Windows didn't fail, I did



  • So last night I decided to format my HD on my download-music-and-porn-and-whatever-else machine because it had gotten way out of control with the program list (downloading all kinds of apps that I didn't need and never uninstalling them) and it was running like crap.  Instead of running registry and disk cleaners I wanted a clean slate.

    No problem, I find my WinXP SP2 disk, format and install away.  The machine comes up fast and I couldn't be happier.  I tried to connect to the internet to update the drivers for the video card and such and blam: no internet.  Alright, I go to Control Panel->Networks and see that there is a 1394 Local Network.  I think nothing of it and look at the properties.  Everything seems fine. 

    So I try a couple of things, reset the IP stack and WinStock.  Restart a few times and nothing.  I try pinging myself and I get Replies, but I can't get on my network or reach the internet.

    So I try to Repair the network connection and I get a funny error:

    "Windows could not finish repairing the problem because the following action cannot be completed:
    TCP/IP is not enabled for this connection. Cannot proceed.
    For assistance, contact the person who manages your network
    "

     

    Searching on this error brings you to a ton of forums where people give out all kinds of advice about going into the registry to remove TCP/IP, or this or that trick.  Nothing worked. I spent 3 hours searching this problem growing more and more pissed, and slowly running out of smokes!

    Then I hit a forumn with people who actually knew what they were talking about.  I'm sure most of you have guessed what was wrong by now, for those of you who didn't notice it (like me) 1394 is Firewire not Ethernet.  WinXP installed firewire drivers for my ethernet card. 

    Now, I am not  saying "windoz is teh suck", I know that I am the WTF here for missing that.  Just thought I'ld share my self WTF moment.



  • @amischiefr said:

    .........

    WinXP installed firewire drivers for my ethernet card. 

    ..........

     

     

    TRWTF is that you still havn't worked it out quite right yet



  • @amischiefr said:

    Alright, I go to Control Panel->Networks and see that there is a 1394 Local Network.

     

    A case of the problem hiding in plain sight.

    Though to be honest, I'm sure I could've missed it too on some nights.



  • @amischiefr said:

    WinXP installed firewire drivers for my ethernet card. 

     

    Highly unlikely that is even possible, but if it is possible that would be TRWTF.

    Most likely it did not install network drivers at all or maybe something is wrong with the network card itself.

     

    Have you fixed it already?



  • @Quincy5 said:

    @amischiefr said:

    WinXP installed firewire drivers for my ethernet card. 

     

    Highly unlikely that is even possible, but if it is possible that would be TRWTF.

    Most likely it did not install network drivers at all or maybe something is wrong with the network card itself.

     

    Have you fixed it already?

     

    Well, to be honest I don't know whether it actually installed firewire drivers for it, but the drivers that are installed are listing it under device manager as a 1394 device, so I am making a bit of an assumption here.

    No, all of the comments that I have seen regarding the 1394 Local Network is indicating that incorrect drivers are installed for the onboard Ethernet adapter.  I went to the asus website and, of course, they don't have the motherboard drivers for the a8n-ln anymore.  I am going to try to install some of the other drivers they have for similar motherboards that have onboard drivers, and I am going to check if nvidia has any drivers for it also (nvidia chipset on the board).  

    I must say that I suck when it comes to issues like this.  



  • @amischiefr said:

    @Quincy5 said:

    @amischiefr said:

    WinXP installed firewire drivers for my ethernet card. 

     

    Highly unlikely that is even possible, but if it is possible that would be TRWTF.

    Most likely it did not install network drivers at all or maybe something is wrong with the network card itself.

     

    Have you fixed it already?

     

    Well, to be honest I don't know whether it actually installed firewire drivers for it, but the drivers that are installed are listing it under device manager as a 1394 device, so I am making a bit of an assumption here.

    No, all of the comments that I have seen regarding the 1394 Local Network is indicating that incorrect drivers are installed for the onboard Ethernet adapter.  I went to the asus website and, of course, they don't have the motherboard drivers for the a8n-ln anymore.  I am going to try to install some of the other drivers they have for similar motherboards that have onboard drivers, and I am going to check if nvidia has any drivers for it also (nvidia chipset on the board).  

    I must say that I suck when it comes to issues like this.  

     

    Well, AFAIK the 1394 network is installed regardless of whether there's a network card on your system or not. It does not mean the 1394 driver was installed for your network card. However, in case it's the only network device in your list it probably means that your network card is damaged and not driver was installed for it (which makes the 1394 network adapter the only one that's visible).



  • 1394 Local Network is a Firewire card. It's far more likely that it is a real Firewire socket on your pc than Windows using Firewire drivers for your ethernet card.

    Did you perhaps disable the wrong one in your bios?



  • @Thief^ said:

    1394 Local Network is a Firewire card. It's far more likely that it is a real Firewire socket on your pc than Windows using Firewire drivers for your ethernet card.

    Did you perhaps disable the wrong one in your bios?

     

    No, this computer was up and running 100% yesterday before I started.  All I did was format C and install WinXP.   So why would it list the firewire card as my network adapter?  How is it that I can ping 127.0.0.1 and get a reply?  

    I will never buy another computer fully built again.  They never (stats based on purchasing of 3 such systems, your results may vary) give you all of the CD's you need (XP/Vista, Motherboard Drivers CD, ect...).  My other computer I built from scratch and everything came with the CD and it was a sinch to setup and install, and if I'm not retarded, I'll have the CD's there for when I need to format that one.

    I am pretty sure that this is all a driver issue and that if I had the a8n-ln asus driver cd this post never would have happened.  Please, if I am wrong and this is something else, save the me headache and hours of crap and correct me.



  • 1394 Local Network is installed regardless if you have a 1394 port (Firewire port) installed in your computer.

    Moreso, Windows probably didnt have your driver for your network card, and so didn't install it... or the card is damaged and it didn't recognise it.

    And you can ping localhost (127.0.0.1) even from a machine with NO network cards. It just loopsback in windows's network stack.



  • @amischiefr said:

    .......

       So why would it list the firewire card as my network adapter? 



    Why not?
    @amischiefr said:

    How is it that I can ping 127.0.0.1 and get a reply?



    Uh, you can ping yourself without any phy.

     



  • @amischiefr said:


    I will never buy another computer fully built again.  They never (stats based on purchasing of 3 such systems, your results may vary) give you all of the CD's you need (XP/Vista, Motherboard Drivers CD, ect...).  My other computer I built from scratch and everything came with the CD and it was a sinch to setup and install, and if I'm not retarded, I'll have the CD's there for when I need to format that one.


     

     

    TRWTF that you didn't just download the latest drivers on to USB drive, instead you want to use the first edition drivers?



  • @Helix said:

    TRWTF that you didn't just download the latest drivers on to USB drive, instead you want to use the first edition drivers?

     

    No, they don't "have" the drivers anymore for that motherboard.  Maybe I didn't make that clear.  I would gladly download them if somebody out there had them, but as of yet I cannot find them.



  • @Marine said:

    And you can ping localhost (127.0.0.1) even from a machine with NO network cards. It just loopsback in windows's network stack.
    That's what I thought.@Marine said:
    Moreso, Windows probably didnt have your driver for your network card, and so didn't install it... or the card is damaged and it didn't recognise it.
    the ethernet port is on the mobo, which is why he mentioned going to the board's website.  Sorry, just being a pedant, it's not a card.

    Furthermore, if the network port is damaged, it would have to have become damaged in the hour or so it took to install WinXP.  It could happen, but I would lean toward Windows not having a driver for it on the install medium.  I suspect he's glad he has a second machine sitting around that so he can download drivers.  The worst driver for a computer to be missing IMO is the network adapter driver.

    My official recommendation: Head to Micro Center or Frys or wherever, buy a $10 network card, pop it in, and you're off to the races.  No sense wasting any more of your time trying to download this or that driver.

    Finally, building your own computer FTW.  I've been soured on prebuilt machines ever since I built my current machine.



  • @amischiefr said:

    I went to the asus website and, of course, they don't have the motherboard drivers for the a8n-ln anymore.
     

    I'm pretty sure you're mistaken. Asus still has drivers for their Slot1 motherboards... Also, a google search for a8n-ln  yields this thread as it higest result (and the only one mentioning that name). Makes you think it doesn't exists eh?

    You sure it isn't the A8N-VM, or far more common A8N-E or A8N-SLI? (or one of their subvariants)

    Besides, all A8N motherboards use Nforce 4 chipsets (which a simple google search for your mainbord name, if it existed, would have yielded) of which the latest drivers can be downloaded at this location.

    Unless you have some obscure OEM motherboard (which I highly doubt since you state you've built your own computer) I think you sir, are TRWTF. Especially since you built and install your own computer but cannot find drivers for your own mainbord and not realise that 1394 is firewire (which your board has if you have one of the "Deluxe" versions, which likely because the non-deluxe where almost not sold in retail)



  • @amischiefr said:

    So why would it list the firewire card as my network adapter?

    Because firewire is a network, unlike, say, usb, which is a master/slave bus.



  • @Thief^ said:

    unlike, say, usb, which is a master/slave bus.
    This bus sounds kinky.  Does it have any stops near me?



  • @bstorer said:

    @Thief^ said:

    unlike, say, usb, which is a master/slave bus.
    This bus sounds kinky.  Does it have any stops near me?

    Taking the bus is for poor people.  Us rich folks own our own pickups and park wherever we please.


  • Discourse touched me in a no-no place

    @dtech said:

    Unless you have some obscure OEM motherboard (which I highly doubt since you state you've built your own computer) I think you sir, are TRWTF.
    Erm - did they say that?

    @amischiefr said:

    I will never buy another computer fully built again.  They never (stats based on purchasing of 3 such systems, your results may vary) give you all of the CD's you need (XP/Vista, Motherboard Drivers CD, ect...).  My other computer I built from scratch and everything came with the CD and it was a sinch to setup and install, and if I'm not retarded, I'll have the CD's there for when I need to format that one.

     



  • @dtech said:

    @amischiefr said:

    I went to the asus website and, of course, they don't have the motherboard drivers for the a8n-ln anymore.
     

    I'm pretty sure you're mistaken. Asus still has drivers for their Slot1 motherboards... Also, a google search for a8n-ln  yields this thread as it higest result (and the only one mentioning that name). Makes you think it doesn't exists eh?

    You sure it isn't the A8N-VM, or far more common A8N-E or A8N-SLI? (or one of their subvariants)

     

     I am sorry for the mistake, it is the a8n-la not the ln.

    @dtech said:

    Besides, all A8N motherboards use Nforce 4 chipsets (which a simple google search for your mainbord name, if it existed, would have yielded) of which the latest drivers can be downloaded at this location.


    I hope that works.  I will try and install it tonight, and thanks for the link.

    @dtech said:

    Unless you have some obscure OEM motherboard (which I highly doubt since you state you've built your own computer) I think you sir, are TRWTF. Especially since you built and install your own computer but cannot find drivers for your own mainbord and not realise that 1394 is firewire (which your board has if you have one of the "Deluxe" versions, which likely because the non-deluxe where almost not sold in retail)

    Too late son, I already stated in my first post that I was TRWTF.  I am horrible when it comes to troubleshooting HW problems.  Maybe my Googlefu isn't helping either (searching for the wrong thing).  The computer I built was easy.  Every componant came with the correct drivers CD.

    If I have all of the drivers then I can built it.  If the drivers are easily available I can do it.  If the fucking motherboard was labeled properly (properly as in: understandable by me) with the model AND correct chipset, I could find the right drivers. 

    Do a google search on the a8n-la and click images.  Or look here. You can see that it has an asus bios chip and an nvidia chip, that's it.  The only reason I found out that it is the a9n-la is from some post where a guy listed his specs (CPU, HP computer, ect) and gave the mobo name.   Now, maybe to you (and probably most computer geeks on this site) this is a "that's too easy, man u suck!!" moment, to me it was pretty frustrating.



  • It seems to be an OEM-only board, which is why it isn't listed on asus's site. (thanks asus)

    A google for "a8n-la drivers" (yep, that simple) turns up the following thread: http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/253717-30-asus-find-drivers-anywhere

    ... with someone with the same problem, and a link to driver downloads. It uses standard nvidia chipset drivers, but it seems to have a realtek network chip instead of using the one built in to the nvidia chipset.



  • I have an Asus P5N-E SLI - the first time I set up my computer (a couple years ago) I was having the exact same problem as you. The "1394 Network Adapter" seemed to be working just fine, but it took me a couple hours to figure out WTF was wrong. I realized I hadn't installed the chipset drivers from my motherboard's CD (couldn't download them with no internet access). Once I installed it, everything worked perfectly. "1394 Network Adapter" is still listed in my network connections though, just before "Local Area Connection".



  • @amischiefr said:

    If I have all of the drivers then I can built it.  If the drivers are easily available I can do it.  If the fucking motherboard was labeled properly (properly as in: understandable by me) with the model AND correct chipset, I could find the right drivers. 
     

    My mistake for not seeing it was indeed an OEM. if the earlier link didn't work you might wanna try the drivers from this computer (which has an A8N-LA as you can see under bios) or enter your computer model at the HP support sit yourself. In my experience they always have all drivers even for their ancient systems, the only problem is that they are always horribly outdated (which isn't really important for a network driver, but is really annoying if you have a Quadro GPU in your laptop like me and can only use HP's drivers because the nvidia quadro drivers refuse to install on the HP system)



  • @Huf Lungdung said:

    "1394 Network Adapter" is still listed in my network connections though, just before "Local Area Connection".

    That's normal. Like stated earlier, the firewire protocol specifies how to set up a TCP/IP connection between two firewire hosts, creating a perfectly valid network. Microsoft removed the feature in Vista and 7 though.



  • Hmm. I wonder if I am really the only person who, when a device does not work, look in device manager for all the "unknown devices", dig into details to get their (hexadecimal) vendor and device IDs and put them into Google. In most cases it returns enough information so that I know the name of the chip/device so that I can find a driver for it. This even works for cheap OEM sound chips who sometimes use different names but are chip-identical to some other model that has drivers readily available (because the vendor/device IDs are the same). In most cases, this is easier than opening the PC and looking for the components it has (especially if it is not your own PC and you should just troubleshoot why that damn network/sound/whatever is not working.

    (And PCs that had components without vendor and device IDs - i. e. from before the time of Plug&Pray - have not crossed my path lately...)



  • @mihi said:

    Hmm. I wonder if I am really the only person who, when a device does not work, look in device manager for all the "unknown devices", dig into details to get their (hexadecimal) vendor and device IDs and put them into Google. In most cases it returns enough information so that I know the name of the chip/device so that I can find a driver for it. This even works for cheap OEM sound chips who sometimes use different names but are chip-identical to some other model that has drivers readily available (because the vendor/device IDs are the same). In most cases, this is easier than opening the PC and looking for the components it has (especially if it is not your own PC and you should just troubleshoot why that damn network/sound/whatever is not working.

    (And PCs that had components without vendor and device IDs - i. e. from before the time of Plug&Pray - have not crossed my path lately...)

     Or download and use Unknown Devices



  • @dtech said:

    Besides, all A8N motherboards use Nforce 4 chipsets (which a simple google search for your mainbord name, if it existed, would have yielded) of which the latest drivers can be downloaded at this location.

    Should be careful with that though. In my case the RAID drivers left my nForce4 based system in an auto-reboot cycle the moment the driver loads. nvRaid is veeeeeeeeerrrry fickle on nForce4 chipsets...


Log in to reply