Member Avatar for NeoKinkade

I have noticed with some Linksys Network cards mainly the NC100v2. Windows XP original version has native drivers for that card. And they work great until you upgrade to WinXP SP1 or SP2. Then every time you restart your system it will not get a DHCP IP address, or if you have a Static IP address set. It will not attach to the network until you Disable and ReEnable the LAN connection from Control Panel.

Looking at the Linksys website you can download drivers but, there are no drivers for Windows XP. I found a fix for this issue, you just need to force WinXP to use the Windows 2000 driver. To do this and correct the issue.

First download the drivers for the Linksys NC100 10/100Mbps Ethernet Card from the Linksys website:

Then run the downloaded file, extract the files to the default folder:
c:\nc100v2

Go to START > (right click) My Computer > (click) Properties > (click) Hardware tab > (click) Device Manager.

Once in the Device Manager > (click) The plus symbol next to the Network Adapters category > (double click) Network Everywhere Fast Ethernet Adapter(NC100v2) > (click) Driver tab > (click) Update Driver > (check) Install from a list or Specific Location(Advanced) > (click) Next > (click) Don't search I will choose the driver to install > (click) Next > (click) Have Disk > (click) Browse.


Then Browse to this folder:
C:\nc100v2\WIN2000

Then (click) OK > (click) Next > (click) Continue Anyway > (click) Finish once it is done installing the drivers. Then restart you system and it should be fixed.


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  • Latest Post Latest Post by bentkey

Dani AI

Generated

identified the core symptom and a working workaround: older NC100 variants can stop negotiating an IP after a service pack, and using an alternate vendor driver resolved the problem in that case. The notes below add safe diagnostics, lower-risk fixes, and ways to verify whether a driver swap is really necessary.

Start with quick diagnostics (no driver changes yet): verify the adapter and DHCP behavior, check Windows services and the System/Event logs, and try a manual renew. Run these from an elevated command prompt to capture status and force a fresh DHCP attempt:

ipconfig /all
ipconfig /release
ipconfig /renew
netsh int ip reset resetlog.txt
netsh winsock reset

If renew fails, check that the DHCP Client service is running (services.msc) and examine Event Viewer for DHCP or network driver errors. Try assigning a temporary static IPv4 address on the same subnet to confirm whether the link itself is alive; if a static address works but DHCP does not, the problem is DHCP-related rather than purely link/driver.

Before applying any alternate driver (as did), take these lower-risk steps: create a System Restore point; uninstall the NIC driver cleanly (delete driver files if prompted) and reboot; check the NIC power-management tab and disable "allow the computer to turn off this device"; in the adapter Advanced properties try forcing Speed & Duplex (test 100Mbps Full or 10Mbps) and disable offload/WOL options if present. Record the original driver version/date so you can roll back.

If those steps fail, get the newest XP/SP2-compatible driver from the vendor or the NIC chipset maker, install it, and test. If the card still misbehaves after all troubleshooting, test with a different NIC (or a USB Ethernet adapter) to rule out hardware age/compatibility and consider replacing the NC100. ’s confirmation supports that this is a reproducible, driver-related issue rather than a one-off configuration error.

Member Avatar for bentkey

Thanks for the info.

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