Guys, I have recently re-installed Vista (same machine no hardware changes) and everything is OK. Running OneCare Live, Windows Home Server Connector plus a few other sundry utilities. Connected via LAN to Netgear Router for DSL access. All works fine. On my previous Vista installation I installed VMWare server and it installed two virtual LAN Adapters and all was well with the world with them using NAT and I made the Virtual OS's part of the same workgroup and could happily browse the internet from the VMs and share/map drives etc. I have got round to installing VMWare Server again and it installs the two Virtual LAN adapters and all is well until I reboot. Once I reboot, the LAN is unavailable from the main LAN port - no IP is set and no access to router either. Networks tells me the connection is there but has no access (Private Network)and also shows the two VM adapters as being connected to a different (Public) network. No matter what I do, I cannot get the physical LAN port to wake up and obtain an IP address. I can set the other network for the VM adapters to private but no change and they still show as a separate network from the LAN port. System restore back to pre VMWare install and all is well again so there is some clash somewhere but I am stumped as to where and how to resolve! Anyone any ideas? Thanks

Hi Tony, Do you mean the physical Network Adapter cannot obtain IP address from DHCP server after installing VMWare? If so, I suspect certain network component was corrupted when installing VMWare. As a result, I suggest contacting VMWare manufacturer to confirm if the version is fully compatible with Windows Vista and if there is a known issue recorded. In addition, for your reference, here are some general troubleshooting steps you can perform on the system side when the issue occurs: 1. Boot into Safe Mode with Networking to check the result. 2. Manually assign an IP address to the Windows Vista machine to check the result. Note: Please make sure that the IP address assigned to Windows Vista machine is in the same subnet as the one the Router has. 3. Capture the network packets using NetMon3.1 to analyze the issue. 4. Refer to the KB article 929833 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929833/en-us) to check the WRP file. Hope the information is helpful. Sincerely, Joson Zhou Microsoft Online Community Support

Thanks Joson, I will investigate those pointers. For clarification, yes, it is the physical LAN adapter that cannot see the network (Nvidia 1Gbps on mainboard). I have MS VirtualPC 2007 installed and working - its just VMWare Server that I have the issue with. I'll try a re-install over the weekend to see if I can trace the issue further. Thanks again.