No Internet after spyware/malware removal

[Spools]

Hello,

I've been helping a friend clean up his PC and haven't been able to reconnect to the internet.
The information he gave me before I started was:

• HP stock machine (can't recall model number)
• XP Home SP2 (original install)
• ATT Yahoo DSL
• Problems he noticed were popup spam, desktop background replaced, noticeable slowdown, and finally loss of internet access

He had Norton Anti-Virus installed with an active subscription (clearly not much help). When I received it I installed and ran the following:

• Adaware SE
• Spybot SD
• Mcafee Stinger
• CCleaner

Plenty of bugs were found and after several scans I felt fairly confident that we cleared most if not all the nastyness. When I tried to connect it to my home network through the onboard NIC, I couldn't connect (network connection wizard didn't help). I then tried to connect it to his home connection and had no luck. I noticed in the device manager that the Network Adapter had a warning icon. It was giving me a Code 39 error. I tried the recommended solution multiple times with no success. Each time I uninstalled and rebooted, the adapter and the warning icon were back in the list.

At that point I tried the following:

• Command Prompt: ipconfig - gave me a "iAn internal error occurred: the system cannot find the file specified. Additional information: Unable to query hostname"
• Uninstalled Norton AV
• Replaced tcpip.sys with known working copy
• Replaced hosts file with known working copy
• Ran WINSOCK fix program
• Reinstalled CD version of SP2 (started last night and haven't checked if it's worked or not yet)

If the SP2 reinstall doesn't help, the only thing I can think to do is run the HP System Recover program from the hidden partition (repair first then, if necessary, destructive). This is my last resort so if anyone has any suggestions for things I haven't tried I'd appreciate the help. Any ideas?

[mairving]

You could try resetting the winsock. Instructions here or here.

[Cricket]

Try this: WinSock XP Fix

Cricket

[kev7555]

He already ran Winsock XP fix.

Are you still getting the yellow warning icon in device manager? It sounds as though a driver for the Network adapter may not be loaded.

I would go to the HP website and download a new copy of the driver.


-Kev

[Spools]

@Mairving
Thanks, I'll try that tonight if I still can't connect.

@Cricket
Thanks for the suggestion but I've already tried that program. It did the job for a laptop that I cleaned a few months ago but, alas, it did not help me this time.

EDIT:
@kev7555
Up to the point where I started the SP2 reinstall I was still getting the warning icon. The recommended solution to the code39 error was to reinstall the device driver. I found a few different versions for that model (Realtek 8139 something or other) both at HP and other sites. None made a difference. Each time I went back to the device manager, there was no change.
One thing I forgot to mention is that I tried installing a new PCI NIC (D-link) and got the exact same results even with the CD drivers installed.

[mairving]

I found a similar problem over on this forum. It appears that the solution was to uninstall and reinstall all of the network protocols.

[kev7555]

I have had problems in the past with the realtek 8139 network card. They can be rather weird. There are several versions of the 8139 and the drivers do not cross over from one to the other. Open the case and look at the card, get the exact number (it should say 8139 plus a few more numbers) and be sure to load the correct driver for that model number.

It took me about 24-48 hours to get mine working the last time I wiped the system that had that card in it. I kept trying driver after driver and finally found the right one on driverguide.com.

Good luck,


-Kev

[Spools]

Well, he finally has internet access. I tried each of the suggestions posted here and still had exactly the same results - XP simply would not recognize the network adapter. So, we decided to run the HP recovery tool to reinstall Windows without destroying user files. Immediately after the initial setup and welcome screen, we had internet access. The only downside was that we had to run all the Windows updates, reinstall a few programs (fortunately they aren't power users), and make sure all the new protection software was up to date.

It's tough for me to call this one a "win" because the solution was never clear but in the end he was satisfied and I don't have to spend any more time in his basement. Thanks for everyone who offered to help.

[kev7555]

I've had to "win" that way more then once. Don't beat yourself up over it.

-Kev