hi, i have a desktop computer running xp pro and a laptop running xp pro on my home network. The laptop is connected wirelessly and the desktop is wired to the router. The router im using is a linksys 802.11g 2.4Ghz. Until i get cable im sharing a 56k on the network, with the desktop being the ICS host. The laptop connects fine and can ping the router. The desktop on the other hand, will connect to the router but cannot ping it. I just get timouts when i try to ping. Ive been through the linksys knowledge base to no avail most likely because im using 56k and not cable in which thier help tutorials are based on. the network ip address is always a 169.254.xx.xx whereas it should be a 192.168.x.x Ive tried many different ways of fixing this problem including making a static ip adress for the desktop but it still doesnt work. If i set the desktop to DHCP i just end up with an ip of 0.0.0.0 which wont renew unless i restart in which it goes back to the 169 ip address. I cannot get the internet on my laptop because the desktop is not sending out anything. The desktop connection says its conected to the router though. If anyone has any ideas on how to fix this, it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Which port is the desktop connected to the router? If it is the WAN, it is the wrong one.

its connected to port1 of the router

Has DHCP been disabled in the router? However disabling will lose your wireless connection unless set manually.

DHCP is enabled on the router

Since a static ip is not working they most not actually be conected. Try a different port on the router. different patch cable (make sure it is NOT a cross over) or a different NIC card. If you can try another computer that you know works and plug it into the router and see if it acquires an ip address.

WinXP by default installs w/its software firewall enabled. Either disable the firewall or set it to accept IP range 192.168.0.1 through 192.168.255.255 as "trusted".