I went and installed SP1, and for a while, things were OK. Then I tried changing the speed with which I connect to my bro's computer via crossover cable. As soon as I clicked OK, icq suddenly died. I went to check my mail, but it couldn't reach the server. So I though maybe the cable went down. I later restarted, and now I could get an IP, but I couldn't get on the net, nor could I connect to my bro's pc. AtGuard used to show 10 or so connections or open ports, but now it always shows 0.

I uninstalled and reinstalled the SP, and even tried using a System State restore (after installing sp1), but to no avail. After the SS restore, the ports showed up again (only once), then failed to work. I uninstalled and reinstalled TCP/IP with and without the service pack, to no avail.

I got really desparate and went into safe mode, copying tcpip.sys and ipnat.sys off the win2k cd into the winnt\system32\drivers directory. Now I can get on the net, but AtGuard is still completely defunct. It shows that it's running, but it neither blocks nor logs any ads or cookies. The firewall still seems to work, though (but I never use it anyway).

If anyone could provide some insight into this, I would be pretty happy. For the record, I've got a 3com Etherlink III ISA and a D-Link 530TX (3com for cable, D-Link for LAN).

I'm not familiar with AtGuard, dut it is probably similar to ZoneAlert and BlackIce Defender.

If so, then both of these programs required a patch in order to work properly after SP1 was installed.

As AtGuard is now owned by Symantec, you may want to check their web site for any updates.

Yeah, I know about the little affair with AtGuard and Symantec. Bought AtGuard for $15, and Symantec sells it for, what, $60 now?

Anyways, I thought I'd try to run ZoneAlarm, but IT fails to function as well. Its status lights will flicker, and it'll count the bytes, but it won't perform any function a or a firewall. The hell? Man, this wasn't covered in my NT class.

I had a problem with zonealarm, if it was even installed, I got no network. I uninstalled it and my network was back up.

My suggestion. Uninstall all firewall apps, reinstall tcp/ip and get your network up and running. reinstall drivers also if necessary. Once you are up and running, then try your firewall again, with the proper patches if there are any.

good luck

ZoneAlarm needs the patch that's on the frontpage after SP1.
Don't forget to enter the second PC's IP/subnet mask in the advanced security settings if you haven't done so already.
I have no idea about AtGuard but ZoneAlarm works as usual after the patch ...

Yes, it seems that the SP screwed up the firewalls and made them work against me. As per your instructions, I removed AtGuard, ZoneAlarm, and then TCP/IP, and reinstalled them in reverse order, and now everything SEEMS to be working ok. But now, ZoneAlarm won't count any data that is sent out via Napster, which is really weird. I sometimes send out over 2 gigs of data over a weekend.

But thanks a lot for your help in solving this IP murder mystery.