Network/Sharing Center -> properties question.

My HP laptop is connecting just fine using either it's wireless or wired
method. However, I need to change the IP address (I use static
addresses). When I open the Local Area Connection Status I see the
usual Local Area Connection Properties when I click the Properties
button. Clicking "Details" shows my current IP address.

What happens next is really strange: I see the "Client for Microsoft
Networks" which appears instantly. If I wait for five or ten minutes
MAYBE the rest of the usual items will appear. Most times they won't.
When they do not appear, I try using the Install button. I get the
three item list (Client, Service, & Protocol) but no matter which one I
choose and click "Add" I get the following message:

"Could not add the requested feature. The error is: The system cannot
find the file specified"

If all the various items DO appear, any attempt to change the IP address
(by highlighting the "Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) - whose box
is checked) results in the Properties button remaining grayed out. I
can't double-click it, right-click it, or anything else. Also, somehow,
the TCP/IPv6 entry's box has become UNchecked - and I can't make it check.

Since I cannot get to the IP properties, how can I change the IP address?

System is Vista Home Premium (32-bit) with all updates and whatnot. No
related messages appear in the Event Viewer.

Am I making any sense?

GP

You may try to run this command: net localgroup "Administrators" "Local
Service" /add. More details can be found here:
Vista issues
Network and sharing center freezes, server execution failed · Network
and Sharing Center .... You should create your own shares to share your

Further information. I rebooted the laptop this morning and never was
able to get to the Internet. I am on my trusty XP Pro machine right now.

The Vista laptop shows either "limited or no connectivity" or "Local
Only" depending on whether I make it 'private' or 'public'. Once it
showed "Identifying" for an hour before I finally gave up. There is
something very wrong about this.

I am beginning to thing that putting VMWare on the machine and then
having to literally rip it off by hand damaged some IP files badly. I
may have to see if I can put new drivers on it - otherwise I guess I'm
screwed.


GP

Even more (and this is really cool):

I am posting from the affected laptop BUT the Network and Sharing Center
tells me "You are not connected to any network".

I plugged my network cable into the laptop and it fiddled around for
about ten seconds and then I was able to start up the browser and my
email client. All worked just fine - I would think that if Vista tells
me I am not connected, then is REALLY something goofed up in the machine.

GP

Robert:

My last word on this. I managed to shoot myself in the foot - but
recovered. In my last post I mentioned that I had to rip VMWare off my
computer. I did that a bit ago while I was on a trip and just forgot
about doing it. Every Registry entry I removed I exported first so I
started inserting each .REG file one at a time (all 42 of them). As
luck would have it, #38 completely fixed this problem.

I do appreciate your help as one of the links you provided gave me the
reminder about VMWare not mixing well with Vista under certain
circumstances.

Case closed. Reminder to myself: Be careful out there.

GP

[neorocks]

A tad belated but you are making a lot of sense! I've faced this issue;)

You may have been able to solve this problem by now. But for those who are facing this issue (like I did a while back) here's the quick tip -

1. Click Start, click Run, type regedit, and then press ENTER.
2. Locate and then click the following registry subkey: HKEY_LOCAL-MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Network
3. Right-click this subkey, click Export, and then save the selected branch in a file.
4. Click the Network subkey again, and then delete the Config entry. Do not delete the Network subkey. The Config entry will be reconstructed when you restart the computer.
5. Restart the computer. You may have to manually turn off the computer.

In my case: I could not install client, service or protocol - additional details/error messages:

Could not add the requested feature. The error is the system cannot find the file specified
You must install and enable at least one protocol for this connection to work. Do you want to select a protocol now?
An unexpected error occured. Not all of your requested changes in settings could be made.
Found new hardware - Broadcom Netlink Gigabit Ethernet
Windows encountered a problem installing the driver software for your device
The system can not find the file specified
Windows found driver software for your device but encountered an error while attempting to install it
This device is not working properly because Windows cannot load the drivers required for this device. (Code 31)
could not add the requested feature. The error is:the system cannot find the file specified.

I tried several approaches but nothing worked till I stumbled upon the "fix" mentioned above. By the way I am using VISTA business 32bit!

[TNTLabs]

I had the same problem and neorocks solution worked for me.
In my specific case, I removed Micro Trend PC-cillin and then could not connect to the internet, and could not modify network settings. I tried several other solutions but this was the only one that worked. THANKS!

1. Click Start, click Run, type regedit, and then press ENTER.
2. Locate and then click the following registry subkey: HKEY_LOCAL-MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Network
3. Right-click this subkey, click Export, and then save the selected branch in a file.
4. Click the Network subkey again, and then delete the Config entry. Do not delete the Network subkey. The Config entry will be reconstructed when you restart the computer.
5. Restart the computer. You may have to manually turn off the computer.