windows problems

[TheGrOgStEr]

I've got two of them:
1. when I try to install a program that I downloaded off the internet..
in this case 2 of the ATI 9700 demo screen savers, or seeryus photo editor.
I get a message saying
"The Windows Installer Service could not be accessed. This can occur if you are running windows in safe mode, or if the Windows Installer is not correctly installed. Contact your support personnel for assistance." OK

I checked in windows services and enabled anything that had to do with installing and nothing helped

it's happening more and more frequent, the most stuff I get.


problem #2
This one is with my network settings.. one day when I decided to go to a LAN party, I needed to change some settings to my local area connection, but guess what, there weren't any, anymore. I had a dial up connection and 2 other connections on there previously. (1394 and local area connection)
all gone..
so i figure, thats fine i'll just create more. oh how wrong I was.
I clicked on Set up a home of small office network, nothing loaded. DAMN
I click on Create new connection. it pops up, so i decide to creat a dial up account to see.. nothing.. DAMN!!!

so any help would be greatly appreciated, mostly for problem 1, If i spend time on it I can probably fix problem 2 myself.

thanks

[Vile]

1. It could be an issue with the software you are installing. Exactly what is it you were attempting to install.

2. Your network card should at least show up. If your "local area connection" just disappeared for some reason, you need to reinstall it. Right click my computer-->properties-->hardware tab-->device mangaer. From here, look under Network Adapters. If your Network card is not displayed, I would recommend pulling it out of your PCI slot, and putting it back in (you could even try another PCI slot)
After this, windows will detect the hardware and should install the drivers automatically. Now go back to Control Panel, Network connections and your NIC should be displayed.

[silent_dr3am]

1. Sounds like MSI file you downloaded may have been some how corrupted, I had a simillar problem, it was the particular file, rather then the MSI installer system its self. What is the format of the files u have downloaded?


2. What vile says sounds like a good idea. Cant think of anything to add... :p

[TheGrOgStEr]

I forgot to mention what my computer is..

laptop
1.7GHz Centrino
1 gig ram
60gig hdd
XP Pro SP2

my network card is integrated

I can view my network card, it's when I click on Network Connections
that I can't see anything.

I went to change windows firewall settings and clicked on the Advanced tab.
and it said,
"The network connection settings have become corrupted. To fix this, click Restore Defaults. This will delete all of your settings for Windows Firewall, and it might cause some programs to stop working"

so I did that and only the stuff in my Exceptions tab.
any more suggestions?

[Vile]

I forgot to mention what my computer is..

laptop
1.7GHz Centrino
1 gig ram
60gig hdd
XP Pro SP2

my network card is integrated

I can view my network card, it's when I click on Network Connections
that I can't see anything.

I went to change windows firewall settings and clicked on the Advanced tab.
and it said,
"The network connection settings have become corrupted. To fix this, click Restore Defaults. This will delete all of your settings for Windows Firewall, and it might cause some programs to stop working"

so I did that and only the stuff in my Exceptions tab.
any more suggestions?

Check BIOS to make sure the onboard LAN is still enabled, or reinstall the drivers for it using the CD that came with your motherboard.