I just installed Windows XP Pro SP2 on a desktop. The box has only the onboard NIC (1394 network adapter). I plugged in a known good CAT5 cable to a known good and configured port on a cisco switch. I can ping the network adapter with the loopback address of 127.0.0.1 so I know its functioning properly. I cannot ping any computer or server on my network. I cannot go to any web pages by name or IP address. I tried uninstalling and reinstalling the network adapter. I tried different network cables that I tested myself and tried a port that my current machine is using and still I cannot ping anything. When I do a ipconfig /all it returns with “Windows IP configuration”. What simple thing am I forgetting? If I have a good physical connection I should be able to ping, right? Shouldn’t it be that simple?
