Is onboard NIC kaput? (ipconfig output: Unable to query host name.)

My computer was working just fine until there was a split second power
outage in my area. Everything shut off, but then all came back in a
matter of a second.

After that, I powered up my computer and I'm not able to get online at
all since. When I perform ipconfig with or without any flags, I get
this message:
Windows IP Configuration
An internal error occurred: The request is not supported.
Please contact Microsoft Product Support Services for further help.
Additonal information: Unable to query host name.

In my Start->Settings->Control Panel->Network Connections, I don't see
the network icon which was associated with the properly functioning
network before all this happened.

I searched and searched and tried a few things already. I performed a
console recovery following the instructions put forth here,

But didn't work for me, even though the OP had the exact same error
message with his ipconfig.

I also reset the WINSOCK entries to installation defaults using "netsh
winsock reset catalog" and also reset TCP/IP stack to installation
defaults with "netsh int ip reset reset.log" but to no avail.

When I look in Device Manager, my onboard NIC has the yellow
exclamation mark beside and I've uninstalled it and rebooted and cold
booted and reinstalled the drivers for it, but I still have the
exclamation mark.

I'm really at a loss here with this problem and was wondering if
anyone's ever experienced something like this and am looking for some
input, suggestions or insight into this matter. Thanks for your time
and courtesy.

My mobo's an Asus P5B-VM with a Realtek RTL8168/8111 PCI-E Gigabit
Ethernet onboard NIC.

Oh, another thing, I use an app which monitors my bitusage called
DUMeter and when it starts, it gives this error message:
********** PROBING DATA COLLECTION METHOD [0] **********
C:\WINDOWS\system32\IpHlpApi.dll version:
Description: IP Helper API
File version: 5.1.2600.2912 (xpsp.060519-0015)
Product version: 5.1.2600.2912
IpHlpStatInit: Interface table size is zero.

********** PROBING DATA COLLECTION METHOD [1] **********
SnmpStatInit: Not supported on Windows 2000+.
ERROR: No compatible network interfaces were found.

A UPS is a wonderful thing to have when there are power glitches.

Unfortunately, no one ever believes that these power glitches will
happen to them. A UPS is the best protect but the UPS should have
power filtering.

Now that everyone has told you what you SHOULD have done, let's try a few
things.

Disable DUMeter.

Are you connected through a cable modem to the internet? If so, do you have
a notebook or other PC you can use to verify that it's good? If it's
blasted, it may be dragging down or has shorted out your onboard NIC.

If the modem is good, unplug your network cable, boot into BIOS, and disable
the onboard NIC. Save changes and exit and boot into Windows. Open Device
Manager and see if it is listed. If it is, uninstall/delete it. It shouldn't
show up in Network Connections, but double-check there and see. If by chance
it does, delete it. Reboot and check Device Manager again to be sure it
hasn't reappeared.

Reboot back into BIOS and re-enable the onboard NIC. Save changes and boot
into Windows. Found New Hardware should appear- point it to wherever your
NIC driver files are stored, and let it install. After the installation,
power down the PC, plug the network cable back in, boot up to Windows and
see if it all works. If not, it's probably the NIC.

If your cable modem supports a USB connection, you can use it instead of
purchasing another NIC. It's not as fast, but is usually adequate. PCI NIC's
can be had for $15 or so if you have an open slot. Be sure to disable the
onboard NIC in BIOS before installing either.

I have found in my personal experience that the onboard NIC's seem to be
very fragile- I haven't had one last more than 18 months or so before it
started giving me problems. And I have about as much power and line
protection that can be had LOL.

The PC in question is connected through a Linksys WRT54G router and
yeah, I've verified that the modem's good using my laptop. The port
at the back of my PC is also good and I also get the light coming on
when plug the ethernet cable into the onboard NIC port in the back of
my PC.

If you disable the onboard NIC in BIOS, you should be able to remove those
items in Device Manager.
Just because the NIC light comes on doesn't mean it works. The WAN miniports
are hidden devices (at least they are on my PC); installing a new NIC, if
necessary, shouldn't be hampered by them. They were present with my onboard
NVIDIA NIC, and are still there with my Realtek NIC.

OK, I think I'll just end up installing a new NIC and it's good to
hear that those items with the yellow exclamation marks. For some
reason though, I'm not able to remove them even though I've disabled
the onboard NIC in the BIOS. Oh, well, a trip to a computer shop
tomorrow. Thanks for all your help and time into this matter, SC Tom!

They're yellow now because there are no NIC drivers installed. Once the NIC
and drivers are in place, the error with them should clear up.
I hope it all works out. Let us know how it goes.
(Keep your receipt just in case :-) )

SC Tom, I went and bought a cheap new NIC, D-Link DFE-538TX, and
followed the installation instructions carefully and when all was said
and done, I still have the same problems. I had disabled the onboard
NIC in the BIOS before installing the drivers for the new card and
proceeded to follow the instructions that came with it.

The instructions were: (I had already disabled the onboard NIC at this
point)
Install the driver off the included CD (no error messages, so figured
all was fine), turn off the PC, install the NIC in one of the PCI
slots, turn on the PC.

However, even the new NIC is showing the yellow exclamation mark in
the Device Manager after I had turned the PC back on. So, I
uninstalled the NIC in the Device Manager, rebooted and this time I
manuall located the driver and the error message I got was that there
was a problem installing the hardware and when I double click on the
NIC in the Device Manager, it says that the drivers for this device
are not installed (code 28).

I'm really at a loss here, can you think of something that might be
causing this problem with drivers not being installed properly? I am
logged in as admin the whole time. Thanks for your time and courtesy.

Sorry, forgot to add that, from what I can observe, I think something
is preventing the drivers of both the onboard NIC and the new NIC from
being installed properly for some reason.

I had run a virus and malware scanner right away when I had problems
with the onboard NIC and I ran it again just in case and nothing came
up. Please help!

Well, I haven't done this in a long time, so I may not remember the steps
entirely. We had a problem at my old job with network cards and
connectivity, and IIRC, the fix was to remove TCP/IP and other protocols in
network properties, reboot, then reinstall. Not sure if that would work here
(probably not), but might be worth a try.
Are you showing any errors in event viewer? Might be something there. It's
puzzling to me that the drivers won't install. Do you have anything in
add/remove programs left over from the old NIC?
Have you tried updating your MB drivers? Not the NIC, but the chip set
drivers. I'm wondering if maybe the MB was affected by the power flux.
Have you tried using system restore to bring it back to a date before the
problems started? You may have to do it in safe mode or safe mode w/command
prompt.

Great, SC Tom. I'll give those things a try. At this point, I'm
willing to try anything.

However, if even after these things I can't get NIC drivers to install
properly, then do you think a clean reinstall of my XP Pro would
resolve this issue, or do you think that this is more of a hardware
related problem and a reinstall just might not fix this issue?
Thanks.

I'm truly stumped as to hardware or software at this point. If a Restore
doesn't work, maybe a repair installation of XP?
Is there any way you could hook the PC up somewhere else, like a friends
house, to their internet connection? If it doesn't work there, at least
you'll know it's your machine and not the ethernet cable, modem, etc.

SC Tom, thanks for all the help you provided. I ended up just doing a
repair installation and now Windows is letting my onboard NIC function
properly again.

So, I guess it wasn't a hardware issue at all after all. For some
reason, something was preventing the drivers for the NIC to install,
let alone load. Just glad everything's back to normal. Thanks again.

Sorry I couldn't be more help, but I'm glad it's all OK now. At least with
the repair installation, you didn't lose all your programs.

None of the other stuff matters if it's got a problem in device manager.

Try their latest driver, it may also install the diagnostic software.

http://www.realtek.com.tw/downloads/...&GetDown=false

If it doesn't fix it, it maybe God wants you to go wireless LAN.