I am running XP Home, 512 MB RAM, 120 GB HD. I have a cable connection and a Linksys 802.11b wireless access point. On my desktop computer (host) I cannot open the network connection box anymore. I access network connections through my start menu or the control panel, and it shows two connections. One is the local area connection, the other is 1394 connection. When I click on either of these, noting opens. My cursor will blink briefly, but the connection won’t open. I can’t check the status or anything. I can right click and get to the properties, but the other options on the right click menu won’t open. I have a laptop also running XP home and connected to my wireless network, the connections work fine there. I am virus and spyware free. What is up? Can I fix this? I’m not absolutely sure which connection is my cable internet connection, I forgot which one is which and what the other is used for.
Your “local connection” is probably the one you need to examine. 1394 is Firewire - I have a Sony VAIO which has both a standard ethernet jack and a firewire port, and I also have those two entries on my Network Connections list.
BYW, my “Local Connection” entry also contains two other lines of text:
Local Area Connection
Enabled
Realtek RTL8139/801x Family
(That last entry being the type of Ethernet adapter on my PC)
In my case, anyway, left-clicking on that “Local Connection” entry performs the same activity as right-clicking on it and selecting the “Status” option. What happens when you try that?
Yeah, this is a Sony Vaio. Left clicking does nothing - my cursor blinks but the link doesn’t open. My laptop is also a Vaio, but all connections open fine. Thanks for straightening me out to which is my main internet connection - when neither opens, it is hard to figure out! I just mentioned right clicking to point out I can get to properties by doing that, but status, repair, all that other stuff is unavailable. My connection went down the other day. It was a matter of a billing screw-up, but before I called I wanted to check on the status myself. I couldn’t open it up to do that.
Nobody knows? I was thinking there was something changed in my registry, something I could switch back, to get these connections to open. Every other program and file on my computer opens normally, just these two things don’t.