[Albino]

Hey guys,

I've been wired to a belkin router for a while now after my wireless card just wasn't up to scratch - the connection was unstable. Anyway, a couple of nights ago it simply disconnected and has since not reconnected, despite my best attempts. I have removed the wireless card but that doesn't help. The networking symbol in the bottom right corner on the taskbar shows an exclamation mark - it tries to "acquire network address" for a while, then stops with "little or no connectivity".

I'm at a loss what to do and I don't know why this sort of thing would just happen out of the blue - I haven't altered my computer in anyway, no installing, no deleting, no nothing.

I'd appreciate any help you could lend me, thanks.


Tim

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Step 1 - Ensure that your ethernet cable is securely connected to both your network card and your router. Unhook both ends and re-hook them up just to verify. Check the lights on the router as well as your NIC to ensure they are lit after you connect both ends.

Step 2 - Right click on Network Neighborhood and choose Properties. Right click on your wired connection and choose "Repair". If it fixed it you should have an IP and all should be well, if not...

Step 3 - Reboot your computer.

Step 4 - Repeat Step 2 - If you still have a problem then we need to go further...

[thenotch]

Step 1 - Ensure that your ethernet cable is securely connected to both your network card and your router. Unhook both ends and re-hook them up just to verify. Check the lights on the router as well as your NIC to ensure they are lit after you connect both ends.

Step 2 - Right click on Network Neighborhood and choose Properties. Right click on your wired connection and choose "Repair". If it fixed it you should have an IP and all should be well, if not...

Step 3 - Reboot your computer.

Step 4 - Repeat Step 2 - If you still have a problem then we need to go further...

[Albino]

Thanks for your reply.

I did try that "repair" option, but it always became stuck on "renewing your IP address" and then fails to go any further. I've tried disabling then renabling the connection, but this still doesn't work.

The connection is fine I think, I've unplugged and replugged everything, and anotehr computer is connected to the router with no problems.

I have scanned my computer for any viruses or malware and there is nothing present, so I have no idea what it could be.

[thenotch]

If you open up a command line (start --> run --> CMD) and type in ipconfig /all what is your output? Are you getting a 0.0.0.0 or a 169.x.x.x IP or are you getting a no network device found error?

What I would probably do next is uninstall the NIC, then shut down the PC, remove the NIC completely from the system, restart the system again, then shut it down once more, reinstall the NIC and see if Windows picks it up.

[Albino]

Hey, I did the ipconfig/all and it came up with some information, none of it contained an 0.0.0.0 but there was a 169.x.x.x address.

NIC? I've just plugged the ethernet cable straight into my motherboard so I don't know if I have a NIC.

[thenotch]

169.x.x.x tells me that at least the system knows you have a network adapter (that'd be the NIC I mentioned), but that does not mean it's functioning properly.

Since it is part of your motherboard you cannot remove it as I mentioned but you can however go into device manager, find the device, right click it and choose uninstall and then once it is uninstalled, reboot your system and the hardware manager should find it and try to reinstall it.

Be sure that you have the drivers for the device before you do this (they would have been included with your motherboard).

Edited by thenotch, 29 November 2006 - 04:49 PM.

[Albino]

Hey again, thanks again for your reply.


I tried what you suggested, uninstalling and reinstalling, but still it doesn't work.

Could it be a conflict of devices or something? I really have no idea, but I read somewhere this could cause a lack of connection.

[thenotch]

If that didn't work it's really narrowed down to a few things.

One, the on-board network interface is damaged in some way.
Two, you have a faulty network cable.
Three, you have some sort of driver or network stack error.

I would replace the network cable first. If that does not fix it then I would either borrow or purchase a 10/100 card to use instead of the built-in interface and install it and see if you can pull an IP. If you cannot then it very likely could be a driver or OS issue.

[Albino]

Hey again,

I have three belkin routers, two old models and one more recent. I have three because sometimes the others didn't work I think. Anyway, I decided to see if my connection would work with another of these, and lo and behold it did work fine. Problem is I can't use that router for other reasons, so is the fact it's something to do with the router that would help? Maybe my computer isn't allowing it to send information or maybe....I don't know, but does that help at all?

[thenotch]

So let me see if I am tracking here...
You connected the non-working computer to a different router and you were able to pull an IP but with the same computer and the original router you cannot pull an IP?

If that is the case it is not the computer of the network card.

You said another computer is hooked to this router and works fine? Can you take your non working computer and connect it to the port on the router that the other computer is using to see if you can get an IP? If you do then most likely the original port the computer that wasn't working was using is bad.

[Albino]

So let me see if I am tracking here...
You connected the non-working computer to a different router and you were able to pull an IP but with the same computer and the original router you cannot pull an IP?

That's right, yes. There is another computer wired to the same router and one wirelessly linked too, and these both worked in the original router too. When I switched ports the other two computers continued to recieve the internet fne, but my computer still would not.

[thenotch]

* The pc works with a new router, but not the old.
* Other pc's work on both the old and new router.
* All ports checked on old router and other pc's can connect on any router port except the pc we are working with.
* Network cable replaced
* DHCP obviously working on pc as it pulls IP with new router.

Have we verified any firewall that is installed? If you have one installed it could possibly be blocking your connection to the DHCP server in the router. Also, if you have one installed I would disable it for now for testing purposes. If you can connect after that then it is a firewall setting, if not, and you are sure the firewall is disabled, then i'm thinking more along the lines of an internal router configuration issue relating to the current pc.

[Albino]

All those points are correct yes, and as for the firewall.... I did use to have a few problems with Sygate firewall, which sometimes for no reason at all would prevent me recieving any internet connection all of a sudden. What I did was to click "repair" in Add/Remove programs, and that usually worked, but one time it didn't, so I uninstalled it, so as far as I know there shouldn't be any trace of it on my PC. As for firewall now, all I have as far as I know is the standard windows XP firewall, which I've tried turning to "off" but still has no affect.

I tried the old router again and it didn't work, so I think that it must be something along the lines of my PC preventing information from it to be accepted because some setting must've changed somehow, because like I said, I did absolutely nothing to cause this to happen. Bit strange really!

Edited by Albino, 02 December 2006 - 03:19 PM.