After installing Windows XP Service Pack 2, one may encounter “Error 678” when trying to connect to the Internet. This error is accompanied by a message “The remote computer did not respond”. There are several possible causes for this problem.
These include;
* A cable for the network is unplugged.
* The modem has been disabled.
* The modem drivers may have been corrupted.
* A malware running in the computer could also be responsible.
* A firewall from a third party could be blocking the connection.
* Someone has to repair the Winsock.
Resolving this problem will depend upon the cause and the following steps should be taken in succession to deal with the problem:
Connect the network cable.
Confirm that your PC is well connected to the network cable and to the modem as well. Ensure that that the cable that connects to the router or hub is well connected as well.
Ensure that the network adapter is enabled.
This is how to enable the network adapter.:
* Go to the “Start” button, click on “Run”, and on the textbox, type “ncpa.cpl” (without the quotes), and then click “Ok”.
* Right click on the Local Area Connection (LAN) icon, and select “Enable” if the option is available.
Re-install the modem and the drivers.
You may download the latest driver for the network fro your hardware maker before taking out this measure.
* Go to the “Start” button, and click on “Run”. On the “Run” textbox, type sysdm.cpl, and then click “Ok”.
* Go to the “Hardware” tab, and click on “Device Manager”. After that, ping the “Network Adapters”.
* Upon expanding your Network Adapter tab, select your network adaptor icon.
* Select “Uninstall” function and then click on “Ok”. Click on “Yes” to a prompt to remove the files associated with the device.
* Restart the PC. In the alternative, you may also click on “Action” and then click on “Scan for Hardware Changes”.
* If the window finds the device but is unable to recognize it, then you will have to reinstall the driver (that is why you had to download it first before proceeding).
Create new cable/DSL connection.
Take the following steps.
* Go to the “Start” button, and click on “Run”. Type ncpa.cpl in the dialogue box and then click “Ok”.
* Under the “Network tasks”, click on “Create a New connection”. When a wizard appears, click on “Next”.
* Select “Set up my connection manually” and then click on “next’.
* Select the option “Connect using a broadband connection that requires a username and Password”. Click on “Next” to proceed.
* Complete the wizard using the information from your ISP (Internet Service Provider).
Repair the Winsock.
Go to the “Start” button, click on “Run” and then type “netsh winsock reset” in the textbox. Upon the flashing of the command prompt window, you may them restart the computer.
This procedure may unfavorably affect some computer programs such as antivirus, firewall and proxy clients. You may have to reinstall the affected programs to continue using them.
Uninstall third party firewalls.
Some firewalls such as Norton personal firewall or ZoneAlarm may affect Internet connectivity for computers running on Windows XP. You may try to resolve the error by uninstalling these firewalls and reinstalling them later, so make sure you have the backup for these firewalls before uninstalling them.
For more information on Error 678 read What is Error 678?
