HP dv6000 cannot connect to internet

leepere

Junior Member
Jun 10, 2008
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Okay... So, I am doing this for a friend because he cannot access the internet. I have tried helping him along the way but its just hard and the face that i live 2 hours away dosen't help. So, anyways he recently formated to XP on his HP laptop, and his computer is not recognizing his ethernet controller, he is running service pack 1. He was on vista before, and obviously wanted to "downgrade". I went onto the website to download a ethernet driver and I downloaded the NVIDIA nForce Chipset Driver and Network Controller, he says when he opens it it shows the nvidia logo says its preparing files, then just closes. If anyone has ideas on how I can help him please tell me.
 

Harvey

Administrator<br>Elite Member
Oct 9, 1999
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I think it's similar to my Compaq DV6719. If so, there's a slide switch on the left side of the front edge, under the lip. You have to slide it to the right to turn on the LAN. When it's on, the LED changes from orange to blue.

If that isn't the problem, check Device Manager to see if it lists the LAN. You may need to re-install the chipset driver. Also, check HP's support page for the machine for driver and software updates. It there's a problem with this model, they may already have addressed it.

One more thing. I went through a lot of searching to put my machine back to XP. One thing I learned is that for some of the nVidia drivers, they want you to use the HP set, instead of their own. When I finally found the right chipset driver, I had to force the installation, rather than using the built in setup program.

Good luck. :)
 

leepere

Junior Member
Jun 10, 2008
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By the way the full name of his pc is "hp pavilion 6375us". It is jsut in the 6000 series....
 

Harvey

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Oct 9, 1999
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Searching for model number, dv6000, actually brings up a range of products. You'll need the actual part number to get to the right page for this machine.

On the bottom, probably under the Windows COA sticker, you'll find another sticker with the general model, the serial number (s/n) and the HP part number (p/n). Go to hp.com, and enter that part number in the search window.

For example, the p/n for my DV6719 is KC550UA.

This may be the right page, but you'll have a better chance of getting the right ones if you make sure you have the right model.
 

Harvey

Administrator<br>Elite Member
Oct 9, 1999
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Originally posted by: leepere
Also, he says he flipped the switch to the right... its still orange

Oops! I made a mistake about the switch. :eek: That's for the wireless LAN, and if the LED is always orange, it means it isn't enabled in Network Connections, or the driver isn't installed, or you've got the wrong driver..

I went through that when I was looking for XP drivers, and amongst other things, I found that HP uses several makes of wireless LAN's in their machines. If the problem is with the wireless LAN, you may want to open up the machine and write down all of the numbers you find on it to determine which set of drivers you need.

If the problem is with the wired LAN, go to Network Connections, and make sure it's enabled.

I have to take a break, right now. I'll try to check back to see if you posted anymore info.
 

leepere

Junior Member
Jun 10, 2008
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It is with wired LAN, and it has to be the drivers, because Local area connection does not show up for him in Network Connections... just 1394 connection.
 

Harvey

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Oct 9, 1999
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HP product page for dv6375us.

Software/driver entry page. Pick your Windows version.

With my model, there was another issue where the LED for the wireless LAN remained orange until you got the right version of the right driver. Believe me, it's harder finding the right stuff for XP than for Vista if the machine came with Vista.

Last suggestion for now -- If the machine is new, phone HP's tech support. They won't charge you for help within the warranty period. Even if it's out of warranty, they'll give you loads of help through their online tech chat system.

I've had great luck with them through the chat setup for both my new and older Compaq lappies. It's one reason I recommend HP/Compaq notebooks. Of course, every model is different so I always make sure the model I'm buying has what I want before putting out the bucks.

If it's still under warranty, and they can't fix it by phone or chat, they'll issue and RMA number and send him a prepaid shipping carton for the return. If it's REALLY new, as in the past few weeks, he could also return it to the vendor for a refund and start with a working machine.
 

leepere

Junior Member
Jun 10, 2008
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All thats is there is the wireless assistant, which he dosent need, he downloaded it although and it says it is disabled whether he flips witch to left or right.
 

Harvey

Administrator<br>Elite Member
Oct 9, 1999
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Originally posted by: leepere
http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizs...&jumpid=reg_R1002_USEN

Thats is what the customer support agent told me to install and reboot, but still nothing...

Did the tech give you a case ID number? If so, it's a shortcut to getting back to them to continue with more help. Get back to them, and work with them until it's right.

You didn't reply whether it's under warranty. Before I found the right driver for my wireless LAN, the symptoms suggested it was faulty and would have to be repaired or replaced. I already had the pre-paid shipping container when I found the right driver so I got back to them to thank them and to tell them they could cancel the service order.

If you can't get it working after you've gone through their entire checklist, they will repair or replace it.

Another question -- Did your friend get this machine new and pre-configured with Vista? If so, the FIRST thing he should have done would have been to fire it up and make sure everything worked. The second thing he should have done would have been to burn the Recovery DVD set.

If it worked when he got it, the Recovery DVD's could have put it back to its factory delivered condition.

If he tried to install XP, it's a hell of a lot of work. I know. I've done it, and I'm glad I did. It runs much faster than it did under Vista, but it's not something to try without knowing how to prepare the machine and making sure you've got the complete, correct driver set before you start. Vista specific drivers will not work. If that's what you need, let me know, and I'll post a link to my previous l-o-n-g thread about how to do it. :)
 

leepere

Junior Member
Jun 10, 2008
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Yes thats exactly what he did and his pc was pre-configured with Vista and he wanted to go back to xp for the speed as did you. please post whatever you can...
 

Harvey

Administrator<br>Elite Member
Oct 9, 1999
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OK. Knowing that up front would have saved a lot of posts and replies. You also didn't say whether your friend had burned the Recovery DVD's. If he has them, he can restore the machine to where it was. That would be handy because he could find all the actual devices for which he needs drivers in Device Manager. If not, and you really get stuck, you may be able to buy a replacement set from HP for around $25 - $30. At least, that will allow you to start over. My instruction post has more info about how to prevent another catastrophy once you get to that point.

If you haven't already told HP what you're doing, do NOT keep it from them. They need to know exactly what you've got before they can give you correct answers.

I'll repost the entire text of my last post about how to do it. It's long, and I don't have time to edit it for specifics, but read through it. In fact, save it, including the links, so you can refer to it, later. You should get the info you need, but before you do, here is some specific advice:

1. Get on chat with them, instead of using the phone support. The good news is, if you get a sympathetic tech, after the obligatory warning that they don't support XP on this model, he/she may give you links to the right drivers. They did for me.

WARNING! The list and links you get may not all be right so keep searching for forum discussions, even (or especially) on HP's own forums. It took searching through several forum discussions before I finally found everything I needed.

2. Here's a list of threads I found using a boolian search for 6735+XP+driver.

This thread looked promising.

You'll find a number of other threads listed about models DV6735 with different letters at the end. I think they refer to versions of the same machine sold in other countries. Check them to see if they also have some good info.

Here's my previous post:

I successfully removed Vista from a new HP Pavilion a1520n and got it completely working with XP. Some of what I found may be unique to HP's specific setup, but what I learned may give others some clues about what to check to install XP on similar systems. Others are welcome to add their tips and experiences.

HP and Compaq no longer provide restore disks. Instead, their systems will create ONE set of DVD's or CD's which is bonded to the machine that creates them. Other manufacturers may do the same. Therefore, before you start, make sure you have your restore disks. You may need to restore Vista for warranty service.

DO YOUR HOMEWORK. Before I started, I searched Google for the HP model number + install + XP. I found that a lot of people have tried to do it and failed on this particular machine.

1. One important thing I learned is that Vista does some strange things to the partition table. The HP also had two, one of which was used for restore purposes. It has to go. See below for ways to do that.

2. In the CMOS, look to see if the drive is set for ATA or RAID. If it's set for RAID, change it to ATA.

I used Partition Magic, booting from a floppy, to remove them. As it was booting, the program gave me a message that something was wrong with the first partition and asked if I wanted it to fix the problem. I clicked "Yes," and that was the end of that problem. I could then remove both partitions and set up a single, active standard NTFS partition.

If your machine doesn't have a floppy, you may be able to do the same thing booting from a flash drive with the program. You can use HP's DriveKey program to make a bootable USB Flash drive and copy the command line version of Partition Magic to it. I used to be able to find it on HP's site, but here's one link for it. The zipped file also includes basic DOS commands you may need. Here's another link on HP's site that may do the same thing. I haven't tried this one to verify it.

A good XP installation doesn't need the restore partition, but if you want more than one partition, you'll have to set that up after you remove your old ones. Partition Magic will do it very easily.

If you don't have Partition Magic, you can try Delpart.exe. It's a genuine Microsoft utility from NT 4 that will allow you to nuke an NTFS partition from a bootable DOS floppy. I've used it, before, and it works, but I don't know if it will with Vista's partition setup, and I don't know whether it gives you the option of deleting one of several partitions or deletes all partitions at once.

In any case, the objective is to blow off all partitions created by Vista so XP sees a completely new, unpartitioned, unformatted drive that will allow you to create a new, standard NTFS partition.

Be VERY sure you have all the drivers for the chipset and any other features on the motherboard. Find and download everything you'll need for XP, and burn it to a CD before you remove Vista. Check HP's site to look for any drivers, etc. that will work with XP. You may be able to find earlier models using the exact same motherboard that were sold with XP. If so, those drivers may work for your installation. Note the chipsets used for onboard LAN, sound, etc., and check the chip makers' sites for their chip models.

One way to find them is to check the page for the motherboard to see if they list the model or stock number. Then, go to the page where they sell replacement parts, and do a reverse lookup for the part number. It may list various models that use the same motherboard. You may also find info about the motherboard make and model by searchng for it on Google.

You should also download whatever firewall, spyware blockers and any other safety utilities you want and put them on the CD.

Then, when you install XP, do NOT activate it right away. That way, you'll be able to install your anti-virus and other safety programs before you ever hit the web to activate XP.

Norton Ghost or Acronis True Image will save your butt any number of ways. To avoid killing the machine, I installed XP on another drive and Ghosted it to the original drive only after I had it running. That way, I could test the installation before blowing off the original Vista installation.

Even if your current drive is SATA, you can build your installation on an old PATA drive and use Ghost to transfer it to a SATA drive once it's working. If you have two spare drives, you can Ghost your build as you get each step running. That way, if the next step fails, you can put it back to the last good point and try again. Running a good registry cleaner, such as Norton WinDoctor or Registry Mechanic, after installing each program can also help keep your build clean and solid.
 

Harvey

Administrator<br>Elite Member
Oct 9, 1999
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Glad I could help. Having been through this a few times, if you didn't remove the odd Vista partition, I strongly recommend starting over with a clean, blank drive.

Good luck. :)