Hi All,
I'm a complete newb when it comes to IT related stuff , so forgive me if there is a simple solution.
I had great internet access with my old aopen wired modem on a adsl2+ connection , using a dell 9400 laptop.
Until a thunder storm , when I lost the ability to see my modem and connect to the internet.
I thought this might be a good time to upgrade and get a wireless modem/router , so bought a belkin n wireless modem/router.
So now I have 2 modems and no access to the internet ...smart hey .

Basically after the storm , when I plugged in a cable into my ethernet slot. windows doesn't respond by saying,
found new hardware ..etc. It does nothing.
In my network connections , i have the ethernet card connection and wireless connection.
When I highlight and and check status everything seems fine .
when I check the ethernet connection properties , i see the tcp ip properties and they are blank. No ip address etc.I click on repair and windows says , it cannot repair cos the tcp ip is not enabled for this connection !?
The same goes for the wireless, except through wireless I can see the modem and windows says strength high..belkin ..etc.
I ran windows diagnostics and it reported everything fine . I'm running xp service pack 3
I reset my tcp ip using the netsh and now when I ip config , I get strange ip addresses with characters in them .?
I tried pinging and got timed out result. still no internet or ability to see the modem settings.
So I presume i have a few problems , What can I do to find out whats causing what.?
have I been going about it the right way or just stumbling in the dark.?
I dont have any other device to plug into the ethernet slot to check the card.
My last resort would be to do a fresh install of xp sp2, but I'm trying to avoid that If I can.. especially if it doesn't solve the problem !!.
any help would be greatly appreciated.
cheers
James