LAN Connection missing - error code 45

Hi i've had a problem i've been trying to fix for a a few days now. I've got a 3 year old sony vaio model PCG-4F1M (which i think is the vaio vgn-tx1xp) running windows XP

A friend gave it to me and asked me to fix it.

Basically the LAN connection was missing from the Network Connections. The Wireless Network Connection and the 1394 are both there. On the laptop, i can connect to the internet over wireless, but when i plug in an ethernet cable, i can't connect over ethernet.

My first suspicion was that this was a driver issue, so i tried to reinstall the sony vaio driver for WirelessLAN. This didn't solve the problem.

I've somehow managed to get the LAN connection back (though its not a constant thing.) But when i check the device status i get this message:

"Currently, this hardware device is not connected to the computer. (Code 45). To fix this problem, reconnect this hardware device to the computer."

Device Manager under Network Adapters shows only two devices.
1) 1394 Net Adapter
2) Intel (R) PRO/Wireless 2200BG Network Connection

What's also strange is that when i right clicked the LAN connection and went to properties, i found that the LAN connection is set to Connect Using:

Bluetooth PersonalArea Network from Toshiba.


I'm not sure what that means, considering this is a sony vaio laptop. What i think is that someone reconfigured the LAN connection to only connect through a bluetooth device by toshiba, which makes no sense. And i can't figure out how to get the LAN connection to go back to just using the ethernet port.

Can anyone offer any advice? My friend asked for my help with this, but i'm stumped!