Wait, you added a static IP inside Window’s TCP/IP properties window? Or the router?
And how could the TCP/IP stack be corupted from an improper windows install? You can reinstall the TCP/IP Stack in 2 minutes.
If you added static information in the router this will work until the ISP changes your IP and your computer doesn’t follow. My IP changes once every ~6 months.
And port forwarding is pretty straight forward for your Linksys. Unless you’re no longer filtering ports (VERY BAD IDEA). Or you placed the IP in your DMZ? What did you end up doing?
I put the number in the TCP/IP properties box of my Local Area Connection properties box in XP. That was it. Specifically, I entered numbers into the:
IP Address
Subnet Mask
Default Gateway
Primary DNS Server
Alternate DNS Server
He later sent me an e-mail explaining how to fix some things, which may explain what he suspects happened. I didn’t re-install Windows - that was his point. I changed the mobo/processor and did nothing to the h/d or OS. Here’s the e-mail:
Reinstall of the TCP/IP protocol to restore Winsock functionality
Step 1: Delete registry keys
A) Open Regedit from the Run line
B) Go to both of the following keys, export each of them, and then delete them:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Winsock and
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Winsock2
C) Restart the computer
NOTE: It is important to restart the computer after deleting the Winsock keys.
Doing so causes the XP operating system to recreate shell entries for those two
keys. If this is not done, the next step does not work correctly.
Step 2: Install TCP/IP on top of itself
A) Open the properties window of the network connection
B) Click Install
C) Click Protocol, then Add
D) Click Have Disk
E) Type the path to the nettcpip.inf file, for example: c:\windows\inf, and click
OK (if you try to click Browse, then browse to the \inf folder, it may not show up
in the list).
F) You should now see "Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)" in the list of available
protocols. Select it and click OK.
G) Restart the computer
When the computer reboots you will have functional Winsock keys.
NOTE: If the network connection properties contained more than the following three
items: Client for Microsoft Networks, File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft
Networks, and TCP/IP, then the additional items may need to be removed in order to
restore browsing. If those items are needed they can be reinstalled. The reason
for removing them is due to those items placing entries into the Winsock keys and
those entries will no longer be there.
Side effects and possible problems:
This method will restore basic functionality to the Winsock keys, but is not a
complete rebuild. On a default install of Windows XP the registry key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Winsock2\ParametersProtocol_Cat
alog9\Catalog_Entries - will have 11 sub-keys. When applying this method, the
Catalog_Entries will only have three sub-keys. However, it works and there does
not appear to be any side effects. The missing entries relate back to the:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\Parameters\Interfaces
key.
Also, third-party proxy software or firewalls may need to be reinstalled.
I'll be interested in seeing how it all turns out. Good luck to you.
He also sent an .exe file that’s supposed to do all that automatically. Does that clear things up any? Because I really don’t understand much of this stuff.