I have a Windows 2000 pro machine that I cannot get internet on. When I install the ethernet drivers it says "Cable is unplugged" which is not true. After a reboot it fails to start up and gets "Stuck" or frozen at 3/4's loading screen. I have to reformat and reinstall the OS everytime I want to get to my desktop. I have a Windows XP home and another win2kpro machine on the same network that works fine. I dont really understand whats going on and I'm very pissed off. I use the same D-Link 530tx fast ethernet CD that I have always used (Machine owned by dad and he constantly messes it up, used to run windows xp but changed to win2k) and for some reason it isnt working. I replaced the cat-5 cable as it had some damage but it still did not fix the problem. Any help would be appreciated.

You have to start w/ basic diagnostics. There is no sense in constantly reformatting and reinstalling. That's what I call "hospital thinking". The doctors want to operate right away.
The first thing you do is try to boot to safe mode. Press the F8 key as soon as you turn on the machine. A black screen should appear with choices. Use the arrows on the keyboard to choose safe mode with networking. If you get that far, see if you have internet. If you have internet, download msconfig.exe and run it. Go to the startup tab and disable all temporarily. Then open the control panel, admin tools, event viewer. Look for any error messages that might give you a clue. Also, go into the device driver and look for any hardware conflicts. Correct any conflicts and reboot to a normal reboot.
If you can't get to safe mode at all, remove the NIC and try it again. Don't have anything else connected, such as a printer. Make sure that all connections are tight.

Have you tried another Ethernet card?

Life is more painless for those who are brainless.

To get on the internet in Safe-Mode you have to boot to Safe-Mode with networking. When you check the Event Viewer, note the event ID, then look those IDs up here

Fed up with Windows? Try Ubuntu Linux

I'd bet on bad memory.

Today seems like a good day to chew through the restraints.