WinXP DHCP Problem

[bitsmart]

OK, here's my situation: I have a Win XP Pro machine I'm trying to add to my family's home Ethernet. My mother's (Win ME?) and brother's (Win XP HE) both go through a hub to our Linksys Etherfast Cable DSL router, which goes to the cable internet connection.

I have a 5-port hub in my bedroom for distance (need longer ethernet cables) and to split the signal to my desktop (WinXP Pro) and my laptop (Win 98). The two hubs between my computers and the router are basically irrelevant in troubleshooting. Here's the layout of the network:

Cable modem -> Router -> Dad's computer EGPHOME

Cable modem -> Router -> 8-port hub -> Mom's computer REBEL and Bro's computer STEVO and my 5-port hub

My 5-port hub -> my laptop ENKI and my desktop LOKI.

OK, now that you've got the layout, here's the problem .

LOKI can not get an IP address assigned by DHCP. No matter what I do, it always uses either an APIPA-assigned address, 169.254.*.*, or it uses an alternate (manual configuration). I tried setting the default gateway to the router's IP in advanced settings to go along with 'Obtaining everything automatically,' but no luck. DHCP still fails. Just in case you're wondering, I do not have any firewalls on.

When I set a static IP, I get partial participation on the network, but no Internet access. I can see shared drives on STEVO, REBEL, and ENKI. If I had 'Net access using a static IP, I wouldn't really sweat it and I'd just do that. But all I have is access to the LAN.

I've been through two other forums like this, and this problem is really starting to irritate me. I understand the basics of networking, and I've got lots of experience with Windows, so I've tried everything I can think of, and on all counts this SHOULD BE WORKING. It defies logic. Nobody seems to know what could be causing this irrational problem, and nobody seems to be able to help me. It's not a complex process, LOKI simply asks the router for a DHCP-assigned IP, and joins the network and shares the cable connection, just like 3 other computers already on the LAN.

BTW, I also tried a lot of things from the Guides and HOWTOs on this website, and while I learned a few new things, nothing here helped. This yet another in a long line of last-ditch efforts.

Can anyone help me? Please?

[Greenstead]

Well, first I should say like everyone else I don't know the answer. Of course it should work.

Theres a lot of DHCP issues discussed here - don't know if any might apply to you.
http://search.support.microsoft.com/search/default.aspx?Catalog=LCID%3D2057%26CDID%3DEN-US-KB%26PRODLISTSRC%3DON&withinResults=false&QuerySource=gsfxAdvancedSearch_Query&Product=w98&Queryc=DHCP&Query=DHCP&KeywordType=ALL&maxResults=25&Titles=false&numDays=


Things that come to my mind:
- If you still can't get to the router with manual settings then that suggest something hard coded in the laptop stopping it. Can't you even ping the routers IP? Have you any routing tables in the laptop?
- Try release the IP, and reboot. Then renew the lease.
- Try a different NIC and driver (maybe a PC card).

For expert advice try M% forums for win98. There are some M$ qualified people around there.
http://support.microsoft.com/newsgroups/default.aspx

[bitsmart]

Sorry if I wasn't clear enough, this sort of thing can easily be confused...

My Win 98 laptop shows up on the LAN and shares the cable connection just fine. It's my Win XP Pro desktop that I can't get to connect to the 'Net.

I can ping the router, other computers on the LAN, when I manually enter an IP. However, anything 'automatically retrieved or assigned fails miserably.

An attempt to Repair the connection gives me 'Failed to renew IP address.'

I'll look around MS, hopefully I'll find something. Thanks.