jpivonka
asked on
Can I prevent the absence of a DSL connection from causing system warnings about "network" services problem to be logged?
I have just begun using XP. I have DSL access via PPPOE, which relies on an Ethernet card connected to my DSL modem.
It seems that support for DSL in XP requires two network connections, where only one was visible to me in W98. In addition to my DSL connection over PPOE (WAN miniport) there is a "Local Area Connection" (Lan or High Speed Internet) associated with the Network Interface (Ethernet) Card.
The presence of this second "pseudo LAN" connection appears to have XP's "General Pain in the X" (svchost) convinced that it is managing a local area network. As a result it causes error messages, when the machine starts, and the DSL connection is not present.
Two of these are:
Event Type: Warning
Event Source: Dhcp
Event Category: None
Event ID: 1007
Date: 9/6/2003
Time: 7:31:03 PM
User: N/A
Computer: KRYPTOZOIK
Description:
Your computer has automatically configured the IP address for the Network Card with network address 000nn4AnnD62. The IP address being used is 169.254.54.86.
For more information, see Help and Support Center at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp.
Data:
0000: 00 00 00 00 ....
And:
Event Type: Warning
Event Source: dnscache
Event Category: None
Event ID: 11050
Date: 9/6/2003
Time: 7:34:45 PM
User: N/A
Computer: KRYPTOZOIK
Description:
The DNS Client service could not contact any DNS servers for a repeated number of attempts. For the next 30 seconds the DNS Client service will not use the network to avoid further network performance problems. It will resume its normal behavior after that. If this problem persists, verify your TCP/IP configuration, specifically check that you have a preferred (and possibly an alternate) DNS server configured. If the problem continues, verify network conditions to these DNS servers or contact your network administrator.
For more information, see Help and Support Center at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp.
Data:
0000: 51 27 00 00 Q'..
In the first case, there is of course no IP address required or available unless and until I connect to my ISP using the PPOE connection. When I connect, the ISP issues a "real" IP address dynamically, and it replaces the one assigned automatically. How can I keep the General Pain in the X, svchost, from assigning the uneeded IP address and then complaining about the having to provide an unneeded "local area network" facility? (I am assuming that the warning is the result of svchost not being able to contact a LAN facility for assignment of an IP address.
In the second case, my ISP provides fixed DNS addresses, and these have been entered in the pseudo LAN's IP properties, as well as the properties of the PPPOE connection to the ISP. When my DSL connection is not active, svchost is confused by its false assumption that it should be managing a LAN connection, and issues the warning message. Is there a way to stop svchost (if I am correct in my assumption that it is the service causing the warning to be issued) from looking for DNS servers when I am NOT connected to my DSL provider?
Of course svchost also has to be given access to the internet through the firewall, for these and who knows what other purposes, once a DSL connection is present.....
In general, it seems that the mere presence of an Ethernet card in the machine should not get svchost all hot and bothered over the need to manage LAN facilities until some user intervention or application calls for connection to those facilities.
Thanks for whatever guidance you can give.
It seems that support for DSL in XP requires two network connections, where only one was visible to me in W98. In addition to my DSL connection over PPOE (WAN miniport) there is a "Local Area Connection" (Lan or High Speed Internet) associated with the Network Interface (Ethernet) Card.
The presence of this second "pseudo LAN" connection appears to have XP's "General Pain in the X" (svchost) convinced that it is managing a local area network. As a result it causes error messages, when the machine starts, and the DSL connection is not present.
Two of these are:
Event Type: Warning
Event Source: Dhcp
Event Category: None
Event ID: 1007
Date: 9/6/2003
Time: 7:31:03 PM
User: N/A
Computer: KRYPTOZOIK
Description:
Your computer has automatically configured the IP address for the Network Card with network address 000nn4AnnD62. The IP address being used is 169.254.54.86.
For more information, see Help and Support Center at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp.
Data:
0000: 00 00 00 00 ....
And:
Event Type: Warning
Event Source: dnscache
Event Category: None
Event ID: 11050
Date: 9/6/2003
Time: 7:34:45 PM
User: N/A
Computer: KRYPTOZOIK
Description:
The DNS Client service could not contact any DNS servers for a repeated number of attempts. For the next 30 seconds the DNS Client service will not use the network to avoid further network performance problems. It will resume its normal behavior after that. If this problem persists, verify your TCP/IP configuration, specifically check that you have a preferred (and possibly an alternate) DNS server configured. If the problem continues, verify network conditions to these DNS servers or contact your network administrator.
For more information, see Help and Support Center at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp.
Data:
0000: 51 27 00 00 Q'..
In the first case, there is of course no IP address required or available unless and until I connect to my ISP using the PPOE connection. When I connect, the ISP issues a "real" IP address dynamically, and it replaces the one assigned automatically. How can I keep the General Pain in the X, svchost, from assigning the uneeded IP address and then complaining about the having to provide an unneeded "local area network" facility? (I am assuming that the warning is the result of svchost not being able to contact a LAN facility for assignment of an IP address.
In the second case, my ISP provides fixed DNS addresses, and these have been entered in the pseudo LAN's IP properties, as well as the properties of the PPPOE connection to the ISP. When my DSL connection is not active, svchost is confused by its false assumption that it should be managing a LAN connection, and issues the warning message. Is there a way to stop svchost (if I am correct in my assumption that it is the service causing the warning to be issued) from looking for DNS servers when I am NOT connected to my DSL provider?
Of course svchost also has to be given access to the internet through the firewall, for these and who knows what other purposes, once a DSL connection is present.....
In general, it seems that the mere presence of an Ethernet card in the machine should not get svchost all hot and bothered over the need to manage LAN facilities until some user intervention or application calls for connection to those facilities.
Thanks for whatever guidance you can give.
ASKER
dew, thanks for your help.
No software from the ISP has been installed.
The system has only one network card, integrated on the motherboard. The system is NOT part of a network, though it apparently thinks it is.
When the PPPOE connection was set up using the new connection wizard, the TCP/IP properties were (correctly) set to obtain IP address automatically and to use static DNS addresses. The procedures used were essentially those outlined by the MS knoledgebase article you kindly referred me to, with slight mods for the TCP/IP properties settings.
Your note suggests to me that when I installed XP there may have been a request by the system to run the network setup wizard, presumably due to the presence of the NIC. That was early in June, just before other issues forced me to drop work with the machine for 3 months, so my memory is imperfect. I wonder what the implications of having run the wizard, if I did, might be... and how to reverse them.
No one has yet overtly suggested I might safely delete the Local Area connection labeled "Intel(R) PRO/1000 MT Network Connection". I wonder if I might safely do that?
No software from the ISP has been installed.
The system has only one network card, integrated on the motherboard. The system is NOT part of a network, though it apparently thinks it is.
When the PPPOE connection was set up using the new connection wizard, the TCP/IP properties were (correctly) set to obtain IP address automatically and to use static DNS addresses. The procedures used were essentially those outlined by the MS knoledgebase article you kindly referred me to, with slight mods for the TCP/IP properties settings.
Your note suggests to me that when I installed XP there may have been a request by the system to run the network setup wizard, presumably due to the presence of the NIC. That was early in June, just before other issues forced me to drop work with the machine for 3 months, so my memory is imperfect. I wonder what the implications of having run the wizard, if I did, might be... and how to reverse them.
No one has yet overtly suggested I might safely delete the Local Area connection labeled "Intel(R) PRO/1000 MT Network Connection". I wonder if I might safely do that?
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ASKER
Actually, my XP install has delete grayed out for the local area network facility attached to the on board network interface.
I tried disabling the LAN connection. The result was that I could not use connect to my ISP's DSL facility using PPPoE, the PPPoE connection returned an "error 769: The specified destination is not reachable".
OK, so the LAN has to be there, I guess. But following your logic, I removed TCP/IP from the "This connection uses the following items:" box on the General Tab of the Local Area Connection properties for the LAN Connection. There are now NO checks in that box, the LAN connection is not using any of the "items".
But is allowing the PPPoE connection through to the ISP. (It appears that svchost mediates that process?) And it is no longer throwing the TCP/IP related DHCP and DNS cache errors which concerned me in the first place. Problem solved. Thanks very much for your help.
I tried disabling the LAN connection. The result was that I could not use connect to my ISP's DSL facility using PPPoE, the PPPoE connection returned an "error 769: The specified destination is not reachable".
OK, so the LAN has to be there, I guess. But following your logic, I removed TCP/IP from the "This connection uses the following items:" box on the General Tab of the Local Area Connection properties for the LAN Connection. There are now NO checks in that box, the LAN connection is not using any of the "items".
But is allowing the PPPoE connection through to the ISP. (It appears that svchost mediates that process?) And it is no longer throwing the TCP/IP related DHCP and DNS cache errors which concerned me in the first place. Problem solved. Thanks very much for your help.
Your quite welcome.
Not true, XP only requires one network connection.
1. Did you install any software from your ISP? (Really not necessary)
2. Does this system have a second network card? Is it part of a network of some kind?
3. If you (or your ISP's software-if installed) is configured to obtain an IP address, it will attempt to do so via DHCP.
4. The second error is part of the first one.
See this article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q283/0/70.asp
Dennis