[psychepiper]

Hello again.

I'm having a problem with networking my two computer together.

We got them in 2005 and I remember spending a LOT of time and energy having to network them together the first time and having a crapload of trouble, to include having one of our Internet service techs come out and install something. They need to be networked because the second computer pulls its internet via a wireless router from the first.

With money being tight and all this last December, we let the bill go and they shut off our Internet. The bill is now paid, and after discovering that our modem was bad [it has since been replaced], our Internet is back up on the main computer. However, the second computer is not responding to the network. It's not even recognizing the wireless signal. I've tried everything I can think of, including reinstalling the drivers, but I cannot get it to work.

ANY suggestions on how to repair this would be greatly appreciated.

~Psychepiper

N.B. The second computer had a terrible virus on it. I believe the virus is gone, and I know I need to reformat the computer but have not yet [quite honestly, I'm scared to in lieu of everything else that has happened]. Could this be affecting why it is not recognizing the Internet?

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Hey psychepiper,

They need to be networked because the second computer pulls its internet via a wireless router from the first.

Hmm.. Can you please expand on this? If you have a router, then the second computer shouldn't need to get an Internet connection from the first computer; its connection should come directly from the modem (through the router).

I'm going to refer to the "first computer" (i.e. the one with an Internet connection) as Computer A, and the second computer as B.

On both computers, please do the following:

• Press Start
• Select Run
• Type cmd and press OK
• In the new command prompt window, type ipconfig /all and press the ENTER key.

Please note down, and post the following information (label each as computer A and B respectively, please): IP Address, Default Gateway, Subnet Mask, and DNS Server(s).

N.B. The second computer had a terrible virus on it. I believe the virus is gone, and I know I need to reformat the computer but have not yet [quite honestly, I'm scared to in lieu of everything else that has happened]. Could this be affecting why it is not recognizing the Internet?

This could definitely be the cause of the loss of an Internet connection, but since they're pretty busy over in the Malware forum, I'd like to have a quick look into this before I just send you on over there. Did you lose the Internet when the virus was on your computer? Or at some other point? It may just be co-incidence.

For the next part, I'm hoping you have a USB chip or some way to transfer a file from B to A? If not, don't bother with this step. On Computer B, please try the following:

• Press Start
• Select Run
• Type cmd and press OK
• In the new command prompt window, type tracert google.com > C:\trace.txt and press the ENTER key.

This command will take around a minute or two to complete; once it's done, look on your C: drive for a file called "trace.txt" -- please post the contents of this file on the forum.

One last thing to check would be to see if your Network Card is functioning correctly by checking in Device Manager.

- Dan

[Dan]

Hey psychepiper,

They need to be networked because the second computer pulls its internet via a wireless router from the first.

Hmm.. Can you please expand on this? If you have a router, then the second computer shouldn't need to get an Internet connection from the first computer; its connection should come directly from the modem (through the router).

I'm going to refer to the "first computer" (i.e. the one with an Internet connection) as Computer A, and the second computer as B.

On both computers, please do the following:

• Press Start
• Select Run
• Type cmd and press OK
• In the new command prompt window, type ipconfig /all and press the ENTER key.

Please note down, and post the following information (label each as computer A and B respectively, please): IP Address, Default Gateway, Subnet Mask, and DNS Server(s).

N.B. The second computer had a terrible virus on it. I believe the virus is gone, and I know I need to reformat the computer but have not yet [quite honestly, I'm scared to in lieu of everything else that has happened]. Could this be affecting why it is not recognizing the Internet?

This could definitely be the cause of the loss of an Internet connection, but since they're pretty busy over in the Malware forum, I'd like to have a quick look into this before I just send you on over there. Did you lose the Internet when the virus was on your computer? Or at some other point? It may just be co-incidence.

For the next part, I'm hoping you have a USB chip or some way to transfer a file from B to A? If not, don't bother with this step. On Computer B, please try the following:

• Press Start
• Select Run
• Type cmd and press OK
• In the new command prompt window, type tracert google.com > C:\trace.txt and press the ENTER key.

This command will take around a minute or two to complete; once it's done, look on your C: drive for a file called "trace.txt" -- please post the contents of this file on the forum.

One last thing to check would be to see if your Network Card is functioning correctly by checking in Device Manager.

- Dan

[psychepiper]

Dan:

Just because I don't want you to think I post and ignore, I've printed out your instructions and will get back to you sometime Sunday/Monday.

Thanks so much!

~Rachel [psychepiper]

Oh! And where can I find the "Device Manager?"

Edited by psychepiper, 17 January 2009 - 11:44 AM.

[Dan]

Just because I don't want you to think I post and ignore, I've printed out your instructions and will get back to you sometime Sunday/Monday.

Not a problem Thanks for letting me know.

Oh! And where can I find the "Device Manager?"

On Windows XP, you can get into Device Manager by doing the following:

• Press the Start button
• Select Run
• Type devmgmt.msc and press OK

You'll need to look under the Network adapters section and ensure that your Network Card is running correctly (i.e. no yellow "!'s" or red x's).

One other thing you could try would be to see if your computer can connect to the Internet in Safe Mode with Networking, as this will rule out firewall/software interference.

- Dan

[psychepiper]

OK. Here is the situation:

Computer A:

IP Address - 192.168.1.64
Default Gateway - 192.168.1.254
Subnet Mask - 255.255.255.0
DNS Server - 192.168.1.254

*THERE IS NOTHING FOR COMPUTER B.*

And interestingly, I noticed when I did ipconfig on both computers, it read, "IP Routing Enabled....no."
[I don't know if that would have any bearing on the problem at hand or not, but I figured I'd mention it.]


Secondly, I did not have a USB chip, so that step was a moot point.

Thirdly, according to Device Manager, everything is working fine on both computers.

~Rachel

N.B. Regarding the virus: It was that "Antivirus 2008." I got it on my computer at the end of the July, and for the most part it was still functional until the end of November [I held out so long so until I got a removable drive onto which I moved all my important files.] Ever since the end of November, I had not been able to make it past one minute after reboot before the computer would freeze. I was told by several that since I could not remove it AT ALL, I was going to have to reformat the computer. Which I have not done yet. Like I said, if you feel I should do that first before we go further, I understand, just let me know.

[Dan]

I have a bad feeling that the virus is causing your dramas, but I really hate suggesting that a "format" is a solution. Normally, I would redirect you to our Malware forum, as they are extremely skilled at cleaning up machines, but since you have no way to move files to that computer, it could be a problem. As a last ditched effort to restore Internet on the PC, please try the following:

• Press Start
• Select Run
• Type cmd
• In the new command prompt window, please type the following two commands:
  
  • netsh winsock reset catalog
  • netsh int ip reset reset.log
• Once the two commands are finished, please restart the computer and then attempt to connect to the Internet; are you able to?

If not, I would still suggest that you try following the steps here as the Malware staff may have some way of assisting you. I just don't like reformatting computers

But, if you'd prefer to reformat, then you may do so.

- Dan