Question : XP Pro won't connect to the internet

I am working on  older machine (PIII 800 mhz) for a friend that is on a home network.  It would find the correct IP etc but would not connect to the internet.  All my searches indicated that it was a problem with the OS so I formatted the hard drive and reinstalled XP Pro with no other software loaded yet.  All hardware is working and I have checked automatically detect settings under LAN options.  When I type an IPCONFIG /ALL - I get all the appropriate information - Correct IP, Subnet, Gateway, DNS server, etc. but Internt Explorer still says PAGE CANNOT BE DISPLAYED  - CANNOT FIND SERVER OR DNS ERROR.   I can ping the router but not the DNS server.  Any suggestions?

Answer : XP Pro won't connect to the internet

Does any other computer on the network get internet connectivity? Compare the settings.

The fact that you can ping the router but not anything after the router looks like the problem is on the router.  Do a traceroute to the DNS server and see if the trace gets beyond the routers internal IP address.  

Go on to the router and see the WAN ports status.  Is it Static, PPPOE or DHCP? Did it get an external address?  

Is the router doing any port blocking? Does it have firewall functionality?  If so what are the settings?

Hope this helps.

-Cloz