Member Avatar for Thinka

Hi All,

Usually able to deal with PC monsters but this one has me all but beat. It's a Dell Inspiron 1525 for a colleague with 32bit Vista on it, SP1 only (SP2 wouldn't install but after a lot of online searching and trying various fixes, I decided it's the least of my worries).

As the subject says, the machine can't get on to the internet via a cable or wireless signal, just gets that useless 169.254.x.x private IP address. The user says that problem started after uninstalling Norton (not sure what variant), can find out if crucial.
So anyways he brings it to me and whilst trying to clean out any bloatware, noticed Windows telling me the Firewall was off. I try to turn it on, but it just won't do it. I even try to do it in Services.msc, but I just get an error in there as well asking me to check the System Event Log for more info. Needless to say I didn't get more info there.

Has anyone ever encountered something like this? Anyone got any ideas, save doing a re-install of Vista?

Cheers

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by Adamsappleone

Dani AI

Generated

Short diagnosis and a focussed checklist for (building on 's point about removing Norton).

The 169.254.x.x address is an Automatic Private IP (APIPA) — the adapter did not get a DHCP lease. At the same time the Windows Firewall refusing to start usually means a core filtering service or registry permission is damaged: Windows Firewall depends on the Base Filtering Engine (BFE) and will fail if BFE or related registry/service entries are broken. (learn.microsoft.com)

Immediate, ordered checks (do these before reinstalling drivers or the OS):

  1. Open Services (services.msc) and confirm these are set to Automatic and are Running: Windows Firewall, Base Filtering Engine (BFE), DHCP Client and Windows Event Log. Note any service-start errors and record the Event Viewer message.
  2. Remove leftover network filter drivers left by the old AV: check Device Manager (View -> Show hidden devices) and uninstall non‑Microsoft filter/NDIS drivers; use the vendor cleanup tool for the Norton product if present (this is exactly what @Adamsappleone was pointing toward). If BFE refuses to start, do not jump to registry edits — prefer a restore point or documented fixes. (learn.microsoft.com)

Repair the network stack and Winsock (safe, standard steps; reboot after running):

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

These commands reset Winsock and the TCP/IP stack, which commonly fixes connectivity after AV uninstall/corruption. Reboot before re-testing. (learn.microsoft.com)

If the Windows Firewall still will not start: run Microsoft’s automated firewall diagnostics (the Support article explains the “Security Center can’t turn on Windows Firewall” scenario) and consider System File Checker or a system restore if core services/permissions are damaged. If all else fails, a targeted in-place repair of Vista is safer than a blind reinstall. (support.microsoft.com)

Notes: back up the registry or create a restore point before any registry edits; keep notes of any Event Log error text — those messages are what point to the exact failing component.

Member Avatar for Adamsappleone

Hello Thinka,

Go here to completely remove Norton;

You'll have to find out what version is on the lappy.

I have the same Inspiron 1525 w/Vista Ultimate SP2

Once Norton is completely removed, I suggest using Avast Home Edition, it's free ( http://www.avast.com/ )

Then go here; http://support.dell.com/support/index.aspx?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs&~ck=mn and download the drivers/software for the wireless network card and ethernet adapter.
Dell Wireless 1395 WLAN Mini-Card
Marvell Yukon 88E8040 PCI-E Fast Ethernet Controller

Hope this helps

Don

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