Need help with new computer

[imstilllearning]

My younger brother inherited a used computer from a friend,here's how it arrived.
Case:Antek solution series super mini tower case

MOBO:Biostar mainboard,M7VKQ.PRO,ver:6.2/SiS 740/962L,Socket A Video,S/W audio,ATA-133,USB 2.0,Micro ATX (no idea what all this means just found it on the box)

PSU:Beauty 550w dual fan high quality Part #S550A-BK

Graphics:Nvidia e-GeForce FX-5200 pci 128mb ddr,I dont have a DVI adapter and the one that came with the card is missing,so I temporarily installed a ATI Radeon 9600SE AGP8X card so I can use my moniter to configure the system.

OS:Windows XP professional

it also has a standard disk drive with a DVD writer and CD-ROM drive

I'm not sure of the hard drive or the processor all i know is it's AMD athalon XP and seems to load well,I was told this computer was built by an enthusiast for decent gaming but once I started windows I was greeted with "rundll 32 is missing" and another dll was also missing I can't remember.

I connected my cable modem and nothing happened,the modem is plug and play with XP and the software is automatic from the internet.But it wont respond,the computer knows its being plugged and unplugged but no matter what I do it will not connect.

The computer came with XP pro but the install cd is missing,I have a spare XP home disc I never used but when I go to install it on the new computer is says "Windows XP pro doesn't support upgrading from XP pro to XP home.

How should I go about installing XP home?I cant use the existing XP pro without any install disk in case I need to reformat and I think once I install home the missing dll's will return and the modem will plug and play but the computer doesn't agree with changing the OS.

Sorry for such a lenghty post just want to make sure to give as much system info as possible for now,Thank you all so much.

 

[CCT]

If the person who gave/sold that comp kept the OS disk and has re-used it, then it is likely that comp won't get authorization for updates even if you can repair the drivers.

If the disk was lost/brokem/unreadable, then you can request a replacement at a reasonable cost (I hear) from Microsoft (the original owner should probably request it tho).

The XP Pro OS is for sale as low as $135 US if you look around. That would be a cheap way to get the 'free' system running.

BTW, that may have been a 'gamer' at one time but it isn't anymore. Specs are here:

http://www.biostar-usa.com/mbdetails.asp?model=m7vkq+pro

 

[imstilllearning]

That can't be right because I got a reading on the CPU and it's @ 1.8 ghz processing.They've surely changed the processor.

Why do I need to look for another windows XP pro when I have a copy of XP Home that's never been used?

Isn't there a way to uninstall pro and use my XP home disk?

I also ran the new computer again and wrote down the details of the errors,

the first error is:rundll32.exe-unable to locate component/this application has failed to start because framedyn.dllwas not found,reinstalling the application may fix this problem.

This is the second error message:RUNDLL,Error loading srclient.dll the specified module could not be found.

I've been trying over and over to connect the new PC to the internet with no result,the modem(s) are fine on my PC,the new PC recognizes the ethernet card and I know the previous owner was using it to play world of warcraft.

Do these errors have anything to do with me not having a connection?

 

[CCT]

If you follow the 'cpu support' link on that page you see that, yes, that 1.8 IS supported.

I was merely suggesting a way to keep the XP Pro install - you can always 'format C:' and install XP Home.

Microsoft says try this: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/319114

 

[imstilllearning]

Thanks for your help I now have XP home installed on the new computer but I still can't use the internet with it,the modem is good it's the one I'm using now,the new computer has this listed in the hardware :SiS 900 based PCI fast ethernet adapter.

It's listed to be working fine but I cannot use windows update,internet explorer and can't register the new copy of windows.

I'm new at this,do I need another component to properly use my cable modem besides that ethernet adapter?

 

[Tmagic650]

Yes you need this all

 

[imstilllearning]

I just don't get it.
I formatted the hard disk installed windows home with no problems.
The ethernet adapter (SiS 900 Based PCI Fast ethernet adapter) is recognized and has it's driver but in no way is my computer connected to the internet and nothing I do will change it,it's a simple connection,cable modem ethernet cable no routers or anything.

And the sound card (C-Media AC97 audio device) will not accept its drivers from the install cd.

Since I can't get the motherboard standard ethernet adapter to work I'm thinkning of buying him a pci slot ethernet card and using that instead but if the original ethernet adapter isn't working I don't know if I can trust buying another.If I plug a ethernet card into a pci slot do you think I'll have the same problem as the integrated motherboard pci ethernet adapter?

This is the only way my brother can afford a PC right now and I'm so close to having it run to specifications but I'm lost on this internet problem.

Can anybody help with that?

Thanks

 

[imstilllearning]

Mix up

Well it turns out that's not the motherboard,after I saw the picture you provided I removed the case cover again and this is what is actually in there (picture included) she gave me the box for the motherboard shown and described earlier in the thread and she thought that was inside the case.

I can't find any drivers for this MOBO and I'm not sure if she knows where the disk is for it because she has left town already and couldn't look for it.

 

[imstilllearning]

Does anybody have any Idea why this ethernet adapter would do this?

 

[Tmagic650]

You have a Winfast motherboard with a SIS chipset. The model number is important. You will need it to find the correct drivers... The C-Media drivers won't load because they are not correct for this model motherboard. The model number may be on the UPC sticker

 

[imstilllearning]

Ok I think this is it :748K7AA,AMD,socket A. I went to the website but couldn't find my specific motherboard there,is this MOBO really that old?

BTW The ethernet adapter does have drivers installed but perhaps they're the XP provided drivers because it certainly doesn't work properly.

I finally know what happened,She ordered the MOBO that was first mentioned in the thread from e-bay and the box,software and manual for the 1st mentioned MOBO showed up in the mail but the winfast MOBO was in the box instead,looks like fraud or error but I hope I can still use this one.

Thanks for all of your help

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

It's not a WinFast mobo but a Foxconn mobo actually. Here is the link to the drivers.

 

[imstilllearning]

Now this should do it for me,I'll start it up again and use these drivers.

I should've known better seeing how the back panel connectors say foxconn on the motherboard connection.

Thanks so much.

 

[imstilllearning]

Well those drivers installed with no error messages and the on-board audio is now fully functional.

However the computer will not connect to the internet still,the ethernet adapter is recognized,the drivers have been installed.

Windows first said the Local area connection has limited or no connectivity,I opened the network connections screen and this is the situation,drivers installed and hardware recognized,cable modem was plugged in with an ethernet cable (same one I'm using now) but it will not give/get any network address.

I've downloaded the manual and it says nothing about giving a MAC address in the BIOS or any special instructions for the on-board LAN ethernet adapter.

You guys have any idea what might be wrong here?
This is the only component that doesn't work on the computer (unfortunately such an important one) if you guys don't think this will be an easy fix,do you think I could just purchase an ethernet card to plug into one of the PCI slots?Or do you think this exsisting connection problem would hinder any ethernet card I try to install?

I'm so close to having this PC fully operational this is the only setback,If I can get this problem fixed I'll copy an image of the PC and have the recovery cd and everything needed thanks to all of your help.

 

[johnalvin]

MAC address can be changed on a router NOT on the NIC/ethernet card. Not all routers have the ability to change their MAC address. That feature is often referred to as "clone MAC address". Means you need to know the MAC address of your previous card which is originally can connect to internet and then assign this address to your router or cable modem. On this way your ISP will think that it is the same computer that is trying to connect to WAN.

Hope this help to solve your misery

 

[imstilllearning]

That did clear up my confusion on mac address changes I was told of in the past.

But I'm still not sure if I should just buy an ethernet adapter or if the hardware I have could still work.

 

[alidabiri]

an ethernet card is about $5-$10. you may try a program that fixes problems with corrupted networking files. it's called winsockfix. you can get it from here:
http://www.softpedia.com/get/Tweak/Network-Tweak/WinSockFix.shtml

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

I'm glad I could help you with your drivers problem. Unfortunately, that is where my helpfulness ends . I'm pretty much clueless when it comes to networking issues.

 

[imstilllearning]

Well guess what mates,I'm on the new computer posting on the net,I ran the program winsocfix and nothing happened,while installing some games out of nowhere about a half hour later my network connection pops up that it's connected.

So I open internet explorer and here I am.
(I'm nervous something's still wrong) do you think winsocfix did it but just took time?????

Well now I installed Half life 2 deathmatch and when I play the sound dissapears,I exit the program and try my media player and it says the sound device is in use by another program,I checked the task manager and found nothing but I'm not worried about that the drivers aren't XP authenticated so I'm off to purchase a good PCI slot sound card.

Thank you all soooo much!