Getting online

mankind · #1 11-23-2004, 11:50 AM

I've had a Dell Demension 8250 (dont laugh) for sometime now and i decided to format to get rid of all the junk that has accumlated over the years (yes thats right i didnt format once since ive gotten it).

Now i'm quite new at doing this sort of thing and i ran into a problem. After i got WINDOWS XP HOME reinstalled I couldn't get connected to the internet. I'm on a dsl line using a router. Now i expected that after I formatted I would be able to get online and be able to start downloading all my old programs (msn, irc, etc...I backed up some of my bigger stuff). However, this did not work and after talking to a friend he said i needed to install network drivers. Now heres where im having a problem:

I inserted the Dell Demension Resource CD for Reinstalling Device Drivers disc and extracted the drivers onto my HD. In the instuctions it pointed me towards the systems property window -> device manager -> Network Adapters. What is confusing is that it did not have the name of the driver like it said in the instructions. What is under the Network Adapters tab is the following:
Direct Parallel
WAN Miniport (IP)
WAN Miniport (IP) - Packet Scheduled Microsoft
WAN Miniport (L2TP)
WAN Miniport (PPPOE)
WAN Miniport (PPTP)

I did try the 'update driver' feature in Direct Parallel this did not work. Also the computer im on now is exactly the same as mine. I checked what kind of network driver it was using and downloaded it off the dell site, burned it on a cd, and tried the 'update driver' feature on all of the things listed under the Network Adapters tab to no avail. Now i suspect maybe im very far off on this and should be taking a whole other approach but hopefully the information i gave is useful. If not please tell me how you think I can fix this. Like i said im pretty new at this sort of thing and im probalbly way off base. Thanks a lot for your time.

snowmonkey · #2 11-23-2004, 12:16 PM

Since your computer is not very new the I would suspect that your network card driver is not a registered on with Microsoft that's why it is not even on the list or may be your network card is dead, this list you have provided :
Direct Parallel
WAN Miniport (IP)
WAN Miniport (IP) - Packet Scheduled Microsoft
WAN Miniport (L2TP)
WAN Miniport (PPPOE)
WAN Miniport (PPTP)

these are part of built network utility and not a Net work card drivers, you may have to get a new network card for your computer and get on line with that. Since you have a router then I would say that all you need to do, given your router setting for DSL connection has not changed since you change your operating system.

cheers

mankind · #3 11-23-2004, 12:48 PM

hmm ok thanks for the reply. puts things into perpective somewhat. I will say that i have been using the network card thats in there for the past...2 years i guess? And it was working fine up until i formatted. I dont think its an onboard card...no in fact i remember installing it (well my dad did ;D) shortly after we got the computer. So maybe there is something i have to do to get the computer to reconginize the card? The orange light is on where the cable plugs into the card so i suspect it isnt dead. any thoughts? Also i will say that my router settings have changed. i know that my brother has opened some ports so he can share files with people and host game servers and other things like that.

inoesomestuff · #4 11-24-2004, 11:32 AM

you have to install the driver for that card, it should have come in a CD or floppy with the card, if you can't find it it is probably online on the card manufacture's website

Miz · #5 11-24-2004, 03:19 PM

With Dells, after Windows is reinstalled and running, the first thing you need to install from that Resource CD is the "System" drivers. Once you get those installed, the rest gets a lot easier.

mankind · #6 11-24-2004, 06:19 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by inoesomestuff
you have to install the driver for that card, it should have come in a CD or floppy with the card, if you can't find it it is probably online on the card manufacture's website

The problem is fixed guys thanks for your help. inoesomestuff knows some stuff he was right all i needed to do was goto INTEL'S site, not dell's, and download the drivers for my network card which was an intel(R)pro 10/100 M connection or something along those lines. anyways its fixed thanks for the help. you guys cant fix gf problems can you?

inoesomestuff · #7 11-27-2004, 02:55 PM

np, yay i do know something?

Quote:

Originally posted by mankind
you guys cant fix gf problems can you?

probably not but being on a computer less than 10 hours a day might help

Viktoria · #8 11-28-2004, 12:21 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Triplate
""you guys cant fix gf problems can you? ""...try a blind one...

cuteperv · #9 11-30-2004, 08:40 AM

You said you've been doing this many times, but this times crap happens. I suspect that somehow XP didn't recognize your network adapter correctly. Try this and if it doesn't do anything, simply install the driver from Dell.
Go to the hardware device pannel, go to network adapter, and remove everythin gyou see in there. If you XP works ok, next time you restart your computer, it should detect your network adapter along with whatever stuff it sees in your computer. If it doesn't, just dl the driverf from Dell and install it.
And the part "it points me" i don't understand that. After you install the driver, everything should go ok. what's the deal with "it points me".
Hope this help, if it doesn't tell me more about it.