um, well, your motherboard is one of the crucial pieces of hardware; it's basically like the nervous system of the computer.
you need to install the drivers for that particular piece of hardware to be able to use the onboard functions like ethernet.
what kind of computer do you have?
I can't tell what kind of motherboard I have but the PC is a Gateway Profile 4XL
go here and download drivers for your computer: http://support.gateway.com/support/drivers/ddastep.asp
make sure they are for your computer, though.
but i thought these companies would use components that use generic xp drivers. weird.
go to device manager, and remove everything with a yellow question mark next to it. Reboot computer and it windows will detect new hardware again and reinstall it. That should get you back online, its done it for me in the past.
Aqua-Soft Forums