for some reason my tcp/ip property tab is disabled. where I would set to obtain dhcp or static addresses. however im still connected to the internet. same problem when i boot in safe mode. i'am the only user and set with admin privlages as well. winxp pro service pack 3. with IE ver8. anyone know what to try to correct this issue? thanks

are you sure you are on the right adapter? If it is wireless there may be another program that is used to control the wireless.

No, this is on both wireless and wired nic's! Even doing a system restore to a month ago when i know it worked didn't help. what can i do?? thanks

Maybe Uninstalling the NIC card and reinstalling it will do the trick if you have the driver to reinstall that is. But for the most part XP has a generic driver that will be sufficient in most cases. But it's beginning to sound like a virus since both wireless and hardwired are doing the same thing.

Try resetting the TCP/IP Stack via the netsh command:

start -> run -> cmd
then type in:
netsh int ip reset c:\resetlog.txt

followed by:
netsh winsock reset catalog

Then restart your computer. See if you can get into the tcp/ip properties then.

those commands didn't help either! I'm racking my brain here. Is there a way to disable the property tabs for a nic. all the "this connection uses the following items:" property tabs are disabled. Anything else to check?? thanks so far.

Another thing I just realized is that the device manager won't show any devices. even if you click show hidden devices. it won't populate it's just blank. wonder if this may have something to do with all my problems. what should i do? I've goggled both of these issues and tried almost everything i could read about . from editing the registry and so on. what's my next approach besides re-loading win xp pro which i don't have a copy of?

See if the Plug and Play (plug and pray) service is set to automatically start and also see if it is running.

Start -> run -> services.msc
Double click on Plug and Play. Set to Automatic and click start if it isn't running already.

If that was turned off or disabled, then you might need to restart your computer for the setting to take effect.

Note, on my XP x64 workstation, I cannot disable or turn off the Plug and Play service.

One further note, if those commands don't work in Regular mode, try in Safe Mode.

Has this machine been used on a domain? Is it possible that group policies have been pushed down, or the local security policy has been changed?

Could UPNP service be my underlying issue? It's the only service that I can't get to start but it's set to automatic. And I think I set the permissions right. When i try to start it i get error 1068 and permissions not set! I read somewhere that i probably need to re-install the tcp/ip adapter under the device manager in order to get the property tab back. I tried running different commands to re-install tcp/ip. But I can't get device manager to show up anything! please help me!!!

And no it's never been used on a domain, as far as I know! Anyway to check that!

One way is to click on Start-->Control Panel-->System-->Computer Name-->Change.

no domain. says it's a member of workgroup! that ok?

Check your local security policy. Start->Run->secpol.msc

Local Policies->User Rights Assignment

If you see anything there that looks like a Domain account, then you've had group policies pushed down from a domain. Such an indication would be if the "Allow log on locally" policy had a user listed as "anything\user"

Of course if you were the last person to install XP on this computer and you didn't have it on a domain, then everything I'm saying is moot. If someone else did the install and you are the user then policies are most likely the culprit. And example would be a company assigned laptop where the users are given an admin account so they can install software without calling IT, but they cannot mess with network settings or add hardware.

It's also possible that malware has done something to your local security policy in an attempt and preventing removal.

In either case, the following link explains how you would reset your policies back to default:

https://helpdeskgeek.com/how-to/reset-local-security-policy/

I will keep trying... I looked at the device manager under other PC's and the tcp/ip adapter doesn't show up. Guess everything you read on the net could be misleading. I'm thhinking maybe a virus too at this point. I will keep you all posted and let you know what i find. Thanks guys for your help thus far... stressing, but at least I have several other PC's to use. The thing is everything works fine except the tcp/ip property tab and the device manager being blank! very perplexing however!!

Also I read that since tcp/ip is a critical part of winXP you can not simple un-install and re-install it! is that true??

Hello.

As a local administrator, try the following and see if it helps:

Start/Run/GPedit.msc

Navigate to: User configuration/Administrative Templates/Network/Network Connections/

The two keys you will be examining are named "Prohibit access to properties of components of a LAN configuration" and "Prohibit TCP/IP advanced configuration".

I'm pretty sure I saw a TechNet article about this a couple of years ago. I'll see if I can find it and send it to you. As I remember there were a couple of causes and remedies mentioned in the article.