Recently I switched from a two-way satellite internet connection to a wireless broadband connection (through Yless4U). The satellite modems used to connect through a USB port, but the new connection is an Ethernet cable. The new Yless4U connection appears in the “Network Connections” window and works perfectly until I restart the computer. Once the computer is restarted the connection disappears from the Network Connections control panel and is not accessible, requiring me to reconfigure the entire connection from scratch. One other odd aspect is that Windows will not let me reconfigure the connection until I go to the “Control Panel” > “Internet Options” and delete the connection from the “Connections” tab. The computer is running Windows XP Home Edition.

When researching this problem I found several other users also experience this issue, but unfortunately there is no one universal solution which will fix this problem in all scenarios, as there are several different potential causes of the issue. First, it is possible that the network connection is still installed on the computer, but just has disappeared from the Network Connections control panel. This is a known issue in some installations of Windows XP and there is a Microsoft Knowledge Base article (support.microsoft.com/kb/825826) which deals with this exact issue. The instructions contained within this knowledge base article are quite detailed, so you should print these instructions and follow them carefully. Be aware, some of the instructions ask you to modify the Windows system registry. This is a sensitive part of Windows which holds many of the configuration settings which allow Windows and its systems to operate correctly. If you accidentally misconfigure any of the registry settings this could cause major unintended side-effects. Therefore, make sure you exercise extreme caution when editing any of the Windows registry settings, and if you are uncomfortable with making such changes then I suggest you seek the advice of a computer consultant who has the experience to make these changes.

Should the problem persist after following the steps within the knowledge base article, it is possible there is a corruption within Windows which is causing the network connection to disappear. I have seen this issue on other computers, where some critical system files have become corrupted and are affecting the ability of Windows to recognise the network connection and thus makes it disappear within the Network Connections control panel. As a first step towards diagnosing this issue, try running the Windows System File Checker. Go to the “Start” menu > “Run” and type ?sfc /scannow? (without the quotes) and then click OK. Make sure you put a space between the “sfc” and “/scannow” switch in the command, otherwise this will not work. The System File Checker utility will launch, and commence scanning your computer for any missing or corrupt Windows files. Where such files are found, fresh copies of the file(s) will be placed onto your computer. During this process you may be prompted to insert your Windows XP CD to ensure that new versions of the corrupt or missing files can be copied, so make sure you have your Windows XP CD handy. If your computer is a brand-name machine and did not come with such a CD don’t panic ? it is likely the Windows files have been locally copied onto the computer by the computer manufacturer. In this case, the System File Checker should detect the files on your computer and automatically use these to replace any corrupt files which may currently be present. Once the System File Checker has completed its operation it will exit silently with no user feedback. After this has happened, restart the computer and check whether the problem persists.

If running the System File Checker also did not resolve the problem, you may need to attempt a repair installation of Windows. A repair installation goes one step further than the System File Checker. While the System File Checker determines whether any files are corrupt or missing and replaces such files, a full repair installation of Windows completely replaces all Windows system files, regardless of whether they are missing or corrupt. Be aware, while this process should only replace Windows system files, and not any other personal data, things could go wrong resulting in personal data being lost. Therefore, before commencing this procedure I strongly recommend that you have a full backup of all data you wish to keep, just in case. Once you have a full backup, insert your Windows XP CD into the CD-ROM drive and restart the computer. A message should appear instructing you to press a key to boot from the CD. Do as the message says, and the Windows XP setup should load. Once the setup has finished loading you will be presented with several options. DO NOT select the option to open the repair console. This is something completely different, which you do not wish to do. Instead, press ENTER to “Setup Windows XP now”. The Windows licence agreement will appear, which you can accept (or decline, as you wish…). The setup will scan the computer for any existing Windows XP installations. This should detect your current Windows XP installation and present this within a list. Select the existing Windows XP installation within the list and press R to commence the repair installation.

Be aware, if the R option is not available, or your Windows XP installation does not appear in the list, this indicates your Windows XP installation is completely corrupt and may require a clean reinstallation of Windows. If this is the case, then please contact me for further advice. Assuming the R option is available, this will commence the repair installation. Once the Windows files have copied, the computer will restart.

When the same message appears advising to press any key to boot from the CD, DO NOT do as instructed ? you do not want the computer to boot from the CD. Instead, Windows will commence the setup from the files which were copied to the hard drive. When this is happening, it will look like Windows is performing a new installation, but this should just be a repair installation. Once the repair installation is complete, Windows will start and all your data and personal settings should still be intact. Hopefully this will resolve the problem with the disappearing network connection.