Re: Internet Connection Lost After Installation of Windows XP Service Pack 2 (WinXP SP2)

ObsesivelyCurious wrote:
> Yet Another Frustrated WinXP SP 2 User
>
> I need some good and detailed advice on the problem I encountered
> after installing WinXP SP2 on my home computer. I hope this is the
> best forum to post this question to, but if you know of a different
> group, please, refer me there.
>
> Here's my story, which I'll try to keep to a minimum - just
> enough to describe things in detail. I have two computers at home: a
> desktop and a laptop. Both of them sit behind a wireless router
> (Linksys WRT54G) and a cable model (Motrola - can't recall the
> model at this point). Both boxes run WinXP. I've been using this
> setup smoothly and happily for some two years now relying on the
> router's built in Firewall to protect me from malicious attempts of
> the villains out there.
>
> Unfortunately a couple of weeks ago I must have contracted some
> mutated version of sasser which caused my lsass.exe to cease to
> function and forced periodic system reboot. Alerted by this event
> I've decided to bring my desktop up to the latest updates, and
> perhaps install some software firewall on the box itself. I was able
> to successfully remove the malware (and in the process found some
> more stuff, albeit less malignant). Either way, after installing the
> first set of necessary updates from MS I got everything working
> smoothly again... And here's when I made a mistake.
>
> I thought, if things are going so well, perhaps I should go ahead and
> install Microsoft's recommended SP2, and I went for it. Installation
> proceeded uneventfully and soon I had my brand new and shiny WinXP
> SP2. Unfortunately, from that point on I have been unable to connect
> to the internet. I've pored over gazillions of posts and discussion
> forums, found some advice, applied it, and... got nothing. I even
> went as far as restoring the system back to before SP2 (at which
> point everything works fine) and reinstalling again, but to no avail.
>
> Now, here's what I see exactly. My ipconfig shows everything as it
> needs to be. Both my desktop (with SP2) and my laptop (without SP2)
> get their IPs from the router via DHCP. I can also ping my router
> (192.168.1.1) and my cable modem (192.168.100.1) just fine. I can
> ping between the desktop and laptop as well. However, if I try to
> browse to either one (http://192.168.1.1 or http://192.168.100.1)
> which normally brings up a web based configuration interface, I get
> an IE error page indicating it cannot connect. Also, when I try to
> ping something outside my local network, the ping times out.
>
> Now, this is the most bizarre part. Before I installed SP2 on my
> desktop I took it offline by physically unplugging the network.
> During the installation and even after I could access the internet
> from my laptop without any issues. I could also view the
> configuration web interfaces of both the router and the cable modem.
> When I later plugged in the desktop with SP2 back onto my LAN I could
> still browse happily on my laptop for a little while. I tried to
> navigate to my router interface from my desktop, and after a very
> long delay, the interface slowly came up. It was available for a few
> minutes, and then went down (with the familiar error page in IE). I
> thought this must be a problem with the desktop and SP2, but to my
> dismay I found out that my laptop now can't access the internet or
> web interface of the
> router either. It seems that SP2 on my desktop is somehow capable of
> taking down the router with it!!!
>
> As a background info, let me state that I have installed the latest
> firmware on the router. I've also carefully reviewed any potential
> malware on my box. I've run Ad-Aware and removed everything that
> looked suspicious. I also scanned the system with HijackThis and
> examined the log, but did not find anything that concerned me. I'd
> be happy to post the log later when I'm back at my box, if that can
> be relevant here.
>
> Another interesting tidbit is that my "Internet Connection" under
> Network Connections disappeared after I installed SP2. When I
> restored to the previous state, I couldn't see it either. Later,
> after re-installation of SP2, it popped up again, until everything
> went down, and then it disappeared again.
>
> I also have Symantec Internet Security 2003 installed. I had not used
> it before, but I enabled it after I discovered and removed sasser.
> I've tried disabling it, but this had no effect on my connectivity
> problems. I also disabled the Windows Firewall, but to no avail.
>
> Quite frankly I'm completely at a loss for a solution. If there is
> anyone out there who could shed some light on my desperate situation,
> I would greatly appreciate your opinion and advice.
>
> Thanks a bunch,
>
> Andrew

Google for winsockxpfix.exe. Run this to reset the registry keys
relating to TCP/IP. I have to use this after *every* windows update,
for whatever reason.

Q


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