[newbe]

This is a pretty long and complicated ride, so let me start from the beginning. Please note that I am using a terrible back up computer to write all of this. My brother built me a computer last May, and it worked fine. After a month or so, it...

This is a pretty long and complicated ride, so let me start from the beginning. Please note that I am using a terrible back up computer to write all of this.

My brother built me a computer last May, and it worked fine. After a month or so, it quit working fine. Eventually we figured out the problem was the plugs in the computer being faulty, and the answer to this problem was unplugging these plugs, then plugging them back in. WE figured that out in December. For the last month and a half, my computer has been working fine. This monday, though, I got a virus.

This virus kind of absorbed my computer; it started as a pop-up that told me I had too many viruses on my computer for it to work properly. I didn't trust it, and so did not click the pop-up in any way, form, or fashion other than closing it out. Tuesday, the pop-up had somehow gotten into my computer. It wasn't just an internet pop-up, it was the background for my computer. I ran AVG, Spybot S&D, and removed a couple of trojans from my computer. After finishing running scans from both of these programs, I rebooted my computer to find that I couldn't log on. I could type in my username and password, but as soon as I logged on and my desktop background popped up, I had to log off. After hours of websearching the solution to this problem, I figured out that the only way to get rid of the virus would be to reformat my hardrive, reinstalling windows in the process.

After tearing my house apart in an effort to find the Windows XP disk I needed, I reformatted my hard drive. I didn't have any programs on my computer I wanted or needed to keep, and it wasn't really possible for me to backup anything I wanted to, so none of my old programs still exist. I don't really view this as a bad thing because I'm certain half of all my old programs were crap I didn't need.

The first thing I tried to do with my newly reformatted computer was connect to the internet. I clicked on IE, and I got the usual "Page Could Not Be Displayed" error. I opened my Network Connections and realized that I didn't have a Local Area Connection. This makes no sense to me, because my computer is directly connected to a Lynksys WRT54G Wireless Internet Router, as in it has an Ethernet cord going directly from my computer's backside to the Router. I realized I didn't have the Lynksys Easylink Advisor program installed, so I put in the CD and installed it. I had no problems there, but as soon as I ran the program I hit a couple.

Everything other than my newly reformatted computer is running the internet just fine. My XBox, connected via wires, runs XBL just fine. My Wii runs WiFi just fine, and this computer that I'm using now is connected Wirelessly and IT'S running the internet just fine. They are all connected on an already set up wireless network. When I ran Easylink Advisor, it tried to set up another Wireless Network. I assume this is because it couldn't find my LAN. After going through a few steps in the set up process it asked me to enable my LAN, which I can't do because I can't see my LAN.

I thought this problem may be because I was still running Service Pack 1, so I downloaded Service Pack 3 onto my USB Drive from this computer(the terrible one I am typing from) and then installed it on my Reformatted one. This didn't solve any problems, at all, but didn't seem to cause anymore. Whatever.

I opened my Device Manager under My Computer>Properties>Device Manager. I opened up the 'Other Devices' tab and found that several of my 'Other Devices' were not working. This includes the following:

Audio Device on High Definition Audio Bus
Ethernet Controller
PSC 1400 Series
PSC 1400 Series
SM Bus Controller
Video Controller (VGA Compatible)

These all have a large Yellow Question Mark and then a smaller exclamtion mark next to them. Then there is one 'Other Device' that does work, which is:

HPPSC 1400 Series

The PSCs I assume are Printer Scanner Copiers, which, okay, I only have one of those. That is my HPPSC 1400 Series, which is working just fine. None of the other 'Other Devices' are working. I don't have sound functioning either. This is as far as I've gotten in my quest for making my newly reformatted computer work properly, and I'm still befuddled. Here is some stuff about my computer:

AMD Athlon(tm) 64X2 Dual
Core Processor 4400+
2.30GHz, 2.00 GB of RAM
Microsoft XP
Home Edition
Version 2002
Service Pack 3

If you need to know anything else, just ask and I will deliver.