Formatted Old PC now can't get broadband to work

irishbird01

Hi Everyone,
Right, i've just formatted an old pc (2001) with Xp. I wanted to get rid of everything and start with a blank canvas. The thing is, i can't seem to get onto the internet with my broadband. Everytime i go to set up a new connection it automatically defaults to the old dial up connection. I've gone through ip set up, network set up etc, but it keeps asking for the address of the website FTP or network location and dial up codes etc etc. The LAN says enabled as does a 1394 connection, but not connected. Not the best of explanations but a pointer in the right direction would be great.

Thanks!

dyer

try following this guide..

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/networking/setup/internet.mspx

its hard to give you a proper answer sitting here without knowing all the details but, you should at least make sure youve installed proper drivers for your network adapter or whatever it is you happen to be using.

bonzodog2

What does device manager say about your NIC ? What does
ipconfig /all
report ?

irishbird01

I appreciate it's hard to give advice on what little i've told but thanks for replying anyway!
The Device manager says that it is working properly however am i right in thinking that as it's been formatted it doesn't have an up to date driver? If so how can i download/update if i can't connect?

I haven't done an ipconfig/all report yet as i ran out of time but i'll go through that tomorrow.

tmcw

I might be wrong, but depending on your broadband (is it straight into a router through a network port, or do you use a usb device, like the ones from 3 or O2?), it should just be a matter of connecting to the router and turning everything on.

Also, if you install service pack 3 (SP3), chances are, for an old PC like that, that XP should be able to install enough to get everything working. You can get it from here, it's a hefty download, but it's pretty mandatory, and it will solve a lot of issues.

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=5b33b5a8-5e76-401f-be08-1e1555d4f3d4&displaylang=en

SP3 is the first thing I apply with any new XP installation.

EDIT: I'm assuming you have the bandwidth to download such a large file relatively easy, and have a 512MB or larger memory stick to bring it to the old computer.

irishbird01

Apologies on the delay in replying. Service pack 3 definitely helped, many thanks for the link. I found i had to install a few other bits and pieces such as LLTD protocols (my small network wasn't working either), enable bios over tcp etc so thanks again to everyone who helped out.
I have another slight problem if anyone's interested? Same Pc and trying to install a genuine, in the case etc copy of Microsoft office professional 2007 and keep getting the message
Setup cannot find Excel.en-us\ExcelLR.cab

Had a look online but not much help. Would i need an older copy of office
or even Works installed first?

tmcw

Yes, lots of people with the same error as yourself, this thread link points to it being a bad disk.

Has the disk worked for you before? If it has, try giving it a clean.

If it's worked before, are you doing the same type of installation (custom/default)? Maybe you're selecting items relating to excel that are required to be extracted from that cabinet (*.cab) file.

Solutions seem to be, to download the trial version and use your product key, or install an older version, and update to 2007 using your disk. Maybe you upgraded an older version before?

EDIT: Another thing you *could* try is, before starting the installation, see if you can find the "ExcelLR.cab" file on the disk, copy it to your hard drive or a memory stick, start the installation, and when it complains that it can't find the file, try browsing to where you copied the file, and see if it progresses. Worth a shot.

irishbird01

Oddly enough i had just installed it perfectly on 2 brand new windows 7 32 bit computers before i started installing it on the old one( can't bear to give up my XP!). Same installation procedure but it's not a happy camper.
I have a copy of 2003 office so as suggested i'll try that then upgrade via the trial version.

(by the way tmcw you've been very helpful/patient, thanks very much:D)

I have another thread on PCB's just posted...don't suppose you know anyone who can fix them?

tmcw

No problem.

I edited my post above, might be worth trying the suggestion.

About the PCBs, no, I don't know of any companies who might be able to repair them, though I have repaired older (c.1980 arcade boards) and newer PCBs (simple, obvious things like blown capacitors on PCs, monitors) myself, but it's just messing about, more of a curiosity than a hobby, so I wouldn't be certified or ratified to undertake such work. Good luck finding somewhere though, it seems to be a dying trade, a lot of stuff is throwaway now, or if a board is faulty, pull it and replace. Shame though, since I've been *donated* a few broken monitors recently that only needed a few capacitors replaced to bring them back to life, often a 30 minute job and less than a Euro worth of parts to return it to some value.

EDIT: Did you try a google search: http://www.google.ie/search?client=opera&rls=en&q=pcb+repairs&sourceid=opera&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&channel=suggest

(your other post is already indexed!)