I bought a computer from a business and it has windows xp professional on it. When trying to connect to the internet it will not recognise the ip address. In talking to and testing from the internet provider it was determined there is a problem in the software that is keeping the signal from going out. In the pinging testing of microsft ping testing it would not go it timed out and four were sent none received and four lost. This i am told is from a sofware problem. I do not know where to look. Anyone got any ideas

On Sun, 12 Sep 2010 21:51:49 +0000, jeno1958 wrote: > I bought a computer from a business and it has windows xp professional on it. When trying to connect to the internet it will not recognise the ip address. In talking to and testing from the internet provider it was determined there is a problem in the software that is keeping the signal from going out. In the pinging testing of microsft ping testing it would not go it timed out and four were sent none received and four lost. This i am told is from a sofware problem. I do not know where to look. Anyone got any ideas If I acquired a used computer, no matter who previously owned it, the first thing I would do with it would be to reinstall the operating system cleanly. You have no idea how the computer has been maintained,what has been installed incorrectly, what is missing, what viruses andspyware there may be, etc. I wouldn't want to live with somebody else's mistakes and problems, possibility of kiddy p0rn, etc., and I wouldn't recommend that anyone else do so either. You're playing with fire if you don't reinstall Windows cleanly. Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP

See... Cleaning a Compromised System http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc700813.aspxBack-up any of YOUR personal data (if any, none of which should be considered 100% trustworthy at this point) then format the HDD & do a clean install of Windows. Please note that a Repair Install (AKA in-place upgrade) will NOT fix this!HOW TO do a clean install of WinXP: See http://michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html#steps and/or Method 1 in http://support.microsoft.com/kb/978307After the clean install, you will have the equivalent of a "new computer" so take care of EVERYTHING on the following page BEFORE otherwise connecting the machine to the internet or a local network (i.e., other computers) AND BEFORE connecting a flash drive, SDCard, or any other external drive to the computer: 4 steps to help protect your new computer before you go online http://www.microsoft.com/security/pypc.aspxOther helpful references include:HOW TO get a computer running WinXP Gold (no Service Packs) fully patched (after a clean install)http://groups.google.com/group/microsoft.public.windowsupdate/msg/3f5afa8ed33e121cHOW TO get a computer running WinXP SP1(a) or SP2 fully patched (after a clean install)http://groups.google.com/group/microsoft.public.windowsxp.general/msg/a066ae41add7dd2bTip: After getting the computer fully-patched, download/install KB971029 manually before connecting any external drive to the computer: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/971029NB: Any Norton or McAfee free-trial that came preinstalled on the computer when you bought it will be reinstalled (but invalid) when Windows is reinstalled. You MUST uninstall the free-trial AND download/run the appropriate removal tool BEFORE installing any updates, Windows Service Packs or IE upgrades AND BEFORE installing your new anti-virus application (which will require WinXP SP3 to be installed). Norton Removal Tool ftp://ftp.symantec.com/public/english_us_canada/removal_tools/Norton_Removal_Tool.exe McAfee Consumer Products Removal Tool http://download.mcafee.com/products/licensed/cust_support_patches/MCPR.exeIf you need additional assistance with the clean install, please begin a new thread in this forum: http://social.answers.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/xprepair/threadsIf these procedures look too complex - and there is no shame in admitting this isn't your cup of tea - take the machine to a local, reputable and independent (i.e., not BigBoxStoreUSA or Geek Squad) computer repair shop.~Robear Dyer (PA Bear) ~ MS MVP (IE, Mail, Security, Windows & Update Services) since 2002 ~ Disclaimer: MS MVPs neither represent nor work for Microsoft