Not feeling the brightest here this morning - here being Oz, but will see if I can contribute.
BOAC if you boot in "Safe with networking". Then run
msinfo32 in the
Run dialog box - click "Start" and select "Run" dialog box.
Select "Components", "Network", "Adapter". This should show you what network hardware is installed. Scroll down looking for something like this.
Name [00000021] NVIDIA nForce Networking Controller
Adapter Type Ethernet 802.3
Product Type NVIDIA nForce Networking Controller
Installed Yes
PNP Device ID {1A3E09BE-1E45-494B-9174-D7385B45BBF5}\NVNET_DEV07DC\4&31C3B0D8&0&00
Last Reset 21/04/2010 7:48 AM
Index 21
Service Name NVENETFD
IP Address 192.168.1.2
IP Subnet 255.255.255.0
Default IP Gateway 192.168.1.254
DHCP Enabled No
DHCP Server Not Available
DHCP Lease Expires Not Available
DHCP Lease Obtained Not Available
MAC Address 00:1F
0
E:34:A7
Driver c
windows\system32\drivers\nvenetfd.sys (1.00.02.06764, 52.38 KB (53,632 bytes), 20/09/2007 5:07 PM)
Note: the lines relating to IP Addresses and DHCP will be different.
Normally when troubleshooting an XP system I start by looking at the System Log to see what error messages are being generated.
Click "Start" and "Run". Enter "eventvwr.msc" into the dialog box and hit return. Select "System" in the lefthand sidebar and view the system error log.
Highlighting a system message and right-clicking it gives more information about the particular error under "Properties". For networking problems look for any messages relating to TCP/IP (Tcpip) in the Source column.
Another option is to edit the "Boot.ini" file in the root directory, adding the "/bootlog" parameter. This enables all boot operations to be logged in a file "ntbtlog.txt" in the Windows directory. This works in all modes and can indicate which drivers were loaded and which weren't even in the various "Safe" modes.