I use the same Ethernet cable for this PC so i know thats ok. Dry joints......seems doubtful to be on all 3 units. (i know all 3 were working networkly before the company sold them off) The Ethernet card is on board, as in fixed straight to the mother board. I used the same XP Pro instal disk as i put on here (and on my LapTop Sunday) so thats fine.
It is most perplexing, it does sort of say the disk......but
Universal Eyes: I have downloaded the up to date drivers for that pc onto a USB stick, and installed them from there, so they should be ok.
MadMonkey: It does sound like the original IBM install disk that the company used are quirky and are a little different from a straight forward windows XP disk. I'd try and get hold of them if you can.
Universal Eyes: The disk that came with me PC was as such made for the machine.. All the drivers to get the PC going are on that disk as well as windows xp.
I don't know why some pc manufacturers have to make things so awkward but they do. It maybe that microsoft are/ have played silly games on 'copyright'. As I know they can!!