Hello
I have WXP-Pro on my self built computer and also my laptop.

My laptop and desktop computers are WiFi-ed using a Netgear Access Point.
The access point is connected by cat 5 cable to a Direcway DW6000 (2-way satellite) modem.

My Desktop has a PCI Adapter installed and my laptop has a built-in WiFi capability.

I never turn my modem off. If I want to use the internet from my laptop, I just boot it up and I am connected. However, when I boot my desktop, it does not connect. If I go to DOS and use ipconfig /all, I am told that the media is disconnected. I have to reboot to get a connection.

This is a repeatable problem.
How do I fix this?

do you have a static ip address. if not, make sure your internet option lan settings are set to find dhcp automatically. if u do have static ip, make sure its set in your lan settings.

Have a look at the attachment here:
Basics-networking

Simple Networking of 2 PCs

Well if it says "Media disconnected" it really doesn't have anything to do with TCP/IP. In wireless, just as wired networks, you can have a connection and no data transfer capabilities.

The next time it does this, try disabling and re-enabling the nic on your desktop. Or at least try to disconnect from your wlan and reconnect to it.

Do you have any firewall software installed on the desktop? Have you had both the laptop and desktop on the internet at the same time?

Hi,
Did you find a solution to this problem? I have the same identical problem where my Dell laptop on first boot the network is disconnected and only works following a reboot, both for wired and wireless network connections.