Original Post
I finally got my new laptop (an Asus Z33AE), but I've run into a big problem – the networking does not work. Specifically there is a wired LAN, and a wireless LAN. Both are detected and the drivers install fine (Windows even has a default driver for the wired). The wired LAN detects when the cable is plugged in, and the wireless LAN can see wireless access points. But neither of them can connect or interact with the outside world (it would seem that no packets ever reach the laptop). I've tried several clean installs, with a focus on getting the wired LAN to work. I've tried with 3 drivers – the Windows default, the ones that came on the driver CD, and the latest from online (all from clean XP installs). I've even tried installing Windows 2000. And yes, all through this I tried turning of Windows XP firewall, as well as checking the BIOS to see if the input lock was set on LAN (the laptop has security features that let you lock out certain input devices like USB or the DVDRW to prevent data theft) I've tried configuring both the wired and wireless LAN to use both the standard DHCP, and explicit TCP/IP settings (most of my computers, both the wired and wireless, are setup with explicit settings so I know what I'm doing there). I also tried putting in a PCMCIA (wired) network adapter – it worked perfectly, connecting on the same cable, to the same router, without any setup at all (just put it in and it worked). Yet even after that the normal LAN doesn't work. Next I wrote a small program that is basically a one way UDP ping application – it sends a UDP packet to a specific port and IP. Whenever the application receives a packet on that port, it prints "received". To make the test work I explicitly set the TCP/IP settings on the laptops wired LAN, so it wouldn't need DHCP or a wireless connection to work. With this program I've been able to create two different behaviors. First the behavior with Windows Firewall turned on. I try "sending" a packet from both PCs to the other, and obviously none was received. On my good computer nothing happened (this would be correct behavior even if the laptop was working), but on the laptop a Socket error #10054 (meaning I assume a force close connection packet was sent back) was given. Here is the interesting part - With Windows Firewall off, both machines give a #10054 error. The laptop is affecting behavior on the good PC– the LAN is alive! Packets the laptop tries to send out are getting thrown back at it with the socket error (so no traffic can leave the laptop), while packets sent to the laptop are thrown back at their sender with a close message. Basically with Windows Firewall on, no response is being sent back. Does anyone have any ideas about this? Append: As mentioned it's an Asus Z33AE (Z33A with extra memory, also known as the M5A/M5AE outside of North America). The wired lan is a Realtek RTL8139 family card (integrated), while lan is Intel Pro Wireless. Posted edited, previous title "Network problem, difficulty: hard"
