Network Error- need help please

[Cigolon]

last night i was playing bf2 over the network, stayed up til around 1am with a friend. this morning we woke up and booted one of the computers, and it wont get online. when i go into ipconfig and check for connection info, it doesn't pull anything. it looks like its been released, when i try to renew it says access denied. i tried to add a new network and see if something just got messed up somehow there, but that didn't change anything. we checked the CAT5 cable and where it connects to the router is good as well. the other computer is obviously online and working fine.

any ideas that can save an FnR

oh. i forgot. the computers run win xp pro, its an asus A8n-e motherboard, 3 gigs of corsair ram, amd 3200+ processor, and a partridge in a pear tree

 

[Cigolon]

well, i just formatted- reinstalled windows on a blank C drive- installed the motherboard drivers for the ethernet onboard and it still isn't going. is there anything it could be besides a bad motherboard? anything at all?

 

[Davitch]

does the connection appear in 'network places'? (Right-click 'My Network Places' select 'Properties')

does your OS see the nic? (right-click 'My Computer' select properties, select 'hardware' tab, click on 'Device manager', expand 'network adaptor')

basic stuff, i know

BUT, my system will occasionally turn my NIC off in the BIOS which means you can't see it in windows

if its missing in the two above places, try going into the bios and reenabling it