i've made some headway.

i was reading about 'pinging' this morning and it says that it indicates tcp/ip connectivity and deals with sending/receiving packets (of which my computer can receive but not send).

i ran through the tests they gave and when I pinged the LAN it said it was OK. but when I checked the default gateway and the DNS server - it said 'request timed out' and default gateway down and DNS server down.

in the instructions i was reading it said that the 'request timed out' meant that the IP address is valid, but there is no reply from it. (no kidding, right? It goes on to say that if an IP address is on a LAN the most likely cause is a firewall program blocking the ping.

also, i noticed that the output from the cmd - ipconfig/all thing has a line which reads 'DHCP Enabled ............................ No' I checked the DHCP like you mentioned under admin services, and there it says it's started and automatic, so i'm not sure why it says 'no' here. is this normal?

any ideas on how to fix the default gateway and dns server? i wasn't sure how to adjust the firewall to see if that's the problem or not. do i need to replace something?

Did you download SP2?
To disable the SP1 firewall.........

Disable Internet Connection Firewall in Windows XP or Windows XP SP1
Note A firewall is designed to help protect your computer from attack by malicious users or by malicious software. Malicious software includes viruses that use unsolicited incoming network traffic to attack your computer. Before you disable your firewall, you must disconnect your computer from all networks, including the Internet. To do this, follow these steps:
1. In Control Panel, double-click Networking and Internet Connections, and then click Network Connections.
2. Right-click the connection on which you want to disable ICF, and then click Properties.
3. On the Advanced tab, click to clear the Protect my computer or network check box.

I had this problem and had to permanently disable the firewall as it kept turning itself back on again.

jaynee -- thanks for the help but doesn't seem to fix it. i will keep fussing around with things.

is it possible that my NIC has had some kind of blowup? i mean that the part just physically doesn't work. but i can send packets (although again, not receive them) so does that means it's working???

how can i check this to determine if i need to replace it?

also i do think it's odd that the desktop (which is working fine) has the DHCP enabled when I do the ipconfig command. the laptop (which is the one not working) says the DHCP is NOT enabled on the ipconfig thing, but when i check in admin services, it says it is enabled. what's up with that?

yeah. problem solved. uninstalling and then reinstalling the drivers for the network adapters worked.

thanks for all your help and advice.

Glad to hear it! Thanks for the update & the thanks!

Let us know if we can help further in the future!

This thread has been Resolved and Locked to prevent other users hijacking the thread and to help others know which threads have been Resolved and which are still being worked on.

If you started this thread and the problem returns or the case has not been properly Resolved, please send a Private Message to a Moderator of this forum to have the thread opened again. If you have a different problem, please start a new thread.