[ck_evac]

Hi,

I have been having network problems ever since I upgraded my laptop from Win98SE to Win XP. It says the computer is connected to my home network, but the packets sent and recieved stays at zero. I went through your home network tutorial and it said that if my "Address Type" did not say "Assigned by DHCP" I should ask for help. Mine says "Automatic Private Address" next to "Address Type". I also noticed that your tutorial said that my IP Address should not start with a 169 or a 172. Well mine starts with a 169. So if you have any suggestions I would be very greatful.

Thank you in advance!

Ryan

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if you assign static IP, can you ping other computer? Or you may need to upgrade the NIC driver.

[chicagotech]

if you assign static IP, can you ping other computer? Or you may need to upgrade the NIC driver.

[thenotch]

If you are getting a 169 IP address the following apply:

1. You are not connecting to the DHCP server or it isn't running
2. Your network card is bad or you have a faulty ethernet cable
3. You have the wrong type of cable (you might need a crossover cable depending on how you are connecting to your router)

And a very probable cause would be

4. You are behind a firewall or have a fire enabled on your system and it is blocking your connection to the DHCP server.

You need to check all those things... You can test the card and cable by assigning yourself a static IP address and then trying to ping another computer or the router on your network. If the ping is successful that will eliminate the cable for sure, the card - probably, and then I would say it's probably the firewall.

[ck_evac]

thanx for the reply.

I'm not sure how to set a static IP address or how to ping another computer. I am pretty sure that it is not a hardware problem. I have tried 2 different NIC cards, and both said that the computer connects to my home network, but the packets sent and recieved stays at zero. I have also tried using a wireless NIC, since I have 2 computers in the house that are connected to the network wirelessly, but that doesn't work either. It says there are no available wireless networks in range even though I have the laptop a foot away from the router, and the other 2 computers with wireless cards can detect not only my home network, but also 2 other netowrks that I'm assuming are neighbours. Finally, I tried hooking the laptop up to my DSL modem directly and completely taking the router out of the equation, but that didn't work either. It said that the computer could not communicate with the modem. It is very frustrating, especially since it was all working just fine before I installed windows XP. I'm about ready to punt the thing over the fence!

Any suggestions?

[OldTimer]

Hi ck_evac. Are you still having a problem connecting? If so, let's check a few things.

What make/model network card are you using? Have you installed the manufacturer's drivers for the card (XP likes to install its own drivers for some hardware that do not work as well as the manufacturer's drivers)?

What make/model PC are you using?

Are there any firewalls installed and active (Windows firewall or a firewall from a 3rd party)?

Let'sstart with that and then go from there.

Cheers.

OT