[burekbeba]

I am at my wit's end here. I spent an hour on the phone with Netgear and they couldn't help me either. I'm willing to hit someone's tip jar HARD for a solution to this problem.

The problem:
My Sony Vaio FS780W laptop has been working on my home network for nearly three years. The last time it worked properly was this past New Years, when I took it to the hospital and used it on their wireless network. When I brought it back home, it wouldn't access our home network anymore. Thinking it was a problem with the onboard Wi-Fi (since all our other devices access the network just fine), I took it to a local computer repair shop where, lo and behold, it got on the internet just fine. And it also goes online at the coffee shop down the street, my office at work, and at the hospital I mentioned earlier (in fact, I just used it there a few days ago). But it will not go online at home anymore.

The maddening thing is it shows the happy little wireless icon as being connected, the signal strength is "strong", yet I cannot access the internet, I cannot login to my router from the computer (whereas I could before, when it was working properly), all pings return "Ping request could not find host [insert web site url here]. Please check the name and try again." Pinging the network (192.168.1.1) returns "Request timed out" errors.

Yesterday, I decided to do a "quick" restore of just the operating system on the laptop. This function restores the operating system, but does not disturb the existing data. I was hopeful that would shake out the problem. This procedure is done from within the Windows Control Panel and takes about half an hour. I left it "restoring" and went upstairs where my desktop is to get some work done.

HERE'S WHAT IS INTERESTING: While upstairs, I had ICQ on. Then all of a sudden, I got a popup from ICQ saying my account was being used on another computer. Hmm. I went downstairs to check on the laptop's restore progress and I saw with my own eyes that the thing was actually logged into ICQ, so at some point during this restore process, it was able to go online. However, once the restore process was complete, and the computer rebooted, we went back to not being able to connect to the internet. Thinking that taking the system down to bare bones would help, I did the scorched earth restore and wiped the drive, reinstalled everything from the ground up. The laptop is now in "off the shelf" state. (I backed up all my data of course.) I also have upgraded my router's firmware AND upgraded the wireless card drivers via a memory stick from the Sony web site. So everything should be good to go.

And still, the problem of not being able to access the internet persists. The Sony Vaio Wireless Assistant attempts to troubleshoot the problem and returns this error message: "The internet gateway is not responding. Make sure your access point is working properly."

Now I have set up many devices on our network. I have that key memorized. I have checked and rechecked the settings, made sure that my computer is in the proper workgroup (since it resets to "mshome" when you reinstall windows), made sure the key was shared, 64bit, key 2, etc. Everything should work.

Other than buying a new laptop or taking the entire network down (which I really don't want to do, since I have four working devices and one nonworking one, I'm not willing to risk five nonworking devices), I'm all out of ideas and hope!

Any thoughts? Anything I missed?

Let me know what further specific information you need.

[Dan]

Hey burekbeba -- welcome to G2G

Thanks for making such an in-depth post -- it helps

Question: What happens when you connect your laptop to the router with an Ethernet cable? Can you acquire a connection that way?

Please do the following information-gathering steps (you will need some form of removable media -- i.e. a USB chip -- in order to post the information):

Step 1 - Connectivity test:

• Press Start
  
• Select Run
  
• Type cmd and press OK
  
• In the new command prompt window, please type the following commands (*Note: each ping will take approximately 10 seconds to complete; wait for the command prompt to return before you type the next one. Also, the single '>' and double '>>' are intentional; please type the commands exactly as they appear):
  • ipconfig /all > C:\results.txt
    
  • route print >> C:\results.txt
    
  • ping localhost >> C:\results.txt
    
  • ping google.com >> C:\results.txt
    
  • ping 209.85.171.100 >> C:\results.txt
    
  • tasklist /svc >> C:\results.txt
  
  
• Once the above commands have completed, navigate to your C: drive and open the text file results.txt -- please copy/paste the contents of this file into your next response.

To be honest, I keep thinking "software interference" -- however you state that you did a format? If that's the case, I can't see any way that software could be getting in the way, but I would like to check it anyway.

Step 2: Start your machine in a clean boot state:

• Click Start, click Run, type msconfig, and then click OK
  
• In the new window, select the General tab and then select Selective Startup
  
• Click to clear the Process SYSTEM.INI File check box.
  
• Click to clear the Process WIN.INI File check box.
  
• Click to clear the Load Startup Items check box. Verify that Load System Services and Use Original BOOT.INI are checked.
  
• Click the Services tab.
  
• Click to select the Hide All Microsoft Services check box.
  
• Click Disable All, and then click OK.
  
• When you are prompted, click Restart to restart the computer.

When the computer reboots, are you able to connect to the Internet?
*Note: To return Windows to a normal startup mode, please do the following:

• Select Start, and then click Run.
  
• Type msconfig, and then click OK.
  
• Click the General tab, click Normal Startup - load all device drivers and services, and then click OK. When you are prompted, click Restart to restart the computer.

Step 3 - Event Log/Viewer errors/warnings:

• Click Start, select Run, type eventvwr and press OK
  
• In the new window, look under the System log for any errors and/or warnings. If you find any, please post the relevant heading, along with the details inside by double clicking on the error/warning (denoted by a red 'x' or a yellow '!', respectively), and then copy/pasting the information from within.
  *Note: You'll mainly be looking for DHCP and TCP/IP errors/warnings.

Thanks,
- Dan

[burekbeba]

I did that. And here are the results. I noticed some interesting behaviors while this was going on; see my [**NOTES**] below.

Windows IP Configuration

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : FS780W
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Unknown
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No

Ethernet adapter Wireless Network Connection:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Intel® PRO/Wireless 2200BG Network Connection
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-13-CE-7F-DA-47
Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.5
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : Friday, March 06, 2009 8:41:09 AM
Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : Saturday, March 07, 2009 8:41:09 AM

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Intel® PRO/100 VE Network Connection
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-01-4A-C5-50-58
===========================================================================
Interface List
0x1 ........................... MS TCP Loopback interface
0x2 ...00 13 ce 7f da 47 ...... Intel® PRO/Wireless 2200BG Network Connection - Packet Scheduler Miniport
0x3 ...00 01 4a c5 50 58 ...... Intel® PRO/100 VE Network Connection - Packet Scheduler Miniport
===========================================================================
===========================================================================
Active Routes:
Network Destination Netmask Gateway Interface Metric
0.0.0.0 0.0.0.0 192.168.1.1 192.168.1.5 25
127.0.0.0 255.0.0.0 127.0.0.1 127.0.0.1 1
192.168.1.0 255.255.255.0 192.168.1.5 192.168.1.5 25
192.168.1.5 255.255.255.255 127.0.0.1 127.0.0.1 25
192.168.1.255 255.255.255.255 192.168.1.5 192.168.1.5 25
224.0.0.0 240.0.0.0 192.168.1.5 192.168.1.5 25
255.255.255.255 255.255.255.255 192.168.1.5 3 1
255.255.255.255 255.255.255.255 192.168.1.5 192.168.1.5 1
Default Gateway: 192.168.1.1
===========================================================================
Persistent Routes:
None


Pinging FS780W [127.0.0.1] with 32 bytes of data:

Reply from 127.0.0.1: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=128
Reply from 127.0.0.1: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=128
Reply from 127.0.0.1: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=128
Reply from 127.0.0.1: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=128

Ping statistics for 127.0.0.1:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 0ms, Maximum = 0ms, Average = 0ms

Ping request could not find host google.com. Please check the name and try again.
[**NOTE** Zone Alarm issued a warning that TCPIP was trying to access the "Trusted Zone"
when I tried to ping Google]

Pinging 209.85.171.100 with 32 bytes of data:
[**NOTE** Zone Alarm issued a warning that TCPIP was trying to access the internet
when I tried to ping this IP address.]

Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.

Ping statistics for 209.85.171.100:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 0, Lost = 4 (100% loss),
[**NOTE** Windows did not recognize 'tasklist' as a valid internal or external command.]


Everything is normal as can be so I'm at my wit's end. I have contacted Comcast and they are coming out on Monday to drop a cat 5 cable from upstairs where the router and modem are to my bedroom where I generally use the laptop, so at least I will have SOME connectivity, but I'll lose the portability that is the joy of having a laptop.

Attached File(s)

•  results.txt (3.67K)
  Number of downloads: 147

[burekbeba]

Hi, Dan. Further to your initial inquiry above, yes, I CAN access the internet with the laptop and an ETHERNET cable connected directly to the router. I also noticed something else. When I am connected via the ethernet cable, Windows creates an "Internet Gateway" icon in Network Properties. The Internet Gateway icon is NOT present when I am "connected" wirelessly. Is this a clue?

Thanks!

[burekbeba]

Here are the results of the EVENTVWR log. I've also attached it as a text file. There were a ton of those "Application" warnings; only a handful of "System" warnings for each provided.

SELECTED EVENT VIEWER LOG ENTRIES

APPLICATION DATA:

Event Type: Warning
Event Source: EvntAgnt
Event Category: None
Event ID: 1015
Date: 3/6/2009
Time: 8:38:09 AM
User: N/A
Computer: FS780W
Description:
TraceLevel parameter not located in registry; Default trace level used is 32.

For more information, see Help and Support Center at http://go.microsoft....link/events.asp.

SYSTEM DATA:

[ERROR]
Event Type: Error
Event Source: MRxSmb
Event Category: None
Event ID: 8003
Date: 3/6/2009
Time: 9:16:14 AM
User: N/A
Computer: FS780W
Description:
The master browser has received a server announcement from the computer RB43G that believes that it is the master browser for the domain on transport NetBT_Tcpip_{151C570D-B306-48EE-8A9. The master browser is stopping or an election is being forced.

For more information, see Help and Support Center at http://go.microsoft....link/events.asp.
Data:
0000: 00 00 00 00 03 00 4e 00 ......N.
0008: 00 00 00 00 43 1f 00 c0 ....C..À
0010: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ........
0018: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ........
0020: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ........

[ERROR]
Event Type: Error
Event Source: Dhcp
Event Category: None
Event ID: 1002
Date: 3/6/2009
Time: 8:41:00 AM
User: N/A
Computer: FS780W
Description:
The IP address lease 192.168.1.2 for the Network Card with network address 0013CE7FDA47 has been denied by the DHCP server 0.0.0.0 (The DHCP Server sent a DHCPNACK message).

For more information, see Help and Support Center at http://go.microsoft....link/events.asp.

[ERROR]
Event Type: Error
Event Source: Dhcp
Event Category: None
Event ID: 1002
Date: 3/5/2009
Time: 3:27:07 PM
User: N/A
Computer: FS780W
Description:
The IP address lease 192.168.1.5 for the Network Card with network address 00014AC55058 has been denied by the DHCP server 0.0.0.0 (The DHCP Server sent a DHCPNACK message).

For more information, see Help and Support Center at http://go.microsoft....link/events.asp.

[WARNING]
Event Type: Warning
Event Source: Dhcp
Event Category: None
Event ID: 1003
Date: 3/4/2009
Time: 8:37:48 AM
User: N/A
Computer: FS780W
Description:
Your computer was not able to renew its address from the network (from the DHCP Server) for the Network Card with network address 0013CE7FDA47. The following error occurred:
The semaphore timeout period has expired. . Your computer will continue to try and obtain an address on its own from the network address (DHCP) server.

For more information, see Help and Support Center at http://go.microsoft....link/events.asp.
Data:
0000: 79 00 00 00 y...

[WARNING]
Event Type: Warning
Event Source: Server
Event Category: None
Event ID: 2504
Date: 3/4/2009
Time: 10:50:37 AM
User: N/A
Computer: FS780W
Description:
The server could not bind to the transport \Device\NetBT_Tcpip_{2AFE2075-0D40-4866-A82B-520A6FCE4AC3}.

For more information, see Help and Support Center at http://go.microsoft....link/events.asp.
Data:
0000: aa 05 00 00 ª...

[WARNING]
Event Type: Warning
Event Source: Dhcp
Event Category: None
Event ID: 1005
Date: 3/4/2009
Time: 1:56:20 PM
User: N/A
Computer: FS780W
Description:
Your computer has detected that the IP address 192.168.1.2 for the Network Card with network address 0013CE7FDA47 is already in use on the network. Your computer will automatically attempt to obtain a different address.

For more information, see Help and Support Center at http://go.microsoft....link/events.asp.

Attached File(s)

•  eventvwr.txt (3.53K)
  Number of downloads: 156

[Dan]

Well, you are indeed acquiring an Internet connection. Therefore, I'm inclined to say there is some form of software interference -- and since Zone Alarm decided to rear its ugly head during those tests, I'm going to strongly recommend that you uninstall it for the time being. Simply disabling a firewall is not always enough; they will often still load their driver.

In either case, I'd suggest replacing Zone Alarm with one of the free firewalls recommended by our Malware staff -- Free Antivirus and Antispyware Software.

If, after uninstalling Zone Alarm, you still experience the same issue, please do the following:

Step 1 - Generate a startup and uninstall list:
Please download HijackThis (if you do not already have it) and install it -- once it is installed, restart your computer. Once the computer starts up, can you please launch HijackThis and then select the option Open the Misc Tools section -- select Generate StartupList log. Save the startup list in a safe location. Now select the option Open Uninstall Manager and then click Save list -- save it to a safe location. Please post the contents of the startup list and the uninstall list in your next response.

By the way, thanks for posting step-by-step feedback -- it is appreciated. The only thing I didn't see was whether or not the clean boot changed anything?

Thanks,
- Dan

[burekbeba]

This has gotten absolutely ridiculous. I took the laptop down to bare bones again and still having same problems. One weird thing, tho, is that after I started poking around in Windows Firewall, to make sure it was completely disabled, I added a couple of settings to it under ICMP. And once I did that, I was able to access the internet only briefly, like for about 30 seconds. Then it went back to "Page Not Found." I went to the eventvwr to see if I could find anything and there was this error message there:

The master browser has received a server announcement from the computer RB43G (that's my desktop that's connected to the router via ethernet cable, the computer I'm typing this on right now) that believes that it is the maser brower for the domain on transport NetBT_Tcpip_{86D239BC-E219-4A2E-A59. The master browser is stoppoing or an election is being forced.

For more information, see Help and Support Center at http://go.microsoft....link/events.asp

I know that it's not creating an Internet Gateway. While it was briefly online earlier, I peeked at the Network Connections to see if the icon was there and it wasn't.

I'm about ready to pitch this thing out the window.

[Dan]

Quote

The master browser has received a server announcement from the computer RB43G (that's my desktop that's connected to the router via ethernet cable, the computer I'm typing this on right now) that believes that it is the maser brower for the domain on transport NetBT_Tcpip_{86D239BC-E219-4A2E-A59. The master browser is stoppoing or an election is being forced.

Hm, this really shouldn't affect your ability to reach the Internet.

If you could post the uninstall and startup list, that would help me to see what's going on.

In regards to the Windows Firewall, please do the following -- goto Start --> Run --> type services.msc and press OK --> Scroll down to the Windows Firewall (it'll be at the bottom), right-click and select Properties --> Click Stop -- wait for the service to stop, and then set it's Start-up type to Disabled -- then click OK. Restart your machine and see if you can acquire an Internet connection.

Step 1 - Download and run LSPFix:
Please download LSPFix from here. Run the LSPFix.exe that you have just finished downloading, and post all of the protocols that are in the 'Keep' and 'Remove' list; if there are protocols in the 'Remove' list, then please don't click 'Finish>>'. Simply close the program by pressing ALT+F4 or the Close [x] button.

[burekbeba]

Mind you, the windows firewall is DISABLED. I checked. I tried to access the net and for some reason, and I hadn't noticed this before, but IE gave me the option of choosing Tools and Diagnose Connection Problems..." I went all the way through the troubleshooting procedure and it came up with this:

"Windows cannot connect to the Internet using HTTP, HTTPS, or FTP. This is probably caused by firewall settings on this computer.

Check the firewall settings for the HTTP port (80), HTTPS port (442) and FTP port (21).

You might need to contact your Internet service provider (ISP) or the manufacturer of your firewall software."

Does this give any clues what I should do next?

[Dan]

Quote

Does this give any clues what I should do next?

Posting the uninstall and startup lists would be nice

It's possible that either Zone Alarm, or the Windows Firewall, has made certain registry changes that are persisting even though you have removed/disabled them.

Step 1 - Reset your Winsock and TCP/IP settings:

• Click Start, select Run, type cmd and press OK
  
• In the new command prompt window, type netsh int ip reset reset.log
  
• Once the above command completes, type netsh winsock reset catalog
  
• Restart your computer.

I don't suppose you have a proxy or anything setup?

Out of curiosity, have you tried a different Internet Browser? Same deal?

[burekbeba]

Ran the LSP Fix program.

KEEP:
mswsock.dll .. Tcpip
winmr.dll .. NTDS
rsvpsp.dll .. (Protocol handler)

REMOVE:
Blank

Also ran the commands netsh above. Since yesterday, since the IE problem I posted, it seems to be worse. It simply won't connect anymore, there's a big red "X" in the wireless connection icon in the systray. Before, it at least acted like it was connected to the network. :|

[burekbeba]

I will install hijack this (but I'll be uninstalling it and that LSP fix thing as soon as this is solved, if it ever is.) I am very reluctant to clutter up my machines with programs ... but it doesn't seem to matter in this case, since i am working with a bare bones laptop right now. I'll post the results in a minute.

[burekbeba]

startup and uninstall lists attached as *.txt files. (As an aside, doesn't it make you sick how much crap Sony -- and other computer manufacturers for that matter -- install on the computer from the get-go? Believe me, when I get this thing up and running again, most of that nonsense is coming off. Ugh!)

Thanks!

Attached File(s)

•  startuplist_fs780w.txt (5.78K)
  Number of downloads: 141
•  uninstall_list_fs780w.txt (2.02K)
  Number of downloads: 127

[Dan]

I noticed that there's Intel wireless software running on your machine; are you using windows to handle your wireless, or the Intel software? If you're using the Intel software, try disabling it and let windows handle your connection. If you're already using Windows, please make sure you have disabled the third-party wireless software. Having both running at the same time can cause undefined behaviour.

Step 1 - Use Windows to configure your wireless settings

• Go to the Start menu and select Run
  
• Type ncpa.cpl and click OK to open the Network Connections menu
  
• Select your wireless connection service and choose the option Change settings of this connection.
  
• Go to the Wireless Networks tab and check the box labeled Use Windows to configure my wireless network settings

Step 2 - Launch Windows Zero Configuration

• Go to the Start menu and select Run
  
• Type services.msc and click OK
  
• Double-click on the service Wireless Zero Configuration (it'll be at the bottom of the list).
  
• Go to the Startup type list and select Automatic. Click Apply to confirm the changes.
  
• Select Start in the Service status section and then press OK to apply the changes.

Quote

. (As an aside, doesn't it make you sick how much crap Sony -- and other computer manufacturers for that matter -- install on the computer from the get-go? Believe me, when I get this thing up and running again, most of that nonsense is coming off. Ugh!)

Yes, I recently purchased a HP desktop The amount of useless junk was appalling.