When you "fixed" the registry what did you do? Under XP TCP/IP is a core service, and attempts to uninstall it through a registry change can be disastrous. Alex J notes a possible remedy:
1. Perform a winsock Fix including reinstalling TCP/IP
Reinstall of the TCP/IP protocol to restore Winsock functionality
Step 1: Delete registry keys
A) Open Regedit from the Run line
B) Go to both of the following keys, export each of them, and then delete them:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Winsock
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Winsock2
C) Restart the computer
NOTE: It is important to restart the computer after deleting the Winsock keys. Doing so causes the XP operating system to recreate shell entries for those two
keys. If this is not done, the next step does not work correctly.
Step 2: Install TCP/IP on top of itself
A) Open the properties window of the network connection
B) Click Install
C) Click Protocol, then Add
D) Click Have Disk
E) Type the path to the nettcpip.inf file, for example: c:\windows\inf, and click OK (if you try to click Browse, then browse to the \inf folder, it may not show up in the list).
F) You should now see "Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)" in the list of available protocols. Select it and click OK.
G) Restart the computer
When the computer reboots you will have functional Winsock keys.
NOTE: If the network connection properties contained more than the following three items: Client for Microsoft Networks, File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks, and TCP/IP, then the additional items may need to be removed in order to restore browsing. If those items are needed they can be reinstalled. The reason for removing them is due to those items placing entries into the Winsock keys and those entries will no longer be there.
Side effects and possible problems:
This method will restore basic functionality to the Winsock keys, but is not a complete rebuild. On a default install of Windows XP the registry key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Winsock2\ParametersProtocol_Catalog9\Catalog_Entries - will have 11 sub-keys. When applying this method, the
Catalog_Entries will only have three sub-keys. However, it works and there does not appear to be any side effects. The missing entries relate back to the:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\Parameters\Interfaces key.
Also, third-party proxy software or firewalls may need to be reinstalled.
Now do the WinsockFix repair utility:
This will sort the missing registry items.