Resolved Windows (XP) Shut Down Network Connections

That is the error message I received a moment ago as my XP shut down. Maybe it is an aspect of the problem I posted recently, my first one in about three years, where the moderator and I agreed that at some future time a clean XP install will be necessary. Maybe the RAS Async Adapter that will not uninstall or update is dormant because of some component in my new network hard drive. Anyway, just before my XP shut down, I was in My Computer, Documents and Settings. I happened to notice that a disc onto which I burned SP3 was still in my external DVD drive; so I took it out. In Safe Mode I reinstalled SP3 as an attempt to restore the RAS driver which has a yellow "!" Just following my removing the disc, the computer shut down. Why did this happen? As for this corrupt RAS Async Adapter, I wrote my ISP for technical support, Comcast, because their telephone support is unintelligible.

 

You've been running an XP comp (no MS Support) on the Internet and it's bugged and shutting down on it's own???
You may need to wipe the drive completely and use your original CD to install XP again. Make sure you have all the XP updates you will require before you start. Neil.

 

Do you mean, retiredlearner, that Microsoft will not make the updates available online if I do a clean install?

 

Support for XP has ended and it would pay to ensure that you can get XP updates to make your comp run smoothly after a new install. Along with Drivers for your m/b etc.
I suspect you have an infection in your XP OS and wiping and starting anew would be your answer if you wish to continue using XP.
You could see the Malware & Virus Forum and find out if Broni can help. Neil.

 

retiredlearner, I have on both computers Baudu Antivirus, Private Firewall, Spyware Blaster, Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware and SuperAntiSpyware. I am satisfied with all these programs and will not make substitutions. However, I last ran Baidu on July 27, MBAM and SAS on July 28. Do you want the logs. Baidu found one instance. The other two ran clean.

 

retiredlearner, so you are saying those programs did not scan for rootkits. Someone at Lazesoft, maker of a system repair disc, already suggested that I disabled RAS Async Adapter, which I did. I thought Remote Access Service had to do with dial-up. Anyway, I had to write my ISP, Comcast do to their bad telephone over-the-telephone support. I have something called eScan, which scans for rootkits. I will run that.

 

TonyT, was my disabling RAS Async Adapter a bad decision? I also got the impression that this driver was necessary for the older OS' (i.e. XP and 2000). Also, I thought wireless routers like my Linksys E1000 would make that driver unnecessary. Is is possible that this corrupted driver still works?

 

TonyT, doesn't my wireless network, where I have a wireless router through which both computers connect, qualify as a VPN connection? The host computer is really the Windows 7.

 

Forgive my cryptic explanations; but my wireless adapter is Linksys E1000. When we set it up, the connection from my Windows 7 computer to my router with the Ethernet cable was only momentary. At some point in the setup, under technical support, I removed the Ethernet cable. My XP is on the same network which connects with the same set of credentials. There is no other computer on this network either here or somewhere else like an office. If I do not need ICS, then I have not figured out how to delete it. In fact, in my Device Manager for XP, besides the two yellow "!" entries, there are entries that are greyed out. Could these, like ICS, be unnecessary? Since the connection is wireless, is this ICS kicking in?

 

I'll try to explain this again a different way. E1000 wireless router connects to cable modem with Ethernet cable. Windows 7 connects to E1000 wirelessly, that is, there is no Ethernet cable between the computer and router. That is the way Linksys technical support assisted me in connecting. There was only a physical connection briefly during the setup. Once connected, we removed the cable. The Windows 7 connects wirelessly. I hope that clarifies things. Additionally, in Control Panel, Windows tries to start Internet Connection Sharing when I try to bring up Windows Firewall settings, which it it unable to do. How can I view these settings without ICS, which does not seem to work?

 

I don't know how much clearer I have to be. All my equipment huddles around my Windows 7. My XP is farther away, a different room in the apartment. That connects wirelessly through an internal network adapter.

 

TonyT, thanks for clarifying because I thought of my Windows 7 as the host because Linksys began connecting the E1000 there. When I purchased the router, they began with a physical connection, the same as my previous HP wireless all-in-one, and before concluding the installation they had me disconnect the Ethernet cable, after which we stayed connected. Then we connected the XP through its adapter.