Member Avatar for JMT74

Hi. My brother recently got cable internet for his old computer. It is

an Inteva with Windows 98 Standard Edition. I believe this computer is 8

years old or so. It is a Pentium 2 , 300mhz, 196 MB of RAM computer. I

call this ancient. I had to install an ethernet card in one of the empty

PCI slots. I did this an installed the software. Then hooked up the

cable modem to it and it has activity between the 2. However, when I try

to connect to the internet it just won't do it. I was on the phone for

an hour with a tech support guy from Adelphia trying just about

everything. Mind you it was the cable company and not a Windows 98

expert. I'm guessing the problem lies within Windows 98 somehow. I

thought it might be because the computer had probably way too much stuff

in it so I uninstalled alot of the programs in it. Then installed a

program I found on the net call Advanced System Optimizer. I cleaned the

registry and all the other things it did. I also ran a scan disk for

errors and there weren't any errors. Then I defragmented. Still no luck

connecting to a website. I'm almost at the point of reformatting the

computer which I have never done before. I'm not sure the best way to go

about doing that. That computer came preloaded and the place I bought it

from did all the settings on it. If anyone has any suggestions on what I

need to do please let me know. I just want this damn thing to work. LOL

  • 3 Contributors
  • 3 Replies
  • 193 Views
  • 12 Hours Discussion Span
  • Latest Post Latest Post by dlh6213

Dani AI

Generated

Short diagnosis and targeted next steps grounded in what’s already been tried: the PCI NIC and modem show link activity, and ’s IP/browser checks plus ’s Winsock suggestion have been attempted. With link lights present the highest-probability causes are (a) a Win98 driver or hardware/NDIS mismatch on the NIC, (b) a damaged TCP/IP / Winsock configuration in Windows, or (c) the cable modem/ISP provisioning (the modem sometimes “learns” a different MAC or must be re-provisioned). (scribd.com)

Recommended, in-priority order (quick checklist with the minimum disruption first):

  1. Confirm the NIC driver and vendor/model in Device Manager; if the adapter is a Realtek or classic 3Com-style board, install the officially supported Win98 driver for that chipset (old vendor driver packs are still hosted on driver archives). If the NIC shows errors or “!” in Device Manager, try uninstalling the adapter (leave a record of the vendor/model) and reinstall the vendor driver. Realtek RTL8139 drivers | 3Com 3C90x drivers. (techspot.com)

  2. Repair the Windows network stack (remove/reinstall TCP/IP / Winsock per the Windows 98 procedures), then verify local stack with a loopback ping and a numeric IP ping to rule out DNS. Microsoft’s archived guidance covers the safe remove/reinstall steps and the recommended ping checks. ()

  3. Isolate the modem/ISP: power-cycle the modem (unplug, wait ~30–60s, bring it back up), then attach a known-good PC directly to the modem to confirm DHCP/provisioning. If that PC gets a working address while the Win98 box doesn’t, the problem is local to the Win98 machine; if the modem refuses an address, the ISP may need to clear/register the modem’s MAC on their side. Basic modem power-cycle and isolation are standard troubleshooting steps. (d-link.com)

If drivers and a TCP/IP reinstall still fail, test with a different, well-supported Win98 NIC (Intel/3Com) before considering a full reformat. Reformatting should be last: back up data, collect the Win98 CD and the NIC drivers first, and confirm the modem works with another machine so the reinstall won’t be chasing an ISP provisioning issue.

Recommended Answers

All 3 Replies

Member Avatar for caperjack

Hi. My brother recently got cable internet for his old computer. It is

an Inteva with Windows 98 Standard Edition. I believe this computer is 8

years old or so. It is a Pentium 2 , 300mhz, 196 MB of RAM computer. I

call this ancient. I had to install an ethernet card in one of the empty

PCI slots. I did this an installed the software. Then hooked up the

cable modem to it and it has activity between the 2. However, when I try

to connect to the internet it just won't do it. I was on the phone for

an hour with a tech support guy from Adelphia trying just about

everything. Mind you it was the cable company and not a Windows 98

expert. I'm guessing the problem lies within Windows 98 somehow. I

thought it might be because the computer had probably way too much stuff

in it so I uninstalled alot of the programs in it. Then installed a

program I found on the net call Advanced System Optimizer. I cleaned the

registry and all the other things it did. I also ran a scan disk for

errors and there weren't any errors. Then I defragmented. Still no luck

connecting to a website. I'm almost at the point of reformatting the

computer which I have never done before. I'm not sure the best way to go

about doing that. That computer came preloaded and the place I bought it

from did all the settings on it. If anyone has any suggestions on what I

need to do please let me know. I just want this damn thing to work. LOL

Hi ,try going to run in start .type in ,winipconfg , then pick you nic card from the drop down ,and click release all and then renew all .ok you way out ,and assuming you are try into use Internet Explorer ,open it see what happens ,if it didn't go online try this ,go to IE/tools /internet options /connections and check off never dial a connection if its not greayed out .

Member Avatar for JMT74

Thanks, already did both of those things before I called the tech support dude.


Hi ,try going to run in start .type in ,winipconfg , then pick you nic card from the drop down ,and click release all and then renew all .ok you way out ,and assuming you are try into use Internet Explorer ,open it see what happens ,if it didn't go online try this ,go to IE/tools /internet options /connections and check off never dial a connection if its not greayed out .

Be a part of the DaniWeb community

We're a friendly, industry-focused community of developers, IT pros, digital marketers, and technology enthusiasts meeting, networking, learning, and sharing knowledge.