I made the update to Service Pack 2 (SP2) a few weeks ago and
I am just now seeing some pretty big glitches caused by the update. Prior to
updating my computer I had no problem tweaking my network configuration to communicate
with my Xbox. I was able to simple open up my LAN Connection and set the IP
adress manually. But with the recent update, I have completely lost my LAN Connection
icon. When I turned to Google for the answer I found out that this is not just
a simple error caused on a few computers, and it's not something that easy to
fix. In fact, there is no solution for the problem that I know of just yet.
When I wrote Microsoft about the problem, they wrote back to me...

Thank you for contacting Microsoft Online Support Service.
My name is Walter, and I'm glad to work with you. For your reference, the case
ID for this service request is SRZ040923001108.From the case log, I understand
that some network connection cannot be shown in Network Connections. I am sorry
for the inconvenience this issue has caused to you. Please understand Microsoft
releases SP2 to fix known issues and increase the stability and security of
Windows XP, and we have tested as much of the software environment as we could
to improve the performance of SP2. However, we cannot guarantee that SP2 can
install perfectly in all computers because every computer has different software
and hardware environments.Thank you for your understanding. Since from our customers'
feedbacks, a few customers encounter the similar problem as you have encountered.Based
on the current situation, I have reported this issue to our Product Group. Since
SP2 was released recently, our developers are collecting users' feedback and
put emphasis on the information you have provided. At this point, I suggest
we temporarily with SP2 uninstalled and wait for the hotfix which I believe
will be released soon to fix this problem. Please also be assured once there's
a solution to this problem be found on our side, I will notify you as soon as
possible.

He then goes on to explain how to remove Service Pack 2 from my
computer. So I removed SP2, which took a very long time to do. Then I found
out that removing SP2 didn't do a thing. It actually made my network even more
messed up and I lost the one visible icon that I had when I had SP2 installed,
the wireless connection. Then I reinstalled SP2 to get my wireless icon back,
and that took longer than uninstalling it. So after installing SP2, uninstalling
it, then reinstalling it, I have been stuck without a connection to my Xbox.
Luckily I'm not at home because I need to alter my LAN to access the internet
from my router. So I can see how big of a problem this can be for some people.

I am doing my best to try to resolve the issue on my own, because
Microsoft doesn't help you online, and the Windows XP Help Center is a piece
of crap that only answers basic questions. I have come across several forums
that discuss this problem, but I have yet to find the answer. When I do find
the answer, which I pray will be soon because I can't live much longer without
communicating with my Xbox, I will post an article here and on every forum possible.
If anyone out there comes across this article before I find the answer, please
post the answer as a comment as a favor to others.