# disable network connection.



## AntonioCP

*Cannot disable my network connection.*

Hello, I read with hopes your thread in this forum and I would appreciate your help regarding a very similar situation as the one I read here...

I am using Win XP SP2 and am unable to disable my Local Area Connection. When I try I get the following message:

"Error Disabling Connection:
It is not possible to disable the connection at this time. This connection may be using one or more protocols that do not support Plug-and-Play, or it may have been initiated by another user or system account."

Now, the reason I am trying to disable it is because it seems this issue has a lot to do with, and could be the cause of, another problem I am having. This problem is that every time I restart the computer I loose network and internet access and the only way I can recover it is by first uninstalling my Anti Virus & Spy software (which also has a firewall and internet shield) and second by restarting the PC. Even without the Anti Virus & Spy software, and the system restarted with good network and internet access, I cannot disable the Local Area Connection. When I reinstall the Anti Virus & Spy software and restart again, the network works perfectly fine but only until I restart the second time, with the Anti Virus & Spy software installed. Afterwards, when when the computer boots up, access to the network and to the internet is lost again... This is very frustrating. I have had to uninstall and reinstall the Anti Virus & Spy software regularly in order to get around this problem and continue my work safely. I am hoping you can help me with this. 

I am certain the Anti Virus software is not the problem because I have the same software installed in another Win XP machine with no problem at all.

I have a lot of programs installed in my computer, so I am hoping I will not have to reinstall them or Win XP and that there is an easier solution to this, which perhaps has to do with what is described in this thread.

Thank you very much in advance, and here is my report from ipconfig:



Windows IP Configuration



Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : cerebellum

Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . : 

Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Unknown

IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No

WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No



Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection 2:



Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : hsd1.ca.comcast.net.

Description . . . . . . . . . . . : 3Com 3C920 Integrated Fast Ethernet Controller (3C905C-TX Compatible)

Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-E0-81-24-75-83

Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes

Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.3

Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0

Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1

DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1

DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 68.87.76.178

68.87.66.196

Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : Tuesday, May 23, 2006 10:50:06 AM

Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : Tuesday, May 30, 2006 10:50:06 AM


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## johnwill

Even though it appears you're having the same problem, please start a new thread. It's very difficult to keep two problems straight and who's working on what in a single thread. Thanks for your cooperation.


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## johnwill

A big help would have been the name and version number of the application that you keep uninstalling/installing, since that's likely to be the cause of this issue.

Have you tried leaving it uninstalled and rebooting?


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## AntonioCP

*Cannot disable Local Area Network Connection*

Okay, I will post as a new thread.

In regards to what program I am using for internet protection it is F-Secure. However, I hesitated giving the name cause I was afraid you would say that this program is the cause of the problem... The truth is, as I've mentioned above, that this is not the case. F-Secure is not the problem. The issue is with Win XP because when I uninstall F-Secure and clean the system of ALL remains of this program and then reboot, I still cannot disable the Local Area Network connection. Also, as I have mentioned, I have the program installed in another PC with no problems at all. Furthermore, and most important, I could not disable the Local Area Network even before I installed F-Secure the first time.

Thanks for your feedback.


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## johnwill

Withholding information because it may be misinterpreted just makes it harder to diagnose the problem.

Do you have any protocols other than TCP/IP installed?

Try this reset.

*TCP/IP stack repair options for use with Windows XP with SP2.*

For these commands, *Start, Run, CMD* to open a command prompt.

Reset WINSOCK entries to installation defaults: *netsh winsock reset catalog*

Reset TCP/IP stack to installation defaults. *netsh int ip reset reset.log*


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## AntonioCP

Hello, sorry that I was making my problem harder to diagnose.

I notice the following message when performing the "netsh winsock reset catalog" command:
"the following command was not found: 'netsh winsock reset catalog' "

Then I performed the "netsh int ip reset reset.log"command and rebooted.

However nothing has changed I still have the same problem and am unable to disable my Local Area Connection.

Is there anything else I should try or check? Your help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks.


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## johnwill

Hmm...

What you should see when you execute the WINSOCK reset is:

C:\>netsh winsock reset catalog

Sucessfully reset the Winsock Catalog.
You must restart the machine in order to complete the reset.


Are you sure you had the syntax exactly correct? Please cut-n-paste the command and the error from the command prompt if you still get an error.


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## AntonioCP

Hi, thanks for your prompt reply...

I am sure and positive that the syntax is correct. I just tried again and get the same message:
"the following command was not found: 'netsh winsock reset catalog' "

Also, I tried to uninstalling "Internal Protocol (TCP/IP" but the Uninstall tab stays greyed out and I cannot uninstall. I can Uninstall the other 3 items on the list fine though.

If this is helpful to know, I notice that under LAN or High-Speed Internet I have two icons. One for "Local Area Connection 2, Enabled" and the second for "1394 Connection 2, Enabled". I do not know why I need two of these connections as my other PC only has one and works fine. I did not install the network originally, so I wonder if I indeed need both for some reason, or if this could be part of the problem...

I am at a loss, and I will be very greatful if I can solve this. Your help is very appreciated.

Thanks.


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## johnwill

The 1394 is your Firewire, it has nothing to do with our current situation. The real issue is the fact that NETSH is not found, that sounds like your installation is corrupted somehow. I think I'd be thinking about a repair installation of Windows. How to Perform a Windows XP Repair Install


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## j03king

Here is a temp fix. Some people are having these issues after installing SP2 of not being able to disable it via "Network Configurations"

disable it thru DEVICE MANAGER..

SETTINGS | CONTROL PANEL | SYSTEM | Device Manager | Network Adapters >>>> right click on the device you want to disable and choose DISABLE




cheers..


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## j03king

a more precise solution is to enable the ability to DISABLE via gpedit.msc

START | RUN | gpedit.msc

USER CONFIGURATION | Administrative Template | Network Connection | Ability to Enable/Disable LAN Connection <<<<Choose enable


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## j03king

Also another solution incase the above doesnt work.

Start | RUN | cmd 
net stop cryptsvc
ren %systemroot%\System32\Catroot2 oldcatroot2

Reboot your computer.


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## tonygts

j03king said:


> Also another solution incase the above doesnt work.
> 
> Start | RUN | cmd
> net stop cryptsvc
> ren %systemroot%\System32\Catroot2 oldcatroot2
> 
> Reboot your computer.


I also have same problem and the same error message as AntoniaCP's when I disabled the wireless lan connection.

---"Error Disabling Connection:---
It is not possible to disable the connection at this time. This connection may be using one or more protocols that do not support Plug-and-Play, or it may have been initiated by another user or system account."

I have tried as suggested by j03king - enable the lan connection using gpedit.msc and rename Catroot2 to oldCatroot2 after net stop cryptsvc - but I am still having the same problem. Any further advice will be appreciated.


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## machina7

johnwill said:


> Reset WINSOCK entries to installation defaults: *netsh winsock reset catalog*
> 
> Reset TCP/IP stack to installation defaults. *netsh int ip reset reset.log*



Lifesaver - thanks a lot. Never thought to reset the TCP/IP stack. Worked a charm.


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## 2xg

machina7 - We're glad that you have resolved the issue.

Thanks for the feedback.


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