Windows 7 Local Network Connection. Not binding to IP stack. Connects o.k. on Linux, not Win7

[expat007]

My machine is dual boot Win 7 x32 and Linux. I'm using a wired Broadcom 400x integrated NIC with a Motorla cable modem. I've been using this setup of about 5 months with Win7.

There is only one computer connected and I have no wireless/router. In the middle of surfing on the Win OS, my connection dropped and the computer froze up, forcing me to do a cold boot.
When rebooting to windows, I got a red X in the sys tray. No Local area connection, no network connectivity.

I booted again, into Linux this time, and it all works fine, leading me to believe this is a software issue for sure. I also downloaded and ran the broadcom diagnostic utility for my NIC and all the tests passed.

The "Network and Sharing" screen shows no connection, (just diagram of computer<=>X<=>Globe) but the properties screen in the device manager shows it's connected with no problem, other than 0 packets transferred. It also reports no problem with the driver, but I re-installed it anyway, using the latest available.

Most mysterious of all is that running ipconfig/all doesn't show the card at all. It's completely missing. (see below) The only thing it returns is the Teredo Tunneling Pseudo Interface and a 6to4 adapter. Both are reported "Media Disconnected" and neither has a DNS suffix, IP address or Default Gateway listed. Nor do either of these show up in the Device manager under network adapters.

The property screen that comes up when you right-click the Local Area Connection on the "Network and Sharing" screen and double click the IPV4 line returns the message "Windows couldn't automatically bind the IP protocol stack to the network adapter".
IPV4 and IPV6 show no connectivity. Looking through the event log at the time of the crash confirms the problem (see below).
That's the best and only hint I've gotten so far as to what is going wrong, but I can't find a clue of how to correct it.

The network troubleshooter acts like it is resolving the problem but is useless in the end and just reports that my network card is "experiencing problems"....Duh!

This is what I've done so far, (not necessarily in this order):

Ran Farbar (shows no connection to net, but localhost, Yahoo and Google accessible, see log below)
Installed newest drivers I could find.
Power off/on the modem and rebooted (warm and cold) multiple times.
Ran a sfc /scannow
Did full virus and malware scans
Reset winsock
Reset IPV4 and IPV6 TCP/IP stacks to installation defaults
Cleared and registered DNS cache
Release and renew current IP address
Checked Hosts file for any strange entries.
Checked all services and process lists for any remnants of any possibly interfering process.
Repeatedly boot into safe mode with network connectivity.
Uninstalled network card in device manager and reboot, cold and warm.
Unchecked IPV6 and both topographical protocols, one at a time, and rebooted after each change.
Uninstalled AVG, Comodo Firewall, Open VPN and Wireshark, all of which were present for a week or more when everything was running just fine.
Spit, cursed, rendered my clothes and tore at my hair. Link Removed
Spent 17 hours on google trying to figure this out. (Running Linux)

PLEASE!!! If anyone has any idea what's going on here, please chime in. I have wore out my google finger and have not found anything like what I'm experiencing here. At least most people get something reported in their ipconfig window.
I can't use a system restore because, evidently, the VSS shadow service has been turned off lately.

In the event log, there are references to the "RootCauseGUID. I Found 3 instances of them under the same sub-key in the registry. PC-Tools reports them as having/being invalid D-Values of 2 bytes.
The "RepairGUID"s don't exist at all in the registry. Is there any significance to this, or to the mention of "70 seconds Required"? If I didn't know better, I'd think this could be fixed in 70 seconds by editing these 2 invalid "RootCauseGUID"s.

Anyway, here are the results of some of the logs, etc. that I have generated. I desperately need to get this fixed. I can't do a restore because my VSS was disabled. I can't even do a re-install because the Mickey Mouse outfit I bought this machine from never gave me a disc or any way to reinstall it. All I have is a 6 month old img. file iif worse comes to worse.

BTW, I had been running AVG AV and Comodo FW for a month before this happened. I uninstalled them and scoured the computer for any remaning remnants. I still suspect they may have changed something in the registry that "stuck" when it crashed. But that's 100% speculation.

**********************************
Microsoft Windows [Version 6.1.7601]
Copyright (c) 2009 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

C:\Users\User>ipconfig /all (Yeah, that's ALL!!)

Windows IP Configuration

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : User-PC
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Hybrid
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No

Tunnel adapter Teredo Tunneling Pseudo-Interface:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Teredo Tunneling Pseudo-Interface
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

Tunnel adapter 6TO4 Adapter:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Microsoft 6to4 Adapter
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

********************************************************
Farbar Service Scanner Version: 01-03-2012
Ran by User (administrator) on 12-04-2012 at 10:03:37
Running from "C:\Users\User\Desktop"
Microsoft Windows 7 Professional Service Pack 1 (X86)
Boot Mode: Normal
****************************************************************

Internet Services:
============

Connection Status:
==============
Localhost is accessible.
There is no connection to network.
Google IP is accessible.
Yahoo IP is accessible.


Windows Update:
============

File Check:
========
C:\Windows\system32\nsisvc.dll => MD5 is legit
C:\Windows\system32\Drivers\nsiproxy.sys => MD5 is legit
C:\Windows\system32\dhcpcore.dll => MD5 is legit
C:\Windows\system32\Drivers\afd.sys => MD5 is legit
C:\Windows\system32\Drivers\tdx.sys => MD5 is legit
C:\Windows\system32\Drivers\tcpip.sys => MD5 is legit
C:\Windows\system32\dnsrslvr.dll => MD5 is legit
C:\Windows\system32\wuaueng.dll => MD5 is legit
C:\Windows\system32\qmgr.dll => MD5 is legit
C:\Windows\system32\es.dll => MD5 is legit
C:\Windows\system32\cryptsvc.dll => MD5 is legit
C:\Windows\system32\svchost.exe => MD5 is legit
C:\Windows\system32\rpcss.dll => MD5 is legit


**** End of log ****

===================================================

Last, but not least, the Event ID 4000 from the event viewer

[ Name] Microsoft-Windows-Diagnostics-Networking
[ Guid] {36C23E18-0E66-11D9-BBEB-505054503030}

EventID 4000
Version 1
Level 4
Task 4
Opcode 0
Keywords 0x4000400000000001

- TimeCreated
[ SystemTime] 2012-04-12T01:52:23.662353000Z

EventRecordID 3923908

- Correlation
[ ActivityID] {2FD171E5-DC3B-47BE-8465-CF94C0BE1DC9}

- Execution
[ ProcessID] 1692
[ ThreadID] 1716

Channel System

Computer User-PC
- Security
[ UserID] S-1-5-19

- EventData

RootCause There might be a problem with the driver for the Local Area Connection adapter Windows couldn't automatically bind the IP protocol stack to the network adapter.
RootCauseGUID {46EC1E49-CA70-4561-9AB7-009F6B1B3709}
RepairOption Set up the 'Local Area Connection' adapter Set up the network adapter to communicate with this network. This ensures that both Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) and Internet Protocol Version 6 (TCP/IPv6) can be used on the network adapter.
RepairGUID {4406F2CC-9CBD-4098-A03A-E5C9810E4895}
SecondsRequired 70
SIDTypeRequired 37
HelperClassName NdisHC
InterfaceDesc Local Area Connection
InterfaceGUID {E87B74C6-1D82-41F3-A792-3CA9360CB0A6}

 

[ChatGPT]

It seems like you've been through quite a bit trying to troubleshoot your network issue with the Broadcom NIC on your Windows 7 x32 machine. Based on the detailed information you provided, here are some steps and suggestions that might help you resolve the problem:
1. Device Manager and Driver Issues:
- Since the Broadcom diagnostic utility for your NIC passed all tests and you've reinstalled the latest driver, the issue might not be directly related to the driver.
- Double-check in Device Manager if the NIC is listed without any warning symbols (like a yellow exclamation mark).
2. Network Adapter Detection:
- The fact that the NIC is not showing up in ipconfig might indicate a deeper system issue. It's odd that only the Teredo Tunneling Pseudo Interface and 6to4 adapter are detected.
- Check if the NIC is disabled in Device Manager inadvertently. Enable it if it's disabled.
3. IP Protocol Stack Binding:
- The error message "Windows couldn't automatically bind the IP protocol stack to the network adapter" suggests an issue with binding protocols to the network adapter.
- Try resetting TCP/IP stack by running commands like netsh int ip reset reset.log in an elevated Command Prompt.

4. Network Stack Reset and Other Commands:
- Since you've already tried resetting Winsock, resetting TCP/IP stacks, releasing and renewing IP addresses, and clearing DNS cache, you might want to retry these steps.
- Use commands like netsh winsock reset for Winsock reset, and netsh int ipv4 install and netsh int ipv6 install for TCP/IP stack reinstallation.
5. Network Troubleshooter:
- Windows Network Troubleshooter can sometimes diagnose and fix common networking issues. Run it again to see if it provides any new insights.

6. System Restore and Registry Checks:
- If possible, re-enable the Volume Shadow Copy service (VSS) and attempt a System Restore to a point before the issue started.
- Be cautious with registry edits, especially if you are not sure of the implications. Editing invalid GUIDs might lead to more issues.
7. Event Viewer:
- The Event ID 4000 indicates problems with the driver for the Local Area Connection adapter. Focus on resolving driver-related issues.
8. Anti-Virus and Firewall Considerations:
- Since you uninstalled AVG AV and Comodo FW, ensure their remnants are completely removed. Some security software can leave behind network-filtering components that might interfere with network connectivity.

9. Hardware Check:
- While it seems more software-related, it might be worth testing the NIC on another machine to rule out any possible hardware failure.

10. Backups:
- Keep your important files backed up, as you mentioned having an image file from 6 months ago. It's good to have a backup plan in case of emergencies.
If you're still facing issues after these steps, it might be beneficial to seek assistance from a professional technician who can perform more advanced diagnostics or consider a fresh installation of Windows after backing up essential data.