Would I be better off starting a new network from scratch?

[crippledman]

Hello,

We have 2 desktop computers connected through the router by Ethernet and a laptop connected Wi-Fi. We had a shared network external hard drive for backing up files. Whenever I logged in to the HD web site to access her files the connection always would show an exclamation mark beside a statement saying that there were network connection problems with her desktop. As a result I could not access her files through the web site. I am running Windows XP Pro on my desktop and my wife is running Windows 7 Home Edition  64 bit on her desktop and also on the laptop. Until the past month or so, we used the external HD for several months with no problems, (with network connections on any of the computers). We also use Network Magic which helps me because I know little about networking. I have since disconnected the HD and will be installing a new one, but I want to take care of this problem first.

I can still access her documents, pictures, etc from my computer through Network Magic or Windows Explorer and she can do likewise and also has internet access.  Due to the message and access problems to the external HD I checked the Event Log and every time the computer is rebooted the same three errors below are shown. I checked the Device Manager and it shows that the network controller is working and no conflicts. I have also updated the driver, but no changes. I don't know if the 3 errors are related, but they seem to be the same problems, all together each time the computer is started. What would be the easiest way to delete our current network connections and start from scratch in setting up a network. 

I'm not sure what all information I need to provide, but I would sure appreciate it if anyone can help me out. I have googled the event IDs and the mrtRate.Sys with no results, that I can understand anyway. I have no clue what the mrtRate service is or what program uses it.

These are the 3 errors always showing:

Warning!
RTL8167, Event ID 1
Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller is disconnected from network.

Error!
Service Control Manager, Event ID 7000
The mrtRate service failed to start due to the following error:
This driver has been blocked from loading

Error!
Application Popup, Event ID 1060
\SystemRoot\SysWow64\Drivers\mrtRate.SYS has been blocked from loading due to incompatibility with this system. Please contact your software vendor for a compatible version of the driver.
 
Thank you for reading my post.

[Geek-9pm]

Error!
Application Popup, Event ID 1060
\SystemRoot\SysWow64\Drivers\mrtRate.SYS has been blocked from loading due to incompatibility with this system. Please contact your software vendor for a compatible version of the drive

This may be the source of the problem. See if you can resolve this issue.

Are you using Avast? If so, it is the cause of the problem.
Please respond. There are other members here who will catch your reply and came back with more details.

[crippledman]

Thanks for responding. Yes we are using Avast on all three computers. I have always been happy with Avast, but I will change if necessary. Any issues with others like AVG, etc ?

[soybean]

Are you using Avast? If so, it is the cause of the problem.

How do you know this?  Any references to this being a known problem with avast!?

[Geek-9pm]

How do you know this?  Any references to this being a known problem with avast!?

It is documented on the Avast web site and they are doing or have a fix for the issue.
The key expression is:
\SystemRoot\SysWow64\Drivers\mrtRate.SYS has been blocked from loading
http://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=40345.0
Please read it and tell me what it says. I have a hard time reading it.

You should not have to remove Avast. It is a false AV hit.

[crippledman]

I went to the Avast link which discusses the mrtrate.sys problem. It was dated in 2008 but the first post mentions the cause related to an older version of Quicken. My wife's computer had an older version on it so I uninstalled it and installed an updated version. This took care of both mrtrate probelms I listed.

There is still an issue with the network controller as I still receive the following error: 
Warning!
RTL8167, Event ID 1
Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller is disconnected from network.

I don't understand this because the devise manager says it's working and I can access files on my computer from hers and likewise in accessing her files from mine. She shares the printer connected to my computer and has no printing problems. If it weren't for the problems I had before with the external HD I would probably give up, but I would like to resolve it before I install my new external HD.

I really appreciate the help in correcting the mrtrate error problems. If anyone can help me with this issue I will be a happy man. Even if I have to start a new network I would appreciate some guidance in getting rid of the one I have.

Thanks again.