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i installed windows xp with out uninstalling me first and niw i cant connect to the internet. i have a netgear wireless router and when i try to connect to the network it says i need to install the hardware for it, but one of my freinds said that the programing for the network is diff between me and xp. he said that with ex instaled me is malicious software and is conflickting with ep. he said that uninstalling me would fix it, and that when the comp is starting up i prees or hold down a button (fogot which one) and it brings you to a screen where i can look at all the data on the hhd and choose ops and just turn me off. so any help at all would be greatly aprichiated!

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A short expert summary and practical next steps tied to the thread: installed XP over Windows ME and lost wireless functionality. correctly identified that this is almost always a driver/recognition issue rather than anything that a BIOS key or a mysterious "turn off ME" action would fix. The guidance below focuses on identifying the missing driver, getting the right XP driver, and verifying whether ME was actually removed or left as a dual-boot entry.

Device identification and driver install (practical checklist): Device Manager (Start → Run → devmgmt.msc) will show unknown devices or a Network Adapter with a yellow mark when the driver is missing. In the device Properties → Details view, note the Hardware Ids (the VEN_/DEV_ strings). Those IDs allow precise searches for the NIC vendor/model and the correct XP driver. Download the matching driver from the PC or NIC maker on another machine, transfer it via USB, run the installer and reboot. After installation, ipconfig /all will show whether the adapter has an IP; the presence of a functional “Wireless Network Connection” entry in Network Connections confirms the NIC is recognized.

Confirming whether ME still exists and safety notes: There is no single startup key that “turns off” ME. A clean XP install replaces ME; a dual-boot would present a boot menu. Look for C:\Windows.old or multiple Windows folders and inspect boot.ini only if comfortable editing system files. Install the latest XP service pack and security updates before dealing with wireless encryption (WPA/WEP) differences. Back up important data before repartitioning or editing boot files. Supplying NIC/router model numbers or the VEN/DEV strings makes locating the exact driver straightforward.

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Member Avatar for TT4Titans

Did you upgrade the ME to XP?

If so it made all the changes.Myself really upgrading isn't a good idea because you will either have problems in the beginning or later.But anyhow to your problem.unless you got your HDD partitioned for dual boot you won't have ME and XP on same it is asking you to install hardware then it isn't seeing it.just get the driver for your ethernet from either who made the computer if it is a card go to there site all it is is when you updated the driver wasn't XP compatible.there isn't a certain key to hit to disable ME even if you did have it set up to dual boot.it would pop up a screen asking which os to boot to.you could edit the boot.ini to where it wouldn't see it and give the option.it isn't that the network is different between the 2 OS's it is only the drivers.

Member Avatar for bigfatjon

Did you upgrade the ME to XP?

If so it made all the changes.Myself really upgrading isn't a good idea because you will either have problems in the beginning or later.But anyhow to your problem.unless you got your HDD partitioned for dual boot you won't have ME and XP on same it is asking you to install hardware then it isn't seeing it.just get the driver for your ethernet from either who made the computer if it is a card go to there site all it is is when you updated the driver wasn't XP compatible.there isn't a certain key to hit to disable ME even if you did have it set up to dual boot.it would pop up a screen asking which os to boot to.you could edit the boot.ini to where it wouldn't see it and give the option.it isn't that the network is different between the 2 OS's it is only the drivers.

thanks you explained it alot better than my friend!

Member Avatar for TT4Titans

Your welcome if you have anymore problems come on back or hang out with us anyway.there is alot of very knowledgeable people here.

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