Member Avatar for Pran@lk

I am using Win2000, McAfee Desktop Firewall 8.5, IE 6 & Firefox
Was configuring the new ADSL Modem/Router (through USB) & as it was not working properly I wanted to uninstall & by mistake uninstalled a virtual driver (I think!) listed as a hidden device in device manager under Network adapters.
After that Mcafee Desktop Firewall indicated that it was not protecting as a driver was not installed.
After that I could not access internet even through dial-up. Also the web interface of my ADSL modem is also unaccessible.
Same with Firefox too.
Uninstalling & installing Mcafee Desktop Firewall did not correct the problem.
What am I to do now? Thanks in advance...

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by DarkRubicant

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Short assessment: removing a hidden "virtual" network driver commonly breaks Windows' network bindings or the firewall's filter driver, leaving the TCP/IP stack or dial-up bindings unusable. and pointed toward the firewall/driver and USB-vs-Ethernet angle — those are good leads. The following checklist focuses on safe, ordered recovery steps that work on Windows 2000 and avoid reinstalling the firewall until the stack is healthy.

Try these steps in order:

  1. Boot options first — reboot and press F8, choose "Last Known Good Configuration". This often restores driver/registry bindings quickly.
  2. Show and remove ghost drivers: open a command shell, run the two commands below, then uninstall any non-present virtual adapters (and any McAfee-related non-plug-and-play drivers) from Device Manager.
set devmgr_show_nonpresent_devices=1
start devmgmt.msc
  1. Repair networking components: in Network and Dial‑up Connections open the problematic connection(s) Properties and confirm "Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)" is present; if it is missing, Remove then Add -> Protocol -> Internet Protocol (TCP/IP). Reinstall the USB modem vendor driver (or try temporarily connecting by Ethernet if practical).
  2. If the vendor firewall still reports a missing driver after a clean uninstall, use the vendor removal/cleanup tool (McAfee Consumer Product Removal / MCPR) and then reboot before reinstalling.

Quick diagnostics to run after the above (command prompt):

ipconfig /all
ping 127.0.0.1
ping <your-gateway-ip>

If those fail, check that phone/dial-up services (Telephony / Remote Access) are running, and reinstall the NIC/USB-modem drivers from the manufacturer. If recovery still fails, consider a Windows repair install (in-place repair) to restore system network components. Back up data and avoid manual registry deletions unless comfortable — incorrect changes can make recovery harder.

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Member Avatar for FragFighter

In my opinion McAfee is not the best firewall to be using; I would suggest removing it and installing Sygate Personal Firewall.
It sounds like McAfee might BE the problem.

Member Avatar for DarkRubicant

I am using Win2000, McAfee Desktop Firewall 8.5, IE 6 & Firefox
Was configuring the new ADSL Modem/Router (through USB) & as it was not working properly I wanted to uninstall & by mistake uninstalled a virtual driver (I think!) listed as a hidden device in device manager under Network adapters.
After that Mcafee Desktop Firewall indicated that it was not protecting as a driver was not installed.
After that I could not access internet even through dial-up. Also the web interface of my ADSL modem is also unaccessible.
Same with Firefox too.
Uninstalling & installing Mcafee Desktop Firewall did not correct the problem.
What am I to do now? Thanks in advance...

Well from what I can see here. I would suggest first of all using an ethernet cable it makes things so much simpler, ethernet doesn't require drivers it just works. whereas usb requires drivers to work. Secondly you said something about uninstalling drivers, have you tried to reinstall your ethernet card drivers, and because you're using usb your modem drivers. I would also recommend disabling your firewall until you get your internet connection working again. At least that way when it is working you can start up your firewall again and if it's blocking you, you can trouble shoot from there. By the way You cannot use dial up if you're using Highspeed unless you have a dial up modem in the computer and a phone line connected to the computer. Which would be a very weird setup.. Oh and also when you've reinstalled the drivers, unplug the power from the modem, for about 10 seconds, then plug it back in. After you've done all this restart the computer. If things still aren't working please post back. I'll need to know what you've got in the computer, like what kind of ethernet card, if you have a dial up modem as well? Uh can't think of anything else right now I'm kind of tired I'll check this in the morning when I get up to see if you've posted anything. Try these steps for now and i'm pretty sure you'll get it working if you haven't already. Good night

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