# Local Area Connection enabled but no IP address and no connection



## Hometinkerer (Jan 10, 2010)

I have used boot & nuke to wipe clean an older XP desktop. Then I used the XP installation disk to get going to the basic installation that enables the computer to function.

The plan is to get the network card working and then use updates and auto-detect to configure the remaining drivers. I have done this with some success on a couple of other older XP machines previously.

I opened the case and worked out that the board is an Intel D865PERL. By going to the Intel website on another machine I have downloaded the network card drivers, copied it to a USB stick and then transferred the drivers to the machine being re-built. They all appear to have installed correctly - when I go to device manager it says that the "Intel(R) PRO/1000 CT Network Connection" is working properly.

When I go to Network Connections it says that the Local Area Connection is enabled. But in the details pane it reports the following:

IP Address: 0.0.0.0
Subnet Mask: 0.0.0.0
Assigned by DHCP

I have cross referenced the network configuration against another XP machine and confirmed that the TCP/IP properties are configured to obtain IP address automatically etc.

ipconfig /all in the command prompt reports the following:

Windows IP Configuration

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : stratus
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Broadcast
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Intel(R) PRO/1000 CT Network Connection
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-0C-F1-79-7B-15
Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 0.0.0.0
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 0.0.0.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . :
DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 0.0.0.0

Clearly I cannot get any connection to the internet.

I do not believe I would need to do any configuration of the home network itself because it is configured to be as vanilla as possible too. And the other computers connect to it fine.

Is there a step I am missing? Have I installed the drivers incorrectly? Any assistance much appreciated.


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

IP addresses of all zeros are normally caused by one of the following.

*Diagnosis:*


DHCP Service not running.
Duplicate IP address on the network.
Bad NIC card drivers.
Defective NIC hardware.

*Resolution:*


Check Control Panel, Administrative Tools, Services. The DHCP Client service should be Started and its Startup Type should be Automatic.

Turn off ALL of the computers and other network connected devices, restart (power cycle) the router, then restart all the computers and other network devices.

Check for upgraded drivers and/or reload the Network drivers.

Replace the Network Interface Card.


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## Hometinkerer (Jan 10, 2010)

Thanks for these suggestions.

I have tried some of your solutions and report the following:

1. DHCP Client service is set to Automatic but it says "Starting" and not "started" - could this point to the problem?
2. I've tried turning everything else off and power cycling the router. This does not appear to make any difference.
3. I am pretty sure I have the correct driver. Is there a way to confirm it?
4. I haven't replaced the network card (yet) because I'd like to see if there are other solutions first.


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

Since the DHCP client is not started, check it's dependencies and trace down to see which dependency is not starting.


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