brittany

Hi,

I have a hp pavilion 4445 model that runs windows 98. I just started using DSL about 5 months ago. My computer didn't have ethernet card on it so I found one at compusa (compusa - pci 10/100 ethernt adapter - SKU#274414)and my grandson installed it. When I turned on the computer a pop-up said New Device installed and wanted driver. I have the floppy with the drivers on it and followed directions and installed the driver. No Problem. I shut my computer down every night and all is okay when I start it back up in morning. Now a few days ago... when I started up my computer a different screen appeared. I really didn't pay a whole lot of attention to it (me bad) but I did notice Phoenix Technology Bios accros the top of screen and pop-up window that asked if I wanted to continue set-up. Since I don't know anything about bios - I x'ed it out and my computer finished starting up.
It said it detected a new device and asked if I wanted to install driver ... so I tried to re-install driver from the floppy again. A window comes up and says device is not found. The computer seems to work well for all other things but I can't get driver downloaded to get onto internet ... hopefully someone knows how I can get the computer to reconize the driver... or how to configure this bios to... or if I have to do a recovery or full reformat and recovery on my system. I have all the disks that came with everything (computer and ethernet adapter)
Thank you in advance for any help or information that you may give me
Have a great day

manic

You may have installed the ethernet driver for winxp, make sure that its
for win 98, if available, you can put the floppy in and see if there is a
folder with the win98 driver. Go to device manager and see if there is
a yellow or red flag for ethernet. If so remove the entry and reboot,
then install the win98 driver.

brittany

Hi,
I have went to the device manager and there"s a yellow question mark .. i double clicked on that and removed it. Rebooted computer ... it shows new device detected and tried to reload driver ... but a pop- up comes up new driver not found. The first time that I installed driver ... few months ago I had no problems... the problem just started after this Phoenix Technology Bios screen suddenly appeared on my screen...
On the driver installation directions ... here is what it tells me to do :
On the add new hardware wizard click next
select search for best driver for your device ... then next
select Specify a location and type A\Win9x2K then next
windows will find the driver from the driver diskette, click next to continue
click next to confirm and start driver installation
windows may ask you for your windows installation cd during driver installation. insert your windows installation cd into the cd-rom drive and click ok.
click finish to complete installation and then restart your computer.
before restarting ... remove diskette and windows cd
your ethernet adapter is now ready to be used.

I didn't have any problem the first time installing ... it didn't even ask me for the windows installation cd ( which is good cause I am not sure which cd has it on as hp sends everything on 2 cd's - 1 for recovery and 1 for applications)
The problem just started a few days ago when this Phoenix Bios thing appeared. I have un-installed and re-stalled about 10 times and computer still will not detect ethernet driver.
Thank you for any help you may give me and have a great day

DeadToad

brit,
I would go to Start/Settings/Control Panel/Add-Remove Programs.
Find the "ethernet" card drivers/software listed, remove them.
Then, reboot PC.
This will remove the drivers, hopefully, from the Windows directory.
Put your floppy disk in the hole when it seeks the drivers for the ethernet communication device.
Direct the search to the Win9x folder on the floppy disk, if necessary.
Do NOT allow Windows to use the drivers in the Windows directory.
Only install the drivers form the A:\floppy disk.
Installing the wrong drivers will cause errors.
Reboot PC if necessary.
This is how I would fix it.
Good luck.

brittany

Hi,
I went to the add/remove programs and the ethernet driver is not listed there.
The only way that I can remove it is throught the device manager at the bottom of the page where it shows remove. Before I removed it - I right clicked on the yellow? PCI Ethernet Controller and on the General tab it showed me the following .... (don't know if it will help you out or not ... but here it is) ...... device type: other
Manufacturer : None specified
Hardware version : 017
Device Status:
The drivers for this device have not been installede (code28) to reinstall click reinstall.
I removed the ethernet driver through the device manager and rebooted and my computer tells me that new hardware has be detected but when I try to install the driver ... it keeps telling me it cannot find/locate it.
What I cannot understand is why I didn't have any trouble when I first installed it few months back and now then I can't.
When I started the computer up a few days ago and seen the Phoenix Technology Bois screen, and I x'd it out for it to finish loading, then I got the pop-up that showed new hardware added and install driver .... was the first time that, that had happened since I installed it months ago. I don't know if it is possible that it may have changed any of my settings or not as I never have changed anything and don't have any records as what the settings should be.
Thank you in advance for any help you have to offer and hopefully we will get thing working. I don't know if I did a recovery on it if it would help or not?
Have a great day and keep smileing

manic

When installing the driver you are going to have to point to the exact
place of the driver. It can be confusing, and hard to explain. Some times,
and more often then not with win98 the driver will not install automatically.
There is a option to install driver manually, my term may not be exactly
right, but something like that. That is where you need to point the the
exact path of driver, when it is correct it will light up in the window.
Or you may try going to control panel and find the add new hardware
tab and go that route, less confusing, and it may very will ask for the win
98 cd, you have to insert it to complete installation....

OldGrayGary

Hi all

brittany - I'm going to have you check a few things:

1) The date/time in your Bios Setup screens (in case your CMOS/Bios battery needs replacing -- I'll provide intructions on replacing it, should that be necessary)
2) Your Bios settings
3) A little visit into Device Manager in Safe Mode (to remove your current set of network drivers)
4) A cleanup using a Registry cleaner
5) A reinstall of your new network card.
_________

Before we start, if you haven't a good Registry cleaner program already, download and install CCleaner (it's free, it's tiny, and it works) --- http://www.download.com/CCleaner/300...-10315544.html
_________

1] --- Enter Bios Setup to check date & time
During the first few seconds as your computer is powering on, a banner message appears (either as a simple banner message, or as a line or two tucked into a "splash screen") -- this message should read something like "Press F1 (or F2, F10, DEL, or Esc) to Enter Setup". The key is different for different models - you'll have to see what yours is by reading that message. Don't worry if you miss it, you can always restart & try again. [It doesn't hurt anything to keep trying]. For more information on entering your Hp's Bios, you can read their article --- http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/d...=57606&lang=en

Once in the Bios Setup screens, you'll notice several menus. On the first screen, you'll also notice an entry with the date and time settings. If the date and time have reset themselves to several years ago, it's likely the little coin battery on your motherboard needs replacing [that tiny battery provides the power so that your PC can keep the time/date & all your Bios settings saved, even when you've turned off your PC]. If you find that you need to replace your battery, see this article from Hp, that gives helpful tips and screenshots on how this is done --- http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/d...dlc=en&lang=en --- most importantly, remember to completely unplug the power cord at anytime you are working inside a computer's case! [Don't worry, the instructions are very simple and straightforward].

2] --- Check Your Bios Settings
If you replace the battery, you'll need to set the time/date in the Bios, and check the other settings as well. If you'd rather not bother with each individual setting for the rest, you can choose the item "Set Defaults and Exit" [just make sure to choose this after you've already put in the correct time and date]. I didn't see much guidance for your model's Bios settings over at hp.com, but if you want to learn more about Bios settings, there is a free guide called "Adrian's Bios Optimization Guide" that has been well-known and well-reviewed for many years --- http://www.techarp.com/freebog.aspx

3] --- Boot into Safe Mode, and enter Device Manager
After you get the Bios settings OK, your computer will start to boot. As soon as the computer is starting up, start tapping the F8 key. This should show the Boot Menu -- you then choose "Safe Mode" from the list. If you tap the F8 key too late, Windows will start in normal mode: no problem - just restart, and start tapping the F8 a bit earlier.

Once in Safe Mode, go to Start/Settings/Control Panel/System/Device Manager, and select the category "Network adapters". Remove all the devices in that category. Then reboot - close all "New Hardware Found" windows that may open.

4] --- Run your Registry Cleaner
If you already have a favorite Registry cleaning program, it's now time to use it. If you'll be using CCleaner, use the "Cleaning" functions to clean up temp files and other unnecessary files, and then use the "Issues" functions to clean up tangles in the Registry (in your case, references to bad drivers). Run the "Issues" functions until CCleaner reports "no issues found". When done, reboot.

5] --- Reinstall your Network Card drivers
Shortly after your computer restarts, you'll likely see a New Hardware Found screen. Put the floppy diskette in the floppy drive (the one that has the drivers that worked the first time you tried). Then, as the Wizard asks for a location, point to A:\Win9x2k (just as you did the first time). If the Wizard asks for your Windows 98 CD, insert it into your cd-drive when prompted.

That should do it [it's not as hard as it sounds]
Best of luck
. . . Gary

brittany

Hi
I have just finished trying out all the ideas you folks have suggested ... nothing works.
I have went to the add new hardware to try that route ... but it don't detect the new hardware after I do it.
I went into the Bios setup .... time and date was fine.
Went into safe mode and entered device manager to remove all network adapters ......... removed them all rebooted ... new hardware found pop-up came up but I closed it till I ran registry cleaner,
I have a little registry cleaner already installed on the computer ... ran it ... cleaned up registry, unnecessary files,history, temp files, mru's etc. I cannot download the ccleaner on it cause I have no connection. Tried copying the program from windows xp but it won't work on the windows 98 computer???????
after I did all this and tried to install driver ... it still would not work ... I am about ready to give up on this DSL and go back with a good ole ISP

I am not sure how to manually install it and there are lots of files and programs on the floppy, when I opened up the folder for the win9x2K. there were all kinds of things listed and don't know just one to pick.

Do any of you think that I should maybe do a recovery or full reformat on it ... would that help?
Thank you for all your help in trying to solve this big big problem ... and when it does get fixed ... solution will probably some little thing

Thank you all in advance and have a great day and keep smileing

manic

You may try buying a new ethernet card. Maybe yours went belly up.
Just a thought.

OldGrayGary

Hi again

I have to say that CompUSA is not my favorite vendor for computer parts. The CompUSA "SKU #" for your network card is actually used by several different versions of cards that they sell, each with different network chipsets on the card (one is a VIA 'VT6105Rhine III', one is an ADMtek 'AN983', etc.)

You can try the Windows 98 drivers listed for your card at CompUSA's driver download page -- there are also specialized drivers listed - depending on the numbers in the UPC code on the packaging --- http://fmi.compusa.com/driver.asp?SKU=274414

You mentioned that you ran your Registry Cleaner, and then tried to install the network card's drivers. Did you reboot after running the Registry Cleaner? (but before installing the network card drivers?) -- If not, you can try that.

I'm curious if the card's installer asked for the Windows CD during installation or not. It should have. Do you have a regular Windows CD? or a Recovery Disk? If you don't have a regular Windows CD, you'll probably have to point the network card's installer to the spot on your hard drive that has the Windows installation files [most vendors who sold PCs with Recovery Disks for Windows 98 also put a copy of the installation files on the hard drive, often at C:\Windows\Options\Cabs].

If none of this helps - try removing the network card from Device Manager in Safe Mode again --- but this time: power off the computer, and physically remove the network card. Then reboot. Run your Registry Cleaner. Shut down Windows, power off, and unplug the power cord. Install the network card into a PCI slot. Plug everything back in & start your computer. As the New Hardware Found wizard appears, point the wizard to drivers for your card to reinstall them.

You'd be fairly unlucky if the card itself has failed, but it certainly is a possibility [especially if you've had electrical storms in your area - and may have suffered a power surge or blackout]. So Manic's suggestion to try another card is worth considering.

You could also try a different PCI slot.

The wild card in all this is what happened that morning during startup - when the pop-up window was referring to finishing a setup. You might want to run a few malware scans, just to see. Malware has the bad habit of wrecking things, it is possible that it has caused trouble in your networking setup. What antivirus and firewall do you use?

Best of luck
. . . Gary

brittany

Hi
Sorry it has taken me while to get back .. little on busy side.
When I ran the registry cleaner ... I removed the the adapter in the safe mode... rebooted ... ran the registry cleaner ... rebooted ... when computer started it detected new hardward ... tried installing ... but still didn't do what it was supposed to. It has never asked me for my windows cd ... even the first time that I installed it and it worked perfect. I have hp computer and when I got it there were 2 disks ... one for recovery and one for application recovery. I am glad that it hasn't asked me for windows cd cause I have no idea where to find windows at ... hopefully it is on one of the disks????
So far I am still hitting brick wall. Haven't had chance to remove the network card yet as my grandson will do that over the weekend for me as I had him put it in.
We haven't had any electrical storms in our area that I am aware of.
I can only use the floppy that came with the adapter as I cannot get into the web site for compusa on the windows 98 computer and if I copy the files from windows xp ... the 98 don't read the copied cd.l
I use avast antiirus free program and I really am not sure about the firewall part ... I think that is through the dsl?
I will let you know how things turn out once I get the network card removed and installed again ... have to wait till grandson has free time.

Thanks and have a great day and keep smileing

DeadToad

brit,
hmmmmm. I would reinstall the ethernet drivers from the "applications" cd, as they should be on there. But, they may be on the "restoration" cd, if you search for them in Windows Explorer. Just look for a folder "ethernet" or "network" for the drivers, then double-click on the "setup" program for the driver installation.
I would put this network card into another PC to see if it's recognized there. If so, it's probably good, if not, probably dead.
WalMart sells a Network Anywhere (LinkSys) network card for around $12...works fine.

Surges happen all the time, with or without any acknowlegment from anyone. Always use a good surge protector with at least 1000 Joules, about $10-12.
I plug the phone line from the wall into my surge protector, then out to my DSL modem. This way, I'm protected.
I was in a house one day when a surge blew up the surge protector; black smoke, sounded like a shotgun. Everything plugged into the surge protector was protected and safe. I insisted that they buy a surge protector a week before the surge, they were really glad they did.
Good luck.

OldGrayGary

Hi again all


Most any Win98/Me compatible 10/100 ethernet card should do, if your current card has died or proven defective. The Linksys card that Dead Toad mentions should be a reliable card. Surge suppressors are always a good idea, especially for home computers. Unfortunately, the drivers for the network card you bought at CompUSA are unlikely to be on your Hp application CD, since the card didn't come with the computer.

See if you can let avast! run a thorough scan of your computer. Let us know if it finds anything. Just before you start the scan you'll click on "Local Drives" -- make sure the "scan archive files" has a checkmark, and that the slider bar is moved all the way to the right, and says "Thorough". If your hard drive has a lot of information stored, it will run for an hour or so.

DSL 'modems' don't always have a built-in hardware firewall. Nearly all routers made in the last few years do have a built-in hardware firewall. A software firewall is a good idea for computers, even when a hardware firewall is present - as they complement each other: a hardware firewall excels at blocking unwanted inbound traffic, while a software firewall excels at blocking unwanted outbound traffic [keeps spyware from dialing home]. Don't worry if you don't understand the details about the hardware I've just mentioned: the basic message is = you need to be behind some kind of firewall (or behind both kinds).

It sounds like your grandson might know his way around inside a computer case. If he wants to be extra thorough, before he reinstalls the network card, he could go into the Control Panel's "Network" applet, and remove the bindings that are currently fixed to any ethernet adapters listed. He can then do the same procedure that you tried a few days ago (Safe Mode to remove adapters, Registry Cleaner, etc.).

Let's see how it goes this weekend. I'll stay tuned.
. . . Gary

brittany

Good Morning,

I ran the Registry Cleaner .. rebooted tried to install drivers again but pop-up said it couldn't detect drivers. The card never asked me for the Windows cd.
I don't have a windows cd ... just the recovery disc and application disc that hp put in with the computer. I just hope anything I install never asks me for windows cd ... because I don't know how to find it. I know it should be on the recovery disc somewhere... hopefully...
However ... I have the computer up and running again ... Whew..
I got a USB LAN .. universal serial bus for pci ethernet adapter, made for all windows 95,98 and all the newer computers. Had a little trouble getting driver downloaded for it. I had plugged it into usb port first .. and it wouldn't detect drivers. Then I unplugged it, rebooted and tried to download drivers again ... finally got them downloaded through add new hardware ... rebooted plugged it in and it worked. (I must have did something right ...lol ) Oh ... it didn't ask me for windows cd either.
So .. I never had my grandson take out the compusa adapter ... I figured the usb adapter is working so why mess with it? I don't think it will hurt/bother the computer ... will it? Altho this morning when I started my computer I got a pop-up that new hard ware was found ... I just x'd it off and computer finished starting. I think I will look in the device manager and try to remove the compusa adapter then I shouldn't get the pop up again?
I have noticed a difference between the compusa adapter and usb adapter... the usb adapter takes a little longer to connect but after connection ... seems to do just fine. Anyway that is what I will use. My motto is .. if it works .... leave it alone ...lol

I want to thank you all very much for trying to help me solve this issue. You all have been great ... and I have been telling everyone about your site ..
Thanks again and have a wonderful great day

Geekgirl

If you do this, the new hardware wizard will pop up ater reboot. You might just try diabling it via Device Manager, or remove it completely from the computer.