HELP!! All network connectivity devices are "missing"

Hi all,

I am in dire need of help as my laptop is exhibiting a very rare problem. I have a Sony VGN-S460P and about 2 weeks ago, the laptop suddenly HANG for about 1 minute after I reboot and login to Windows. Afterwards, I can't connect to the network, wired or wireless. The Intel PRO software kept showing that it's connected to my WLAN, get disconnected, connected, and so on.

While trying to troubleshoot the "boot-up hanging" issue, I found out that under Start -> Network Connection, NONE of the network card is available. Intel wireless, Intel wired, and modem are all gone from "Network Connection" folder. It just blank.

Under "Device Manager", I can still see all 3 of the above devices and Windows reported that it is working properly.

In summary:
- Intel PRO WLAN, Intel PRO wired network card, and modem no longer shown in "Network Connection" (the folder just blank)
- No internet connection can be made, not even dial-up since the modem "disappeared"

I tried to restore Windows XP using Norton Ghost (I create 1 image / week and keep 2 different versions) and it fixed it, but after about 1 week, it happened again.

I ran Norton Anti-Virus and Spy Sweeper and no virus or spyware can be found.

I have 8 laptops in the last 6 years and I've never seen this kind of problem.

Can anyone help?

 

I found out that the "Network connections" service was not started, so I started it. But now my Network Connections keep going on and off as follow:

1) Intel Pro software will show it's connected
2) 5 seconds later, Intel Pro software will show it's NOT connected
3) 5-10 seconds later, it's connected
4) Same as #2 and so on...

All my other laptops (Dell Inspiron 9100, Compaq Evo N610c) do NOT exhibit this problem, so I know for sure it is NOT my router.

I've even tried buying 3 DIFFERENT ROUTERS (Netgear, Linksys, and D-Link) and NONE of them work with my S460/P. I called Sony Tech. Support and they said it's not the problem with the hardware, since it CAN connect, albeit getting disconnected later. They said it's a "software" issue.

My laptop has become virtually UNUSABLE because of this, as NO network connection can be made. If anyone can help me with this issue, please kindly share.

 

Maybe you already tried it but didn't post. But have you tried uninstalling the software, reboot and then reinstall?

I checked the network services, and its set as manual on mine.

 

I did, but the "uninstallation" stuck.

I restored the image (using Ghost) to my S460P, but per my 2nd thread, the network cad just gone haywire now.

I am wondering if the card is broken...

 

Since yours is the S series, the wifi network card should be accessable from the bottom of the unit. Have you tried pulling the wifi card out and seeing if the rest of your network devices work fine?

 

That's what I did before the devices in "Network Connections" disappeared and it worked OK.

In the ast 16 hours after I re-imaged my S460, which have the original 2200BG driver, I updated the driver using Sony's 2200BG driver (released on 11/2005). This driver is different than Intel's driver (downloaded from their site) in that it does NOT have the Intel WLAN PRO software. So now I am using WinXP built-in wireless software.

Since then I noticed that sometimes the WLAN connection exhibit the same issue of getting connected/disconnected every 5-10 seconds. Other time, it can connect for hours without any issue.

I am still troubleshooting my S460 (it's been 2 days now!) and one thing I notice is that Event Viewer have the following entry:

Symantec AntiVirus:
Changed value 'HKLM\SOFTWARE\Intel\LANDesk\VirusProtect6\CurrentVersion\Storages\MicrosoftExchangeClient\RealTimeScan\OnOff' from '1' to '0'

I wonder if this has any effect on the 2200BG. However, in the past this is not causing any issues. As a matter of fact, my other laptop, a Sony FS series with the same 2200BG card and Symantec AntiVirus. BTW, this is the Symantec AntiVirus corporate, not Norton AntiVirus.

 

Sounds like it could be a problem with the wifi card. Again, this time I'm assuming you made sure its seated correctly.

With that, there isn't a whole lot other then trying another wifi card... which then brings up, since you mentioned you have the FS model with the exact same wifi card, have you tried pulling the card from your FS and trying it in your S? I'm not sure how easy or hard it is the take out the wifi in your FS.