface "".


=======================================================================
============================== SHOW FILTERS ===========================
=======================================================================


Allow list on the system (group policy)
---------------------------------------
<None>

Allow list on the system (user)
-------------------------------
<None>

Block list on the system (group policy)
---------------------------------------
<None>

Block list on the system (user)
-------------------------------
<None>


=======================================================================
=========================== SHOW CREATEALLUSER ========================
=======================================================================


Everyone is allowed to create all user profiles.


=======================================================================
============================= SHOW PROFILES ===========================
=======================================================================


Profiles on interface :

Group Policy Profiles (read only)
---------------------------------
<None>

User Profiles
-------------
<None>


=======================================================================
========================== SHOW PROFILES NAME=* =======================
=======================================================================

Profile "*" is not found on the system.

=======================================================================
======================= SHOW NETWORKS MODE=BSSID ======================
=======================================================================


Interface Name :
There are 2 networks currently visible.

SSID 1 : Casa Del Wolstencroft
Network type : Infrastructure
Authentication : WPA-Personal
Encryption : TKIP
BSSID 1 : 00:1d:68:0a:7e:5f
Signal : 100%
Radio Type : 802.11g
Channel : 7
Basic Rates (Mbps) : 1 2 5.5 11
Other Rates (Mbps) : 6 9 12 18 24 36 48 54

SSID 2 : BTHomeHub-0FFA
Network type : Infrastructure
Authentication : Open
Encryption : WEP
BSSID 1 : 00:14:7f:a7:24:49
Signal : 18%
Radio Type : 802.11g
Channel : 1
Basic Rates (Mbps) : 1 2 5.5 11
Other Rates (Mbps) : 6 9 12 18 24 36 48 54


C:\Windows\system32>

------

The interface name does seem to be garbled.

[JohnWill]

The fact that the IPCONFIG /ALL isn't showing any interfaces indicates that Windows networking doesn't recognize any of those adapters.

I'd have to guess since the stack repairs didn't do it, there is something more significant corrupted in the installation.

[stepheny2k2]

I have tried restoring all drivers etc from the laptop's setup disks to see if I could return the system to how it was when it worked but it didn't work.

If I perform a full reformat and reinstallation of Vista this may fix the networking problems.

If I do get network functionality back and return the system to it's 'pre-new year' state - i.e with all Vista updates/service packs etc and I lose network config again at least I know it's an 'update' issue.

Would you recommend this as my next step now that all other options seem to have been exhausted?

Appreciate your help JohnWill.

[JohnWill]

You probably have a factory restore capability, either from the disks or from a hidden partition with a "restore" program. That should beat it into submission.

This is where I usually stick in my plug for real image backups of your boot partition, it rescues you from stuff like this. I use Acronis True Image to make regular backups of all my machines to a NAS (Network Attached Storage) drive. If anything ever totally corrupts them, or the hard disk fails, I have an easy way back to my previous configuration with minimal updates required to recover.

[stepheny2k2]

Sorry for the delay.

The reformat seems to have solved the problem.

Wonder if it was an infection by that latest worm(Conficker, Downadup, or Kido), seems as if it resets the system restore capability(one symptom). Though the loss of ip config would seem like odd behaviour for malware, seriously hampering it's reinfection rate. Maybe it was an secondary/ tertiary unforseen effect.

One theory anyway. Thanks for all your help, especially JohnWill

[joebloggit]

so the problem wasnt resolved.......

[JohnWill]

Hard to say what caused the issue, and formatting has covered any tracks.

Too bad you had to go that route, but I guess it's all behind you now.