[Pillowcase]

I am having one networking issue that has caused me hours of my life wasted and more than one headache!

I have had my desktop computer not connected to a network for about a year now. Previously it was connected via ethernet through the card in the back. I have recently tried connecting it again, to no avail. Best I can get is "Limited or no connectivity" error.

First, of course, I checked the modem and router. Modem was connected, router was within a year old but I still checked and the laptop was picking up the internet wirelessly and my X Box was getting internet through the ethernet port.

Second, I tried changing the cable and even the port on the desktop. I switched the ethernet cable my X Box used to the desktop, same error. My desktop, for some odd reason, had a factory ethernet port and a PCI card ethernet installed. But checked with both and the same error occured.

Third, I checked to see if there were any programs running that may be blocking the internet. I pulled up the task manager and essentially ended all processes that were not system processes. Nothing...

Fourth, I remembered I had a USB wireless adapter previously used for my laptop and I decided to try it out. I uploaded the software and connected the device. The network was there it connected... well kind of... Limited or no connectivity.

Finally I decided to go to the internet so I Googled the "limited or no connectivity" error and of course it came up with millions of solutions, most of which were basic and I had already tried. I consider myself an intermediate in computer related issues but this has got me stumped. The most advanced thing I have tried is changing the ip address manually but this too has failed. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! I don't know what has happened between now and the last time it was connected but it has driven me to this point. I am running Windows XP Service Pack 3 if this helps.

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Ok, so you have eliminated :-

The ethernet cables.
The cards.

Next stop, the router. Are you able to run an ethernet cable straight from the modem to the PC, reboot the modem, see if the computer then picks up an IP.

[Gashlad]

Ok, so you have eliminated :-

The ethernet cables.
The cards.

Next stop, the router. Are you able to run an ethernet cable straight from the modem to the PC, reboot the modem, see if the computer then picks up an IP.

[Pillowcase]

Yeah i'm sorry I actually tried this too but I just tried it again and the same error occurs.

[rshaffer61]

Limted or No Connectivity go here and try the suggestion at the beginning to see if it helps. If not post back and we can continue on.

[Pillowcase]

I tried the ipconfig/release which gave a 0.0.0.0 on both the ip and subnet masks. Then I tried ipconfig/renew and it gave the error occured while renewing interface for the LAN: support for the specified socket type does not exist in this address family.

The power cycling also did not work.

[Gashlad]

Sounds a little like a stack problem.

TCP/IP stack repair options for use with Windows XP with SP2 or SP3.

Start, Run, CMD, OK to open a command prompt.

Reset WINSOCK entries to installation defaults: netsh winsock reset catalog

Reset TCP/IP stack to installation defaults. netsh int ip reset reset.log

Reboot the machine.

[Pillowcase]

When I tried to reset the Winsock entries it gave the error:
"Unable to reset the Winsock Catalog. The system cannot find the file specified."

I reset the TCP/IP stacks I restarted the computer. The connection was still Limited or no connectivity. I tried the CMD for the Winsock again and it had the same error.

This is over my level of expertize but the fact that the system cannot find a Winsock Catalog is making me worry.

[DaffyKantReed]

Third, I checked to see if there were any programs running that may be blocking the internet. I pulled up the task manager and essentially ended all processes that were not system processes. Nothing...

Disconnect the modem, router and PC from power.

Connect the desktop PC directly to the modem using a known good or new ethernet cable. Note the NIC now in use.

Power the modem up. Wait until it displays the correct number of LEDs for normal operation.

Power up the PC.

Go to Device manager and reinstall the NIC driver for *both* NICs. (You may need the drivers on a CD or USB stick, if they are not common)

Reinstalling the NIC drivers will reset defaults, which *rarely* have to be changed in a home or SOHO network. It also repairs corrupt drivers.


Start>run>type cmd
Type ipconfig /all at the command prompt. Is it still 169.254.xxx.xxx? If so, restart the PC, repeatedly pressing F8 as it reboots. When you get to the Advanced Options screen choose "Safe Mode With Networking" and press Enter.
Click "Yes" as the desktop loads.

Start>run>type cmd
Try ipconfig /all at the command prompt. Do you have a valid IP? If not, open the command prompt and issue netsh winsock reset catalog. Reboot. Try another ipconfig /all.

Now reset the Windows firewall as shown in the following link:
http://www.winxptuto...sp2/resetfw.htm

Reboot and try ipconfig /all

Do you have an IP address other than 169.254.xx.xx? If so, try surfing. If not, read further.


Depower PC, and modem and repeat the above steps once again with the other NIC. If you do not have a valid IP at this point, reinstalling the OS is probably the only other option available.


Important Note: if you have a DSL connection which uses PPPoE, you may need a username and password to connect to your ISP. Cable and some DSL providers use DHCP and a username/password is not required.

Windows XP PPPoE connection:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/283070


Good luck and please post back with your results.

[DaffyKantReed]

Oops, I forgot..

Having a simple 32-bit Live Linux distro like Ubuntu is very handy when troubleshooting problems like your are experiencing. If it works and Windows troubleshooting does not result in a valid IP, then your have a Windows XP software issue. If Linux will not yield a valid IP, then the problem may well be a hardware issue.

http://mirror.yellow...esktop-i386.iso

Linux is not at all like Windows and it does take some doing, but it can be a powerful troubleshooting aid.